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!
We have an unwritten tradition of starting our school year off with a field trip or two. Sometimes the field trips are more like vacations – like when we went to Virginia. Other times, it’s an overnight stay somewhere or a few simple day trips. This year, we had so much fun kicking off the…
Looking for a simple way to engage your children in some fun learning this summer? Why not try a few learning centers! What is a learning center? Quite simply, a few goodies based on a certain theme that you put together for your children to explore. Yep, that’s it. Easy and intriguing. Here’s the latest…
(This post contains affiliate links.) Talk about a fun week of learning with M&M Math! Below you’ll find all sorts of activities we have done for M&M Math. Most of the ideas could easily be used with other types of candy pieces, too. Estimation: Fill a jar with M&M’s and ask your children to estimate…
Many homeschool moms who teach co-op classes develop their own curriculum. Me, too, for the most part. However, I’ve found it a little more difficult to design a thorough, engaging curriculum for middle and high school co-op classes that doesn’t leave me studying and preparing for hours. As a curriculum reviewer, a lot of great…
One of the best ways to perk up the school year during the winter is to get outside. Yes, you heard right – get outside! I know it’s cold, but I also know what “going stir crazy” feels like and how {even cold weather} nature walks can rejuvenate the spirit. Not to mention, there’s a world…
Check out what Jimmie of Jimmie’s Collage and Notebooking Fairy has written! What a gem it is! This post contains affiliate links. Read my entire disclosure policy here. Clear. Concise. Full of practical ideas. Easy to implement. Very motivating! Those are phrases that perfectly describe Notebooking Success by my blogging friend, Jimmie. I’m not new…
Every autumn, we enjoy a little pumpkin math! All our children participate according to their abilities – from the 4yo to the 14yo. This year, the 11yo and 14yo were expected to measure with complete accuracy, while the 4yo dabbled in learning how to measure. He used standard (rulers) and non-standard (blocks) measuring tools. I…
Children of the 21st century simply must be knowledgeable about and capable with computers. Besides typing programs and internet research, I like to assign occasional projects that are computer-based. I thought you might like to see the most recent projects… Writing is something that Caleb does NOT like. But, when the writing is (at least…
At co-op this year, I have the privilege of teaching two logic and critical thinking classes – one for high school and one for middle school. We’re having a great time together! I promised a little look inside that class, so here goes. This post contains affiliate links. The Main Content I’m doing similar things for both…
Here’s a simple field guide hint that will work for all ages from preschool through adult. We started using this little trick before our children were even readers and we still use it to this very day. Simple Field Guide Hint Get out the stickers! Before they could write, or even draw very well, I…
Some of the NaturExplorers guides suggest the completion of a diorama to go along with a research project. Dioramas are such a fun and creative way to model entire habitats or ecosystems. Even better, they can prove to be an informal assessment of your child’s understanding when you ask him or her to create a diorama…
April and May were two of the busiest months I think I’ve ever had! Here are just a few of the things that kept me busy… (This isn’t even the half of it!)