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 can grow up to be men. With that in mind, I've watched with an anxious heart on many occasions. Whittling with sharp knives. BB guns aimed at doves. Slingshots aimed at squirrels. Overnight fishing trips. Fort building with real tools. Frog gigging. Deer hunting. Chopping wood. Backpacking trips. Shooting skeet. Riding horses bare back. Climbing trees. Starting fires. While some moms may wonder why these ... Read More
Using Picture Books to Teach Text Structure
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 greatly improve the comprehension of the material. (Bonus!) Learning to identify text structure from the prospective of a writer can help you learn how to become a better writer. Picture books make great mentor texts for teaching the six basic types of text structure: cause and effect, compare and contrast, sequence, enumeration, problem and ... Read More
A Cemetery Scavenger Hunt Makes a Great History Lesson
Eeeewww! A cemetery scavenger hunt? Are you serious? Yes! Believe it or not, this is a REALLY cool activity because cemeteries are chock-full of history! We've visited several cemeteries over the years as we've studied our state's history. And, you might remember the times we've utilized our beautiful cemeteries for science purposes like winter nature walks, conifer studies, and tweezer treks. But this trip really helps us dig in to the history of our own community as we discover more about the actual lives of the people who have made our town their home over the years. Cemetery Scavenger Hunt This activity works well for children of all ages. It also works whether you have ... Read More
2016-17 Homeschool Curriculum and Schedule for 4th and 11th Grades
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... Homeschool Curriculum in Four Terms Our little homeschool is changing its look just a bit this year to better meet the needs of our busy schedule and to better fit in with my boys' learning styles. We're still eclectically Charlotte Mason. We still follow (a somewhat slower-paced) four-year history and science cycle. We still start our day with family morning time. The ... Read More
How To Teach High School Dissection
Do you need to know how to teach high school dissection? I did! When my oldest daughter took biology, we were blessed with a wonderful co-op teacher who specialized in dissection and I gladly turned the job over to her. When my son took biology last year, dissection was all on me. I wasn't at all grossed out by the idea, but I didn't really know what to do. While we have done consistent nature study for years and years, "real" dissection was never part of those lessons. And this was high school! This post contains affiliate links. Now, I should admit before I go any further that I did have my wonderful daddy at my disposal. He got a biology degree of some sort in college and ... Read More
When Your Plan for High School Science Isn’t Working
Homeschooling works. It just doesn't always look the same from one child to the next. Sometimes even the best intended plans fail and adjustments need to be made. Our latest major adjustments were made in the subject of science and I've shared our success story here in hopes that you will be encouraged not to give up when your high school science isn't working. Or any subject for that matter! This post contains affiliate links. What works for one kid... With my oldest (who is now in college) we followed the plan so many homeschoolers follow for high school science...Apologia textbooks. They are absolutely wonderful science courses that I've found to be almost AP like in their ... Read More
7 Tips for Starting a Nature Club
Whether you currently enjoy nature study time with your children or not, being part of a nature club is a great motivator and provides hours of fun learning time! What is a nature study club? Quite simply, it’s a small or large group of homeschoolers who meet together for the purpose of studying nature topics together. (I prefer a small club of five or six families since larger groups tend to get off track easier.) How often does a nature club meet? It can meet as often as your group wishes. Some clubs meet monthly all year long; some meet monthly during the school year; some meet monthly during the “nice” months of the year; while others meet weekly, but only during a ... Read More
Brain Training Activities for Auditory Attention
Does your child seem to have, um, selective hearing? You tell him (or her) to do this or that and you're very lucky if one little smidgen of it gets done? Yeah, that can be infuriating to a momma. Ask me how I know. It turns out that there can be an honest-to-goodness reason and maybe, just maybe, he really isn't ignoring you. Auditory attention and auditory processing are important cognitive skills that may need a little work. Luckily, there are loads and loads of quick and fun brain training activities that can boost your child's ability to listen, remember, and act if necessary. What are auditory attention and auditory processing? I'll remind you quickly about one of ... Read More
Our Student-Led High School Equine Course
My college freshman is rocking her equine science studies. I think one reason she's been so successful is the time I allowed her to study horses during high school science. I've written before about our five-year science plan (8th grade included) and how we made sure to cover science fundamentals while still making time for her horse passion. In this article, I'm going to detail more specifically what her student-led high school equine course looked like. Even if your child isn't necessarily interested in horses, I hope you'll find some encouragement that passion studies are very doable - even if there is no particular curriculum readily available. This post ... Read More
Brain Training Activities for Visual Attention and Visual Processing
Brain training activities are good for everyone because they build neuron connections. Who couldn't use a few extra neuron connections, right? I've gone into some depth about the what, why and how of brain training before, so I'll spare you the details about all the cognitive skills brain training improves and how it helps ALL learners. Today we're going to focus on two cognitive skills: ATTENTION and PROCESSING. Actually, we're going to focus on one subset of each: VISUAL ATTENTION and VISUAL PROCESSING This post contains affiliate links. What are visual attention and visual processing? The word attention refers to the ability to stay focused on a particular thing. You ... Read More