Column Rose Godfrey
- Mother's Day lessons
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- If you take a look at the advertisements, motherhood is all smiles and flowers and contentment. Now I am definitely a life-is-what-you-make-it kind of gal, and I find a great satisfaction in being a mother. However, I will be the first to tell you th... Full story
- A new trend in college learning
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- "Why do you say we don't have money for pizza when you have money in your purse?" she asked, and the lesson was on.
I pulled out a stack of envelopes and found some play money from one of our games. First, we talked about budget categories. We agree... Full story
- No need to fear the Common Core
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Someone asked me last week if the new Common Core standards for public education will affect homeschoolers. My response was a resounding: "Huh?" So I looked around and asked around and came to the conclusion that homeschooling and Common Core have a ... Full story
- To school at home: Privilege or fundamental right?
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."
We Americans have an uneasy relationship with those words. Many of us take pride in the particular path that led our ancestors here to pursue the fabled American dream. A... Full story
- Daily life leads to new lessons
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- We have been learning about chromosomes in our homeschool recently. As often happens, our lessons are initiated by circumstance, and the curriculum is guided by life. After several family discussions, the boys brought their own questions to me one ev... Full story
- Learning at Home: Giving kids a head start
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Years ago, a friend gave us some parenting advice. "Once you are outnumbered," he said, "it's really all the same." Brian and I, as parents, have been in the minority for quite a while.
The beauty of having such a large family is that the kids alway... Full story
- The last one arrives ... again
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Thirteen years and eight children ago, as we were preparing to adopt for the second time, Brian stood in out in the yard and told a Sacramento news reporter that our goal was to have 12 children. It was the first I'd heard of it.
Last week, I delive... Full story
- Game day can also be educational
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- What sort of mother buys educational games for her children and passes them off as Christmas gifts? This one did, and it worked out even better than expected.
I have never used this space to review anything, and I have no connections to any products... Full story
- We don't do that
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- "You're quieter than I thought you'd be," she said as she set her plate down across from mine. The introductions had been made, and she knew we'd been homeschooling — and I'd been sharing our stories about it — for years.
"I'm battling a... Full story
- Don't buy into hype about learning styles
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- There is a lot of talk in education about finding a child's learning style. Families who are new to homeschooling are often instructed to find their child's learning style as if there is some secret to be discovered, some chamber in the child's brain... Full story
- Sharing our stories of Christmas
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- The original Christmas story is familiar to many in the form spoken so earnestly by Linus in "A Charlie Brown Christmas." He stands on the stage, next to Charlie Brown's sad little tree, and quotes from the second chapter of Luke in the Bible.
Even ... Full story
- Singing the technology upgrade blues
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- A half dozen years ago, we loaded our van with children and set off on an adventure. I had my brand new laptop along to document our travels, and we lamented the scarcity of Internet availability across the miles. We wondered if the day would ever co... Full story
- Embarking on a new journey
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- In September 1620, Susanna White stepped aboard the Mayflower along with her husband, William, and her son, Resolved. Before she left, I imagine she sold or gave away most of her possessions to sequester the most practical items, a few keepsakes and ... Full story
- How much shelter?
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Each season provides its own challenges in providing shelter to our animals. Shade is needed in summer. For winter, we need a place where our animals can be protected from the damp and cold.
Just as shelter needs differ from one season to the next, ... Full story
- Blame it on the weather
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- A couple of months ago, I passed a milestone that I didn't think about until just this week. I have been writing "Learning at Home" for the past six years. In that time, I've shared a lot about our homeschool and a little about the politics of home e... Full story
- What will survive the fall cleaning?
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- The idea of a great spring cleaning has always appealed to me, but it seems I never get around to it at that time of year. Call it the procrastinator's curse, it just seems to fit into our lives better this time of year.
Right now, we are in the mid... Full story
- Bonding time grows during harvest season
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Look all around this area and you'll see that it is harvest time. The almonds are drying, the peach season has drawn to a close and the walnuts in the back yard are starting to fall. In fields nearby, we watch giant harvesters come in and transfer gr... Full story
- Homeschooling: Action or reaction?
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- I have a confession to make. Before I tell you what it is, I should probably start out with the one long-time readers have likely figured out. I often use this space as a sort of informal confessional. This column is a place to ponder homeschooling a... Full story
- Everything matures in its own time
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- I took a bite out of summer while making dinner earlier this week. I stood in the kitchen and savored the taste explosion of a summer tomato while a bit of warm juice snuck down my chin.
My garden started out this year with high hopes. We cleared so... Full story
- Facing the new year
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- I celebrated a birthday this week. Each new year brings new opportunities, unexpected experiences and blessings that brighten my life.
As my last year drew to a close, I went in for an ultrasound. A friend had sent me a call for help: A Woman's Frie... Full story
- Ask yourself: 'What if we homeschooled?'
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Walking through a couple of big box stores this past week, I couldn't help but notice the displays of back-to-school gear. Lists for what to buy for each school were conveniently displayed next to the racks of products. Parents pored over the lists w... Full story
- Some days are like that
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- My husband, Brian, tells me that sometimes I stare Crazy in the face and say, "Bring it on." Tuesday was just such a day. Faced with two appointments in town several hours apart, I thought it would be wise to fill the time in between with oodles of e... Full story
- Putting together the matryoshka
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Someone once told me that being a mother can be like having open heart surgery without anesthetic. Never having had heart surgery, I can't say if it is true, but it did feel like a piece of my heart went missing last week as one of my girls went off ... Full story
- Summer fun a time for making memories
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Summer around our homeschool looks a lot like the rest of the year. It just feels hotter. We still maintain something of a schedule that includes academics but we try to add a few activities in that make the summer heat more bearable. Our approach ha... Full story
- Homeschool essentials: Cows, coffee, clothes and cookies
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- People often ask me what supplies are needed to homeschool. There are fancy programs to purchase, tons of textbooks and any number of printable worksheets. But when it comes to necessities, I have some solid advice that I've gleaned in the past 13 ye... Full story
- Take time to reflect on Memorial Day
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- A dozen years ago, I ordered two flags that had been flown over the Capitol building. I wanted them to commemorate the adoptions of my two oldest children, and figured I'd save the flags to give to my kids when they were older. The problem was, I pai... Full story
- Catch some spring fever
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- With the warm weather and longer days, spring fever has reached epidemic status in our homeschool. It arrived on schedule right alongside a first hatch of mosquitoes and a solid dose of seasonal allergies. We are all having a real hard time getting e... Full story
- Joaquina Johnson imparts 'contagious passion'
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- After abandoning the flute and giving up hope of mastering the bassoon, I found my niche playing the crash cymbals in my high school band. My band teacher said I was the best crash cymbal player she'd ever had. Unfortunately, I have not been able to ... Full story
- Sampling the pioneer life at Sutter's Fort
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Sometimes I think about pioneer life and wonder what it might have been like to pack up and take off across the country in a covered wagon. Based on my propensity to do things the hard way, I tell myself I could have made it.
I occasionally tell Bri... Full story
- Hands-on learning
- By Rose Godfrey/For the Appeal-Democrat
- I often tout the benefits of hands-on learning over textbook lessons. That position sounds great when I'm talking about my children's hands, but sometimes my own hands get called into action.
The first time I really questioned my hands-on learning s... Full story
