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I was fielding questions from a young mom the other day on homeschooling. She and her husband had their heart set on homeschooling, but figured they would send their child to school for a couple of years first so he could learn to read. When I asked why, she admitted that she didn't think she could teach reading and figured the classroom was a better place to master that skill. Judging from the questions and comments I get, a lot of people are intimidated by reading instruction. I taught both my boys to read. One child was easy, while the other was difficult, so I feel I have a pretty good understanding of the methods that work.

There are plenty of quality reading programs out there that can walk you through it. My easy reader didn't need them because he taught himself to read when he was three. The programs didn't quite fit the needs of my difficult reader, so I had to come up with my own plan. Since he is highly methodical and logical like me, I approached it in a logical way.

Step 1: Master the consonant and short vowel sounds. Practice CVC words (consonant-vowel-consonant) like cat, hat, bad, dog. Continue with this practice until the child can read these words fluently and blend the sounds well and naturally.

Step 2: Introduce the long vowel in conjunction with the silent “E.” Also introduce the plural -s and -es. Many reading programs do these toward the end, but I found it more useful to introduce following CVC fluency.

Step 3: Introduce the initial blends, such as br-, st-, ch-, etc. There are 10 common initial two-letter blends. We focused on a couple of week, joining them with Vowel -Consonant endings, such as sl-ug, sn-ap, etc.

Step 4: Introduce the 12 common ending blends, including -nk and -st, such as in ju-nk and lo-st. We covered a couple a week, while still reviewing out initial blends.

Step 5: Introduce the 21 digraphs, such as “oi,” “ou,” “sh,” and “oa.” We also introduce the four R-controlled sounds at this time – or, ar, air, er. Lots and lots of practice, using these sounds in the beginning, middle and end of words.

Step 6: Once fluency in the common blends and digraphs is reached with simple words, we begin to work on compound words (“cupcake”). We also learn how to break down long words into their parts so we can sound them out (ex.: remember = re*mem*ber. Distaster= dis*tast*er).

After fluency is reached in these six steps, we mainly focus on lots and lots of reading out loud together. I choose engaging books about one level ahead of the new reader. We work out hard words together, taking turns reading paragraphs so he can hear and see how the words flow with fluency. Once reading and comprehension is pretty solid, we begin integrating quiet reading. He keeps a notebook nearby to jot down any words that give him trouble so we can work them out later.

It's true, my family has opted out of the educational machine. The cookie cutter, assembly line-style of today's public schools is a disaster I want no part of. We tried it out for two years and I am even a former public school educator, so I know from whence I speak. Years of bad band-aid policies, on the federal, state and district levels have left the system not broken, but utterly destroyed.

First, it's important to understand that all the testing now required isn't for the benefit of the students, but for the benefit of the bureaucrats. It doesn't measure student progress as much as it measures how well the bureaucrats are performing in drawing up their endless policies. Teachers are not performing poorly. We can't even begin to judge teacher performance because they are no longer allowed to truly teach, they must just play proctor to endless testing and test preparation.

I believe we need to rethink the educational system. There is no "one size fits all" solution. The first step should be to abolish age segregated classrooms. Not all children perform at the same level in all subjects. For example, a six-year-old and an eight-year-old may read on the same level, while the same six-year-old performs math on a five year level and the eight year old does math on a 10 year level. Grouping students by their abilities in each subject would allow all students to learn at their own pace.

Abolishing age segregation could have the added benefit of mitigating some bullying. Perceived weaknesses and differences make kids into bullies or result in being bullied. It's easy to spot the differences in a same age classroom. If all classes contain a variety of ages, you will see less difference-oriented bullying because it becomes more difficult for kids to isolate those whom are different. You will also end up with a class of highly varied maturity levels, so those that are more mature will naturally keep the under-mature bullying personalities in check.

Abolishing age segregation is just one step we could take to reforming education in our country. The benefits listed above are just a few benefits to this system. Yes, it becomes harder to test students for achievement with this system, which may hurt the bureaucrats, but it will help the kids. And really, aren't they the ones we are supposed to be educating anyway?

Lately I've been focused on putting up the summer vegetables and cleaning out the garden beds as the weather cools, but that doesn't mean the growing season is over. Not all of my beds are bare and dormant under a protective layer of mulch. No, a few beds are still bursting with succulent greenery, and will continue to do so for a few months more.

My all time favorite winter green is kale. It can withstand cold and frost while still continuing to put on new leaves well into the winter months. If you live in a mild area you may be able to harvest fresh kale into the following spring. I use kale much as you would spinach.

It makes an excellent cooked green, but it also works well in winter salads. Even in my cold zone 5 climate, kale does well with only minimal mulch protection. I can enjoy it much longer by making an impromptu cold frame with an old window.

Broccoli raab is another fall and early winter favorite. Unlike regular broccoli, there isn't the issue with poor head production during the short days. Both leaves and the small broccoli sprouts are edible, so I lose nothing if I must harvest early. It survives light frost with no protection and can continue growing in colder weather with a cold frame. It continue to produce for months if I only harvest the florets.

Lettuce, radishes and other cool-season greens also do well, although they do die once it gets really cold. Anything that needs long days performs poorly, since we get less than eight hours of sunlight during the heart of winter this far north.

It’s not unusual for a new gym goer to try to figure out the best time to work out. Many factors can come into play, and various time frames can offer advantages and disadvantages. At the gym I go to, we have a dedicated group of people who work out in the early mornings. Many of these people have work and family obligations. They don’t want to give up family time to go to the gym after work, so they get up early to fit it in.   

That free time after work can be a strong advantage. This group doesn’t tend to hang out and socialize after the work out. Some gym goers might miss that aspect. For people who are night owls, working out in the early morning may seem impossible. 

Noon is another popular time to head to the gym. People who work close by their gyms may find they can easily slip out for an hour or so and work out. Working out at noon can provide a welcome break in the day. When I’ve done this, I always found myself returning to work feeling refreshed and de-stressed. On the downside however, depending on job responsibilities, it might be difficult to break away for lunch. 

The hours immediately after work brings in another large group. Going to the gym before going home can be a nice transition. This timeframe seems to work best for people without family obligations. 

Other people will go home from work, spend some time there, and then head out later in the evening. A downside is that a workout before bedtime may make it difficult to sleep. This option may work best for night owls. Other people like to mix up the times they work out. Mixing up your work out time will challenge your body, and you’ll have a chance to meet new people.