Recent Posts

yellow marigolds in a garden bed

Gardening, Year 2: What I Improved and How I Planned, Planted, and Harvested My 200-square-foot Garden

Could I replicate year 1's magnificant tomato harvest? Here's what I planned, how it went, and what I learned.
big beautiful red tomatoes in a wooden bowl

Gardening, Year 1: How I Planned, Planted, and Harvested a 200-square-foot Garden and What I Learned

I used the square foot gardening method to grow flowers, herbs, and tomatoes. I was most excited about tomatoes. If I grew some, the garden would be a success!
Jacqueline, Randy, and kids smiling in front of a Christmas tree

The Best Reason to Have Children

It amazes me that strangers feel comfortable saying to parents 'You sure have your hands full!' 'Why so many kids?' 'Are you expecting another one?' Uh ... it's okay to want and love children!
two kids stomping in a big muddy puddle filled with pine needles in a pine forest

Why Outdoor Time Is Important For Kids

We spent a lot of time outdoors. Being in nature makes everyone happier—and allows our kids to have more freedom and independence.
pile of colorful crayons

How to Afford Homeschooling and Other Alternative Education For Kids on a Budget

Want to get your kids out of public schools, but afraid of the costs? Here are some tips on how to afford your kids' educational journey.
Our first son as a newborn

Only a Parent Can Understand Love

I thought I knew what love was. Then I had a son and it changed everything. I felt love for the first time, and it was that day that I really grew up and became a man.
Jacqueline in a Vassar sweatshirt, grinning with arms outstretched

From Homeschooling to College

After my TEDx talk, several people asked me about my experience being homeschooling. What did I think about getting into college as a homeschooled student? Here's my reply.
Jacqueline on stage speaking at TEDx Couer d'Alene 2020

Coercive Schooling is Pervasive

When giving a TEDx talk, I was stuck by how inundated one organizer was in the coercive schooling system. Here are some examples—and how we can change minds about learning.
Jacqueline standing on a red carpet circle on stage in front of big letters saying TEDx Couer d'Alene

Kids Can't Be Taught, But They Love to Learn

I gave my first TEDx talk this year. It was the first time I'd been on a stage in quite some time. I'd spent hours memorizing my talk... would it go well?

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About

We're Jacqueline and Randy, a blogging duo with backgrounds in tech, robots, art, and writing, now raising our family in northern Idaho.

Our goal is to encourage deliberate choices, individual responsibility, and lifelong curiosity by sharing stories about our adventures in living, loving, and learning.

Learn more about us.


Connect:

whoo@deliberateowl.com

Start here

Curious about our life and journey? Here are some good places to start reading:

Jacqueline and Randy leaning their heads together smiling at the camera

A Blog About Education, Lifestyles, and Community

A brief history of how the Deliberate Owl came to be and why we're writing a blog about us, our lives, and how we're living out our values.
Priests in red and gold celebrate a traditional Latin Mass

Discovering the Traditional Catholic Mass

How I discovered the traditional Latin Mass a few years ago, why that discovery changed everything for me, and what was wrong with the Novus Ordo Masses I'd attended.