Author: Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Knock, knock

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

The other day Axa and Raj had a bit of a scuffle, and we ended up having an impromptu family council. During the course of the discussion, Tony asked them how they thought they could prevent similar problems in the future. They came up with what I thought was quite a clever and mature solution. Since the altercation had involved Axa forgetting (yet again) Raj’s rule that people ask for permission before entering his bedroom, he said he would like a sign for his door to remind her (and everyone).

Axa decided she could benefit from a sign as well, and they had a great time choosing colors, fonts, and wording for their signs.… Read more

Live Poets Society

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

I can’t really say that I don’t remember a time when I didn’t love to write. Because I do remember that time, quite vividly in fact. I must have been seven or eight, and my mom tried everything to get me to write. Finally, she gave me an assignment to write a letter to the Tooth Fairy. I was supposed to explain how I had accidentally swallowed my loose tooth, and request the customary remuneration despite the absence of the actual article. I can still visualize the kiddie-lined paper with my cop-out missive written in large awkward letters and callously denying the very existence of that benevolent fairy:

Dear Mommy, Please bring me lots of money.

… Read more

In Grandma’s Kitchen

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

One of the really lucky things about living at my in-laws’ house is that I am no longer in charge of making dinner. Thus the absence lately of any posts on what I’ve been cooking. ‘Cause I haven’t been!

Well, only a little. I do breakfasts, lunches, and snacks, but hey, that’s by far the easy part, especially since we usually have left-overs from Grammy’s yummy dinners.

The one full-blown meal I’ve made since we got here was butternut squash burritos. My family could eat Mexican food pretty much every day (and we often do when we’re in California). But even though we’re thrilled to be back in a country where it’s actually possible to find black beans, we do sometimes like a change from beans.… Read more

The Ticktockman and Me

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

When we got pregnant with Axa, Tony and I were living in student housing at Brigham Young University. Having witnessed too many friends whose every move suddenly revolved around naptime (and every conversation around diapers, precocious developmental milestones, and infant bodily functions) we swore that having a baby would not change our lifestyle. Sure enough, tiny Axa went along with us to the International Cinema, campus lectures, Tony’s computer lab job, and midnight shopping runs. When she was two months old, we even took her on a summer-long field study to the Philippines.

Nope, having a baby didn’t put a kink in our lifestyle.… Read more

Our School Nook

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

I have a bit of a split personality when it comes to homeschooling. On the one hand, I was brought up mostly as an unschooler, and believe in a fair degree of laissez-faire when it comes to how my children spend the majority of their time. On the other . . . well, I’d love to emulate a rigorously proper prep school, cute plaid uniforms and all.

I feel the same way about homeschooling space. Learning shouldn’t be confined to a room in the house, or even to the entire house. It should happen at all times, everywhere.

Still, I have a secret fantasy of someday owning a house big enough that we could dedicate a whole room to “school.”… Read more

Hunger Games, Jane Austen Revealed, and Whose Bible Is It?

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Well, I have a quite a cornucopia of books for you today. You’re welcome.

The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed the first third of the book (before the Games start). Collins set the scene nicely for a thought-provoking and moving story. Unfortunately, the execution of that story left something to be desired. Much of the rest of the book read as a cross between a first person shooter video game and a reality show (with some corny teen love triangle stuff thrown in). The writing kept coming off as shallow when it was (presumably?)… Read more

Easy Foreign Language Program

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Foreign language is pretty important to our family, because we love to travel and learn about other cultures. So I am always thinking of new ways to help my children (and myself) learn and retain languages better. One of the most visited pages on this blog is my ten tips on teaching children a foreign language.

Our most important focus language right now is Italian. Tony and I are fairly conversant. We keep it up by listening to Italian pop music all day long. The children have had quite a bit of exposure too. They are a little shy about speaking, but their passive vocabulary is pretty good.… Read more

Staying Sane

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Piano piano sale questa sensazione di esser fuori posto d’un tratto solo il buio per me rimane il vuoto intorno e poi . . .

Looking back over the past few months, I can definitely see improvement in how I feel and what I can do. I still miss how resilient and capable I used to be, but I’m able to hope now that I might possibly sometime get back to “normal.” For now, it’s a matter of making sure I’m consistent with doing everything I am capable of doing. And maintaining a good routine.

I don’t go out much; just church on Sundays, library day on Saturdays, nature study on Mondays, and dates with Tony every week.… Read more

My Favorite Homeschooling Books

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

This week I’ve been playing around in Goodreads. I have this problem with checking out books from the library, reading them, and then not being able to find them again when I want them. Goodreads keeps track of all the books I’ve read and whether I like them or not. And since lots of those books are available on Kindle now (have you checked out Amazon’s new book-lending program?) It’s kind of like my own virtual library.

Sometime when we have a house and I get all my books out of storage, I’ll reorganize my non-virtual library. But for now, my brain needs some help, and Goodreads is a great solution.… Read more

Avoiding Twaddle at the Library

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

When I was a kid, my mom would take the five of us to the library every week. Each child had a large plastic crate in his/her room for library books, which crates we took with us to the library when we went. With six library cards in the family and a limit of 20 books per card–well you can do the math for how many library books we went home with most weeks. The really hard days were the ones where the library computer system was down, and you could only check out five books on each card. It was like a mini version of “If you were stranded on a desert island .… Read more