Making homeschool decisions easy
For some of us the idea of doing hands-on projects with our children can be daunting. I am neither crafty nor artistic, and I don’t enjoy making and cleaning up messes during the course of our school day. However, I have come to the conclusion that with a little bit of forethought and planning, including hands-on activities in our history lessons can be painless and
If I were stranded on a desert island with my family, destined to homeschool my children there until the next boat arrived, and I could only have one educational resource there with me, I would have to choose my library card. Of course, there would need to be a local library on that island, but that’s beside the point. All joking aside, reading with my children is
It’s that “most wonderful time of the year” again! Many homeschool families take the entire month of December off while others continue on with their regular school routine. In years past we have taken a break from our regular studies – even the 3R’s – to focus on some type of Christmas unit. This year, however, because of some unexpected changes in our schedule, we
We enjoy incorporating art into our unit studies. There are many ways to accomplish this, but one of my favorites is to have my children do a lesson from Draw Write Now, a series of books containing beginning drawing lessons and handwriting practice for primary and elementary students. The author, Marie Hablitzel, developed this collection of lessons for her second-grade students after seeing that they were becoming
I am currently reading for the third time a little novel that is such a treat for me and one that I have a difficult time putting down. It’s a delightful story and homeschool idea book all rolled into one. I’m talking about the book Pocketful of Pinecones by Karen Andreola, the veteran homeschooling mother who brought to light the works of Charlotte Mason. The
There are many ways to incorporate art into a unit study, but one of our favorites has been to learn about and imitate the art of a particular illustrator. Last year during our study of the ocean we read A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle. We enjoyed the illustrations so much that we decided to try making our own art in the collage
When my husband and I decided to homeschool our children, I did what most new homeschooling moms do – I got online and started researching curriculum. Early on in my search I began to realize that there were many different philosophies of homeschooling. Up to that point, I honestly had not heavily pondered my own educational philosophy. I was simply trying to find a reading
I am excited to tell you about NaturExplorers, a new series of nature-based unit studies written by Cindy West and Melissa Leach. The authors are both veteran homeschooling Moms who are passionate about studying nature with their children and inspiring other Moms to do the same. No matter what type of homeschooler you are, and whether or not you already do nature study with your family, these
