Last Week for Early Bird Pricing on a Gryphon Internet Router!

This post is sponsored by Gryphon.

Do you remember earlier this month when I shared with you about a new router that will help to keep your kids safe on the internet?  Well, I am excited to share that Gryphon is already more than 75% to their funding goal on Kickstarter.

If you would like to learn more about Gryphon and why you should consider using it in your home,  check out my original post and also these other publications where it has been featured:

• The San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego Start-Up Bakes Web Parental Controls in Wi-Fi Router

• The Wall Street Journal - Security Experts Question Chinese Webcam Maker's Response to Cyberattack

• 9 to 5 Toys - The Gryphon Tri-Band Wireless Router has Ultra-Fast Speeds, Family Friendly Tools, and a Sleek Design

• Curbed - Gryphon Can Manage an Entire Household's Internet Devices

• Uncrate - Gryphon WiFi Router

If you have not reserved one, it's not too late. Go grab a Gryphon on Kickstarter now. They are extending the early bird special for this week only. Help them reach their goal and everyone will receive 1 FREE year of intrusion detection and whole house malware filtering ($49 value).

Protect Your Children's Eyes with the Gryphon Internet Router

This post is sponsored by Gryphon.  I was compensated for my time. All opinions are honest and I only share with you products I would use myself!  

  

My husband and I have recently come to a realization:

OUR CHILDREN ARE GROWING UP.

How did this happen so fast?  Did it happen to you too?

A big part of being a parent is protecting our kids.

A few short years ago we were trying to be good parents by not letting our kids put their fingers in electrical outlets or run out in the middle of the street.

Now my kids are 6 and 8 and I am quickly realizing that as they get older, protection looks a lot different.

My husband and I used to talk about sleep training, co-sleeping, nursing, and which order to introduce new foods.  Now we are talking about whether or not to do sleep-overs, how to explain how babies are made, and how to protect our children's eyes as they begin to use the computer (and other internet connected devices).

SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINES, THINGS GOT REAL.

I think that out of all those things, the internet scares me the most.  It is just completely out of my control.  Even with good teaching and responsible kids, the internet can bring all kinds of unwanted exposure and temptation.  We haven't taken any big steps yet, but we know that some kind of filter, blocker, router, etc. will be necessary.

One such thing that I have come across is the Gryphon Internet Router.

Gryphon Internet Router - Safe for Kids, Simple for Parents

Gryphon Online Safety from Pure Cinema on Vimeo.
Gryphon is a powerful yet convenient approach to online safety. Gryphon combines a high-performance WiFi router and a simple-to-use smartphone app, making it easy for parents to manage the connected home from anywhere. All security features are built directly within the router itself, eliminating the need to install additional apps on your connected devices.

Setting up the Gryphon router takes just three steps and a simple tap with the Gryphon app.  These things can be done on your smartphone from anywhere:

• Grant access to specific websites 

• Restrict internet access during various times of the day (such as during sleep and homework), 

• Monitor your connected home devices like thermostats or cameras to prevent hacking. 

The app even features a social collaboration tool, so you can work together with fellow like-minded parents to create a safer Internet for everyone, by recommending and rating specific websites.

Help Gryphon Make the Internet Safer for Your Children

The digital age brings a wealth of information and conveniences, but we cannot ignore the risks it poses for the family. 

Most children are exposed to the Internet at the age of 6, and 70% of them see inappropriate content by accident.

The average family has 10 Internet-connected devices and counting, creating new security threats and vulnerabilities. However, the existing parental control tools are too complicated to use and expensive with annual subscriptions.

The people behind Gryphon have worked hard over the last year on the design and the software platform and they have launched a Kickstarter campaign today for the final production of Gryphon. 

Visit  www.gryphonconnect.com to find out more about the product and support the campaign!

Classical Education Round-Up October 2016

This post contains affiliate links.

Hello friends! Welcome to the first month of the new, revamped Trivium Tuesdays!

My goal here is to share a collection of great resources from the internet (blog posts, videos, podcasts, articles, etc.) that pertain to classical education.  I will post a new roundup on the first Tuesday of each month and then you can add to the list as the month goes on.

Feel free to link up posts that you have written as well as any other helpful resources you find!

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Simply Convivial - Classical Preschool

This is a great post written by Mystie where she asks the question: What would a classical preschool look like? She then goes on to answer that question drawing from the book The Great Tradition by Richard Gamble, specifically looking into what first century philosopher Quintilian had to say on the matter.

A few years ago I wrote a series on how we approached the idea of a classical preschool in my home.  If this topic is relavent to you, you might want to check it out too!

Living and Learning at Home - The Classical Preschool

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CiRCE Institute Podcase - Pride and Prejudice Book Club 

I love the CiRCE Institute Podcast!  Some episodes interest me more than others, but overall I have learned so much and have been so encouraged by these podcasts.  I recently decided that I would read Pride and Prejudice (I've never read it before!) and then I noticed that the Close Reads segment of the podcast was going to start discussing it.  Perfect timing and it will be good accountability for me!  Does anyone else want to read along with me?  We could discuss it here on the blog or on facebook or something like that.  If you are interested, let me know!

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Authors on the Line - Captured by God's Beauty 

Here is another podcast for you.  I don't think that the podcast is being added to anymore, but I came across this gem from about 3 yrs ago that is definitely worth listening to!

In our classical circles lately we are frequently talking about Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.  As a Christian, I always want to make sure that what I am learning squares up with what the Bible teaches.  Of course there is no doubt that the Bible wants us to surround ourselves with Truth and Goodness, but what about Beauty?  This podcast episode is all about Jonathan Edwards' view of God and beauty.
I am always so prone to drift toward the black and white, pragmatic, efficient way of life, that it is always really good for me to be reminded of the worthiness of beauty.

This podcast interviews Michael McClymond  author of The Theology of Jonathan Edwards, focusing on his theological emphasis of beauty.

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Classical Consortium

How about a little winter trip to refresh, encourage, and inspire you?  This looks amazing! Andrew Kern, Christpoher Perrin, Andrew Pudewa, and other great classical minds are coming together for a weekend conference!  It's kind of like when I went to the Great Homeschool conference and tried to make it to as many classical education themed sessions as possible, but ALL CLASSICAL, ALL THE TIME.  

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How is that to get you going this month?  Now it's your turn!  

Link up any great articles, podcasts, videos, blog posts etc. that you come across this month, as well as any classical education related posts you have written on your own blog!

Trivium Tuesdays - Classical Link-Up #224

Welcome to another week of Trivium Tuesdays!  For those of you who are new here today, this link-up is hosted by Living and Learning at Home (that's me!) and Classically Homeschooling and is aimed at encouraging and informing other homeschoolers who use the Classical model of teaching.  Here we can share with each other and learn from one another.

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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

After over FOUR years, I have decided to bring an end to the current form of Trivium Tuesdays.  

I am so thankful for each of you who have been here, linked-up, and visited other bloggers posts over the past 224 weeks =)  I have been so encouraged by you all and I have learned so much from the posts you have linked up!

I am sad to be ending this, but part of me just feels like in light of the changes in my life this fall (see the post I have linked up below) it is time for something new.

Starting in September, Trivium Tuesdays will be more of a Round-Up.  The first Tuesday of each month I will share a collection of articles, podcasts, resources, etc. that are pertaining to classical education.  Then there will be a place for you to link up your posts or any other resources that you have found and would like to share!

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Featured Post from Last Week

Are you being intentional about where you want to be (and where you want your kids to be) at the end of this year?  Melanie, from The Real Deal, shares how she is being intentional in her curriculum plans for the year.

This Week's Link-Up

Here are the rules:

• Your post must have to do (in some way) with classical homeschooling (any age children).
• Your post may be from your archives as long as you only post it one time on this link-up.
• Please link to your direct post, not your blog in general.
• Please link back to this post in some way. You can use my Trivium Tuesdays button (found on my right sidebar) if you'd like so others can learn about this link-up! Button code: <ahref="http://www.livingandlearningathome.com/search/label/Trivium%20Tuesdays" target="_blank" title="Trivium Tuesdays"><img alt="Living and Learning at Home" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6y8pMMmK-PuaiwV-fmISajX_7Bd6HYHA-Y64a4HgIYpE7qH4_NGNb9i2qxBsRFEJTyVoF-_MQUjmItgwNxTr3KxC1OKNo-MnBEkxM89HSuSpsoGpYXfkg84eOhSCVnfxDbup3pbghuusI/s200/Trivium+Tuesdays+-+2016+Button.png"/></a>
• It may be helpful to state in your link description what stage of the trivium or what subject your post is about, if applicable, so others can easily find posts they are interested in looking at.
• Remember, everyone loves comments =) So don't be shy, and tell someone if you liked their post!

I reserve the right to remove any link-up that does not have to do with classical homeschooling.         

If you are a regular here at Trivium Tuesdays and have something to share that is a little off topic, but still would be an encouragement to the readers here, please still share it =)  I'm referring to people who are just trying to get their blog more exposure without following the rules above.

If you want to be reminded of this link-up each week, make sure to sign up below!

Homeschool to Classical School - The Decision

I've got big news, which I'll come right out and say (if you haven't guessed it by the title of this post!) and then I'll take the time to explain in detail.

This year my children will be attending a classical school.

That's right.  I will not be homeschooling this year.  I never thought in a million years that I would be saying that, so let me explain how my family came to this decision.

I had always known that I wanted to homeschool my children.  I love researching subjects and curriculum.  I love putting together notebooking pages, tearing out Saxon math worksheets, and sharpening pencils.  I even love writing out lesson plans.  The idea of being the one to form my children's hearts and minds is something that I hold dear!  

Struggling with Extreme Fatigue

The trouble came slowly over the past couple of years.  Well, maybe it's just my willingness to accept the problem that came slowly.  I found that I was exhausted almost all the time.  I would wake up with a optimistic hope for the day, but then realize that I already felt like I needed a nap.  I'd pull myself together enough to make breakfast and get our homeschool day going, but within about 2 hours not only was I still very tired, but I was just DONE.  I needed to get lunch on the table and then basically hibernate for a couple of hours to muster up enough energy to do a little housework and get dinner ready for the evening.

If I made plans for the morning (co-op, a visit with friends, etc.), I would do ok during the time out, but when I got home I would crash.  It would literally take me the rest of the day to recuperate.  If I pushed myself to do more or didn't give myself the down time to recuperate, my immune system would tank and I would get sick.  All of this didn't leave much time for school, taking care of the house, church activities, or anything else!

I'm not sharing all of this for your pity.  Honestly I hate drawing attention to myself.  But, this blog has always been about homeschooling, so I wanted to be upfront with you all.

I went to see a doctor about this 3 years ago and he diagnosed me with adrenal fatigue.  He said that it should take 6 months to 2 years to get better.  While I have definitely seen some improvements (which I am very thankful for), three years later I am still battling extreme exhaustion.  

I'm the kind of person that likes to be patient and trust that things will get better with time.  Adrenal fatigue is usually caused by too many stressors, and is fixed (in part) by eliminating as much stress as possible.  I have realized that by continuing to homeschool, I am keeping myself from healing and in fact, making myself sick.

It is not that the teaching part of homeschooling is stressful in the normal sense of the word, it is just that homeschooling means that I am 'on' all the time.  My body just hasn't had the chance to heal.  I know that all you homeschool moms know what I mean, but for some reason it just causes my body to shut down.  

If you would have asked me six months ago what my plans were for this year, I would have told you my dreams of expanding my Scholé Group to a 2 day a week model.  I loved what we were doing and the ideology behind it.  I had started a mom's group where we would meet once a month to watch a video of Dr, Perrin talking about classical education and then we would discuss it.  We had a great group of ladies and had a wonderful time together at these meetings.  

I wanted more!  The only problem is that I realized that if I wanted more, I would have to be the one that would put it all together.  So, instead of instead of being able to give myself more time to heal, I would be pushing myself more and being even busier.  I knew I couldn't make it happen =(

Finding the Perfect School (For Us Right Now)

So, just for fun I thought I would look on the website of a local classical school.  I have known about this school since before my kids were born, but I always knew I wanted to homeschool, so I hadn't given it a second glance.  They happened to be having an open house in a few weeks, so I thought it would be fun to stop by.  I honestly thought I would be disappointed with what I saw, but that was not the case.

I was so pleased with everything that I saw and heard that I decided to have a meeting with the headmaster to ask her more questions.  I had an entire page of questions typed out, covering everything from philosophical to practical aspects of the school.  I couldn't believe it, but I found myself nodding along with every answer that she gave.  I realized that this school was everything I had been envisioning to make my Scholé Group into, and it was already in place just 15 minutes from my house!  The only difference is that I ideally would love a 2 day a week school, or perhaps a half-day school, but that just isn't available to me right now.

Is a Classical School Right for My Children?

The next thing I had to figure out was whether or not this would be a good fit for my children.  Obviously I would never send them into an environment that would be hostile or detrimental to them in any way.  The first thing that I liked was that class sizes at this school are very small.  My daughter's class had 5 children in it last year and my son's had 9.  That is about as close to a homeschool environment as you can  get in a classroom =)

So, we scheduled a time to have the kids sit in a class for a whole day.  My son is typical 7 yr old boy who has a hard time sitting still and focusing.  He also takes a while to adjust to new situations.  Needless to say, I was nervous about how he would do visiting for an entire school day.  My daughter loves people and trying new things, so I knew she would be fine.  Unfortunately she was in Kindergarten last year so she could only stay a half day.  When I picked her up at lunchtime I asked if I could check on my son.  I peeked in the class and asked him if he wanted to stay or if he was ready to come home.  He immediately said that he wanted to stay.  Then when I picked him up at the end of the day he whispered in my ear, "Mom, that was COMPLETELY AWESOME!"

The next step was to have them evaluated to see if they were at about the right level for their grades.  Having always homeschooled and not really ever thinking (or caring) about grade levels, I didn't know what to expect from this evaluation.  I think my kids are pretty smart, but I also know that this school is pretty rigorous.  Their testing went well, and it looks like they would fit right into their proper grades.

So, we just kept taking the next step in the process, talking to other families from the school, and praying about the decision, and everything kept falling in line and looking positive.  It is very hard for me to give up homeschooling for this year, but I also know that it is the best decision for my family right now.  It feels very weird to be preparing to send the kids to school, but I feel at peace about it and am actually excited to see what this year will bring.

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So what is going to become of this 'classical homeschooling' blog?  Well, I will still be living and learning at home, it will just look a little different this year!  I hope to continue sharing with you all about the things that I am learning, classical education in general, and providing you with resources to help you along in your journey!

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