This chemistry project for kids was one of the highlights of the school year for my children! It also happened to be our last project of the school year, which means we just wrapped up a long and fruitful homeschool year. In our homeschool, we follow a four-year cycle for science. Besides the weekly (or…
Your homeschooler is behind in academics and your greatest homeschooling fear is realized. Maybe it’s a struggle with algebra or your kiddo still isn’t reading on the expected grade level. Your niece has better handwriting, your mother-in-law is judging, and the pressure is on to somehow bring your child up to standard. The pressure that…
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…
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…
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…
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…
We’re a Charlotte Mason homeschooling family, yet we enjoy learning history and science through unit studies. Can those two things go together? If you’re a Charlotte Mason purist, the answer is no. Remember, though, I’ve said for years that we are “eclectic Charlotte Mason homeschoolers with a dash of Classical education and unit studies thrown…
Boy, I hope your neck of the woods contains as many fossils as mine. In Central KY, we can find fossils hidden just about everywhere – and that makes our rock and fossil walks so much fun! We get to be scientists (petrologists, paleontologists, archaeologists or rockhounds – you decide) and detectives, which are pretty…
(This post contains affiliate links.) I’m a fan of research-based learning. This is learning that requires action from my children – not just pulling up rote facts or answering simple questions. In research-based learning, my children must dig deeper to determine answers. It forces independence and competence in knowing how to learn. While it’s not…
(This post contains affiliate links.) Analyzing the Themes from Amos Fortune I have a young man who would be perfectly content if he never had to read or write another day in his homeschooling life. Much to his dismay, he still has to read and write quite often. Occasionally, to dull the horrendous pain he…
Fridays have been {fun} for years. This past week, our Friday morning was dedicated to science fun. Besides containing all the mess of tons of experiments to one day, it gave Caleb a chance to review several chemistry concepts we’ve been learning. Science Friday Using the book Molecules by Janice VanCleave(affiliate link), I chose…
An Easy 13 Colonies Travel Brochure Project In an effort to share more of our project-based learning, I thought I’d highlight Caleb’s latest middle school research & writing assignment. As part of a Colonial History unit study, Caleb and I read a two great books about the 13 colonies. Afterward, I asked him to choose…