Some children are natural readers. They analyze, synthesize, understanding inferences, cause and affect and other advanced reading comprehension issues in a natural manner. However, other children will struggle with one or more of these issues for a variety of reasons. Perhaps they simply need more experience with reading, or maybe, as with my own high school student, they are in the…
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Language Skills: It’s all a game!
Discovery Bay Games offers a variety of fun and often educational games for families to share. Their mission is simple: bring friends and family together to play, interact, and laugh! This mom believes they have won victories on all counts. As a homeschooling mother of four with a background in educational psychology, I appreciate games that spark imagination while reinforcing…
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Explorer’s Bible Study: Beginnings II God’s Promise
At the beginning of each school day I read the Bible aloud to the kids, and we work on our memory verses. However, I like to use a curriculum as a supplement to help us delve deeper into the Bible. For my youngest (1st grade), I chose Explorer’s Bible Study: Beginnings II ~ God’s Promise. God’s Promise is an Old…
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Weaver Interlock
Weaver Interlock is a hands-on curriculum for preschoolers and kindergartners made by Alpha-Omega. It offers a flexible, fully outlined lesson plan that covers Creation through the Flood. The program integrates Bible with additional subjects such as science, math, language arts, and social studies. We started using Interlock Weaver as our first curriculum for my oldest as his preschool curriculum. We…
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English From the Roots Up
Years ago when I was first introduced to the classical method of homeschooling, I was determined to have my boys attempt a Latin program as suggested in The Well-Trained Mind. We tried two different programs to learn Latin. We got a little farther with a DVD based program, but we still were not able to stay motivated. I know I…
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Ruth Heller’s World of Language Series
We chose Jessie Wise’s First Language Lessons to introduce our daughter to all things grammar. I like the gentle, but persistent approach and the systematic introduction of grammar topics. But the truth is that I wanted more. I wanted to incorporate the living books philosophy that was so much a part of our other subjects. Happily, I stumbled upon a…
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Usborne Art Treasury
After many years of homeschooling, seven to be exact, I finally made an effort to include art appreciation in our school day. I decided to use The Usborne Art Treasury as our “spine”. The book introduces artists of many genres – from African masks to Vincent van Gogh to Georgia O’Keefe. Each artist is covered on four pages. The first two…
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Homeschooling for the Rest of Us – A Review
Do you sometimes read homeschool blogs and feel discouraged about your own homeschool? Does a homeschool book fair leave you feeling overwhelmed with all the possibilities? Do you sometimes think that you aren’t organized enough, creative enough, smart enough, or anything enough to homeschool? If so, you are not alone. I think that all homeschoolers sometimes feel incapable of meeting…
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JumpStart 3D Virtual World: Learning is Virtually Pain Free
JumpStart has been a trusted name in developing quality educational computer games for many years. Moving one step forward they have now developed a 3D virtual world full of games which promote fun and education. The program, targeted for ages 3-10, offers a wide variety of levels to keep all children learning while having fun. While a three-year old may need…
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How I Choose Curriculum
Curriculum collects on shelves in our living room and peaks from boxes in the shed. A glance in either place reveals more stuff than we can realistically use. I’m so thankful for the options, but options can paralyze. So how do I choose what to help me teach my children? How did these books end up in our possession instead…
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