Raising kids comes with a myriad of decisions. What foods to eat? Which soap to use? What toys to play with? Use technology or not? The list goes on and on. Before I had children, I thought your child turns five, you send them to school, and that is where the decision-making ends. School is ...

There is no getting around it: teaching takes energy.  Lots of it.  It takes mental, physical, and emotional grit.  It takes organization, determination, and endless exertion.  It takes wisdom, compassion, and discipline. And that is just to get through the first 10 minutes of the day. Teachers have to wear many hats: teacher, philosopher, advisor, ...

This has been a hard year.  It has been a strange year. COVID-19 has turned America upside down, held the country by the ankles, and shook out all feelings of control. The school year ended badly. Students were unceremoniously thrust into the realm of remote learning unprepared, unwanted, and unanticipated. As we look forward to ...

Recently, my husband and I took the upperclassmen from our small private school on a college trip. We traveled twelve hours (one way) from our rural community to Maranatha Baptist University in Watertown, Wisconsin.  In preparation for this event, the school rented a Ford Transit for us to take. No one said anything, but I ...

I woke up back in my bedroom with the starlight streaming on my face. I used two fingers to massage my temple to soothe the sharp pain in my skull. I swung  my legs over the bed surprised that I didn’t need to use an arm to support myself as I sat up. How did ...

I woke up with a warm breath against my neck as the sunlight streamed through the stained glass window above my bed. The headmistress brought this on herself when she put me in the old chapel. I tossed off my pink comforter and hit my companion with my pillow. “Get up. You are going to ...

I have struggled my whole life to find that one thing I’m more passionate about above all else. Growing up, I wanted to be everything from a teacher to a singer to a lawyer to an astronomer. When I was about 11, I decided I wanted to be a fashion designer, and this is the ...

As summer comes to a close, it can be difficult for children and adults to readjust their schedules for going back to school. When most people think of summer, they think of fun in the sun and a more relaxed schedule with later bedtimes. Depending on the ages of your children it can be challenging to get ...

“What I would give to have one more day of that year.” A friend recently shared a group photo from almost eight years ago, and a mutual friend commented this sentiment on it. The photo has over a dozen people in it. Most would agree that it was an incredible year, full of fantastic memories. ...

To my high school English teachers, Tonight I attended the senior Academic Awards Banquet with my younger sister, where I saw each of you receive a letter (or three) as a mentor. I wanted to add one. So here is a letter from a former student who sat in your classrooms a decade ago. It’s ...