Old photo of the schoolhouse where Dolly taught at age 16, in Waterloo, New Brunswick

It’s a beautiful New Hampshire morning, blue sky, white fluffy clouds and a soft breeze with a little cool bite to it, which tells us fall is not far away. The golden rod is blooming everywhere, another sign of the last days of summer.

As usual I started the morning checking into the literary bloggers who have given me information and hope that I, too, can create a blog on my website: Shirley Hershey Showalter, Carol Bodensteiner, and Kathleen Pooler. They, and many others, offer an endless source of help and information for beginning writers.

Because there is an avalanche of information online to help writers write and be published or self publish, I’d like to dedicate this blog more to sharing information about the subjects in my book (Dolly: Her Story), and my magazine (Wellspring Magazine). Those subjects include family issues, immigration, education, parenting, recovering from loss, the costs and rewards of love, and much more.

This week the children here in New Hampshire go back to school. Some will be excited, some will be anxious, others will be scared. Some children will be home schooled, a percentage that is increasing in many areas. Parents homeschool their children for a variety of reasons, some to enlarge their children’s experience of the world, some to confine their experience to the social, moral and religious experience that fits the beliefs of the parents, some are traveling and find home schooling more convenient.

As owners of an art gallery we have had many home schooled children come to visit with their parents. We have been impressed with their calm demeanor, their interest in art and their thoughtful questions.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on education, home schooling, and ideas for improving our schools.