photo of planner and writing materials
Education & Homeschooling

How to Get Started Planning Your Homeschooling Year

I’m a big fan of lesson planning. I know, I know, there are many people out there who do not enjoy the planning process, and many balk at it. I find that planning is a key component of having a successful year and combating that malaise we get when the excitement of new curriculum wears off. It …

Uncategorized

Book Review: Under a Dark Sky by Lori Rader-Day

There is no better way to start winding down summer reading than with reading a good murder mystery. Under a Dark Sky by Lori Rader-Day fits this niche nicely. The story she weaves together keeps the reader guessing to the very end.  It’s not just the mystery that keeps readers guessing, it’s also the way that the …

Books & Reading

Book Review: What Remains of Her by Eric Rickstad

“Lucinda lay awake beneath her bedcovers. The wind wailed at her window. Tree branches scraped against the glass like ragged fingernails. It was almost too scary to go into the woods. Almost. “Under her sheets, she shined her flashlight on the map of the woods she’d drawn with crayons in a sketch pad. She was …

Books & Reading

Book Review: The Last Thing I Told You by Emily Arsenault

It’s always good when you find a book you can’t put down, and The Last Thing I Told You by Emily Arsenault is definitely a book you can’t put down. The novel follows the investigation being undertaken of Detective Henry Peacher. A therapist is dead after being bludgeoned in his office, and the investigation makes a …

Causes & Community

How to Help: The Carr Fire Victims in Redding

The Carr Fire in Redding, California has brought devastation to the Northern California region. Many people have had their homes destroyed or damaged, and tens of thousands of individuals and their families and pets are evacuated. It’s clear that the region will need assistance as those living there and the communities impacted by the fire …

Books & Reading

Book Review: America for Beginners by Leah Franqui

In a time where around us, there’s a lot of racism and xenophobia, including from the nation’s leaders, reading a book about individuals viewing the United States through the eyes of someone born outside the country is even more important. Leah Franqui’s America for Beginners takes readers on a journey with her main character, recently widowed …

white flashes of lightning in the sky
Motivation and Productivity

#MondayMotivation: Go for a Streak to Keep Working Toward a Goal

When you want to make progress on those big, scary, hairy audacious goals, it’s sometimes not enough to break them down into small manageable pieces. Sometimes, you have to really get into the habit of working on them. For example, I’ve been working on a 31 runs in 31 days challenge as part of getting …