Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. – James 4:8 My cousin used to have a poster in her room with a kitten hanging from a limb of a tree. The caption read, “If you feel far away from God, guess who moved?” I think that we go through seasons in…
I haven’t done one of my “questions people always ask homeschoolers” posts in awhile, so I thought it was time for a new one. Actually, the idea just came to me as we were doing school today and I thought it would make a great post with pictures. 😉 People often ask about setting up…
We had a great night of baseball last night. Josh’s team won second (or third…Brian wasn’t sure and it didn’t say on the trophy) in the tournament that they finished up. (Hey, maybe Karen knows…if you’re reading, leave a comment if you know where they placed.) Megan’s team started a new tournament and won their…
What’s the quickest, easiest way to add some sizzle to your homeschool? Make it a game! Just about anything can be turned it to a game. Here are some of our favorites: Memory/Concentration This is one of the easiest ways to turn learning into a game. All you need is a package of index cards,…
One of the biggest questions new homeschooling parents have is, “How do I choose curriculum?” With so many choices out there, it can be overwhelming. The first thing to remember, though, is that there is no one perfect curriculum, there is only the best fit for your family. My family may have had great success…
I prefer teaching history in a classical/Charlotte Mason style — chronologically and with lots of living books. We had tried many different ways of studying history, but it always felt like we were just brushing the surface in much the same way I’d complained about the public schools doing. It wasn’t until we read Johnny…
This is probably the number one question homeschoolers hear either from those opposed to homeschooling or those considering it. To accurately answer this question, we must first determine the definition of socialization about which we’re being asked. First, here are a couple of examples of how the dictionary defines the word socialization: 1. a continuing…
Charlotte Mason was a British educator during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, upon whose ideas the Charlotte Mason style of homeschooling is based. I can’t give you a better description of a Charlotte Mason education than you’ll find in this article, found on Ambleside Online’s website. However, I can briefly tell you that…
There are, apparently, a lot of math-phobic people out there because math is another subject that is worrisome to homeschoolers and would-be homeschoolers. Math is one of the few subjects for which my family uses formal curriculum. When choosing a math program, it is wise to first attempt to determine if your child learns better…
Teaching a child how to write well seems to be yet another area of struggle for many homeschooling parents. Once again, this doesn’t have to be the case. While some kids have a natural talent in this area, many more do not. To me, writing isn’t an area to stress over or to push. I…
Learn Your State’s Laws The first thing to do, when considering homeschooling, is to check out the laws in your state. The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) website is a great place to do this, as is the National Home Education Network (NHEN) website. You might also want to check your state’s statewide support…
People often ask me about what we use for language arts. Our “writing center” is basically our language arts curriculum. I first heard about learning centers in Mary Hood’s book, The Relaxed Home School. This post contains affiliate links. See full disclosure policy for more details. I have recently revamped our writing center. I had…
