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…
When my husband and I first set out to homeschool, many eyebrows were raised within our extended family. My mom and dad were horrified that my children would miss out on their entire childhood – you know public school is the only place to find friends and do fun things, right? My mother-in-law and father-in-law…
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 significantly improve…
You don’t normally hear the word legalism in homeschooling circles unless the discussion is about religion. I’m not talking about religion today…or maybe I am. Legalism in Homeschooling Methods Do you remember me telling you about my much-needed summer of rest? Some of that rest involved time spent listening to homeschooling podcasts for encouragement and…
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……
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…
Maybe you’ve noticed that I haven’t been around for a while? Sometimes life just gets so busy that certain things fall by the wayside. Other times, I just need a break. Both happen to have been the case for me these last few months. Both are also the reasons I needed a summer of rest…
My children don’t typically jump for joy when given a writing assignment. Do yours? I’ve found several ways over the years to take writing from dreaded to enjoyable in our home, though. One of the most beloved of those ideas is writing newsletters. Several years ago, I wrote the monthly newsletter for our church. I…
Wait. If nature study is science, does that mean we could do nature study instead of science textbooks? Does that mean I could (and maybe should) view nature study as more than just an extra in our homeschool schedule? Are you sure our time spent outdoors in nature can really count towards real science instruction?…
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,…
Economics. It’s about earning and spending money. It’s how businesses grow. It’s using resources to satisfy needs and wants. It’s taxes and interest rates and credit cards and savings accounts. It’s in everything from local production to global trade. The study of economics is as important for the “average person” as it is for the…
You know how near and dear brain training is to my heart, right? It’s been such a game-changer in our homeschool that I take it very seriously. We do some sort of brain training every. single. school. day. One day might find us playing a quick card game to building working memory. Another day might…