One of the main goals I set early on in our homeschool was to give my children a love of learning. Creative homeschooling is the mode I’ve used to successfully do that. Don’t think that you can never put your child in front of a textbook or computer screen to homeschool creatively! Instead, think of it as offering your children curriculum and styles to meet their needs. Sometimes that will be a textbook or computer class. Other times, it may be a unit study, living literature, field trips, games, project-based learning, co-op classes, or interest-based studies. These articles show you how. Be inspired!
Have you ever wondered why children long ago were thrilled to find an orange in their Christmas stocking? This festive episode of the No Sweat Nature Study Podcast invites your family into a sweet slice of history and science! It’s the perfect orange nature study to enjoy during the holiday season, blending curiosity, nutrition, and…
Homeschooling in December can be rough. Everyone needs a bit of a break from the monotony of the regular homeschooling schedule. Because of this, some families choose to take the entire month off from homeschooling. Others switch the curriculum to focus on preparing for Christmas and turning their children’s hearts toward the One that Christmas…
What’s that sound outside your window at night? A hoot, a rustle, maybe even a sneaky raccoon on the move? In this fun and mysterious No Sweat Nature Study Podcast episode, kids will discover which animals come alive after dark. It’s the perfect way to kick off our upcoming raccoon nature study video class, where…
Cranberry science experiments are fun to include in your homeschool during November or December. You’ll love these super-easy ideas. All you need is a bag of fresh cranberries and a few simple kitchen supplies. For extra fun, I’ve added a few books to kick-start the learning. These books are some of my favorite Thanksgiving and…
These Thanksgiving and gratitude living books have been favorites around our house for years. Some help explain the history of our Thanksgiving celebration, while others are just sweet stories with a Thanksgiving theme. Yet others really have nothing to do with Thanksgiving, in particular, but focus on a spirit of gratitude, which is such an…
Rather than eat all that candy sitting around the house after trick-or-treating (or another holiday), why not put it to good use? These fun candy math and science lesson ideas will keep your kids busy, happy, and learning! What will we do with all this candy? Honestly, most of the candy that comes into this…
Books are incredibly effective tools for teaching. Charlotte Mason homeschoolers certainly understand that fact as it pertains to subjects like history and science. But did you know that the connection between math and literature can be just as powerful? It’s true! One of the best tools I’ve used to help my children understand math concepts…
These books about measurement are wonderful for introducing children to mathematical concepts and helping bring gentle understanding to confusing topics. Measurement is way more than simply learning how to use a ruler! In fact, there are several fundamental categories of mathematical concepts that count as types of measurement: length, weight, area, volume, time, sorting by…
Are your children overjoyed to learn about soil? Probably not. But, oh, I bet they will be when you introduce these unique activities! Eli and I have had so much fun playing in the dirt AND doing some pretty incredible chemistry experiments. I received free products and compensation from Home Science Tools in exchange for…
Have you ever watched a snake glide across the ground and wondered how it moves without any legs? In this episode of the No Sweat Nature Study Podcast, Mrs. Cindy explains the fascinating science behind slithering. You’ll find out how muscles, body shape, and special belly scales work together to help snakes and other surprising…
We follow a four-year cycle for teaching science. In the elementary years, science picture books have helped me introduce and explain scientific topics so well that I consider them as much a part of the curriculum as any other tool we use to teach science. How We Learn Science While we do use the occasional…
These days, it seems like hands-on homeschool is a buzzword of sorts. What’s all the fuss about? Let’s define hands-on first. It’s best to define hands-on first because I think its overall meaning might surprise you. You see, hands-on learning can actually mean several things. Most obviously, hands-on means “touching” things during lessons. For instance,…