I have lots of plans and ideas, but like the seasons, everything will have to wait its turn. We just finished our August birthdays (see my column about that here on Thursday), and I’m planning to start school next week.  More about that below.

PLANS

What I’m most excited to announce is that I’ve been working on my very first e-book. It’s a small one, which is good because it’s teaching me what all this e-book making is about. This first e-book will be for new mothers, a compilation of some of my very first newspaper columns. Many of them are not on this site.  I’ve edited them and re-written some of them. I hope it’s a story that new moms can relate to.  My friend who read my most recent draft said, “I laughed and I cried.” I hope to announce its availability this autumn.

I will also be writing more e-books on homeschooling, storytelling, and other subjects, and I invite you to tell me what subjects most interest you (whether for an e-book or a blog post).  While my first priority is homeschooling and keeping a pace of life that doesn’t overwhelm me, I’m being intentional about getting my work done, and it’s exciting to see how working just a little bit at a time can add up to the completion of my goals, which is to create work, home and a family life that I love. It’s a slow, ongoing process and not guaranteed by any means, but making goals and putting in the effort is what makes me happy.

I’m working to give this site more focus and create a resource for all parents who want to support their children’s interests.  I don’t want to exclude non-homeschoolers because there are so many caring parents who simply can’t homeschool or don’t want to, and I think that’s a viable choice. My main goal is supporting children, teaching them worthy life skills and fostering their creativity. As my boys get older, I hope I can do more work toward helping other people with this same goal.

Eventually I will offer more resources on storytelling because I think that’s such a powerful tool for parents, and it’s easy and free, and I want to show parents that they can tell stories. As we continue with our own homeschooling journey, I hope I can share the highs and the lows, and I can illustrate how project-based homeschooling is working for us.

OTHER UPDATES

As I mentioned before, our “home” school will begin next week. I’m happy that my sons have had a full summer of things they love – traveling to visit family, summer camps, play time, and time to create. It’s been a good summer. After their birthdays, I wanted them to have plenty of time to play with their gifts. As I write this, my seven-year-old is playing with his new Lego creation – a Lord of the Rings spider “Shelob” kit that he had been wanting for a long time. He told me that if I gave him the time, he could finish it today, and good to his word, he spent all morning at it and finished it.

I’ve enrolled my sons in a few classes outside our home, and they are starting this week and next week. I’m really excited about our schedule. I want to write about our plans, schedule and curriculum, and hopefully that’ll happen sooner than later.

I love to tweak Mama of Letters whenever I can think of a worthy change, and recently I updated my header’s tag line and my About page. This may not be important for those of you who have been following me a while (THANK YOU), but I thought I’d let you know. There may be information on there that you didn’t even know.

Without further ado, here’s my latest WORTHY READS, which is small, I know.  As you can see, I’ve been busy!

Homeschooling

Brother Wants Parents To Stop Siblings’ Homeschooling – NPR

Parents On The Pros And Cons of Homeschooling – NPR – I thought this interview was pretty good, but I would like for them to talk to more homeschoolers. There’s more that can be addressed. What do you think?

Homeschooling rare but growing in China – Globaltimes.cn – Wow!

Education

Redshirting in the Age of Academic Kindergarten: Should You Hold Your Child Back? – Huff Post Parents

Parenting

10 Ways Living With a Toddler Is Like Being in Prison – Huffpost Parent – Just for a laugh. My husband sent this to me.

Miscellaneous

How To Be A Great Conversationalist – wondermomwannabe.com – This isn’t about homeschooling, education or parenting, but as an introvert and someone who has difficulty with small talk and starting conversations, I found it helpful, and I thought maybe someone else would too. And maybe these are some good tips we can pass on to our introverted kids.