Over the last month, I’ve had the chance to talk with ToriAnn Perkey, homeschooling mom who runs the blog Adventure to Inspire. As we’ve chatted, we’ve investigated her reasons for choosing homeschool for her family, and today I’d like to talk about the blog itself. I was first introduced to the blog by her husband, Josh. I’m usually a little leery when someone says, “Hey, my wife blogs. Check it out.” But I’ve known and respected Josh for a long time, so I headed on over. What I found was an awesome resource. There are articles sharing thoughts and ideas, … Continue reading →

This week I want to feature Spell Out Loud a homeschooling blog authored by Maureen Spell a homeschooling mom to six children. Maureen’s blog is full of activities and ideas that will inspire you and spark some creativity into your homeschool. You will find toddler and preschool arts and crafts, lapbook projects, reviews, digital scrapbooking and free printables. When you visit her blog you are entering a delightful world of arts, crafts and home school knowledge. Her blog is easy to navigate with many interesting posts and sections. I love her Toddler Time because she shows you how to engage … Continue reading →

We’ve been talking with Vickie Smith, author of The Quiet Doll Queen and president of Ark Essentials Publishing, about her decision first to homeschool, and then to send her children back to public school. You can read part one here and part two here. Vickie, you mentioned that most of your children did very well acclimatizing back into a public school routine, but two of them did have some difficulty. Can you tell us about that? My fourth daughter started in public school- my first daughter to attend public kindergarten. She did well in kindergarten but struggled severely socially in … Continue reading →

We continue our talk with Vickie Smith, author of The Quiet Doll Queen and president of Ark Essentials Publishing. You can read part one here. Vickie, after teaching your children at home for a time, you chose to send them to public school. How did the transition go from home to school? My oldest adapted fairly easily. She’d already made friends and gotten used to things gradually. I also adapted to the huge amount of paperwork and costs that went along with public education. My second daughter struggled a bit, but part of that was by choice. She could’ve dropped … Continue reading →

Today I’m joined by Vickie Smith, author of The Quiet Doll Queen and president of Ark Essentials Publishing. Vickie, thank you for taking time out to chat with me. How did you arrive at your decision to homeschool? I begged my mom to homeschool me way back before it was popular. I had a very stressful time as a young student. I always finished my work and just sat around class, reading. When I was an office volunteer, I’d get my homework for the day and be done in a short period of time. Public education just seemed so wasteful … Continue reading →

Today I’m joined by homeschooler Ali Cross, who has graciously agreed to share some of her journey with us. Ali, thanks for being here. Can you tell us how you arrived at your decision to homeschool? I’d always been interested in homeschooling, but when my twin boys were almost five, they hated spending time together, and where one was super smart and loved to learn, the other found his place by being the exact opposite of his brother. So I decided they couldn’t probably learn at home and that they needed some time away from each other. However, when they … Continue reading →

Today I’m joined by Kimberly McNeely, who shares her thoughts about her family’s decision to homeschool. Thanks for taking time to chat with me, Kimberly. When did you start your homeschool, and what brought you to your decision? We started homeschooling in 2003. I had always said it was something I could not do and wasn’t interested in trying, so our first child started school in a charter school some miles from home. When we subsequently bought our first home in an area even farther away from school, it became extremely time-consuming, and potentially dangerous during winter months, to transport … Continue reading →

Karen Loutzenhizer, a homeschool mom from Utah, was kind enough to join me earlier to share some of her experiences. Here is the rest of our conversation. Karen, what are some of your other philosophies in regards to education? I really believe that we underestimate kids. Instead of just focusing on the pet topics so commonly taught to children, I attempt to open up all kinds of topics and present them in a kid-friendly, understandable format to my kids (all age 9 and under). We study chemistry and the periodic table, the Hittite people, and Monet–not just recycling and ancient … Continue reading →

Today I’m talking with Karen Loutzenhiser, a homeschooling mom from Utah who took time out to chat with me about her homeschooling journey. Karen, how did you know that homeschooling was the right choice for you? I have wanted to be a teacher since I was a little girl, and the only thing that could top that career in my heart and mind was being a mommy. By the time I got my degree in education, I already had two kids in tow. I knew that they were my absolute joy and my #1 priority. Why would I drop my … Continue reading →

The clouds parted. Angels began to sing. Little birdies fluttered down from the trees – even though it’s winter – and twittered lovely melodies. What brought all this about? One simple sentence, uttered by my son: “You know what, when I do school with a good attitude, it goes faster and I get all the answers right.” Trails of pixie dust fell from the sky onto my waiting head and I felt myself begin to fly. Years of telling him this exact same thing. Years of saying, “Let’s just do it, and it will be over.” Years of cajoling, enticing, … Continue reading →