It is early morning. I stole away from the nursing baby and am sitting in my little quiet corner of the world, on my back-deck, surrounded by potted plants and birdsong. I am writing and contemplating my messy life. I am a homeschooling mother of seven children. My husband and I have a home business…
Tag: inspiration
Dinnertime Storytelling Game, Creative Family Idea Box Day #5
You are five minutes away from a dinner full of family stories that you have likely never heard! This is a super-simple Storytelling Game that you can play at your next meal. Just click the Storytelling Game image, print it, cut out the words and put them in a bowl. During your meal, take…
Creative Family Idea Box: 14 Days of Fun, Simple Projects for Inspired Home-Learning
I am so happy to publish a series of posts that I have been wanting to write for quite some time. Over the next 14 days, I will be sharing some simple ideas for creative family fun. Each day will feature a new idea for low-stress, engaging creative projects for children and adults alike. I…
Embrace the Mess, A Letter to My Future Self
This letter is to my future self. One day, when you are storming around your messy life as a mother of many small children, scowling at spilled crayons and upturned buckets of legos, haunted by the ghost of clean kitchens past… When you reach the point, clocking in late for laundry after a long day…
Creative Family Advent Printable Calendar
It’s almost December! I made this Creative Family Advent Printable Calendar so that you can have a visual of the days ahead. Print it out, stick it on the fridge, and stay inspired to connect with your family through art, music, brainstorming, creative writing, storytelling, and more. If you want more details about each activity and…
The Chesters Take the Challenge: NaNoWriMo, Brave Writer, and 4 Books Written Around One Table
The Chester Family is taking the NaNoWriMo challenge! I haven’t been this excited about homeschool (and maybe life in general???) in a really long time. NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month, and people all over the world wake up on November 1 with the commitment to write a novel in 30 days. I…
Best Friends, Girls, and a Bunny from The Paper Doll Club
Some sweet girls by Rosie and Paloma this week. I think you will love all of the detail to color in Paloma’s girls. She made a doll named Rosie that is very Valentine-y, complete with a heart sweater, box of chocolates, heart crown, and special bouquet of flowers. Rosie has made a beautiful girl with…
On our 12th Anniversary
Today is our anniversary. We met in the fall of 1999, dated for three and a half long, confusing years, and married on a beautiful spring morning just like this one 12 years ago today. I hoped I was doing the right thing. I prayed I was doing the right thing. There is no one…
The Daily Turn #25: This Pencil
No matter how muchI shake this pencil,I can’t get the wordsto come out.I will take it backto the store first thingin the morning.But tonight,I am just going to sleep.
The Daily Turn #21: Blank Wall
Inspiration is everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Take the blank wall I am staring at right now. Someone might see it as a barrier to creative thought, something solid and immovable, a metaphor for writer’s block. Windowless, it sheds no light on the question asked (what words are gathering just underneath the tip…