A Quiet Simple Life | Sallie Borrink

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23

A Quiet Simple Life

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Relaxed Homeschooling

Relaxed Homeschooling is a thoughtful Christian approach to homeschooling that is flexible, customized, academically responsible, and rooted in strong family relationships.

It is the sweet spot between unschooling, rigid classical education, and overly idealized Charlotte Mason — a family-centered, parent-guided approach to education.

So We’ve Started Getting “Comments” About Sending Caroline To Preschool


Ah, yes. I knew they had to come. All those well-intentioned questions about preschool. They have begun.

I mean, Caroline is almost two and a half. It’s panic time, people! She’s getting behind even though she speaks in ten word sentences! She knows her letters, colors, numbers, shapes, can identify various birds by name, and already knows more science than most kindergartners.

(David’s dad asked if we sit around teaching her all day because she knows so much. Believe me, we don’t!)

She helps with all kinds of things around the house and LOVES IT – putting laundry down the chute, wiping floors, cleaning the bathroom, dusting the wood floors, using the FlyLady dusters to dust, putting laundry away, setting the table, emptying the dishwasher, mowing the lawn (don’t freak – we have a reel mower), sorting the recycling, washing the car, etc.

She LOVES to help around the house and we talk all the time while we do it. That’s why she could wake up in the morning about a month ago, hear the printer in the office and proclaim loudly, “I need to get out and get that paper from the printer!” (Another one of her very favorite jobs.)

She loves adults, gets excited about babies, is comfortable around other children her own size, and is fascinated by older girls. The only thing that puts her off a bit is older boys and that is just fine with me!

(The one major negative?  She is majorly scared of the vacuum cleaner.)

We recently had someone give us a polite sort-of-hard-sell about a preschool in our area. I listened politely and asked a few questions. I knew the person meant well, but I just didn’t feel up to actually debating the whole topic of preschool and I knew the person was just trying to be helpful.

So, yes, we are starting to get the preschool question. And, honestly, the only time I think about sending Caroline to preschool is when I’m either very tired or have a lot of work to do. But at this point I’m quite sure preschool would not be the best thing for her. We continue to operate from our default mode of thinking which is that we will homeschool unless God shows us differently.

I was interested to see that Barbara Curtis at MommyLife is doing a series about doing preschool at home. She has 12 (!) children and was a Montessori teacher. She has three parts to the series so far (which are now only in the Wayback Machine).

Why homeschool preschool? Part 1

Why homeschool preschool? Part 2

Why homeschool preschool? Part 3

Barbara also put up a related post called Is homeschool for everyone? She made this excellent point:

Last week I mentioned a mother who sought my advice because her second grader was beginning to struggle at school. When I met with the homeschooling moms on Tuesday, there was another mom who came with tears in her eyes because her second grade son (Catholic School) was floundering. The teachers suggested ADHD and she had already taken him to a clinical psychologist. He was obviously headed on the path to medication.

Mothers!!!! Please, know that when your child does not conform to school model that doesn’t necessarily mean that there is something wrong with your child. It just means that the way we educate kids in this country is very cookie-cutter. Children are expected to behave and conform in a certain way. Any deviance from the expectation becomes an inconvenience and the reaction is to fix the problem with summer school, specialists and/or drugs. The option that is never recommended is to remove the child from school and to educate him or her at home to remove the pressure and give them a better chance to succeed.

I have lots of strong opinions about education but I don’t usually air them here. But the idea of expecting children to conform in a classroom setting is a real hot button for me. My time spent teaching gave me the background to think about these topics and my views have really changed since I left the classroom. I’m sure I’ll write more about these topics in the days ahead. In the meantime, enjoy Barbara’s articles.  🙂

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A Little Book of Poems and Prayers | Cozy Book Review


From the time Caroline was born, I was always on the lookout for sweetly illustrated books for her. So much of what is published today for children is just, well, ugly.

When I found A Little Book of Poems & Prayers, Caroline was only a few months old. But I quickly bought it, looking forward to the day when we would enjoy it together.

A Little Book of Poems and Prayers

A Little Book of Poems & Prayers is simply illustrated in Joan Walsh Anglund’s well-known style. The illustrations are charming and wholesome. The poems, prayers, and short Scripture passages are positive and encouraging.

This book would work well with toddlers, preschoolers, and even younger elementary-aged students as it could be adapted through conversation about the illustrations and content.

I do feel compelled to point out that if you have a highly-sensitive child (like I do), there is one small illustration of children having a funeral for a little bird that has died. That illustration caused a fair amount of upset in our home at one point.

Otherwise, A Little Book of Poems & Prayers is a lovely, cozy book for families looking for sweet books with gentle illustrations.

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Seasonal Affective Disorder and The Father’s Hand | Streams in the Desert


Last year when I quit blogging and then started up again, I shared that I had finally found a reason for some of my struggles (Now I Know: Seasonal Affective Disorder). It was a relief to have a diagnosis. It also has helped me better prepare myself for these challenges.

Over the last week or so I can tell that the SAD is starting up again. I’m thankful that it is the middle of February so hopefully there will only be about six more weeks before it will lift.

People who have never experienced depression will often say, “Just stop thinking about it” or “Don’t worry so much” or “Get busy and it will go away”.  Unless you have experienced it, you can’t fully understand how counterproductive those kinds of comments are to the one suffering.

I mention all this today because I read a comment on another blog that was about dealing with winter. The mom mentioned that she liked her son so much better in the summer than in the winter. My first thought was that perhaps the child is suffering from SAD. One of the ways SAD can manifest itself is feelings of frustration. In a child that could easily come out as anger and aggressiveness.

Anyway, my goal in writing this is to make people aware that winter can be very hard on some people. It isn’t something they can snap out of at will. I imagine it can impact children as well.

This timely devotional from Streams in the Desert was a blessing to me when I read it this morning.

The Father’s Hand by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman

“Your heavenly Father knoweth” (Matt. 6:32).

A visitor at a school for the deaf and dumb was writing questions on the blackboard for the children. By and by he wrote this sentence: “Why has God made me to hear and speak, and made you deaf and dumb?”

The awful sentence fell upon the little ones like a fierce blow in the face. They sat palsied before that dreadful “Why?” And then a little girl arose.

Her lip was trembling. Her eyes were swimming with tears. Straight to the board she walked, and, picking up the crayon, wrote with firm hand these precious words: “Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight!” What a reply! It reaches up and lays hold of an eternal truth upon which the maturest believer as well as the youngest child of God may alike securely rest–the truth that God is your Father.

Do you mean that? Do you really and fully believe that? When you do, then your dove of faith will no longer wander in weary unrest, but will settle down forever in its eternal resting place of peace. “Your Father!”

I can still believe that a day comes for all of us, however far off it may be, when we shall understand; when these tragedies, that now blacken and darken the very air of heaven for us, will sink into their places in a scheme so august, so magnificent, so joyful, that we shall laugh for wonder and delight. –Arthur Christopher Bacon

No chance hath brought this ill to me;
‘Tis God’s own hand, so let it be,
He seeth what I cannot see.
There is a need-be for each pain,
And He one day will make it plain
That earthly loss is heavenly gain.
Like as a piece of tapestry
Viewed from the back appears to be
Naught but threads tangled hopelessly;
But in the front a picture f air
Rewards the worker for his care,
Proving his skill and patience rare.
Thou art the Workman, I the frame.
Lord, for the glory of Thy Name,
Perfect Thine image on the same.
–Selected

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Using Sticker Books as Learning Tools


Like many little ones, Caroline is fascinated by stickers. I found My Big Book Of Stickers and it was a fabulous teaching tool! We garnered hours and hours of learning time from this one book. I actually should say David did because this was an activity that primarily David did with Caroline after supper while I was walking.

Using Sticker Books For Learning

The sticker book offered the opportunity to work on fine motor skills. Peeling and working with those little stickers is a great exercise for a toddler. Caroline’s skills in this area improved significantly over the weeks we used this book.

It was a great discussion tool. The book covers the subjects of:

  • ABC
  • Animals
  • Colors
  • Mix and Match
  • Numbers
  • Shapes
  • Sizes
  • Words

Every time we put stickers in the book, we discussed the objects and/or concept on the page. We used it as a launching pad for going above and beyond what was on the page.

The book is colorful with large pictures and stickers.  Everything is labeled so it is possible to use it for print awareness as well. Now that the book is completed, it is in Caroline’s book basket in the living room. She still looks at it every day even though it was completed weeks ago.

I really enjoy using sticker books as fun teaching tools and am currently on the lookout for the next one!

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