I have felt a range of emotions as I read and watch the news over the past couple of weeks. I generally try to see things from all points of view, and sometimes the media makes this hard to do. That's why I read a wide range of media. I wish I could help more, … Continue reading What We All Can Do
Looking back over the years that we've homeschooled, we have kept a very similar schedule each year, though, of course, it gets tweaked here and there. For me, the best time for formal, academic lessons has been in the mornings right after breakfast, though for my younger son, he isn't a morning person, so I … Continue reading Scheduling Your Homeschool Day
Here it is -- the end of April -- and while our homeschool year won't officially end until July or August, I begin now to start thinking about what I want to finish, what I'll carry over to next year, what to work on over the summer, and we start to shift to other meaningful … Continue reading A year of meaningful work
Today is the 150th birthday of Marie Curie, the distinguished Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist. She was the first woman and first person to win the Nobel Prize twice. As a coincidence, I've been reading a biography of Marie Curie, written by Robert Reid in 1974. The book may have already been surpassed by … Continue reading Marie Curie’s Homeschool Co-op
Being is the great explainer. ~ Henry David Thoreau When I tell people that I'm a homeschool mom, I'm sure most people think that I teach my boys everyday. But the truth is, they have been teaching me. They are the teachers, and I'm the pupil. They have taught me that you can be happy, … Continue reading What My Kids Have Taught Me
Someone asked me on Facebook if I could tell her the reasons we homeschool. There are so many reasons, I'm not sure I can list them all! I've written posts in the past about why we homeschool, but I think it's a good question to come back to now and then because as we continue … Continue reading Why Do We Homeschool?
This is the third post I've written about homeschooling the fourth grade. I wrote about our schedule and how I will decide what to work on each day in my last post. Our Curriculum Language Arts My main priority is reading good literature to my boys. I think reading is the best way to learn … Continue reading Homeschooling 4th Grade Curriculum
I am sitting here wondering where the summer is going. It's already late July, and here in my county, children will start back to school on August 1st. Luckily, we're homeschoolers, so I can start our new "school year" any time I want. On the official paperwork, I pick September 1st. But in reality it'll … Continue reading What the Summer is Boiling Down to
Note: This column was published in the Barrow Journal on April 27, 2016. This bread-baking mission I’m on is full of frustrations, but since I’m doing it for fun, that’s okay. It’s like a puzzle I’m determined to figure out, and I’m relieved I have no deadline for it. I bought a book, Classic Sourdoughs: A Home … Continue reading Everybody Needs a Mentor
This little guy will sigh and ask, "How much more does he have to play?" Older brother used to have more time to play, and quite honestly, he still has lots of time to play, but that doesn't make it any easier for a six-year-old to wait patiently through an hour (sometimes hour+!) of piano playing twice … Continue reading Waiting for Brother
