I'm very happy to announce that I've finally finished a project I've been working on for a long time. It's a new e-book, The Everyday Homeschooler's Guide to Teaching First Grade. I recommend this book for anyone contemplating or currently homeschooling a child between the ages of 4-8. ("First grade" is only a guideline!) This book … Continue reading Your Guide to Teaching 1st Grade
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
I made some minor changes to my blog. First of all, I switched to a new template, though it’s very similar to what I had before. But it opens up the menu and side margin a little, which I like. I also changed my tagline to “at the heart of homeschooling.” I did this partly … Continue reading At the Heart of Homeschooling
Note: This column was published in the Barrow Journal on February 17, 2016. I’ve been noticing lately how easy it is to sit down with my six-year-old and do his lessons. He might complain that he doesn’t like lessons, but when we sit down together, we usually have fun, and sometimes he wants to write … Continue reading On Homeschooling and Mommy’s Learning Curve
One of the main reasons I began homeschooling was so I could support my children’s interests. We all learn better and retain information when we are engaged with what we’re doing and we want to learn the subject. I have never seen much point in forcing kids to keep learning about things they aren’t interested in (notice … Continue reading How do you balance supporting your child’s interests while also achieving the academic goals you believe they need?
