Recent Posts
Cooperation without Coercion: How to Motivate Children (5 Things to Try)
What do you do when your strong-willed child won't cooperate? Children love cooperating... but they also love showing their independence. Here are 5 things to try.
Book Review: The Secrets of Happy Families by Bruce Feiler
We're accustomed to working on our jobs, our marriages, and so much else. What about our families? This book explains how families can be happier, healthier, and flourish together.
Book review: The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Children More Control Over Their Lives by William Stixrud and Ned Johnson
Why responsibility and a sense of control are critical for children.
Why Watching My Parents Cook Means I Can't Share Soup Recipe—And How I'm Encouraging My Kids to Cook Too
Growing up, I spent many hours swiveling a barstool at the kitchen counter, watching my parents cook. Here's what I learned—and how I'm setting up my kitchen to encourage my kids to learn the same.
Start of the Homeschool School Year with Three Children (Fall 2021)
Our kids are young still, but pretty much all of daily life counts as homeschooling. Here's what we have planned this year: books, music, crafts, math, and more!
Why I Left Full-Time Academia and What I Do Instead
A PhD doesn't mean you're stuck with a traditional academic career. Flexibility, family, freedom: Here's how and why I decided to take a different path.
Important But Not Urgent: How I Manage Daily Incremental Routines
Before I had kids, I had a regular morning routine. Now? Mornings don't proceed the same way twice. Here's how I make a routine work anyway and ensure I don't leave important tasks behind.
How to Involve Kids in Modern Work
My 4-year-old son wants to help me work, but I write software—so how do I involve him? If I did physical labor or owned a farm, it'd be easy. But I sit at a keyboard. Here's what I'm trying.
How Curiosity Helps Children Build a Habit of Attention
Want your children to engage deeply with the world? Here's how to help them build a habit of deep attention and keep their curiosity intact.
Our Children's Future: Eight Current Trends in America to Prepare For
What will the world be like in two decades? I analyze current trends in America and discuss how I can prepare now to help my children flourish.
Book review: Homeschooling with Gentleness: A Catholic Discovers Unschooling by Suzie Andres
This book discusses questions such as: Is moral education separate from academic education? What are common objections to Catholic unschooling?
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!
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.
Adjusting to Life in North Idaho
How I began switching from being a full-time academic in Boston to some mishmash of stay-at-home-mom, scholar, gardener, and writer. Change is a process; here's part of the story.