• Freedom & Liberty

    Freedom to Choose

    I’ve been taking a writing class with a friend. I’m taking it for two reasons: learn how to be a better writer and learn how to be a writing coach. The class I’m teaching for our homeschool group requires a lot of writing, and I want to help the scholars with their writing skills. The writing class was pretty basic–watch a few videos and write a paper on the prompt given at the end of each. Then give feedback on another paper. We ended up writing 3 papers. The mentor teaching the class also gave feedback on one of the papers. Below is the final paper I wrote and that…

  • Other

    My Day in a Haiku

    I’m the first to confess that I’m not much of a writer. It’s probably because I don’t really enjoy it. It also might be because I’ve defined myself that way. So let me rephrase that first statement. . .The more I write the better I become. I write every day in hopes to get better. I write to remember my day and show gratitude. I write to reflect. I write to get stuff off my chest. I write to help me be more intuitive. But the biggest reason I write is because I want to learn how to express my thoughts better and to inspire others with my words. I…

  • Leadership & Personal Development

    Journaling to Write Better (free printable)

    I’ve mentioned before that I started blogging as a way for me to practice writing. I know that sharing the things I’ve learned is part of my mission, and writing is one way for me to share. This blog is a place for me to share the things I write and it holds me accountable. (Thanks for reading as I learn). I soon realized that I needed more writing practice. As a homeschool mom, I’m a firm believer that reading and writing make you a better writer. I am already a strong reader, so I decided to start writing in a journal every night. I’ve kept journals off and on…

  • Family & Homeschool

    Literary Lunch

    Do you ever have big visions of how something should happen, only to have it happen nothing like you envisioned? What about if the unlikely way it happened was just right anyway? Our monthly Literary Lunch kind of happened that way today. The idea behind Literary Lunch comes from the Brave Writer’s Poetry Teatime. I came across a podcast over the summer talking about the concept and was intrigued. It sprang from the creator’s love for tea and poetry and her desire to share that love with others; especially her children. I liked the idea of creating an environment where my kids had an opportunity share what they’ve been reading…

  • Leadership & Personal Development

    Finding My Voice

    I admit that writing isn’t my strongest skill. At the same time, I know that writing is part of my mission. Therefore writing is something I need to get good at. That is one of the reasons I started blogging. My blog gave me a place to share what I wrote and people to be accountable to. It also became a place to practice. But I wanted MORE practice. I felt like I needed to find my voice; to be more authentic and readable. My first idea was to write more; do some journaling and reflecting; find more stories in my daily life. I started with a 30 day writing…

  • Family & Homeschool

    Catalyst for Change

    I just finished reading “The Freedom Writers Diary” aloud to my kids. I’m not recommending it–there were a lot of graphic scenes and foul language, but the message was good–tolerance. It was a very eye opening book for us. We had no idea that people lived like the kids in the book; that people judge and hurt others all because of the color of their skin. It was shocking and heartbreaking. A few things we learned from the book: 1. Good teachers know how to inspire. 2. There are a lot of hurting people in the world. 3. There is power in reading a good book and asking how it…