If you have a cooperative extension service in your community, you've hit the homeschooling jackpot. What's a cooperative extension service? It's a cooperation between communities and universities that provides training and services to the community on the topics of agriculture, horticulture, homemaking skills, and homesteading skills. 4-H is the most well-known program that cooperative extension services provide for children. Beginning in 4th grade, the 4-H program offers an incredible array of opportunities in agriculture, healthy living, science, handicrafts, life skills, sportsmanship, service, civic engagement, and leadership. A Homeschool 4-H Club Historically, where we ... Read More
Sneaky Summer Learning Library
In our home, summer break has always been an opportunity for more reading rather than less. With the obligations of regular school lessons on hold for awhile, we often get lost in a stack of picture books or chapter after chapter from a current read-aloud (or two.) I don't necessarily plan for learning during all this extra reading time, but living books tend to have a way of making one impression or another that's long lasting. I recently took part in a challenge with some friends on Instagram to choose five of my very favorite sneaky summer learning books for five different subjects. Because I know how much we all love booklists, I've gathered those 25 suggestions into this post for ... Read More
Get Your Free I’m Bored Activity List to Save Sanity This Summer
Do you take a long summer break from homeschooling? If so, you NEED the I'M BORED Activity List! Because we live on a farm that requires a lot of attention in the summer, it's always been necessary to take a "traditional" long break from school. Even though we stay busy with farm, mowing, and gardening tasks, there is still plenty of time for children younger than 13 to say, "I'm bored!" While I certainly appreciate reading good books aloud on the porch swing and playing board games under a shade tree, I don't have time to be the constant director of activity or playmate for bored children. Many years ago, I started creating a yearly list of 100 activities that my children could ... Read More
French and Indian War Unit Study
My 6th grader just finished a mini French and Indian War unit study that was a great pit stop in our regular history studies. I just love the slow and steady pace we're taking to go through the Story of the World curriculum this time around. I used to follow pretty strict 4-year cycles in history, but with this 3rd child of mine, I'm confident that moving at a slower pace and savoring certain events is as good a way to learn as any. As we read through the Story of the World and something strikes our fancy, we take some time to dig deeper. Sometimes through extra reading or a documentary. Other times through mini unit studies. The mini unit studies give Eli a chance to practice ... Read More
The Mission: To Broaden the Vision of Nature Study
Nature study is certainly a big deal in the homeschool community at large - even outside of Charlotte Mason circles. For that, I am very excited! But, I still get the impression that many view nature study as a fun extra to their regular homeschooling. "Yes, it might bring a little more goodness into the week, but it isn't a make-or-break subject." I'm on a mission to broaden the vision for nature study. This post contains affiliate links. I've written before about how much real science is at the heart of nature study. It's so true. Whether nature study is used as the full science curriculum, or it serves as extension lessons to the "regular" science curriculum, or even if it stands ... Read More
A Quick Leonardo da Vinci Unit Study for Your Homeschool
I have always loved teaching a Leonardo da Vinci unit study because it covers just about every single academic subject easily. The Renaissance, various science topics like inventions, simple machines, & the human body, and art & artist study are all easy topics to cover while learning about da Vinci. Add some fun research-based learning activities and good books and you have yourself a really fabulous unit study! Get a printable copy of this unit study below. Leonardo da Vinci Unit Study Taking two or three weeks to study the life and impact of da Vinci just might inspire your kiddos to dream big and do hard things. His incredible inventions, discoveries, critical thinking, and ... Read More
Educational Christmas Gift Ideas for Homeschoolers
I'm all about giving purposeful gifts for Christmas. Not everything has to have a grand purpose, but I don't want to waste my money on frivolous things that will never be touched again either. That's why I spend some time each year coming up with a list of educational Christmas gift ideas. I keep the list handy when buying for my own children, nieces and nephews, Christmas Angel children, and even the $5 gift exchange for the kids at church. Any family members who ask for ideas for my kids get the list, too. Now, don't get me wrong. We don't limit gift giving to only educational items. My children make their own wish lists which definitely include other things. We set a budget each ... Read More
100 of the Best Picture Books for Middle School
Picture books for middle school? Shouldn't older students have moved on from picture books years ago? Not necessarily. Many of the best living picture books include amazing stories with rich language that big kids are finally able to read and enjoy on their own. Additionally, some of the picture books we have on our shelves do a beautiful job of introducing kids to serious topics - like war or racism. And I purposely tend to hold these back until my kids are old enough to handle the emotional content. Even with books that don't cover heavy topics, there are many picture books with nuances that are best understood by older children. This book contains affiliate links. I've ... Read More
What’s Growing in Your Homeschool? Bacteria Science Experiments
Ah, fall. Beautiful weather, fun festivals, football...and the beginning of "sick season." It's the perfect time of year to teach middle and high school students about germs through some cool bacteria science experiments! I've harped to my son for years about the importance of hand-washing to prevent illness. Now that he has actually seen bacteria with his own two eyes, he's washing his hands more often. It's amazing what experiential learning can teach. Bacteria are all around us...and not all of them are bad! In fact, good bacteria are essential in our bodies to help us digest food and fight off some of the bad microbes that get in. Bacteria are also fabulous decomposers in our world ... Read More
The Best Language Arts Games and Manipulatives for Homeschoolers
Have you ever wondered which are the best language arts games to use in your homeschool? There are so many options out there, but not every game is both educational and fun. I've pulled together a list of more than 20 games (and a few manipulatives) that I have used to get my kids excited about things like reading, spelling, and sentence structure. For the most part, everything on the list can be used with multiple ages as long as the student can already read. This post contains affiliate links. We usually play at least one language arts game per week during school hours. But, a few are family favorites that we often enjoy during family game night. I'll note the family favorites in ... Read More