I’m happy today to introduce you to Adora Svitak, though many of you may already know her. I’m going to take the liberty here to share TED’s short bio of her: A voracious reader from age three, Adora Svitak’s first serious foray into writing — at age five — was limited only by her handwriting… [Read More]
The Fullness of Spring
Lately we’ve moved away from our more traditional school scenario to embrace the busyness of the spring season. We’ve moved upstairs and typically work in the den and dining room, using our patio door as our white board. Stacks of books and piles markers are beginning to clutter up the ends of our couches, piano… [Read More]
Kids Video-Conferencing and More: Two Days and 12 Public Speaking Engagements, Day 2.
Hey! Welcome back for the report on Day 2 of the two-day public speaking frenzy for Ian and Eva. Day one was all about sharing passions in 15 minute presentations. During day two, Eva explored more in depth sharing. Let’s jump to it, shall we? Friday: Video-Conference with Sweetwater Elementary in Devils Lake, ND Thanks to the… [Read More]
Two Days and 12 Public Speaking Engagements (and I Wasn’t the Speaker). Day 1.
Over the last two days, Eva and Ian have been quite busy talking to students about following their passions. It’s been a wonderful experience, sharing dreams, meeting people, and honing public speaking skills. In this post, I’m going to report on Day 1. But the two days were so different from each other; I hope… [Read More]
Why I Let My Kids Have an Internet Presence
Education and technology – it seems everywhere I look folks are talking about it. Should we do more, less? What about virtual schools? Interactive white boards? Cell phones? Facebook and Twitter? Should we let kids be out there on the ‘net? Should we post their pictures? Won’t they be kidnapped?? These are legitimate conversations, and… [Read More]
Kids Teaching Kids
One of the greatest gifts I can give my kids is the assurance that adults don’t know it all – we’re not experts at everything, and we don’t necessarily know more than kids do, except for those instances that simply require extended life experience. Whether I like it or not, I offer this lesson repeatedly… [Read More]
New Steps for the Young Author
Over the weekend, I was looking over my last few posts, and had to laugh at how many of them were about being distracted and things not going as planned. Mice, computer crashes, big trips – our lives have certainly not been orderly lately. But today’s post is not about all that. Today I am… [Read More]
Rockin’ Chicago and Getting New Direction
Well, here we are – home from Chicago just in time to join the masses at the grocery store for last minute Thanksgiving food items. It was a full trip – 2 days driving down, 3 days there, and 2 days driving back. I became best friends with TomTom, the borrowed GPS. We ate lots… [Read More]
Facing Fears
Tonight’s the night for creepies and goblins! For being spooked! For braving the night to reap candy rewards. Hooray for Halloween! I love this season, and so does my family. And what better way to prepare for the Night of Fright than spending a whole weekend facing one’s biggest fears? That’s what my daughter Eva… [Read More]
A Plethora of Projects
Well friends, this has been a very busy couple of weeks around the ‘ole Ridenhour household. In addition to a family vacation to Disney and Harry Potter World a week ago (thanks Mom and Dad!), we’ve each been up to our eyeballs in projects that are gaining momentum and garnering various degrees of success. We’ve… [Read More]