I can’t tell you how many times I hear this question come up in the context of homeschooling: What can I do to keep my toddler occupied so she/he doesn’t constantly interrupt and derail our school? After this question will come a torrent of suggestions, usually about curating a number of preschool-like activities to distract the … more
Just a visual reminder that a rich education can be simple. Here is some of last year’s copywork and math for our then third-grader. Enjoy your December!
If there’s one subject that intimidates homeschoolers, it’s math. We homeschool moms love us some humanities: literature, history, geography, Bible. We will attend workshops on these subjects, spend the lion’s share of the budget on these subjects, and fill most of our schedule with these subjects. But we often treat math as a necessary evil. And usually, … more
I don’t think I’ve done any curriculum reviews yet, but this is a good one to start with. I was lucky enough to stumble upon this book with Dusty, and now I’m wrapping up another successful foray with Duncan. Introducing The Sentence Family. I started out all gung-ho on grammar instruction for young children, but Charlotte Mason … more
The day after Labor Day is kind of like a second New Year’s Day for me. I try to get my life reorganized for this big day. The schedule is reset. Chore lists are up on the wall, goal and curriculum lists in a binder. The Mason jar is filled with new colored pencils. It … more
One of the principles that we attempt to run our homeschool on is that of mastery. Mastery learning is a simple concept that is not common in our fast-paced society. Put simply, it is staying with a concept until mastery is achieved. You don’t move on if your understanding is below an A level. Obviously, this … more
In the plans for the coming year: Dusty/10th Grade Jacobs Geometry – After many months of researching geometry, we have settled on the second edition of this popular-among-homeschoolers textbook. I like to use older math books in general, but was finding difficult or impossible to locate teacher’s manuals for the older geometries. This 80’s-era text was recommended to me by … more
Planning the School Year What Subjects? Student Planners
This post is for those who want to start homeschooling for the first time! Where do you begin? What do you need to know? A simple Google search will lead you into an overwhelming flood of information. When I am venturing into a new world I like to have one place that I trust for information until … more
So how do those Charlotte Mason methods work out for a simpler schoolday? Here is a peek into the days of my K-er and 3rd-grader. Kindergarten: Pearl listens in on Duncan’s read-aloud time (this is at her wish, I do not require it) and then has her own. Her read-alouds contain a Bible story, … more