The kids are out of school and in this part of the country it's like a feeding frenzy trying to get kids signed up for "camps." Yes. That's the hip thing to do. (of course, I am anything but hip - sigh) If you don't know how to just be with and enjoy your child or help them entertain themselves for the summer, you sign them ...
Homeschooling
57,000 words
If you've been following my blog, you know that Lucy has been busy writing a novel. The original plan was to write it in 30 days, but when the month of April was over, she still had more story in her.So she kept at it and kept at it. I need to just insert here that I was in Miami all last week and that now I have pneumonia, and there are no ...
Leaving a Legacy
My mom taught me how to cook when I was about 8 years old. She taught me how to read a recipe, measure ingredients, grease a pan, boil water - stuff like that. As I got older, the process became a little more complicated. During the summers, my sisters, Miriam and Alina, and I would take turns cooking. We rotated between table setting, ...
Grounded?
Yes, we homeschool.And yes, of course, we leave the house. I know that sounded a little snotty. Sorry. But there are people who still think that homeschooling means we are terminally grounded and my kids never interact with other people - ever. So I guess I was a little defensive there. I'm over it now. Our days are pretty predictable for the most ...
Time.
Breakfast on the patio today.I have found that my kids do better, think better and are more creative when they are allowed to wake up gradually. I like that. They have a leisurely breakfast, usually with a good book in their hands. We won't start formal schooling until around 10 am. And even then, we're pretty relaxed. But I have also found ...
L’chaim (“to life!”)
On a recent trip to Florida, I made Eric go with me to the bowels of southwest Miami to hunt down the places of my childhood. This is me in front of Silver Bluff Elementary where I went to school as a newly arrived Cuban refugee. It was here that I learned to read back in the See-Spot-Run days. And it was here in this public school ...
The Great Homeschooling Experiment
Lucy wants to be a writer.Correction - a published author.So she writes. Every day. This is one of the beauties of homeschooling. We make time in our schedule for the kids to explore their passions. She is 13 and in 8th grade and knows what she wants and is finding a way to get there. Frankly, I find her discipline and tenacity a little daunting. ...
The Lucy Show
This is what happens when you have creative women in the house and a rip in the knees of your jeans. I think I remember it being last year's JCrew catalog that showed patched jeans for about $300. (!!) At times like these I make my kids repeat these magical words: "Mi mamá cose." "My mother sews." Seriously, all that good ...
Full House
I always wished that mine would be the house where all the kids wanted to hang out. (even though it makes me absolutely crazy when kids say they are just going to hang out.)But I am so not "the cool mom."I'm pretty strict about voices and volume and feet on furniture and doors being open. I insist on "pleases" and "thank ...
God Save the Queen (or Princess)
As Cuban as I am, I have to remember that my daughter also has English Darby blood in her veins. And truly, she carries herself with such amazing confidence and poise. And I KNOW she didn't inherit that from me. =D We're in the middle of the Renaissance now in Junior High. Lucy goes to school one day a week with other homeschooled kids to get her ...
“Fin de semana” – An alliteration.
My big, FAT, Cuban weekend: It began on Friday. With fifteen people. And our lovely French friends. And small fry in the house. We had a feast. Then the family arrived. With more food. And fresh flowers everywhere. And of course, lots of CaFEcito. Que Felicidad! It just doesn't get any better than this. =D ...
They come by it honestly
It is now "after school," which is not a real concept here, because learning takes place all the time.But they have finished their assigned work for today and are free to do whatever they like. Lucy is working on making Valentine gifts for her friends. Yes, of course we could have purchased pre-printed Valentine's cards. But she is the ...
Amazing feats of engineering
I'm still finding blue feathers all over the house. And it's funny, but they make me think of my dad (who passed away 7 years ago). He was an engineer. And he used to tell me that engineering, like design, was just a matter of "problem-solving." I remember having this discussion with him when I was fresh out of design school and was hired ...
All the thinks you can think
Okay, so if you've been following my blog at all, you know we have been at the playhouse all week.And you know we have been having dress rehearsals for "Seussical."And that today was their first performance. (It was truly FABULOUS, BTW) What about school? I'll let the kids give their answers. Let's start with History.The Camino Real ...
Egg, Nest and Tree
Amy here. I get to post again. (buahaha...) The show must go on! And thanks to the Amazing Marta, it will. Day one of dress rehearsals went fabulous and day two promises to go just as well, and if day two goes well, then the show should go well and if the show goes well the student's will have more self-esteem and if they have ...
