Family Life & Kids
A vegan teen (and other interest-led learning wins)
March 22, 2019
A video interview of Brienne and my mom, Karen Toews, about her vegan diet. Brienne explains why she's vegan and how she maintains a vegan diet in and un-vegan world.
The rewards of parenting in young adulthood (a birthday in the woods)
March 14, 2019
I feel grief about these years being nearly over, all that time spent together, the beautiful mundane punctuated by exciting adventures, the whole thing steeped in love. I feel so busy trying to keep up with it all that I'm afraid I'm missing it, even while living it, even while I'm wishing it was done!
Getting a job
January 14, 2019
How does one go about looking for a job when one hasn't had "a job" in almost twenty years? Yes, I've worked, as a homemaker, homeschooler, and home manager; a freelance writer and content creator. I've worked but I haven't had a job - the kind where someone hires you, you show up, do work according to their specifications, and get paid - since before my kids were born.
The October homeschool update (with a wee bit of parenting melancholy, philosophy, and practice), part 3
November 13, 2018
This is where we were going all along. This is where those fall hay wagon rides were headed. This was the destination, one of the station stops along the track of building an interest-led, relationship-focused, self-directed, and often experimental, homeschooled family life.
The October homeschool update (with a wee bit of parenting melancholy, philosophy, and practice), part 2
November 9, 2018
We have become home "schoolers" in every sense of the word. Our lives revolve around our kids' schooling. Life has always revolved around our kid's overall well-being and education, but now it's actual classes and coursework, deadlines and applications. Helping them achieve their goals now and for the future.
The October homeschool update (with a wee bit of parenting melancholy, philosophy, and practice), part 1
November 8, 2018
In October, life kicks into a gear that is challenging and stretching. And in that transition I feel ill-equipped as a career "relaxed" homeschooler for this change. But maybe everyone feels that way, homeschooler or not. Maybe we all feel dragged along by the machine.
The end of travel season, a return to city life
October 16, 2018
Last week, while at my parents house I experienced a keen sense of "these are the happy days". There wasn't a feeling of foreboding attached, but definitely an awareness that these moments don't last.
