Recent Posts

a young girl stands in a lake, pants rolled up to her knees, rocky shore behind her on the left, a mountain in the distance on the right

How to Homeschool in the Early Years: Preschool and Kindergarten, Ages 0-7

Homeschooling doesn't have to be overwhelming or over-scheduled, especially when your kids are young! Curricula are optional. Play is mandatory. Learning will happen!
Jacqueline, a woman wearing glasses and a silky scarf, stands behind a baby seated on a table, looking down at the baby and smiling. The baby is reaching out to touch a fluffy Tega robot. In the background are monitors and office stuff.

How Can We Fix the Academic System For Women?

Full-time academia doesn't work for a lot of women. How can we increase flexibility, change workaholic culture, and reward quality?
Three children in winter coats crouch down along the edge of a small creek in the woods, backs to the camera

How to Harness Patience, Expectations, Flexibility, and Relationship in Parenting for a Smoother, Less Stressful Life with Your Children

Tantrums, meltdowns, anger, sadness: How do we deal with children's normal emotions? Here are some tips from a mother of three.
three young kids sitting and climbing on a large wood seesaw made from a tree trunk

Proactive Parenting: Preventing Meltdowns, Managing Emotions

Children are still learning to regulate their moods and emotions. If we help them head off problems before they arise, everyone will stay happier and less stressed.
cover of the book Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne with Lisa M. Ross

Book Review: Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids by Kim John Payne with Lisa M. Ross

Make your home quieter and calmer, with less clutter, less media, and less stress. Home is supposed to be your restful home base. This book shows you how to make it so!
three kids sitting on three sides of a square table leaning in, doing crafts: the table is covered in brightly colored paper, foam, scissors, goggly eyes, and so forth.

"School-Age" At Last: My Homeschooling Plan for School Year 2023-2024

My oldest will be seven years old soon and people keep asking me what curriculum I'm using. Our plan is more eclectic: lots of outsidetime, fun co-ops, farms, play, life, and more!
the cover of Changing our Minds by Naomi Fisher

Book Review: Changing Our Minds: How Children Can Take Control of Their Own Learning by Naomi Fisher

Different kids need different learning environments; they're interested in different topics; they thrive on different tasks. So why force them to learn the same things in the same ways at the same times in schools?
Jacqueline wearing a red dress smiling and holding a robot the size of a large pumpkin; the robot is fuzzy and red with blue stripes and blue plastic around its black and blue face

How I Built A Career From Strengths and Interests—And How Your Kids Can, Too

What will your kids do when they grow up? Who will they be? And how can you help them? The key: People build lives and careers out of what they love, not what they hate.
a young girl three and a half years old sits on a rock in the mountains in Glacier National Park, looking down at a flower in her hand

How Do I Raise My Kids to Revere Life, Love What Is Good, and Reject the Bad?

I don't want to raise the next generation of materialist, short-term focused consumers. But how do I help my kids counter modern culture, resist temptations, and internalize the right ideas?
a boy in a button-up shirt sits cross-legged on a wooden bench outdoors,leaning over a tray of watercolors and a blank piece of paper, holding a paintbrush

Reflections on Our Homeschool Year (2022-2023)

Cataloging learning in an always-learning household is a challenge! Here's what we've been up to this year—such as learning math from board games, joining a new co-op, and of course, plenty of time outside!
desks lined up in a classroom

Schools Zap Kids' Motivation and Mental Health

Intrinsic motivation is the key to discipline, excellence, and happiness. But schools stamp out intrinsic motivation. Is it ever a good idea to send your kids to a conventional school?
purple jacaranda flower blossoms fallen on a brick walkway, scattered, wet from rain; green trees blurred in the background

How Women Scholars Manage Stress, Goals, and Self-Care—and How You Can, Too!

Is stress from work and life inevitable? How do you reframe goals and success? What do you do when decisions are mutually exclusive and mutually desirable?
baby sleeping in a woven wrap on his mother

Bedtimes with Young Children: How We Skip the Battle and Encourage Sleep

Are bedtime battles inevitable? While they're a staple of evening life for many families, we don't war over sleep—here's what we do instead.
a rock cairn of angular stones with a river blurred in the background

Productivity and Balance as a Parent: Challenges, Ideals, and Strategies

Balancing work with family life presents unique challenges for mothers and primary caregivers. How do we do our research, writing, and other work while also giving enough time and attention to our families?
a three-year-old girl with shoulder length curly hair wearing a red dress feeds grass to a white bunny, inside a barn

Looking Ahead: Here's This Year's Preschool and Kindergarten Homeschool Plan (Fall 2022)

Our kids have reached the age where people ask me what we're doing for school. Answer: lots of play, nature groups, a Sudbury co-op, music, reading, crafts, and more!
book cover of Hunt, Gather, Parent by Michaeleen Doucleff

Book Review: Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans by Michaeleen Doucleff

How can we better help children develop helpfulness, responsibility, confidence, independence, and emotional control?
silver macbook rests on a wooden table beside a vase of bright summery roses

Deep Work for Parents: A Two-Step Strategy for More Effective, Efficient Work

Ever felt overwhelmed and frustrated when trying to work while caring for young children? Here are my top tips for making time, turning off distraction, and ramping up productivity!
a pile of small letter tiles with black uppercase letters on them

Reflections on Our Homeschool Year (2021-2022)

Our children are young, so we're not big on formal curricula. But much of daily life counts as homeschooling! Here's what we did this year.
section of a tapestry depicting a flower, woven on a lap loom using strips of fabric and yarn

How To Consciously Be a Role Model in Creativity, Curiosity, and Crafting for Children

I want my children to be creative and curious, to do projects and work with their hands. How do I deliberately and consciously inspire and encourage them? Here are some ways.
book cover of Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant

Book Review: Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant

What's the key to being original, creative, and innovative? Why do minority viewpoints improve a company? How can we raise more original kids? All this and more in this book!
one kid standing in a mud puddle on a rocky outcrop with pine trees in the distance, another kid digging with a stick in the mud

"How do you do it?" 5 Ways to be Patient, Calm, and Improve Your Relationship with Your Children

Do you feel your kids are stressing you out? Here are tried-and-true tips for building up calmness and cooperation.
the cover of the book Raising Freethinkers by McGowan, Matsumura, Metskas, and Devor showing a child looking through a magnifying glass

Raising Freethinkers: A Practical Guide for Parenting Beyond Belief by Dale McGowan, Molleen Matsumura, Amanda Metskas, and Jan Devor

A great conversation starter, if heavy handed on the nonreligion. See my book club questions!
closeup of gold wedding rings on a lace table

The Tragedy of Marital Strife: Why Marriages Fall Apart (And How To Stay Together)

Two of my friends' marriages fell apart. Why does this happen? And what can we do about it? Here's why I think marriages fail, and the strategies we use to keep ours strong.
toddler sitting on a brick path by a lawn looking sideways, holding a large green pushbroom

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.

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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.