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For someone who’s not a “pink girl” I sure have fallen into a habit of making fancy pink dresses. First, there’s my pink 1860’s ballgown, made a year and a half ago. Last fall there was my bridesmaid’s dress I made for my brother’s wedding (and still haven’t blogged). Most recently is the 1901 pink evening gown I’m still working on. And then, to top it all off, there’s this 1920’s inspired silk dress I made late last summer.This particular dress is the result of a pattern test. It was one of the more stressful tests I've been a part...

We joined Wild + Free Great Smoky Mountains last August and it has been a great experience. These other homeschooling families may have different approaches and convictions, but we all respect each other and find common ground. Mom and Daughter at The Sinks If nothing else, nature unites us. We can all find many things to discuss about the natural things we run into. Then, we talk about food. Some of them have older children, who have gone to college, so we talk about that. I always have lots of questions about scholarships, test prep, and the college atmosphere. Religion...

Children learn new things about the world every day. When they’re not discovering words or watching educational shows on TV, they build social and emotional connections with other people. It’s good to continually expand their knowledge, especially at home. You don’t need to start homeschooling or form lesson plans to teach your kids about things like the environment. Sometimes it’s best to do something engaging, like crafts or tasks that require active participation.  Read on to learn about teaching children sustainability through DIY projects. As they complete activities with an environmental focus, they’ll form memories and store information more easily. ...

I was assigned to read Old Yeller in 6th grade. For whatever reason, 6th grade was full of the tragedy books. I read about a childhood best friend dying, a dog dying, and watching someone you love grow old and die. Now that I think about it, that is a traumatizing year of assigned reading. For whatever reason, I liked Old Yeller, even if it made me cry. I even read the sequel, which is pretty much the same story but with the younger brother. So, I planned to never have an Old Yeller book club, but my son picked...

Parents of kids affected by Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are often confused by advice given to them about managing their kids’ screen time. On the one hand, their kids often appear to be highly engaged, happy, and developing an expertise in their game play and screen time. Conversely, they also struggle to stop playing or transition to other activities or appear to become highly irritable after screen time. This is even more confusing during the COVID-19 quarantine, when most kids are stuck inside, confined to their home without their normal array of in-school and extracurricular activities...