Happy 9th birthday to my Elijah-boy!

• Dark chocolate peanut butter dairy free milkshake :: From contributor Cheryl Pitt of the 2:1 conference
• Spring Green: on depression, being an “older” mom, and going gray (or what I’m doing instead of getting a tattoo) :: K Elizabeth Fleck
• How to raise happy kids, according to science :: The Week
  
• The big picture of roadschooling :: MommyHiker.com
• A dozen ways to revel in poetry :: Laura Grace Weldon

And the winner of yesterday’s giveaway from A Thomas Jefferson Education is Kate Christy – congratulations!

If you didn’t win, remember to check out the discounted Simple Homeschool Bundle (use the code “SIMPLEBONUS13″ to get it for just $42) and/or a subscription to Mentoring in the Classics – I’m taking this ecourse alongside the DeMilles and learning so much – highly recommend it!

“Knowledge that is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.”

~ Albert Einstein

This post contains affiliate links.

• How spring – and change – come slow and suddenly :: From contributor Kari Patterson of Sacred Mundane
• The disturbing transformation of kindergarten :: Truth About Education
• The 10 signs you need to find a different kind of education for your child :: Alternative Education Resource Organization
• An open letter to moms thinking about homeschooling :: Are We Crazy, Or What?
• Cleanse your life :: WellGrounded Life (Lisa’s fabulous e-course starts tomorrow!)

A special welcome and thank you to the sponsors here on
Simple Homeschool for the month of April!
Take a few moments to check out the incredible resources
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So proud of my Trishna (age 10) – this week she “graduated” from our homeschool baking lessons!

• Journey into unschooling :: From contributor Amida
• This mother tore off labels and nurtured her son’s hidden genius :: The Mother List
• In which I don’t mind if my tinies see my on the computer :: Sarah Bessey
  
• What homeschooling gives our kids right now :: Quill and Camera
• 15 ways to happier, grateful kids :: A Holy Experience

“A fondness for reading, properly directed, must be an education in itself.”

~ Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

Photos from my sweet Jonathan’s recent America Day

• A glimpse into my year as a public school teacher :: From contributor Jena Borah
• Classical Conversations: Our 3rd year update :: Mt. Hope Chronicles
• The secret to not being overwhelmed :: Conversion Diary
  
• BBC believes you only read six of these books… :: List Challenges
• The end of another school year :: LOLIPOP Learning

The winner of yesterday’s giveaway by Gadanke Journals is Mandy Garcia – congratulations!

Remember you can get free shipping from Gadanke on US orders over $10 through April 4th with the code “SCHOOLING” at checkout.

“As adults we choose our own reading material. Depending on our moods and needs we might read the newspaper, a blockbuster novel, an academic article, a women’s magazine, a comic, a children’s book, or the latest book that just about everyone is reading. No one chastises us for our choice. No one says, ‘That’s too short for you to read.’ No one says, ‘That’s too easy for you, put it back.’ No one says ‘You couldn’t read that if you tried — it’s much too difficult.’

Yet if we take a peek into classrooms, libraries, and bookshops we will notice that children’s choices are often mocked, censured, and denied as valid by idiotic, interfering teachers, librarians, and parents. Choice is a personal matter that changes with experience, changes with mood, and changes with need. We should let it be.”
~ Mem Fox, Radical Reflections: Passionate Opinions on Teaching, Learning, and Living

Need a hint of spring, anyone?!

• Mid-year homeschool tweaks :: From contributor Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy
• German homeschool family will not be deported from US :: BBC News
• A Well-Trained Mind – Podcast with Susan Wise Bauer :: The Art of Simple Podcast
  
• Interest-led learning (& living) career planning :: FIMBY
  
• On winter hibernation and growth under the surface :: My post this week on Steady Mom

“A capacity, and taste, for reading, gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others. It is the key, or one of the keys, to the already solved problems. And not only so. It gives a relish, and facility, for successfully pursuing the [yet] unsolved ones.”
~ Abraham Lincoln