Traditional English Sentence Style Helps Prepare Students for College

"Allegorical Figure of Grammar," by Laurent de la Hyre

If your children have their sights set on college, make sure they are prepared for college-level compositions. Pop over to Curriculum Choice to read my review of Traditional English Sentence Style, a FREE high school grammar course that focuses on elegant sentence structure.

A New Gig: Back to Work

Yes, I'm back to work. Although it's not like I've been sitting around eating bon-bons or anything. I'm a homeschooling mother and wife with two active adolescents. We have two ponies, for Pete's sake.

And yes, I've wanted to pursue work that will add to the family coffers. (Did you get the part about the TWO ponies above? Not to mention the two adolescents? The college-bound part was implied.)

In the past several months, I've had the privilege of editing three historical novels for older children; and I'd love to continue these types of projects, particularly in the homeschool arena. I've written articles, one for The Old Schoolhouse magazine, and the other for Impart magazine. I don't do this type of work for the income. Although I earn money for some projects, many of these I consider a lay ministry.

And then this opportunity landed in my lap: ghostwriter. Some friends of mine have a company that provides all types of marketing services for businesses, and I'm now one of their content writers. Basically, I write content for email newsletters, websites, and blogs.

I'm excited about it. I'm also aware that I need to carve out and maintain distinct boundaries between work and school. Before now, I was able to wing it, since I only wrote for two clients. But we just added two new clients to my list, and the heat is on. My first priority is the girls' education. However, close behind is the necessity to turn out quality work for our clients. To do both and do them well, I need to make some changes:

• Plan, plan, plan. I'm fairly good and making a plan and sticking with it for our lessons. However, I've left my writing pursuits to chance, meaning I have them all up here in my brain. Scary! So I'm developing a calendar for blogging AND professional work.

• Schedule. I must be diligent about boundaries and not let work cross over into lessons. A schedule will help me do just that. Which leads me to. . . 

• Get up early. In order to be and feel productive, I need to get up earlier. I can attend to work duties in the early morning before the girls arise. That way, I can avoid feeling conflicted, stressed, anxious, and/or pressured.

Those are my ideas. If you have any to share, I'd love to hear them.

Wish me luck!


Photo credit: zen / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

My Article in Impart Magazine: Releasing the Dream of a Normal Life

If you're like me, the idea of a normal life is a teasing, tempting one -- and always just out of reach. Perhaps, though, chasing this particular dream keeps us from living the life we're really meant to live.

I have an article about this very thing in this month's Impart magazine, a particularly lovely digital publication. I hope you'll pop over and have a read. And I'd love to hear your thoughts afterward!

Grammar Gaffes: That Insinuating Apostrophe S

I have seen a lot of grammatical errors in my time, but none chaps my hide more than the misplaced apostrophe S. You know the one. It pops up out of nowhere (supposedly) to indicate the plural, but all it really indicates is the writer's unfamiliarity with the plural versus possessive form. (And don't get me started with plural possessives.) I see it a lot this time of year on Christmas cards than come in the mail; that apostrophe S insinuates itself where it's not wanted:

Merry Christmas! Love, the Brown's
Have a great 2013, the Smith's
We fell asleep in English class, the Shafer's

Argh.

I am certain you all know this, but just for the sake of my sanity, bear with me whilst I expostulate:

Apostrophe S indicates possession. Ownership of something.

Joe's coat
Leslie's book
Ellen's hissy fit

To indicate the plural form of a noun, simply add an S.

the Browns
the Smiths
the Shafers

Then there's also the sticky situation of what-if-my-last-name-ends-with-an-s? (Or an x for that matter.) How do I make that plural?

Easy peasy. Add an -ES.

the Davises
the Lennoxes
the Simmonses

Yes, I do know that things get trickier when one needs to indicate the plural possessive. But that is not the object of this post. I'll get to that later.

One fit at a time, please.

My Article in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine!

I am so excited! I have an article in the most recent edition of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Here is a link directly to my article, "The Spelling Apologist: Why Good Spelling Is Essential and How to Select the Right Curriculum."

This is a fabulous issue, friends. And you can read it online for FREE! How fab is that?

                                                                                                                                                 

	Look inside >
December 2012

The Lazy Days of Summer... When Do They Begin?

Photo courtesy freedigitalphotos.net

I have been away much too long! No, I did not drop off the face of the planet, but I WAS nearly swallowed up with all the stuff going on.

I've been dealing with a medical issue that resulted in my having to endure three biopsies and a few days of recuperation. That Tylenol with codeine packs a punch, my friends! But it also does its job well, and that's what I needed. Although the biopsy results were negative for cancer (big praise here!), they indicated a skin condition for which there is no cure and has to be "managed." Since there's a support group for everything nowadays, I promptly joined a Yahoo group and have been learning all I can.

My church's Vacation Bible School was last week, and Miss Priss and I both volunteered: she as a pre-K walker (shepherding a group of rising pre-K children to their activities, AKA "herding cats") and me in the kitchen. We prepared daily snacks for 300+ children, but the vast majority of our time was spent in making fabulous snacks for the volunteer room, e.g., pimiento cheese biscuit pinwheels; apple slices with caramel/cream/cheese/Heath bar dip; tapenade pita pizzas; bruschetta flatbreads; hummus and pita chips; Ho-Ho cake; strawberries with cream cheese/almond flavored dip; jalapeno corn dip; fruit trays; veggie trays; and more. Not everything made an appearance every day, but everything was fantastic. I needed a nap almost every afternoon, we were so busy!

Tuesday was our first home swim meet. Have I mentioned that I am co-chair of concessions again this year? I am. And the other co-chair was out of town last week. Fortunately, she'd bought most of the items we needed before she left. But I was busier than a one-armed paper hanger from 2:00 PM until almost 10:00 PM. And Himself, bless him, did almost all the grilling. One of the parent volunteers also made some wonderful jambalaya, which we sold by the bowl. He said he'd "wimped it down," but it was spicy enough for me!

Tiny Girl has been helping out with her trainer's pony camp as a junior assistant. She loves it, but we have to be at the barn by 8:15 AM. She doesn't go every day, but when she doesn't go to the barn, she goes to swim team practice.

On Friday, we drove to my parents' house in the country for a family reunion. It was a lot of fun. We celebrated my youngest sister's 40th birthday on Friday evening. Sunday evening we headed home, except for Miss Priss, who is enjoying some alone time with Grammie and Grandad.

Betwixt and between, there have been sleepovers, a couple of birthday parties, afternoons at the pool, and other fun activities. Tonight is another sleepover, tomorrow we have another home swim meet (fire up that grill, baby!), and on Wednesday Miss Priss comes home. Wednesday evening is a birthday party sleepover. Thursday we're going to an area theme park with some friends. Friday is my sister's birthday.

Oh, and I have a growing list of things to do before we leave for Maine. Like get an oil change for the van. And pack.

Betwixt and between those activities, I've been looking for some freelance work, making plans for next year, and attempting to reorganize and straighten the study. I'm staying up pretty well with my social media activity, but my blog feel by the wayside for a bit. Blogging takes more thought and energy than pinning things to Pinterest, after all.

So that's my life for the past few weeks! I'm looking forward to jumping back into fun link-ups, catching up with you all, and writing about sundry things.

How's your summer shaping up?

I'm linking up with Miscellany Mondays, Hip Homeschool Hop, and No Ordinary Blog Hop. Come join the fun!

In the Gray Light of Dawn

Day three of my rising much earlier than the girls. I wonder how long it will last. I have good intentions, but you know where those lead.

To carve out time for myself and my own pursuits -- writing and reading -- I've finally succumbed to the obvious: I have to get up earlier and get these done before our day begins. Otherwise, there's no time. When there's no time, I don't attend to my own needs for creativity. After several weeks of this, I get fretful.

So I've given myself a new direction. I wake early, before anyone else. I make coffee in the semi-darkness of my kitchen. I watch the birds at the feeders in the gray light. I tap the keys on the computer keyboard. I accomplish something, even if that something is only first-draft quality. At least it's something. Far better than nothing.

And I find I breathe easier throughout the day.

Let me hasten to add I am of the mindset that the overall idea of "me-time" can be a dangerous one. (This fabulous article by Amy Roberts convinced me even further. Have a read.) We must constantly be on guard that we are not falling for what the world insists we need.

However, we are all given gifts and talents to use to build the church, encourage others, and give glory to God. My personal experience is this: if I neglect those gifts, I feel a heaviness in my spirit that I can't ignore. Perhaps you've felt the same in areas of your life. I've finally come to realize that this heaviness has a much deeper meaning than merely my own selfish needs not being met (my previous thought process).

So I sit at my desk, planning, thinking, moving words around in my head, gauging how they feel. I sip fresh-brewed coffee -- Krispy Kreme's Signature House Blend, a gift from Himself -- and listen to the birdsong and the rainfall. I pray that God will use this time, use me, to bring Him glory, whatever that may look like in His perfect plan.

When It's Hard to Trust

For more than a year now, I've been quietly seeking out some sort of paid work in my field (writing and editing) that I can do at home. We'd like to be debt free. The girls and I are in the preliminary stages of planning a long trip to the UK in a year or two, and I'd like to earn some money in order to make that a more likely occurrence. Plus, college looms in the not-so-distant future. I feel a need to contribute something to the family finances.

So I prayed, and I was pleasantly surprised when work opportunities fell into my path: editing a doctoral project paper for a seminarian; a contract writing position with a company in Britain; a request for article proposals for a home ed magazine, which a friend let me know about; several tutoring queries in response to an ad I placed. All of these except one came to nothing. And the one that did work out was not only the least lucrative, but also worked out differently that I'd anticipated: the article will not be in the magazine after all, but in one of two other publications (they haven't yet decided which).

It's difficult for me when a situation looks good -- an answer to prayer, actually -- and then it evaporates. Usually I am comforted by the fact that God knows best. But when that same scenario plays out over and over, like falling dominoes. . . . My peace and some of my trust, to be honest, begin to evaporate as well. If none of these is part of your plan for me, Lord, then why are they dropping like plums around me? Why raise my hopes with each one?

It's mentally exhausting.

In fact, it wears me out. I recently located two more freelance opportunities, but both require some effort on my part to apply. Instead of rising to the occasion with enthusiasm, I find I'm responding with skepticism and, even worse, apathy. Why bother? It will be a waste of time. Again.

I'm not one of those people who hears God's voice clear as a bell. I want what Anne Lamott wants: a clear message from God spelled out in "cornflakes in the snow." But He works more quietly with me, and I know He has His reasons why. Whatever his reasons, I tend to baby-step into the unknown, blindfolded, ahnds groping in front of me.

Example: I never heard an edict from the Lord regarding our decision to homeschool. Instead, I had a germ of an idea, which grew from something I said to myself when Miss Priss was in public school first grade, "There must be a better way." Then I did what I always do: I researched the topic. I read books and websites; I talked to people; I visited the homes of homeschooling families to see them in action. I prayed, but I never got a direct answer yea or nay. Finally, I prayed, "Lord, if this is not what I'm supposed to do, then take away my interest and fill me with peace and satisfaction in our public school."

The opposite happened. I figured that was my answer.

I'm still struggling with my hopes for work. I know in my head that the Lord works all things together for my ultimate good. But my spirit is smarting with bitter disappointment. It can be hard to trust when seemingly good things come to naught.

And yet I do not want my faith to be tied to my circumstances. Nothing that happens in my life can in any way diminish who God is; His "God-ness," so to speak, supersedes everything. And while my sin nature encourages me to whine -- and to be honest, I think a certain degree of disappointment is okay -- God is big enough to handle my less-than-fabulous behavior. And for that I give him more thanks than I can express.

So tonight I pray for grace to be patient and a heart to hear whatever He wants me to hear. And if He wants me to walk blindfolded, I'll still hold my hands out; but instead of blindly groping, I'll reach for Him.

New Blog Design: Take Three

If you missed Take Two, I apologize. It was really elegant. So elegant, in fact, that it really wasn't me (if you'll excuse the grammar; sometimes perfect grammar sounds so stuffy). This is better.

I wonder if I'll ever say, "There! That's exactly what I wanted, and I'll never change my mind!"

I doubt it. New stuff is always cropping up!

New Blog Design: Take Two

Okay. Here's another blog design idea. I'm wondering if it's too sedate for me, though. you should kow this about me: I aspire to elegance and tend to fail. So perhaps I could convey elegance on my blog. Very few of you know how I really live. (Is that a dog hair on my pizza slice? Yes. Yes, it is. In fact, it's two dog hairs.)

See?

New Blog Design

Miss Priss and I messed around with my blog this afternoon. We like the new look! What do you think? Any suggestions?

Tagged by Jackie!

My dear friend, Jackie, at Hedgerow Ways and Fireside Days, tagged me in a little question and answer game.  The rules are that you answer the eight questions posed to you, and then you send your own eight questions to eight other bloggers of your choice.  I may not get to that second part, but we'll see.

Here are Jackie's questions to me (and seven other people she selected):

Why do you blog?
I blog because my friends told me I should give it a whirl.  I blog because I'm a writer, and this is about all the writing I can cram into my life at this time.  I blog because it keeps me focused in our home education efforts.  And it's fun!

What was your proudest moment and why?
This is difficult to answer, but after thinking a few moments I've settled on a response: when I was in graduate school, I took a course in 20th century British poets -- I am not joking -- and the professor was not the most gregarious guy.  On the day he returned our graded major research papers, he and I happened to catch the same elevator after class.  It was just the two of us, and he barely acknowledged my presence.  Then, out of the blue, he said, with the minutest eye contact, "You wrote a good paper."  Later that day, when I perused my paper (on Dylan Thomas, in case you're interested) to see all his comments, I was stunned to read his full commentary at the end, in which he stated that my paper was "easily the best in the class by far."

What is the silliest thing that you have ever done?
When I was in the fourth grade, a friend and I dressed up like Dolly Parton and sang "Jolene" in the school talent show.  We won first place, too.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up, and why?
A teacher, because my mom was a teacher.  And I teach quite a bit: at home, at church, and at Girl Scouts.

Now what do you want to be when you grow up?
Rich.  Just kidding!  Although it wouldn't hurt, and I think I'd be darling at it (thanks, Dorothy Parker).  I'd really like to be a writer -- professional, not hobbyist -- and perhaps one day I'll have the time to dedicate to that dream.

If I started my perfect community, living on the land, why should I include you in it?
Why on earth wouldn't you include me in it?  I can shuck corn, shell peas, and break beans with the best of 'em.

The best book that you have read in the last five years and why?
Ooooh, hard one.  I can't recall all the books I've read in the last five years, and to pick The Best One...  I don't know if I could pick The Best One I'd read this year alone.  How about this: I'll pick two.  A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson, had me howling with laughter so much that my eyes got all teary, on several different occasions.  And The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery, was unlike anything I've read in a long time; it's very memorable.  Then there are the Fairacre novels, and I can't forget Jane Austen...  See?  I told you.

What is the great truth in your life?
That Jesus Christ saved my life, and that He keeps on saving me every day.  Praise God.

Oh, Joy Abounding! An Award!

Many, many thanks to my dear friend Jackie at Hedgerow Ways and Fireside Days for selecting my little ol' blog as a recipient of the Versatile Blogger award!  Since I'm rarely awarded for much (the case for many of us), my heart is singing today.

There are, of course, responsibilities in accepting such an award, and the Versatile Blogger is no exception.  First, I must disclose seven things about myself; and second, I have to pass on the award to other blogs I deem worthy, which is a daunting and difficult task.  I'll need to think on this for a bit.

Before I began to think about what to write for my seven items, I looked at past winners, and found a bunch of new blogs to follow!  More joy!  See the list at the bottom of this post for more blog-reading fun.

I thought I'd share some things about myself that I haven't yet blogged about, but that's a bit difficult since I'm a blabbermouth.  But I'll try.  So here's me in a seven-blurb nutshell, in no order whatsoever:

1. Yes, my hair is naturally curly.  No, this is not nearly as fabulous as you might be tempted to think.
2. It's not news that I'm an Anglophile, but the degree may surprise you.  I have been to the UK four times.  I am not a well-traveled person, but I'd rather go to Britain than anywhere, given my choice.  I'm sure Italy is nice.  I'm also certain Greece is lovely.  And there's France and Spain, too.  But it's Britain for me, hands down.
3. I rarely watch TV and am thus clueless about most popular culture tidbits.  I've never watched American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Lost, or any other IT-program.  I don't watch the news, either, and I've found I'm a happier person that way.
4. I don't listen to popular music radio stations, either, so I can't hum along to the latest Top 40 "hit."  I despise typical radio talk (more like rant) shows, too.  In the car, I listen to NPR and our local contemporary Christian music stations.  This fact added to Fact #3 makes me slightly uninformed as to current and/or popular news items.  I've even been accused of living under a rock.
5. I read a lot and will confess to being a bit of a book snob.  Just a bit, however.  I'm not above reading some chick lit or a murder mystery now and again.  I just don't typically review those books on my blog.  I'm particular about my children's reading, too, for the most part.
6. I'm an education fanatic, which is one big reason I home educate my children.  I love to learn, and I want them to love to learn, too.  If I could be a professional student, I would do it.  Home education gets me close to that goal.
7. I have a master's degree in English.  You really can't do all that much with merely a master's degree in English, except (silently) correct other people's grammar during conversation.  (To correct them out loud would be rude!)  Or proofread things for people.  Or use really big words when you feel like it.  On the other hand, I tend to speak in the vernacular (grammatically correct, of course!) to avoid sounding too much like a prisspot.

Ta da!

Now.  I'm going to give a few days' consideration to the blogs I will select for the Versatile Blogger award.  Since the award came with no guidelines as to the precise meaning of "versatile," I'm simply going to wing it.  Which is nothing new for me.

Until then, here are a few other Versatile Blogger award-winning blogs to get you started.  Check them out and their respective links to selected winners:

Hedgerow Ways and Fireside Days
Have Fun - Live Life
Our Day - Ellie's Treasures
Homeschooling on a Wing and a Prayer

Happy blog-reading!

In the Company of Women Writers

The other day, I had to take four loads of laundry to the laundromat in town (we have a rust issue we're trying to resolve at home and I'm sick of ruining perfectly good clothes with rust stains, hence the laundromat visit).  While waiting for the clothes to wash, I thumbed through an old issue of Down East magazine (THE magazine of Maine, so they say) and ran across a short article about a writing collection at the University of New England in Portland, the Maine Women Writers Collection.

I was immediately intrigued.  In graduate school, I did quite a bit of research on women's writings (most very early British writers), and I am especially enthralled with their private, unpublished writings.  In fact, I'd like to do more research in that vein.  Whenever I have a few free minutes.

This collection houses more than 6000 volumes of works, but also includes "correspondence, photographs, personal papers, manuscripts, typescripts, artifacts, and audiorecordings that provide insight into the lives and writing of both well-known and obscure authors."  Of particular interest to someone like me are the "unpublished materials (such as) travel journals, diaries, correspondence, photographs, manuscripts, artwork, material culture, memorabilia, artists' books, and children's literature."  That these women over the centuries took the time and effort to record their thoughts, experiences, opinions, and imaginings, most without a thought of publishing amazes me.  And their writings give us a vivid look at life in their times.

Consider Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's Pulitzer-prize winning A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812, which details Mrs. Ballard's life and work experiences in Maine.  Not merely a presentation of Ballard's diary, the book also includes Dr. Ulrich's exegesis of the manuscript.  Since it's a scholarly work of social history and not a novel, the book reads as such; don't expect a Philippa Gregory-type work set in New England.  I found it fascinating.

It seems to me that we women blogographers (thanks, Jamie, at See Jamie Blog, for that wonderful term!) are following in the footsteps of women who went before us.  Our blogs are our diaries, our thoughts, our opinions, and our imaginings; but we differ in that we are fortunate enough to be able to fling them out in the universe for others to read, comment on, think about, and either accept or reject or mold to fit their own perceptions.  We are not constricted by social mores, nor are we stifled by an overwhelmed and restrictive publishing industry.  Blogging is open to all.  What a blessing and privilege.

Sarah Orne Jewett, one of the women writers highlighted in the Maine Women Writers Collection, penned:  "The thing that teases the mind over and over for years, and at last gets itself put down rightly on paper -- whether little or great, it belongs to Literature."  That is certainly so for women of her generation and earlier; for us, all we need is access to a computer and some thoughts, and not necessarily those thoughts that have "teased our minds for years," either.

The common denominator, then, besides a burning desire to write, between us and our writing forbears is time.  They made time to write, whether for themselves, their families and friends, or a wider audience.  We make time now.