Spilled Milk Blog

  • The self-grading Saxon math lifesaver for homeschool parents

    The self-grading Saxon math lifesaver for homeschool parents

    Saxon math parents, it’s been an epic quest but I have found the holy grail: the online, self-grading Saxon math site that has absolutely changed my life. I’m feeling borderline evangelistic about this resource, y’all. After four years of homeschool, the one curriculum I’ve stuck with year-in and year-out is Saxon math. It’s a solid… Read more

  • Thomas McKenzie was our Dumbledore and our Gandalf. The quest goes on without him.

    Thomas McKenzie was our Dumbledore and our Gandalf. The quest goes on without him.

    In epic tales, the spiritual mentor dies just when the quest is at its most precarious. As a member of Church of the Redeemer in Nashville, I felt this way when we lost our beloved priest, Thomas McKenzie, to a car wreck this week.    In Lord of the Rings, the fellowship is already weary and… Read more

  • 50+ Eagle project ideas that have a conservation focus

    50+ Eagle project ideas that have a conservation focus

    The Eagle rank in Scouts BSA is one of the most distinguished achievements a teen can earn, and rightly so. It is a lot of work. It can be hard to know where to start, so I wanted to share some tips for getting your project going… along with plenty of Eagle project ideas that… Read more

  • The Good and the Beautiful science curriculum: Is it rigorous enough?

    The Good and the Beautiful science curriculum: Is it rigorous enough?

    This review contains my honest opinions. I wasn’t compensated for this review and didn’t receive free copies of the curriculum. When I first started homeschooling my kids—then in 7th, 5th, and 2nd grades—I relied heavily on my sister’s library of used homeschool curriculum, which was mostly made up of Memoria Press workbooks and teacher’s guides.… Read more

  • Montage your life: A trick for when you can’t rest

    Montage your life: A trick for when you can’t rest

    Anyone else having a hard time letting themselves rest now that the pandemic is starting to wind down in the U.S.? I’ve been struggling with this lately, even though I’ve been busy serving as the sole caregiver, friend, teacher, playmate, and germ guardian (virus bouncer?) to both of my children for the last year and… Read more

  • Do black lives matter in the Southern suburbs?

    Do black lives matter in the Southern suburbs?

    In our neighborhood in the Nashville suburbs, almost every house has a yard sign that reads, “Drive like your children live here,” with a heart emblem around it. There are neon-colored, plastic figurines waving flags that say, “SLOW,” at other houses, and the moms shove them farther into the intersections so that even if cars… Read more