Have you ever had a situation where one of your kids. your spouse or your co-worker was telling you something very important and you tuned out, only to find yourself in an awkward moment when they had finished talking and were waiting for your response? Have you ever had an argument with someone that was… Continue reading 4 Techniques to becoming a better listener
Category: Homeschooling
Spending time with Adult Children
It started with Arturo and I wanting to visit our son in Seattle. I looked at airline prices and saw a good deal. Would any of our kids like to go too? I sent out a quick text. “Dad and I are going to Seattle to visit Miguel for such and such dates. We found… Continue reading Spending time with Adult Children
Family Night Ideas
When our kids were young, we used to have family night every Friday. As they got older we needed to move it around to accomodate sports, music, and other extra curricular activities that might come along. Too often we were so busy with the daily routines to enjoy our time together. Everything became a chore… Continue reading Family Night Ideas
Solving Family Problems (Pt 3)
For the last two weeks I’ve been writing about how to solve family problems. The first week I shared the importance of identifying the problem and understanding that problems are a part of life. The second week I wrote about collaborating and finding the right people to collaborate with. Today we bring it all together with… Continue reading Solving Family Problems (Pt 3)
Solving Family Problems pt 2: Collaboration
Last week I shared about the fact that we all experience family problems at some point in our lives. Whether it’s with our parents, our kids, our spouse, our siblings, family problems are inevitable. The first step in any family problem is realizing that we have one and I shared three things to remember about… Continue reading Solving Family Problems pt 2: Collaboration
Solving Family Problems
I was in the kitchen, waiting for Arturo to get home. I was tired, I was frustrated and I was a little short with the kids, which also made me feel guilty. While I’m thinking of a specific moment in time when my kids were all younger, this could be a snapshot of many moments… Continue reading Solving Family Problems
Finding the Good in Imperfect Parenting
A few years ago I wrote a book on homeschooling. It is mostly a book on my family’s experience in my 24 years of homeschooling. In this time that kids are home all the time and so are their parents, I hope this helps to remind you that there is good even in imperfect homeschooling.
Regardless of what our family has gone through, whether it has been sickness, accidents, disorders or financial crises, our family has come together to face it together. whether they are directly affected or not. Praying, comforting, feeding, supporting. Always there, always helping, always faithful. That, my friends, is something I would not exchange for any amount of money or position. Every time I think about it, I cry. I am so grateful to God for my family. Yes, my kids have argued and been mean to each other, they’ve been vindictive, they’ve teased relentlessly, and they’ve driven me up the wall. My kids have hurt my feelings with their words and with their actions, and I have hurt theirs. We are not perfect, but we are united.
The Power of Words
It was Christmas morning and our whole family had just finished opening their presents. Ever since our kids were little, I had bought them each an ornament. One by one, I would pull the ornament for that year out of the bag and gave it to my daughter or son with some thoughts on what… Continue reading The Power of Words