Virginia C. McGuire

Afterschooling: Combining the best of homeschooling and traditional schools

vcmcguire — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 21:42:51 +0000

I wrote this piece for the Philadelphia Inquirer about the trend of “afterschooling,” families who do a significant amount of academic instruction on the side while their children attend transitional schools during the day.

‘Afterschooling’ no punishment

Afterschooling can take many forms. Some people hire math tutors or send their kids to foreign language classes outside of school. Some do science experiments at home. I spoke to one mother who has a full range of textbooks, and she spends two hours every afternoon teaching her son the same subjects he learned at school. Some families do it to provide extra challenge for academically gifted kids. Some do it to make their children more competitive on standardized tests. Some do it just for the fun of it.

Check out the article to learn more.

For more regular updates, find me on Facebook

vcmcguire — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:50:24 +0000

I’m posting my latest articles to my Facebook page these days. If you’d like to be notified when I publish a new article, please consider clicking the “like” button.

Thanks!

Claire (aka Virginia C. McGuire)

Recent real estate articles

vcmcguire — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 20:12:12 +0000

So far this summer I’ve written about:

A townhouse near Athens, Greece

H omes priced at $900,000 in Ohio, Oregon and Maine

A re stored 18th century farmhouse in Provence

A penthouse apartment overlooking Lake Geneva in Chernex, Switzerland

House profile: A former factory in Philadelphia becomes a family home

vcmcguire — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 20:53:32 +0000

I wrote about Clarence and Lhianna Bodiford’s home in Port Richmond, a former industrial neighborhood in Philadelphia.

The article is here.

Penthouse apartment in Buenos Aires

vcmcguire — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:33:58 +0000

Buenos Aires is one of my favorite places to write about. I hope to make it there some day.

House hunting in Buenos Aires

Waterfront house in Nova Scotia

vcmcguire — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 18:42:24 +0000

The real estate agent told me that the little square dormer with the mansard roof on the front of this house is a local architectural feature called the “Lunenburg Bump.” Also, now I want to know more about the pirates who once used the islands of Mahone Bay as their hideouts.

House Hunting in Nova Scotia

Architectural salvage stores in Philadelphia

vcmcguire — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 02:11:48 +0000

My article, Stylish Wreckage, ran recently in the Philadelphia Inquirer. I spoke to the owners of four architectural salvage stores across the city, including a brand new store opening at Carpenter and Greene in Mt. Airy this weekend owned by green builder Chris Stock.

Note: Link to article was updated on 6/27/2012.

Real estate porn

vcmcguire — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 02:07:29 +0000

I had a chance to fill in for Mike Powell and write the much-loved What You Get column last week.

Here’s what I came up with–

Houses in the Philadelphia suburbs, Cape Cod, and Long Beach.

What you get for $1.1 million

Iceland!

vcmcguire — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 03:46:13 +0000

I keep meeting people who are fascinated with Iceland. I’m fascinated with Iceland.

Maybe we should buy this house.

Wildlife habitats in the city

vcmcguire — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 17:34:04 +0000

Here’s the last installment of my gardening column. I’m stepping back from this series to work on other things.

Making your urban garden into a wildlife refuge