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…
During my workshops about creative homeschooling and living math, I often talk about incorporating games into the school schedule. If your family has an established game night, you probably already know how educational many board and card games really are. Math, language, history, science, logic and so much more can be practiced without your kiddos…
Christmas stockings are a long held tradition in the West household. Of all the gifts around the Christmas tree, it seems the stockings are the most anticipated – which is why we save them until the very last. I remember feeling the same way as a little girl. There’s just something extra special about finding…
At the IAHE Conference (Indiana Association of Home Educators), I taught four workshops. While they were all well-attended and well-received, one of the sessions sparked an emotional reaction like none other. My brain training session was the last on my schedule and one of the last of the weekend. I fully expected a low turnout…
Morning Time. Morning Basket Time. Circle Time. In our home, we call it Brain Training Time. Whatever you might call it, I have some great ideas to help you include nature study during the time you gather for family learning before jumping into the rest of your homeschool day. I bet you think I’m going…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Oh, my mercy. I’m only homeschooling one this year. While I’m ecstatic in so many ways, it’s also entirely bittersweet for me. Who knew deleting my graduated son’s name from the letter-of-intent-to-homeschool template on my computer would be such an emotional moment? That letter with only one name on it has been turned into my…
Eli and I have certainly enjoyed a meandering pace through Story of the World for history. Because we’re never rushed to move on to the next chapter, it provides plenty of time for rabbit trails when he shows special interest in a topic. One of those special interests this year was the Vikings. We had…
I love gameschooling! Lately, we’ve found ourselves playing the best science games in our stash over and over again. Eli has been learning about compounds, body parts, and animals. He’s been practicing physics, coding, and scientific thinking. Playing games is such a family-fun, hands-on method for adding some sneaky science into our day. Eli rarely…
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