Middle Years

Is Family Thru-Hiking like Family Bootcamp?

June 1, 2014

This family adventure is the most physically challenging thing our kids have done. It's the most challenging thing I've done. And a lot of discipline is required in our hiking days to pull it off. This is not a vacation.

Inspiration and Action ~ The Wrap-Up

February 17, 2014

I want this wrap up of inspiration and action to be very applicable to you, regardless of if you camp, hike, or ski. Here's my takeaways from these nine posts, which are actually takeaways from five years of inspiration to action movement in our family life.

Evenings are for Inspiring

February 13, 2014

Evenings are for inspiring. That phrase helped give structure to an otherwise unplanned, and probably wasted, part of our days.

The Study of Skiing (or how I feel about prizes, bribes and grades)

January 27, 2014

Celebrate the victories in your learning environment, but don't bribe your kids to learn, or study, because knowing the skill, having the knowledge, owning the strength and confidence that comes with that - skiing down the mountain on your own- is the reward.

Developing Self-Discipline

December 6, 2013

Children can learn to apply themselves to difficult tasks, and become self-disciplined adults by investing large amounts of time, energy, and effort in designing their own studies and self-directing their learning.

Drudgery & Discipline

December 5, 2013

I don't have a problem with academics. But I question compulsory academics in a society where the success of its citizens, the longevity of the society itself, rests not on people having an acquired knowledge base or following a set path, but rests instead on people being empowered with a skill set of creative thinking, entrepreneurship, and leadership.