Avant Parenting Archives
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Avant! Welcome to my parenting blog archives
As you can see by the dates below, this blog is no longer being updated. However, there’s lots of good stuff here, much of it as true now as when it was written. Please feel free to browse, or follow these links: One last piece of parenting advice: Enjoy today even if it’s a rough…
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Very Cranky Mommy Speaks
This morning my six-year-old insisted on going with me on my morning walk. She does this occasionally. Sometimes she does it so often we have to invoke the “every other day” rule. If I don’t get a brisk walk in nearly every morning, my back gives out and I become Very Cranky Mommy. And if…
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What Is Success?
I’ve written before about the difficulties, peculiarities, and comedies that come about when you have two children with completely different, unusual personalities. Raising my son for four years did little to prepare us for the challenge of raising our daughter, except for the baby equipment we got to reuse! Unlike our son, our daughter is…
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It’s not easy being green
Trying to be good is hard. Take, for instance, my dinner preparation this evening. In our house we cook, as opposed to heating up and/or mixing together. That means I buy individual ingredients, chop them up, and cook them with a variety of herbs and spices in a variety of ways. I’m telling you this…
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Socialization and the Homeschooled Child
Homeschooling parents will tell you that the comment they get most often from well-meaning adults is that their homeschooled kids might not get proper socialization while being homeschooled. Usually the well-meaning adult has an example or two to give as proof of the deleterious effect of homeschooling on the social skills of children. Homeschooling parents…
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A Study in Contrasts
A few weeks ago my son’s private school had their big spring performance. The other night my daughter’s public homeschool program put on their yearly play. It was a study in contrasts. I know a lot of people who have moved from public school to private. In fact, I know of families at my son’s…