World geography projects are a fantastic way to make learning meaningful, hands-on, and engaging for homeschool students. Instead of simply memorizing maps and facts, children deeply understand different countries’ cultures, histories, and geography, making personal connections along the way. When students research, write, and present their findings, they develop critical thinking, communication, and creativity—all while…
Do you have more than one child? How about gifted kids? Perhaps struggling learners? Do you have active children? Is hands-on learning a preference? Do your children love to get lost in certain topics? Could they take more ownership of their work? Would you love for them to really “get” what they’re learning? Do you want to teach all of your children the…
How does a Charlotte Mason education mesh with busy kids – or inquisitive gifted kids – or minds that jump from one thing to another in seconds? Actually, pretty well. Charlotte Mason and active kids can be a match made in heaven! Quite naturally, many of the methods of Charlotte Mason’s style work alongside children…
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…
Almost nothing gets a homeschool mom’s heart racing like the sight of a brand-new curriculum, stacked clean and neat, ready for a new year of learning. We’ve done the research, placed the orders, and planned out the next several months, complete with themed weeks, finale projects, and even a few well-timed field trips. The butterflies…
Science and creativity seem mutually exclusive, don’t they? It makes sense that the two fields are so opposite of one another that they can’t possibly compliment one another, right? I mean, the idea of a creative and scientific study for children does sound almost comical when you consider the limitless range of creativity and the…
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…
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,…
Homeschooling gifted kids isn’t impossible. In fact, it might be one of the best things you could ever do for your child! And…you CAN do it! I’ve written Homeschooling Gifted Kids: A Practical Guide to Educate and Motivate Advanced Learners to help you be successful! I’ve been writing about gifted homeschooling for several years and have…
When I first started writing Homeschooling Gifted and Advanced Learners, I met Colleen Kessler. She was a very experienced author at Prufrock Press who happens to homeschool, too, which gave us some common ground. Since that time, Colleen (a gifted intervention specialist) has become quite the online resource for gifted homeschooling (and quite a good…
Do You Know Everything There is to Know? Me either. Far from it, actually. When we first began homeschooling, one of the questions/comments I heard more often than most was, “How are you going to teach your children everything they need to know? I would really want a professional teaching my children – especially as…
I’ve been telling you forever about the difference project-based learning has made in our homeschool. It’s made such a difference, I even included an entire chapter on the subject in Homeschooling Gifted and Advanced Learners! I’ve given you project ideas in the past, but I thought it was high time to dive a little deeper…