There are some places or events where the atmosphere is so focused and palpable that mental immersion in the situation is almost inescapable: the starting line of a marathon, a solemn religious service, a college classroom during a final exam. Whether it was your intention to be involved or not, when someone puts an extensive … Continue reading Education is an Atmosphere
Have you had too many weeks in a row when you couldn’t get everything done? I don’t mean you didn’t finish all the schoolwork; you are way behind in the stuff one would think would be easy. For example, when it’s time to pay the bills, you realize you haven’t filed away the bills for … Continue reading That’s What Break Week Is For
A word fitly spokenIs like apples of gold in pictures of silver. – Prov. 25:11 Great authors are wordsmiths. Through vivid imagery and careful syntax, their words ferry our minds to mythical lands with unexpected characters or turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. This is artistry in ink; a picture painted in intelligible letters placed, … Continue reading Authors are our Teachers
As we start the last First Day of our semester I am overcome with emotion. I am watching our firstborn diligently work, and I cannot believe we are here. As we near the end of our homeschool journey with our oldest I wanted to take a moment and write a letter to you. First, you … Continue reading Dear Homeschooling,
How do you get it all done? Dishes, laundry, meals (both prepping and planning), vacuuming the incessant dog hair, keeping surfaces clean and dust-free, making the beds, chauffeuring kids to activities, AND homeschooling? The truth is, it CAN’T all be done. Unfortunately, things that get done are quickly undone by other persons residing with you. … Continue reading Managing a Home in a State of Flux
Mid-year breaks are a great time to evaluate whether that shiny product you bought in August is still working in your homeschool. Remember when you bought it? You were sure that this was the thing that was going to help your kid get it. But now it’s not proving the test of time (or the … Continue reading Is Your Curriculum working for your family?
I think this question has been the most often asked of me through the years by homeschooling mamas striving to teach younger and older students. It was MY number one question during that season as well. The quick answer: “You ARE teaching them!” It is amazing what those little ears pick up and what those … Continue reading Entertaining the Littles while Schooling the Bigs
One of the advantages of homeschooling is flexibility in your school schedule. However, I always had a schedule that needed to be followed and did not always appreciate the flexibility that homeschooling offered, but rainy days always called to me to stop and just enjoy that we weren’t running from here to there. Rainy days … Continue reading Rainy Day Fun
Field trips can be a rich source for actual education; I mean REAL learning. My family visited a military history museum in Broken Arrow recently, and the guys who work there are all military veterans who want to tell you about the wars they were in and their personal experiences. It was enlightening! There’s no … Continue reading How to Plan a Field Trip
“So…where do your kids go to school?” “Oh! We are homeschooling for now.” For now. Back in 1997, when Bill Clinton was committing to another four years in office, the Hale-Bopp comet was doing a fly-by, and The Lion King opened on Broadway, our little family of four embarked on the adventure of home education. … Continue reading Homeschooling… for now
