Camping Fun: Playing With Rocks

For many people, summer equals camping. I confess to being a person who prefers the comforts (and fridge) of a cabin to sleeping in a tent, but the idea is essentially the same. Nature abounds and nature activities are the order of the day. This is one of the joys of learning in the summer. It’s so easy to get out and enjoy yourself outdoors. If you are hanging out at the campsite making dinner or setting up camp, the kids will probably have fun moving into and out of the tent and arranging it endlessly. They can also traipse … Continue reading →

Plan to Avoid Burn Out

Do not let homeschool burn out sneak up on you. It has a way of coming at the worst times. We are bombarded with tests, projects, new curriculum, a curriculum that is not working and a mountain of laundry and then we wonder why we are burned out. Many do not feel the right to be burned out. We feel as if we have failed or we are not honoring the position in our lives. The reality is everyone needs time to regroup even if they have the world’s best job. My husband gets vacation and weekends off. Me? I … Continue reading →

Manners, Manners!

I’m seeing a trend, and it concerns me. It seems that children of today are ruder than they have been in generations past. Back in the days when everything was black and white, people treated each other with respect. My parents were raised to speak politely to their elders, to say “ma’am” and “sir,” to say “please” and “thank you.” I was raised this way as well, and I find myself fighting a battle to instill basic courtesy in my children. All around them are examples of rudeness and impatience. When we go to the store, we see children demanding … Continue reading →

School Supply Shopping

It’s that time of year—the time when all the school supplies are on sale. Pens! Pencils! Notebooks! Glue! It’s almost more than I can stand—I love all that stuff. It’s tempting to run around and put ten of everything in your cart, isn’t it? But for the most part, homeschoolers aren’t all that wealthy (why is that, anyway?) and we often need to shop wisely for the things we need. I encourage you to think about your family dynamics as you make your shopping list. Children who are homeschooled don’t have a daily need for backpacks and lunchboxes, so don’t … Continue reading →

Supply List for a New Year Homeschooling

As the school year approaches it becomes the season to settle on curriculum, finalize your schedule and purchase all the tools and supplies you will need for the next year. Even after nine years of homeschooling the process still gets me excited yet fills me with a bit of anxiety. I end up with little sticky notes all over my desk and planner to remind me of what I will need for the coming year. Unlike traditional school where you are given a school supply list to go off of every year, homeschoolers check inventory and plan their own list … Continue reading →

Teaching Your Children about Strangers

The homeschooled child is unique in that their interaction with strangers is limited. When they go out into the world, they are usually with a parent or another responsible adult. They have a tendency to naturally trust those around them, and this is wonderful, in that they are able to form friendships, but on the other hand, a child who is too trusting can find themselves in uncomfortable situations. Of course, we can’t be with our children twenty-four hours a day, although I admit, there are times when I wish I could. The world is a scary place and it’s … Continue reading →

Getting Back in the Groove

I came down with a really bad case of bronchitis in January, and wasn’t good for much of anything. I could point and grunt, but that was about it. School suffered—at least, the parts that require me to think. And we won’t even discuss how my housework suffered. That’s just too pitiful. After I recovered and we were able to get back into our groove, I noticed a distinct lack of enthusiasm on the part of my twelve-year-old son. It was hard to get him to feel any excitement about resuming our routine, especially when it came to math. Our … Continue reading →

Kids Teaching Kids

Little kids love to emulate their older siblings. It’s just a fact of nature that when a little person sees a big person do something, they want to do it too. They pick up on mannerisms and vocabulary words from their older siblings, they learn how to perform certain basic skills by watching and observing, and this natural tendency to copy-cat can come in handy in your homeschool. When two-year-old Timmy sees eight-year-old Jimmy reading, he’ll want to do it too. He’ll want to write his name, he’ll want to learn to count, and as he gets older, Jimmy will … Continue reading →

Speech and Debate in Homeschool?

I was bopping around the Internet this afternoon and stumbled across a site where the concern was raised that homeschool children aren’t introduced to the concept of speech and debate. Um, hello? Would this dude like to take on my twelve-year-old, or even my six-year-old? Kids come with a natural ability to debate. This is why parenting is so hard sometimes. And as far as speech-making goes, lemme tell ya … my kids could talk any professional debater into a corner and make them cry. But the question did raise a good point, which is that there are some aspects … Continue reading →

My Homeschool Now Includes a Teenager

On the 7th of this month, my daughter, who once spit up on me, asked me to kiss boo boos, and begged for one more bedtime story, turned 13. She has turned in teddy bears, tea sets, and crayons for a cell phone, Facebook page, and blog. The transformation has been occurring for quite some time but it never really hits until “teen” is the last syllable of the age. She is funny, smart, quick witted, discerning, trustworthy, and at times snotty, ungrateful and very teen. What I am most proud of is that she does not speak in a … Continue reading →