Blogging: An unconventional writing curriculum

A recent conversation between my two oldest girls: “What are you going to write about on your blog today?” “I’m going to post my story about the purple penguin.” “Cool! I’m going to list some of my favorite books. Do you think you’ll get any comments?” “I hope so. I love it when Daddy leaves me a comment.” “Me, too!” Our “living is learning” lifestyle incorporates a lot of real life and everyday activities as part of our curriculum. Andrea wrote about exactly this kind of thing here and here. When you homeschool, it just makes good sense to “count” … Continue reading

Teach Your Homeschooler About Plagiarism

The result of my King Day post yesterday was a conversation on plagiarism (that continued as a private conversation)… King’s, not mine. I have yet to confirm (for myself) that King plagiarized, but I thought this was an appropriate time to discuss teaching a child about plagiarism. I recently had the opportunity to teach my child about plagiarism. Recently, when President Gerald Ford’s funeral was televised, I allowed the children to spend the morning watching it, with one condition. They had to write an essay about the deceased president. I was very impressed with my 12-year-old son’s paper, his thoughts … Continue reading