“Schooools out for summer (bum,bum,bum,bum)
schooooools out forEVER! Out for summer, out for fall. We might not go back at all.”
-Alice Cooper
We’ve been humming that one a lot lately. Anywho, as your little ones are preparing to bike, swim and jaunt through their days with even less structure than you’ve been barely able to artificially impose [...]

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(One of the best things about birthdays, in my opinion, homemade birthday cards)
Fun was had by all. Especially by the old mom who got to shoot a foam crossbow with adoring boys cheering her on. Yes, it is my son’s 7th birthday. Party was Friday, but it has been non-stop festivities around here, because it [...]

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Here is a note from Andrea from Atypical Life. She is moving house this week and as if that weren’t enough, her homeschooling network (HSJ) is down temporarily. If some of your fave blogs have gone missing for a day or two, don’t fret, they’re on the case….
from Andrea:
“HSJ is backed up, new space is [...]

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(A favorite art spot)
Ah, stereotypes. They always make us feel special. I’ve been trying to ignore this post, mainly because I have enjoyed reading the Huffington Post on many occasions before. Also, because it clearly already has enough comments to represent the whole gamut of opinions out there on the topic, including yours and mine. [...]

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(Garfield park and Nikki honor the big ladies.)
As the scheduled activities begin to slow and peter to an abrupt halt later this week, I take a moment to reflect on several factors.
I haven’t cleaned the house in weeks.
I haven’t really grocery shopped in weeks either.
I haven’t been able to read a whole chapter or [...]

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The boys were at Spiderman 3. I was sitting at a cafe, making lists and eavesdropping on 3 high school girls.
Girl one; “Okay, Caroline, when it comes to math team, you and Karen just get in the zone and I don’t get it. I’m thinking I need to drop the course and take math methods.”
Girl [...]

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This month, all I’ve been capable of is writing lists and taking pictures during the stolen moments inbetween activities.
I’ll spare you the lists and just share some pics of the quieter moments.

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“Art is the daughter of freedom.” Friedrich Schiller
(This post has been submitted to the May Unschooling Voices, where the topic is “How has unschooling changed you?”)

I’ve been reading up on the philosophers lately in a lovely fiction book called Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder. It is the kind of book we all like to give [...]

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(Each of these lovely little ribbons represents how many times I had to hold up a score card and listen to the same exact ditty for every gymnast’s floor routine this past weekend at the YMCA State gymnastics meet. Yes, that pile goes 3 or 4 deep and several feet out of frame on either [...]

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(Friends…huh.)
We used to live on a block that my dad compared to Sesame Street. The elderly, the parents, the toddlers, the kids, the dogs, everyone was always out socializing and talking and making plans and having fun. We loved it. We thought that was how Chicago always was.
Then we moved to our current street, [...]

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