So, tears come easily perhaps. And the pain others put into story form, to allow others to see into their world, see what their challenges and struggles were, see what they rose up from, what brought ...
Yesterday, on the way to music lessons, there was a lively conversation in the car between my six-year old and my nine-year old about whether the word muzzle and snout could be used interchange...
Yesterday, I shared this update on my personal Facebook page: I have a problem. I am not a civilized reader. I read like a glutton or a hoodlum – gobbling what I can from as many books as I can ...
Normally, the boys get to sleep in on weekends. But today, we are meeting family for breakfast out at Patty’s Diner in Gold Hill, for the best Chicken Fried Steaks in the world. It is important ...
Eloquence in words, and turns of phrase, must start with a reverence for the letters themselves; then the words, the sounds, the rhythms and rhymes, the haunting juxtapositions, the intertwining of he...
Lately, Ben has been wanting to be scared, and scary. This morning, I stumbled onto Neil Gaiman’s Official Website for Young Readers, called MouseCircus.com. There are a couple of stories there ...
Our first week in to this Old-School Homeschool style has been a total blast. We are completely focused on art projects, and giving Ben something to do with his hands while we tuck the actual educatio...
This was originally posted on my Artful Homeschool Blog – but I think I’m disbanding that after one day. I’d rather have one blog here at Country Kid Farmers....
We were watching The Voice after the kids went to bed, so that might be influencing my flair for dramatics tonight, but honestly – sometimes, as moms, we just have one of those days! Days when w...
Bean and I played with our food today at snack time, spelling his name in Bunnies and Goldfish crackers....
T.S. Eliot is another one of my favorite poets. The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock, perhaps, being one of the most haunting and beautiful poems I have ever read. He has a way of speaking that is lilti...
The other day, I was reading Billy Collins poetry and he started one with the Paul Cézanne quote, “With an apple I want to astonish Paris.” It only took a quick Google search to find that ...
Just thinking of the word Perspective tweaks my brain a tad. There are so many points to consider. Last night, my boys and I worked on the idea of a Vanishing Point in art. We looked at some YouTube v...
Another night. Another gift. Dinner was amazing – homemade hot-dog buns, homemade mayonnaise, homemade relish, homemade potato chips. Big, honkin’ Hot-dogs. Delicious. Then while Bean was ...
Sometimes I forget how civilized my boys are actually. I forget amid the mud and noise, bruises, scraps and yelling. Then I take a little trip to the Library on my lunch break, bring home a pile of bo...
Thanks to my son’s take home Scholastic News magazine, I learned that November is National American Heritage Month. For Language and Literature night tonight, I pulled a free printable from Teac...
Yesterday I held fresh books in my hands. Fresh, meaning, not dust covered, or tried and true. Hot off the press, right there on the shelf at the book store, and now in my hand. No children running am...
Language and Literature night started out with poetry, and turned into playing with rhyming words and trying to make something of it – all around Gratitude – which makes me smile even more...
`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe. These are the opening lines of the famous poem, The Jabberwocky, by Lewi...
We started talking about Onomatopoeia’s at the dinner table. The kids thought the word was hysterical, and Scott started talking about the old Batman & Robin television shows that would alwa...
To Kill a Mockingbird is turning 50 years old. The story of Scout and Gem and Dill making plays in the street about their shut-in neighbor in an effort to lure him outside is one of the most enduring ...
The Children’s Motivational Story Ben wrote for a target audience of 2- and 3-year olds. I think he enjoys being a Big Brother!...
With my boys, Goodnight Stories are an absolutely essential part of our bedtime routine. Reading out loud was something my family did all the time growing up, and I love to read to my boys as well. To...
My ninth grader will be reading “Night” by Elie Wiesel this year in his literature class at Clovis East High School. I picked the book up months ago because it is also an Oprah Book...