No matter how long you’ve been homeschooling or how old your children are, some days just don’t go as planned. A craft doesn’t work out the way you’d hoped, anxiety sneaks in and sets kiddos on edge, siblings bicker, headaches happen, and fatigue creeps up and whispers for a break. Societal pressure (and our own…
The glorious days of summer are here! We’ve all worked so hard homeschooling for so many months, and now it’s time to rest, relax, and enjoy a few months off from work… right? Maybe if we weren’t homeschool parents. The truth is that while we do get a break from the quizzes, the textbooks, and…
Homeschooling a child with dyscalculia can seem daunting, but it’s entirely doable. In fact, it can be one of the best decisions you make to help your child succeed! What is dyscalculia? Dyscalculia is a learning disability in math and can make math incredibly hard if children are not given the right support. Dyscalculia goes…
There are definitely stereotypes when it comes to gifted kids. For instance, people might might picture an awkward boy or girl with glasses who plays chess and cello and snorts when he or she laughs. Parts of that may be true for some gifted kids, but they’re often not at all like people expect them…
Horses are a lifelong love for my daughter. She has always gasped at the sight of horses grazing in a pasture, cleared the local library’s shelves of all the horse-related books, and covered her walls with posters of wild stallions and prancing ponies. Gift giving occasions have never been great mysteries for anyone who knows…
Do your children love history or do you hit walls every time you try to teach it? I hated history as a child, mostly because the textbooks were horribly boring, the teachers were dry as a crust of day-old bread, and those long lists of dates were entirely frustrating. Given the opportunity to teach homeschool…
It’s long been a saying that we have to crawl before we can walk, walk before we can run, and run before we can race. Development is typically easy to track and anticipate as a child builds upon previous skills, a steady line sloping up. Gifted kids, though, develop much differently. Instead of a straight…
Homeschoolers who want to enjoy serious nature study often ask me, “Which are the best field guides?” I do have favorites and I’ll be sure to tell you in just a minute, but first you should know that you have lots of really wonderful options. Most likely, you won’t go wrong if you choose field…
We’ve talked a lot about brain training for cognitive skills here at Our Journey Westward. Closely related to cognitive skills are social skills. This article focuses on some easy ways to improve social skills in the homeschool. Don’t get “social skills” confused with “socialization”. One of the biggest thorns in the side of any homeschooler…
After a successful year of history with Ancient Civilizations and the Bible from Diana Waring’s History Revealed series last year, we are back at it with Romans, Reformers, and Revolutionaries. History Revealed works well for our unit study, project-based learning, literature-based loving family. In fact, it’s been a perfect transition for my older kids to…
This post was originally published a few years ago, but I’ve seen a surge of questions and interest in how to plan student-led courses in high school. As you take a peek into the planning process of our high school equine course, I hope to help you cast a vision for developing your own course…
Ah…high school. Why do I love homeschooling high school so much? Mostly because my teens don’t need my constant attention and instruction anymore! Ha! While I’m not kidding about the independent learning thing above, there are other reasons I really enjoy the high school homeschool: We have great discussions. My children can (finally) logically defend issues that are…
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