🕯️ Candles, Coffee, and the Quiet Rebellion of Love

Happy Cozy Morning!

You’re reading The Ten AM, a Friday ritual for the parents who traded the fluorescent hum of the institution for the quiet steam of a French press. Every week, I’m serving up a 1-minute hit of curated finds and field notes to help you remember that you aren’t just 'staying home. You’re building a world. Because coziness is a form of resistance, much like the first cup of coffee before the house wakes up, or my recurring belief that I can solve any existential crisis with a new stack of linen notebooks and a very expensive candle, which usually results in me being 'organized' in spirit while my actual life remains a beautiful, unscripted work of art.

XO,

Kimberly 

The Morning Pour

A shot of soul to start the day.

The idea of lyrics ‘not coming’ is basically a category error. What we are talking about is not a period of ‘not coming’ but a period of ‘not arriving’. The lyrics are always coming. They are always pending. They are always on their way toward us. But often they must journey a great distance and over vast stretches of time to get there. They advance through the rugged terrains of lived experience, battling to arrive at the end of our pen. In time, they emerge, leaping free of the unknown — from memory or, more thrillingly, from the predictive part of our minds that exists on the far side of the lived moment. It has been a long and arduous journey, and our waiting much anguished.

~ Nick Cave, The Red Hand Files

Here’s to thinking deeper, marinating on ideas, and not following the status quo because that’s what we’re “supposed to” do. Here’s to our own arrival in parenting, motherhood, and family. Here’s to giving our kids the space to think deeper rather than being rushed through a rigid schedule and a high-pressure day. Here’s to appreciating the waiting that comes with learning and life.

The Wall Breaker

Trading system rules for home truths.

• The System Rule: Education is a linear process of following instructions and meeting benchmarks.
• The Home Truth: Imagination isn't a "soft skill"—it is the engine of everything.

The modern school system often treats imagination like a luxury, something to be squeezed into a 40-minute art block between high-stakes testing. But watching my kids at Broadway School during our co-op and at music lessons in a recording studio, where they’re writing their own song this week, was a wake-up call. When kids are given the stage (literally and figuratively), their creativity explodes. 💥 

Let this be a reminder when you feel like you’re drowning in worksheets and curriculum. We don't need more kids who can follow a rubric…

…We need more kids who can imagine a world that doesn't exist yet and then have the audacity to build it.

Over the Fence

Neighborly finds and homeschool favorites.

This week, I’m peeking over the fence at some of your incredible "classrooms." Whether it’s a dedicated sunroom filled with plants or a converted dining room table covered in glitter and history books, these spaces prove that a "learning environment" is wherever life happens.

📸: Homespun Childhood

Look at that natural light in Homespun Childhood’s dining-room-turned-homeschool-room! 😍

📸: Tidbits and Company

I love how grounded and earthy this room is from Tidbits & Company!

📸: Oh Happy Play

So much great storage and alignment in this craft room turned into a homeschool room by Oh Happy Play!

And then, real talk… here’s ours which I 100% did not clean up for you so you can see the non-filtered way we love to learn each day. No shade on the BEAUTIFUL ones above, but I’m the author here and you should know the hot mess you’re dealing with when I come into your inbox each week. 😆

Yes that’s a tub of Kinetic sand on the shelf (we used it for our Christmas study and are now using it to build battle scenes while I read about historical wars). Yes, there’s probably paper scraps and glitter hidden somewhere in that carpet. No I’m not sad about it.

Not pictured are the keyboard, my desk, and many crafts, including ocean dioramas, papier-mâché jellyfish, signs from our entrepreneur fair, matchbox boats, “lungs,” and theatrical masks.

Uncaged

Sightings of the classroom where it shouldn't be

This week, school took place on the shag carpet shown above, where we learned each other’s love languages in honor of Valentine’s Day. The goal was to better understand how we each feel seen and valued.

The result? A lot of Words of Affirmation and Acts of Service advocates in this house. It turns out that understanding that one child needs an encouraging word when math feels especially hard, and the other needs you to make him a mid-morning smoothie to make it through the lesson, is just as vital as understanding long division. After all, learning isn't just about the head. It’s about the heart.

The Proof

The science and data behind the art of homeschooling.

📸: Brighterly

The "quiet rebellion" is getting louder. According to recent data from the Johns Hopkins Homeschool Research Lab, homeschooling in the U.S. grew by 5.4% in the 2024-2025 school year alone, which is nearly triple the pre-pandemic growth rate. In states like South Carolina, the jump was a staggering 21.5%.

This is a fundamental shift. Families are realizing that the "standard" isn't the only way, and the data shows we are part of a massive, thriving movement of parents reclaiming their children’s time and curiosities.

The 10 AM Invite

Low-friction, high-magic things to try today.

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, and since it falls on a Saturday, we are officially resigning from the "rushed morning" club. Tomorrow, we celebrate the love we’ve built within our four walls with a Glow-Up Breakfast where we’re ditching the overhead lights. Instead, I’m lighting a candle and pulling out the good cloth napkins (the ones that make you feel like a grown-up).

Here’s the tentative menu:

• Sliced strawberries vertically to create natural heart shapes, scattered over yogurt, oatmeal, or a stack of sourdough discard pancakes (not yet decided).
• Hot chocolate and marshmallows.
• Waffles that might (might) turn into hearts.

The Extra Shot

A little something sweet for your weekend.

"Winning doesn't always mean being first. Winning means you're doing better than you've ever done before." — Bonnie Blair, 5-time Gold Medalist

As we watch the Milano Cortina Winter Games this weekend, I’m inspired by the "Supermoms" on the ice. Seeing athletes like Elana Meyers Taylor balance the high-speed intensity of a bobsled run with the chaotic, beautiful reality of raising her boys on the road is a reminder for all of us. How cool is it that those boys get to travel with their mom to Italy?! I’m 👏🏼 Here 👏🏼 For 👏🏼 These 👏🏼 Family 👏🏼 Experiences!

Whether you’re chasing a gold medal or just trying to get through a Friday without a sourdough starter disaster, your home base is the secret ingredient. It’s the soft place to land that allows our kids (and us!) to take the big risks.

I’ll be back next Tuesday with my weekly letter from our homeschool to yours. Until then, I’m sending you all the cozy vibes to close out this week.

~ Kimberly