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I'm so pleased to hear that my blog, which has been running for about five years now, has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Homeschool Blogs by Healthy Moms Magazine. Woo-hoo! Boyschooling soars! I started the blog because, like all the hiking we do as a family, it's so much better to travel along paths that are already worn than trying to create new ones in the tangle and undergrowth of life. Homeschooling can be challenging enough, so following a path worn by those who have gone before can make it a bit easier. Don't get me wrong: I'm not averse to being a pioneer, but when a lot of us find ourselves in a battle with boys who won't write, struggle with our son's anger issues, fear we're succumbing to the pressure to try this curriculum or that style, then it seems silly to re-invent the wheel, family by family. So thank you so much to Healthy Moms Magazine, and all you who have followed me over the years, shared my musings and encouragements, and benef...

This is going to be a long post. I apologise in advance, but I encourage you to read it, and read to the end: it could fundamentally change how you educate your children at home. You see, every August/September, I have a crisis of direction. Even after doing this for 13 years. Even after becoming a firm believer in the philosophy and fruits of the Charlotte Mason method.  Even after applying all the good parts of public school that I learned as a teacher there, and knowing what to discard and what to bar completely from entering through our doors. You�ve probably felt this way, too. In August and September, everyone starts shouting what they�re planning to do for the year � singing the praises of this curriculum, or that program, or about exams or credits or dual-enrollment or American style or whatever, and you think: � maybe � I�m � doing � it � wrong. Chances are, you are doing it wrong. Almost all of us are. Me included. Let me explain. First of all, I think there are basically...

Guest post by Nancy Frensley, CPDT-KA, CAP2, CNWI, CGC Evaluator, Senior Behavior and Training Manager, Berkeley Humane Dog trainers sometimes still talk about a dog being dominant or dominating. This terminology has affected how people behave toward their dogs and is thankfully, falling out of use. The term is common among biologists who primarily study species in wild settings. It has a use and a precise definition in that context. It describes how a specific species or sub species controls resources in a domain and it can describe population dynamics. People sometimes excuse their dogs' rude behavior toward other dogs by saying, “He’s alpha.” And some famous trainers have recommended ways to get dogs to change their behavior by “dominating them in physical ways. These are moves that all too often get used for every behavior an owner doesn’t like such as not coming quickly enough or barking at another dog. Dog trainers, many of whom had been military dog handlers during World War...