Should You Homeschool Your Pediatric Stroke Survivor?
Thursday, 09 July 2020
The day that my second son was born, homeschooling was an option that was on my radar as I had many friends and family members who had homeschooled their children. When my newborn baby began having a seizure in my arms, it set us on a course that would eventually cement this decision. When
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History Project: Make Your Own Quill Pen and Ink
Wednesday, 29 April 2020
We’ve been studying the early modern period this year in our homeschool, so we decided to do a project that would help us to experience what life was like during this time in history. We wondered how much more work it may have been not to have a modern pen to write with but
- Published in - Fun Ways to Learn, Articles, Blog
Culturing for Science Class: Kombucha & the Fungi Kingdom
Thursday, 19 March 2020
In science, my children have been studying taxonomy recently. We read about the Animal, Plant, and Protista Kingdoms. As we reached the Fungi Kingdom, we learned that fungi do not ingest their food like animals do or make their own food, like plants, but absorb nutrients from their environment through their bodies. They do
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Don’t Fall Into the Comparison Trap
Wednesday, 19 February 2020
I belong to an online support group for mothers of pediatric stroke survivors. Periodically, a post will appear from a mom who took her child to a playground and was upset because children of a similar age or younger could do things her child can’t do yet. When these posts appear, I respond by warning
- Published in - Finding Joy, Articles, Blog
How to Make Pumpkin Pie Play Dough
Thursday, 24 October 2019
This summer, while I was filing away schoolwork that we completed last year, I came across a cherished recipe that I’d been searching for. I discovered this recipe for pumpkin pie play dough several years ago when my son was in kindergarten. It was the first time that I tried making homemade play dough,
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Nature Study: Sprouting an Avocado Pit in a Pot
Wednesday, 18 September 2019
About two years ago, my children and I started an avocado tree by putting a pit in a jar with water, suspended with toothpicks. You can read about that here. We had tried sprouting avocado pits this way before, once with success (until my cat ate the plant). Most of the time, though, they
The Benefits of Summer School
Wednesday, 17 July 2019
I have fond memories of the lazy days of summer from my childhood. So, when I began homeschooling, I intended to have our homeschool year follow our local school district’s calendar, with an accompanying summer vacation. I began school the last week of August, and promptly received several invitations for day trips to the
- Published in - Planning and Organization, Articles, Blog
Culturing for Science Class: Apple Cider Vinegar
Wednesday, 26 June 2019
One day, I pulled a bottle of apple cider vinegar out of my kitchen cabinet (the kind that says “with the mother” on the label) and noticed that the small pieces of mother had formed into a solid that resembled a SCOBY. A SCOBY is a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast that is