Raising Boys
A reader asks, "I am looking for some advice to help my son deal with children who are unkind. He is 6 years old and in 1st Grade now. He is a very bright and kind child. He is having difficulty learning to stick up for himself. He tells me that he is not brave…
Can I Homeschool High School? Do you ever ask yourself that? And maybe doubt how you'll answer? Many years ago, we started homeschooling our first child, thinking we’d do it till he hit high school. Once we started, though, we found so many benefits to homeschooling we didn’t want to give it up! Now we’ve…
Does your Sunday morning faith go to work with you on Monday? Maybe in our quiet moments we plan how we'll respond if we end up like the apostles in Acts 5:29 - “We ought to obey God rather than man.” But most days, the question is simpler – and sometimes more challenging: Am I working like…
Years ago when Bill Clinton's scandals were news, I hated to listen to the radio in the car because I constantly had to be ready to turn it off or explain awkward things on the way to homeschool P.E. If you have teens, though, there's just no way to turn off the constant stream of…
A reader asked on our Facebook page, "I'm so frustrated. I have three boys: 5, 4, and 2 and a two week old little girl. My teacher husband just went back to work and I feel like I'm drowning. I'm exhausted and I feel like I have no control in house so I find myself…
A mother emailed us recently with a serious concern many of us have faced. Writing about her 11-year-old son, she explains, Our oldest lies. He lies about his involvement in incidents. He lies about anything that might paint him in an unfavorable light. We catch him exaggerating at times to make himself look better. We…
A reader wrote: [In your webinar,] you discussed how Dad is the first Hero and he should point the boys to the Ultimate Hero, Christ. We have a 9-year-old son, he is our only child, and my husband is not a Christian, but is tolerant of our going to church (without him) and our son…
In this series, we've talked about why a formal "coming of age" ceremony can be useful. We discussed ideas about who to invite, who to have as a presenter, and what sort of presentation to have. Last post, we talked about the role of celebration - what sort of entertainment and fellowship you might include.…
At our sons' coming-of-age ceremonies, we aim to gather the wisdom of significant men in the young man's life and offer encouragement, welcome, and exhortation in a public, family-oriented setting. But it's not all teaching and ritual. Another thing we do is invite our guests to rejoice in this time of growth. Our family's birthday celebrations…
We have a tradition of a formal coming-of-age ceremony we call a “Bar Chanon.” This can take all kinds of forms but centers on a serious call to embrace the next stage of life for the young man. We think it's only natural for the young man to be welcomed into the community by the voices…