One fun thing about homeschooling is "fixing" aspects of our own education we didn't like. Think coding should be a school subject? Add it! Believe students should spend more time outside? Get out there! I knew when we started homeschooling that I wanted to add a second language right away. … [Read more...]
Our Terrible Homeschool Organizational System (And Why I Love It!)
When I first started homeschooling I made a binder for all of our records and plans. Oh, it was a beautiful binder! It had tabs for each subject. It had the state standards printed out. It was perfect. Perfect. I also had a beautiful little daily scheduling system. There was laminating, … [Read more...]
Five Ways to Talk With Your Kids about Feelings
I just finished my master's in Marriage and Family Therapy (not practicing right now -- taking a break so the hubs can get through school!) and did my internship in child therapy. People have weird reactions when you tell them you're a child therapist. They often ask if they're doing something … [Read more...]
Getting Started Homeschooling
Maybe you've thought about homeschooling for a while, or maybe the option has just hit you in the face for some reason. You know that you have what it takes to homeschool, but the "how" is still pretty foggy. First, take a deep breath. The number of choices involved when you start homeschooling … [Read more...]
Review: Telling God’s Story by Peter Enns
I was raised (and homeschooled) in a Christian home, and I am a Christian today. But the faith I grew up with is quite different from the faith I have now. I was raised with certainty, and now I embrace mystery, and even doubt. I was raised with answers and have grown into questions. So, now I … [Read more...]
Free Printable 3-D Current Event Worksheet
When I was in high school I was regularly assigned the classic "Current Event." It was basically just clipping an article from a newspaper and summarizing it. It felt boring and irrelevant already (and I don't want to tell you how many years it's been since I was in high school!). It's no … [Read more...]
Eight Reasons Junior Ranger Programs Rock
From our first time discovering Junior Ranger programs in October 2015 to now, they have been a big part of our life as a family. These programs are offered by most state and national parks, and give kids a packet of activities they need to complete to earn a pin-on badge. As of now, our kids have … [Read more...]
When You Want to Press the “Reset” Button….
Some days are terrible. Some days I'm exhausted, or my kids are exhausted. Or we've had too much sugar, or we don't feel good, or we're just cranky. I used to put this in one category if I was the cranky one and another if it was one of my kids, but as it turns out we all work in a really … [Read more...]
Mirrors and Windows
Sometimes homeschoolers get a reputation for sheltering our kids and limiting their experience of the world. But as homeschoolers (and afterschoolers!), one of our great opportunities is to give our children a wider view of the world than would be possible otherwise. We can use all of our "out of … [Read more...]
Five Ways We Created More Connection in Our Homeschool Life
For a lot of parents, increased connection with children is a primary reason for choosing to homeschool. For some who chose homeschooling for other reasons, increased connection can be an unexpected benefit. For us, it was a little bit of both. I was excited to go on a learning adventure with my … [Read more...]