As I mentioned in the last homeschool blog post, Carnival of Educators -Drama Club Edition, I am in the middle of tech week for my kids Drama Club which is an extention of their once a week homeschool program. As a quick refresher, my kids attend Artios Academies which is a once a week homeschool program where kids learn about a different time period each year through the arts. (This post explains the program in more detail. You may notice there was a name change for the “school” my kids attend.) They study visual art, music, drama, dance, etc, of … Continue reading →

I realize that Barack Obama was not the presidential choice for homeschoolers as a whole. Read: Homeschool Legal Defense Association Stands against Obama Homeschoolers Worry about Obama Will President Obama have a Negative Effect on Homeschooling Still, the fact is that Barack Obama is becoming the 44th President of the United States and that this change of hands is worth noting. In my kids homeschool circles, they tell me that other kids spend a great deal of time complaining about Barack, even now that the election is over. This clearly comes from the households. While I don’t condemn anyone for … Continue reading →

The Vikings are a very interesting people to study in part because so much of their history is related to them pillaging and thieving from other peoples. They were particularly fond of picking on monasteries–presumably because monks were not so feisty. However, if you read extensively on the Vikings, what you discover is that they were a deeply family oriented people. They were also fairly religious although it’s notable that they stopped raiding surrounding areas when they converted to Christianity. Here are a few ideas for studying the Vikings. Geography Vikings, as you probably are aware are from the Northern … Continue reading →

In my last article on teaching homeschool lessons from real life, I discussed using our current economic recession to teach children about the Great Depression and subsequent recessions. Another timely lesson for homeschooling would be elections. With American being in the midst of one of the most active election periods in US History, it only makes good sense to talk about the electoral process and history of elections with your children. Here are some resources you can use. Education-world.com has a great series of government-sponsored sites that teach children about voting, democracy, inauguration, and the overall election process. The Federal … Continue reading →

Before I gave up home school blogging to move to the baby and food blogs, on occasion I would post a unit study starter. A unit study starter can be used as a ‘diving board’ to jump start your unit. I generally include links and resources for each subject area and of course you are free to add your own as needed. To get more details on planning a unit study see this blog. Critical Thinking An organization called The New 7 Wonders began by holding a world wide vote to elect 7 ‘new’ wonders of the world. Begin the … Continue reading →