Foundation FatherI read over 50 books last year. These are the 5 every father should read. 1. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis This is a repeat read for me and it will continue to be in a constant rotation. Lewis understands human behavior and the little justifications we have for our monstrous sin. I’m fond […]
I’m a big fan of homeschooling. That’s no secret. There is no better environment to tailor the education of your children to their specific needs. And you get to prepare them for the world before throwing them into the deep end. There are other good options, of course. Private schools and private tutors can be […]
This is from the excellent book by Anthony Esolen. 1. Keep your children indoors as much as possible. A child weighed down by busywork (homework), endlessly distracted by flashing screens, will find the outdoors boring. And so they will find life boring. As a consequence, they will *be* boring. If they spend too much time outside, they […]
Whenever we ask our kids a question, whenever we try to get them to open up, there are two dreaded responses: Silence “I don’t know.” When this keeps happening, we should first check that we aren’t asking boring questions. Or that we are asking questions that deserve to be asked. They need to be worth […]
My kids were playing hide and seek at the park with another boy. A few rounds had gone by, and it was my youngest son’s turn to be “it.” He counted and found the other boy fast. But he had some trouble finding his older sister. After a few minutes, the boy tempted him. “I […]
Sometimes, we have to slow down and remember that our kids are just kids. When we teach them something, we are coming from a position of experience and knowledge. It’s hard to go back to the beginner’s mind and speak from foundational principles. What words do we need to define? What concepts do we need […]
While at lunch, I asked my son about his favorite movies. I had let my kids watch Indian Jones and Last Crusade and Jurassic Park recently, with me skipping a few scenes in each. They seemed to enjoy them. After watching Jurassic Park, my middle son just sat there, shaking his head. Then he said […]
I won’t bury the lede. Reading to your kids every night is one of the best habits to have. Start immediately after they are born, before they can hold their head up, before they can crawl, before they can read. The earlier the better. Always be reading above their own reading level. The dividends are […]
You can start the financial education of your children early. And the earlier the better. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. Some parents make things so complicated that they get intimidated by their own plans. They can’t keep up with their own ambitions. But doing a little is better than pretending to do a lot. […]
Your children should understand delegated authority. If you homeschool, you might have to be more intentional about teaching them this concept. They should always obey their teachers. But you should help them understand why they need to obey their teachers, and for this case, “because I said so” is actually a legitimate reason. In fact, […]