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, a smart kid who 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 that course…
The middle school homeschool curriculum options are some of my favorite things! The year before I got a full-time teaching job, I was a substitute teacher for three school systems, serving K-12 students. Let me tell you…after about two months, I informed the central office that I was available for anything except middle school. I loathed middle…
You will love these top picks for upper elementary homeschool curriculum! Third through fifth grades are some of my favorite years to teach. During this period, children are usually pretty good readers, making it more enjoyable to delve deeper into other subjects. And, they still have a zestful spirit about learning, which means we get to have…
I’ve used a bazillion planners over the years. You, too? I needed something to keep me on task with our Charlotte Mason style of homeschooling for my elementary son. Something that “forced” me to remember things like poetry recitation, the narration of various subjects, and memory verse practice. The Perfect Charlotte Mason Homeschooling Planner I…
Let’s wrap up homeschooling for the year! I promise it doesn’t have to be stressful. No matter your homeschool style, I bet you’re staring down piles of workbooks, notebooks, lapbooks, projects, worksheets, and folders. The end of the school year comes with wonderful examples of your family’s hard work! I’ve been asked before if I…
What does a typical day in a Charlotte Mason schedule look like? Truthfully, it will look different for each family! While essential aspects should be included in a true Charlotte Mason homeschool, the way you work those into your plan should always fit your preferences and lifestyle. Today, I’m sharing the typical daily pattern our…
I first published this post of early elementary homeschool curriculum picks a few years back, but I’m still a super-fan of everything listed below. My little fella is steadily moving on in school. He’s reading real books and working on real math problems. He builds amazing Minecraft structures and plays basketball better than I do. And he loves…
I love using living books in our homeschool. If you’ve been around here any time at all, you know that living literature is a key tool that I use across all ages and all subjects. Using literature to teach high school history works especially well. So many nuances of an event or era can be…
You may have heard me say before that we follow a four-year cycle of chronological history in our homeschool. Well, we used to. My littlest man will be in 3rd grade this coming school year, and we’re just now getting into ancient history – year 1 in a four-year cycle. I still plan to follow…
For years, we’ve taken at least one homeschool field trip each month of the school year. These trips have created some of our best memories and have always provided us with wonderful learning opportunities. It may sound overwhelming to plan monthly field trips, but it’s really not that hard when you’re organized—and I’ll help you…
What do you do with a high school student who has been through two cycles of American history and thinks a third cycle would just be boring and unfruitful? Spice it up and make sure he dives deep! Over the years, our family has followed a four-year history cycle. By the time high school rolls around,…
Once upon a time, there was a homeschooling mom who didn’t have a lot of money. She heard about homeschooling cheaply – or even for free – and decided this had to be the way to go… I like homeschooling on the cheap just like everyone else. In fact, I’ve been able to homeschool very frugally…