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!
When you think about swans what comes to mind? Do you picture graceful birds floating on a pond or scrawny babies that don’t look graceful at all? In the living books about swans that I am sharing with you today, you’ll meet bird characters that are graceful, some that are not, and everything in between….
Our family’s favorite picture book authors earn “forever spots” on our bookshelves. Those spots don’t just go to any old books. Nope. To earn a coveted spot on our shelves, a book has to be pretty special. While bunches and bunches of authors have found a space or two on our shelves, there are only a…
When exploring nature, we often use our eyes to see things and our hands to touch things. We might even use our ears to listen. But have you ever thought about going on a nature walk with your nose? Concentrating on fragrant and malodorous things during smelly nature study can be lots of fun! Many…
One of the wonderful things about the approach of warm weather are all of the yummy things that are in season and maybe even growing in your own garden or backyard! One of those special seasonal treats is strawberries! Strawberry nature study has to be one of the yummies things you can study in the…
What is a friend? Webster’s 1828 Dictionary of the English language defines a friend as, “One who is attached to another by affection; one who entertains for another sentiments of esteem, respect, and affection, which lead him to desire his company.” I can easily apply that definition as I make friends with books and I…
What do you think about the possibility of completing a thunderstorm nature study? Whether you love the idea or not, we will definitely stay VERY safe from harm’s way this week. You see, thunderstorms can be dangerous severe weather events because of the electrifying lightning. But first, how do you feel about thunderstorms? Are they…
No parent has ever made it through the great journey of child-rearing without hearing two very frustrating words – “I’m bored!” Whether it’s sitting in a church service, a lazy day at home, or even partaking in the wonders of nature, kids everywhere are just a few breaths or activities away from finding themselves simply…
Salamanders are elusive creatures that can make salamander nature study both difficult and exciting. The two times I’ve come upon them in the wild were certainly exciting and quite memorable for me. In this podcast episode, you’ll hear about those two experiences! Salamanders are amphibians, which puts them in the same class as frogs and…
In my last post about teaching narrative writing, I mentioned how the subject of writing tends to be a thorn in the side of many homeschoolers. It doesn’t have to be that way, though! In this little series of posts, I hope to encourage you that teaching writing styles to your middle and high school students…
Instead of studying a particular type of plant or animal, we are going to explore an entire habitat in this vernal pools nature study! Have you ever heard of the term “vernal pool”? I bet you know the word “pool” but do you know what “vernal” means? I can’t wait to tell you all about…
I’m asked all the time if families should live in certain places or certain climates to get use from the NaturExplorers curriculum. The answer is no way. As long as you have specimens for any particular topic, you can most assuredly use NaturExplorers! I’m so excited to welcome Ashley Fox to share a perfect example….
When most of us begin homeschooling, we want (or even believe we need) a dedicated homeschool room. We see other parents posting pictures of their Ikea-style rooms with desks and shelves, cubby holes, and colorful decorations, and we envy them. For whatever reason, we believe we need a room like that in order to be…