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!
Typing instruction has always been an important part of our homeschool. Not just for the sake of learning to type, but as an integral part of our language arts program. In today’s technology age, of course it makes perfect sense to introduce our children early and often to correct typing format before bad habits are…
‘Tis the season for gift giving! In fact, in my home, it’s not just a Christmas gift season – we have a birthday boy in December, too. I hope these educational gifts lists help you find perfect gifts for the kiddos in your life! I’ve always been a big believer in giving educational gifts whenever…
Have you noticed that more and more homeschooling curriculum is being offered digitally? I Love Two Things About Digital Curriculum Because the publishers have a lower overhead, I can often purchase digital products very inexpensively. (Don’t think the cheaper prices mean cheaper products! Overall, I’ve found reputable companies to offer really good curriculum via digital…
For years, our homeschool mornings have begun on a note of family time. Those mornings gathered around the table at the start of each day have been such a blessing. And…as some of my children are moving out of our homeschool as of late, the memories I have of all of us gathered joyfully together…
If you asked me to name a few things that have made THE most impact in our homeschool over the years, one of the answers I would give without hesitation is living literature. Many precious hours have been spent together around books. Those moments have built strong bonds between us, created warm memories, and sparked…
We veered off the “typical homeschool path” this year to teach out-of-the-box homeschool high school chemistry instead. This isn’t the first time we’ve chosen a different path for our son, who is a smart kid but doesn’t thrive in the textbook world of science. Do you remember how we chose an out-of-the-box biology course last year? Because…
One of my favorite things to do in the whole wide world is teaching homeschool workshops. Unfortunately, I don’t get to do that as often as I’d like. Fortunately, there’s a “next best thing” option…podcast interviews. I love talking with popular podcasters about homeschooling – and it makes me feel almost as happy as if…
This momma has a huge affinity for picture books. Over the years, we’ve read more than I would want to count. I promise you that I don’t regret a moment spent inside these books with my children! While we certainly have a long list of favorites from many, many different authors, there are just some…
As I sat down to plan what to write about this coming year here at Our Journey Westward, I took a peek to see what your favorite posts of 2016 were. As you’ll see below, it’s pretty clear you like living literature and creative teaching ideas. And, since I love those things, too, I’m happy…
Do you have a rough and tumble son? Me, too. Two of them, in fact. It’s always been hard on this momma to watch them “do what boys do” without cringing. While I certainly would rather keep them perfectly safe, my husband has convinced me that boys really do need to “be boys” so they…
It’s time for another post in my series about using picture books to teach writing to middle and high school students! Today’s topic is using picture books to teach text structure. What is text structure? It’s how the information written in a text is organized. Learning to identify text structure as a reader can significantly improve…
Well, these children of mine keep getting older and I find myself with a sophomore in college, a high school junior and a 4th grader. My homeschool became a boy school last year – and I’ve come to enjoy planning with active boys in mind! Take a peek at our homeschool curriculum and slightly improved schedule……