Boyhood

Pushing Mama Up a Mountain
I was so excited about taking our children to Yellowstone National Park. I'd been there with my family as a child and some of the happiest memories of my father, who's been in heaven many years are centered around that area. Unfortunately, I tore a ligament in my knee on one of our conference trips…
Risk and Reward
Most of us have been frustrated at some time or another by our boy's love of risk-taking and adventure. They seem to do the craziest things and seldom think enough about them first. As a mom, I want to protect them and coddle them and keep them completely safe. What they need, though, is balance!…
Preschool and Thirty-Three Classic Picture Books
This series of articles is in response to the question, "What curriculum do you use?" which we're freqently asked. Read the first in the series here. Don't miss the freebie at the bottom of the post! Preschool is a time when you can really hardly fail. You have years and years and years to make up for…
Is Destruction in Their Wake Normal?
A reader asked: As a mother of 4 young boys, (oldest is 10), we have a lot of furniture, walls, toys, etc destroyed in their wake. Is this normal for boys??? I feel like I can't have anything nice around. Dear Friend, I feel your pain! The frustrating part about raising girls is that they…
Loading Your Rubber Band Gun
Did you order a rubber band gun from our Merry Christmas Shop? Here's a short video with tips on how to load it. Of course, when you see how slick these items work, you might want one for yourself ... (more…)
Something’s Changed!
"I just don't understand! My sweet son is so temperamental lately." "It's like he's a different kid." "I don't understand the anger. What's that about?" "School used to be fun, but now it takes forever." "He acts so addled. Can't remember what I tell him for one minute." We hear it all the time. We've said it ourselves. We…
The Goal
Earlier this week we started our third class of "Boot Camp 9-12", and we talked about our approach for training our boys. I explained it something like this: The goal of all of this for our sons is to become young, strong, independent men, who can stand on their faith, and stand for God and Christ,…
What Happens When the Chef is Eleven Years Old…
That sounds like the start to a funny, or maybe even disgusting story, doesn't it? And we've seen a few of those, too. I don't think anyone will ever forget the Skittles in the rollups for lunch. They were, uh, memorable. Last night, though, was memorable in another way... "Mom, can I make quiche for…
So, do your guys play sports?
Yes, they do. We keep it to one team sport a year -- We need to have a life other than sports! -- but we just love that our guys play football for the Homeschool Football League. Football seems to be a sport that our guys are good at and we love the spirit and principle…