Practical Help & Encouragement for Your Homeschool
I can’t believe it’s August again!
That means it’s time to share our homeschool plans for the year ahead. (If you’re curious about what we’ve used in the past, check out this post which has links to all the previous years.)
We’re really in the thick of it now. I’ll be homeschooling my fifth and second grade boys and their three year old sister (whose unreliable, dwindling naps should make for a crazy-making an interesting year).
Has the word “homeschool” caught your attention lately?
Are you curious about it? Feeling called to it? Wondering if it’s something you should explore more?
Do you feel a little crazy for even considering such a counter-cultural concept?
That’s exactly where I was not too long ago.
Continue reading “Should YOU Homeschool?”
I’ve never met anyone who loves every single part of their job.
When I used to work in architectural engineering, the two things I dreaded most were boring business meetings and plumbing diagrams. And if I had to attend a boring business meeting ABOUT plumbing diagrams… well, let’s just say that wasn’t my favorite day. There’s only so long a girl (at least THIS girl) can listen to someone explain the intricacies of sanitary vent lines before she’s forced to mentally escape to Aruba to preserve her mental health.
It’s no different with home education. Not the part about the plumbing and meetings (unless you mean pulling LEGOs out of the toilet and calling a family meeting to determine the culprit).
No. What I mean is, just like every other job, the role of home educator has its downsides.
Continue reading “The 3 Worst Things About Homeschooling”
If you homeschool or are considering it, there’s one question that’s critical you answer.
It’s NOT “What curriculum should we use for math?”
It’s NOT “How will we make friends?”
And it’s definitely NOT “How can I recreate public school at home?”
The super-dee-duper, most-important, must-answer question is…
(drum roll, please)
Continue reading “The Most Important Question to Answer Before Homeschooling”
Is it just me or has our society overcomplicated things that should be fairly straightforward?
Take food, for example. The overall process seems like it should be pretty simple. Grow or buy food. Cook food. Eat food. Done.
But when you get to the grocery store and spend the first 15 minutes just trying to pick a breakfast cereal from the 129 choices available, you quickly realize this might be harder than you thought.
Continue reading “Strategies for Buying Homeschool Curriculum: A Grocery Store Analogy”
I’m a list person. I love lists. If there’s a problem for me to solve, the solution will probably involve a list. And, if it’s a list in the form of a spreadsheet, all the better!
Now, even if you’re not on the same page as me about lists being the answer to life’s most pressing problems, please hear me out.
There’s one list – and, yes, it’s a spreadsheet *giddy squeals* – that has helped me plan out our homeschool years more than any other resource I’ve made or bought. The best part is, it’s *EASY* and *FREE* to make and highly customizable.
Continue reading “Homeschool Planning with a Master Course of Study”
We love The Story of the World history curriculum.
(And, given that I loathed history when I was a kid, it’s no small potatoes for me to say that I love a history curriculum!)
After using Tapestry of Grace Primer for my oldest son’s first and second grade years, we started Volume 1 of The Story of the World and haven’t looked back.
Continue reading “Ways We Customize The Story of the World Curriculum in our Homeschool”
Not too long ago, if you asked me if I like gardening, I’d have answered…
“No way! I kill plants!”
(I didn’t mean to kill them – it just happened. I’m pretty sure it had to do with forgetting to water them for months at a time…)
Continue reading “Thinking of Homeschooling? You Can Do It!”
The more we homeschool, the more I realize a lot of my job as home educator does NOT have to do with academics.
Sure, the 3 R’s are important, but there are higher objectives we should be prioritizing.
Continue reading “5 Important Things to Teach in Your Homeschool”
In last week’s post, I interviewed my 5th grader about his homeschooling experience. Now it’s my 2nd grader’s turn.
The following is an interview with my youngest son, our middle child. I’ve tried to capture his exact responses and he’s read and approved of this post.
Continue reading “An Interview with a 2nd Grade Homeschool Kid”