The Word Worker

Tag: Children

  • Work and Purpose

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    wordworkerrussell
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    When people talk about parenting challenges, they usually talk about toddlers or teenagers. No one really addresses the middle years, the years of learning, discovery, and character shaping. My ten year old son is right smack in the middle of those years. For several months now his behavior has been, well, challenging. We’ve been unable…

  • The “Whatever It Is” Life

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    wordworkerrussell
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    Yesterday my kids held their annual pumpkin carving session. Because buying a pumpkin for every family member in a household of seven puts something of a strain on the already holiday stretched budget, they team up. Boys get one pumpkin, girls get the other. As you can imagine, this is not a situation that leads…

  • Approval

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    wordworkerrussell
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    My five year old and I butt heads. Frequently. As in, all day every day. She has extremely strong ideas of her own, and the determination to pursue them against all odds. If she doesn’t want to do something, it isn’t happening without some serious and repeated consequences. Yesterday it was her turn to run…

  • Book Review: Silk Peony, Parade Dragon

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    wordworkerrussell
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    The mandarin needs a dragon to lead the emperor’s New Year’s parade. Mrs. Ming has seven dragons, but the only Silk Peony is able to parade. She has beautiful scales and many virtuous qualities, but she is a lady dragon and doesn’t have a beard to impress the emperor with her wisdom. The mandarin is…

  • Book Review: The Storyteller

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    wordworkerrussell
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    The stories of the kingdom have been forgotten, and as they disappeared the fountains have all dried up. A thirsty child is the only person who will listen to the last storyteller. Every day the old man offers a new story that builds on the last. Every day the boy’s cup magically fills with water…

  • Learning Outside the Box

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    wordworkerrussell
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    I’ve always found it hard to explain to questioners what we do as homeschoolers. Not because I don’t know what we do, but because most questioners have preconceived ideas of what constitutes education. They want to know what grade a child is in, what their letter or number grades are, what subjects they are taking,…

  • Book Review: When I Draw a Panda

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    wordworkerrussell
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    Amy loves to draw, but like many little artists, she isn’t very good at following instructions. Wonky circles and scribbles become pandas with personality and pirate princess crocodiles. Sometimes, if the instructions are too boring, she imagines herself as something else and forgets to draw at all! No matter what anyone else says about them,…

  • The Story

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    wordworkerrussell
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    Priscilla prided herself on telling a good story. When Elouise pouted because Ms. Charlotte, the governess, made her rewrite her dictation for poor handwriting, she whispered funny stories about monkeys or kittens who misbehaved. When history lessons were just too boring, she embellished the lives of generals and queens with fanciful romances or tragic mishaps.…

  • Polaroid Moments

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    wordworkerrussell
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    Last week was long. My husband and I had so many responsibilities and obligations that our days began to blur together. There wasn’t enough time for daily chores or time with kids, and certainly not enough time for fun. We ended the week with a wedding. My husband officiated, my five year old participated, I…

  • Mama’s Terrible, Horrible, No-good, Very Bad Day

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    wordworkerrussell
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    We all have them. The days that you know you should have just stayed in bed. Instead you dragged yourself out of the comfy covers and made your sleepy, grumpy kids follow suit. The day that your morning prayer with the kids is an exercise in desperation because in the ten minutes you’ve been awake…