Grabbing at Weeds

Grabbing at Weeds

There simply is not enough time. I panic and move faster through another day, tackling the stacks set before me. This time every year I get the itch to plant a garden, but, “…there are children to care for, grades to…

The Book as Mentor

The Book as Mentor

If we dig deep enough into the heart of a story, dig to its very core, I believe we will always spark curiosity. And when we press into that curiosity, we often discover a treasure to inform our own life.…

Poetic Potential

Poetic Potential

If you really stop to think about it, it's more than miraculous that a humble, hard-shelled little thing called a seed, once buried in dirt, watered, and warmed by the sun, transforms into something beautifully alive, growing, and life-giving.

Lost Wax: Connecting the Dots

Lost Wax: Connecting the Dots

Evelyn is a high school graduate. I closed the book on her transcript over a year ago. Recently she taught me how to connect the dots: Ever since my mom introduced me to pysanky egg making many years ago, I…

Perloo the Bold

Perloo the Bold

When my youngest son, Søren, and his literature circle buddies began reading Perloo the Bold, by AVI his imagination was captured. Perloo, the protagonist, is a peaceful, fairly introverted scholar much like my son. I think they hit it off…

It Begins with Red, Yellow, and Blue

It Begins with Red, Yellow, and Blue

We teach our children that letters have sounds, that sounds combine to form words, that words combine to form sentences, that sentences grouped in just the right way form the stories we all know and love. We teach our children…

Spring Into Poetry

Spring Into Poetry

This time in the school year can be particularly difficult—a sort of doldrums. Everyone has been working hard for many months and summer still feels quite a ways off. You're starting to feel the pressure of all that you haven't…

Q&A With The Girls

Q&A With The Girls

  Q. What sticks with you from your research of famous women? A. Hannah: I remember clearly being confused about Polio when we read about Wilma Rudolph, but so impressed that she did not let this mysterious physical handicap stop…

Researching Famous Women

Researching Famous Women

Did you know that March is Women's History Month? I stumbled upon one of my prized possessions the other day, paper and pencil in hand, a writer looking for creative inspiration. As I unfolded the mass of faded-yellow legal pad…

More Than Dessert

More Than Dessert

Leonardo da Vinci said, “All our knowledge has its origin in our perceptions.” Well, Kim sent me this photo of the beginnings of an apple crisp that Taylor made and I just had to write about it! I immediately thought…