You are at an amazing homeschool convention. You’ve planned some shopping time for yourself and you’ve hit that huge vendor hall. You’re walking up and down the many aisles and feeling more than a little overwhelmed. As you pass each booth there are eager hands thrusting brochures at you and questions directed at you. Help!Read more
In the past, I’ve talked about the most important thing I’ve done in my homeschool-setting a start time for our day. I crave structure and consistency. And I’ve found that my kids also enjoy having a rhythm and routine to our school days. We start school at the same time every day. Our start timeRead more
Raise your hand if you love homeschool conventions! I don’t know if it’s all the books and resources, or the wonderful speakers, or just being in a giant room full of other homeschool families, but I find homeschool conventions to be encouraging and inspiring. After attending a convention, I feel refreshed, renewed, and refocused. ButRead more
It’s a new year and we have a new reading challenge at our house. Last year we initiated a reading challenge for our 3 oldest kids (who were ages 10, 8, and 6). It was the absolute best idea ever! My kids read so many books! And their reading abilities have soared. They eachRead more
Do you have any struggling readers at your house? After teaching my first child to read, I thought I was a homeschool superstar! She seemed to learn how to read almost over night. Teaching reading is easy, right? Wrong. So wrong. My next child would show me how much I had to learn about teachingRead more
This year I have two emerging readers – Tiger (7-year-old boy) and Bee (5-year-old-girl). This is the first time that I have systematically taught anyone to read. But wait….what about Curly my oldest (9-year-old girl)? I always claim that I never taught that child to read. I taught her some phonics and we practiced soundingRead more
My kids don’t sit still for long. And I really don’t think kids need to sit still for very long. They need to be up and moving and have lots of time for play. One of the most important aspects of our homeschool day is our play time. My kids have a few favorite toysRead more
I have a few supplies that I simply must have in order to function. Here are my favorites. 1) Notebooks – I put everything in notebooks! Each child has their own notebook, divided by subjects, and I keep all their papers inside – where they are safe from toddler fingers. I love having all ourRead more
My hubby likes to torment me and play “Guess that song.” He seems to know the most random songs and I apparently don’t know any songs! He laughs mercilessly at me while I guess. But I have actually stumped him a time or two. So, during our little game we’ve found some songs that accuratelyRead more
Ladybug enjoys her books. Sometimes she enjoys them a little much. She has munched a corner or two off a few of her board books. And sometimes she likes to peel the covers off. And she ruins all the lift-the-flap books. But, she does love to be read to and even flips through books inRead more