Homeschooling through Heartbreak

Grief is a tsunami. Sometimes you have a warning, and other times, it’s a shock. Either way, the typical landscape of your life is suddenly underwater and rearranged. Everything is messy, and recovery seems distant. After a near-drowning, a person vomits up the water she struggled in and then just lays there and breathes. At … Continue reading Homeschooling through Heartbreak

Preparing to Teach: Homeschool Edition

Mom!  Where’s my (insert book or supply here)?  Is your homeschool day continually delayed because everything isn’t prepared and at hand? Sometimes the problem is that someone didn’t return an item to its home; other times, I haven’t prepared. Either way, a little time spent getting things together will improve the situation. Schedule Time In … Continue reading Preparing to Teach: Homeschool Edition

Done is Good Enough

I struggle with perfectionism. I keep things tidy, and I craft meals and sentences with care. I like correct answers, excellent grades, and jobs done all the way.  So, as you can imagine, my sinful heart needed teaching about which things are important and which are not. So, God gifted me a husband who is … Continue reading Done is Good Enough

Dealing with Disruptions

Since homeschooling happens in the real world while our real lives are going on around us, we often face disruptive events which throw us off stride and threaten to derail our entire educational process for a time. Younger siblings, home-based businesses, and household emergencies all can disrupt our planned school day. However, we know that … Continue reading Dealing with Disruptions

Goal Setting For Teens

 While we want our teens to move toward self-regulation and independence, it’s important to remember that executive function is not always consistent in the maturing human. Teens are in a constant state of growth and development, and sometimes, certain areas will fall back while others surge ahead. The child who efficiently managed advanced classes and … Continue reading Goal Setting For Teens

Goal Setting in Your Homeschool

It’s a well-known fact that most people abandon their New Year’s resolutions by the end of the day on January 2. If we don’t follow through today, we definitely can’t make it for 363 more days, so we should just give up. Many of us have seen that same concept sneaking into our homeschool goals … Continue reading Goal Setting in Your Homeschool

Teaching vs. Learning

As home educators, we want our children to use their childhood years of education to gain knowledge and skill and prepare their minds for the future. To that end, we research, purchase, print, and present various materials, supplies, and curricula. We study and write lesson plans. We sit down with our children, we show what … Continue reading Teaching vs. Learning

I Can Wear Three Hats in a Day

Homeschool mamas wear a lot of hats. That means that every day has a lot of jobs. Every day, we are a child of God, a wife, a mother, and a daughter before taking on anything else. In any one day, before we count any other employment, we are teacher, maid, chauffeur, chef, laundress, nurse, … Continue reading I Can Wear Three Hats in a Day

Buy a Good Bra

It’s too expensive. I just don’t have time. It doesn’t really matter. We’ve all said these things, and sometimes they’re true, but not always. We homeschooling parents do so many things well, which is admirable. We’re a thrifty, hardworking, resourceful group. We can also be somewhat shortsighted when it comes to the proper care of … Continue reading Buy a Good Bra

Restoring the Lost Supper:

Building families & culture by gathering around the table, one meal at a time. “All great change in America begins at the dinner table,” said Ronald Reagan in his farewell address in the Oval Office, Jan. 1989.  Gathering around the supper table for daily family meals is something our family values deeply and prioritized since … Continue reading Restoring the Lost Supper: