Education | PulseonParenting

Why the Arts are Important

Apr 25 2017

The C scale wafts through the house from the front room, my son warming up his piano fingers for “When the Saints Go Marching In.” He provides the background melody for the fiddle piece his brother is working through for a recital. Then joining in is my daughter, learning the first few measures of Bach’s “Minuet I” on her violin. It’s a discordant masterpiece. No dueling pianos here, but rather a solo piano fending off violins attacking from two separate fronts. Whew. Just another afternoon of music practice. I have long been a lover of the arts, having sacrificed my…

Feb 07 2017

Sometimes it’s hard to believe we’ve gotten this far. At other times, it’s not. Recently we reached a milestone: 100 days of homeschooling. We fastened our seatbelts back in August and ready or not, we took our newfound motivation for a spin. Map in hand, we had a pretty good idea where we wanted to go but no idea where we’d end up. Sometimes the ride was smooth, sometimes the dips and turns were expected (math) and sometimes they were not (grammar). But here we are. 100 days and not yet out of gas. Last fall I wrote an…

Jan 19 2017

“Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it.” – David Star Jordan Even the dashboard for pulseonparenting.com is feeling it: the daily inspirational quote came from Star Jordan’s timely words. Timely, in that they were posted on MLK, Jr., Day, and timely, in that Friday is Inauguration Day. Whether you look ahead to this always historic occasion with anticipation or with dread, I think about another of my favorite sayings. Be the change you want to see in the world. Many who voted for our PEOTUS did so looking for change; many who did not want…

Nov 15 2016

Well. What a week. I had another topic to post but given the historic nature of last Tuesday, it just didn’t seem natural to go ahead like nothing has happened. None of us is untouched by the events of the last week, and many of us are feeling mentally and emotionally tapped. But I promise you that this post is not politically charged; it’s not my purpose to use pulseonparenting to spread propaganda. My site is intended for every parent, left- or right-wing. It is meant for mothers and fathers and guardians, stay-at-home parents and parents who have careers outside…

Sep 27 2016

Many people have asked, “How’s homeschooling going?” And my usual response is, “It’s had its ups and downs.” I’m not one to sugar-coat or complain a lot but I’ll admit my urge is to respond, “Well, we haven’t killed each other yet.” My boys would certainly like to, but instead, they get to write essays about why they trash talk and fight during school. The silver lining? More writing practice. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get frustrated and show it. I’d be lying if I said my daughter didn’t have her moments as well. But…

Don't overdo it. Consider how AP courseload fits in with an already busy schedule.

Sep 12 2016

Well, the remaining 40 percent of the districts are reporting in. But it’s too early to call it. Even in this tumultuous election year, I actually wish this post were about the drama leading up to November 4th. But instead, this post is about standardized testing. Our school district is one of the 40 percent whose scores from spring testing are not released until the following school year. As expected, the scores were released recently, and they made headlines in the local newspaper (Butler, Ann. “State tests: Math results alarming, 9-R superintendent says” Durango Herald, Friday, September 2, 2016) ….

Mar 30 2016

Creativity: putting things together in novel ways, or seeing the world, or a given problem, with fresh eyes. (ahaparenting.com) “Oh, my, he’s such a mess!!” Grandma could barely get the words out through her laughter. Her loving observation of my older son at age three was spot on. There he was, sitting at our kitchen table working on crafts: stuff was piled everywhere, stuck together randomly with glue from a dripping bottle. His clothes were streaked with food (oddly, even now, breakfast is on his person before he’s even had any), his face mustachioed with lunch. The perfect picture of a…

Mar 22 2016

March Madness!!!! I never realized how zany a month March is. I mean, take a look: ~Will March arrive like a lamb or a lion? Wait. No one really cares that much about that anymore, do they? ~NCAA basketball, the ultimate in cager mania. Go Skyhawks!!! (Fort Lewis College, NCAA II tourney, in case you b-ball enthusiasts were curious.) Wait. They lost. Darn. Well, there’s always next year… ~The beginning of daylight savings time! More sunlight after dinner! Wait. Actually, who likes “spring ahead?” I was so tired I accidentally made decaf the morning after. Not. Good. Anyway, what seems…

Mar 15 2016

Legos (and Grandma’s sugar cookies) are like crack for kids…at least they are in our house. Once any of us, dad and mom included, starts snapping together those technicolor pieces, time and reality disappear. But for my older son, Legos are a way of life. He eats, sleeps and breathes Lego creations, and he is truly Pavlovian when he watches a Lego master build ships and shopping malls on YouTube. He is well on his way with logging his own 10,000 hours to attain Lego mastery. His goal is to be an architect but his dream? To work for Lego….

Mar 08 2016

Imagine a single bookshelf. Filling the entire length are books, books of varying thickness, topic and cover design. They are different from one another but all are still books. At each end of the shelf is a thin, metal bookend. Present, but easily overlooked. They are, of course, not books, but despite taking up very little room on the bookshelf, they still occupy the same space. Now think of a classroom of, say, 25 kids. Most of those kids function pretty well in that setting. Each child has his own strengths and weaknesses, interests and personality, but these students can…

My name is Heidi Black and I have it all... Maybe not in the traditional sense of the phrase but I do feel I have it all: three beautiful, healthy children, a devoted husband and father and the privilege of being a Domestic Engineer. (I used to call myself a SAHM but that just doesn’t fit when my day is filled with coordinating 5 schedules and preplanning their execution, all up to a week in advance.) And now, indulging in a not-so-secret desire to write, and following the advice “write what you know” I am ready to share what I have learned from this ironic life journey and along with you, discover answers to those many questions related to parenting.

Category - Education

Why the Arts are Important

The First 100 Days (of Homeschooling, That Is)

Inauguration Day…and a Call to Action

A Call for Unity That Makes Sense

Homeschooling Ups and Downs: the First Five Weeks

Putting Standardized Testing in Perspective

Nurturing Creativity in Our Children: More Mess, More Time

Standardized Testing: a Primer

The Creative Thinker: Is Your Child One of Them?

Bookends: the Kids Who Struggle in a Classroom Environment