Winter Nature Study

nature study
  I was first formally introduced to Nature Study when I read Karen Andreola’s book A Charlotte Mason Companion almost 17 years ago. The idea that children learned from the natural world around them was not new to me, but how to encourage and direct them in that pursuit was. If you want a good,
Read more
No Comments

Two Reasons We Need A Generation of Story-tellers

story
  I could tell by the look on their faces we weren’t connecting. I also knew by the clenching grip of failure I felt in my stomach I didn’t know how to fix it. But I wanted them to know. I wanted them to understand. But these facts and concepts I found so utterly fascinating
Read more
No Comments

When You Need Motivation

motivation
  Don’t let the all perky homeschool Pinterest posts fool you. Every homeschool goes through rough patches. It’s real life. And real life is filled with real problems. It is not uncommon for homeschool mommas to have seasons of burnout and exhaustion. Let’s face it. That laundry doesn’t do itself and somebody has to feed
Read more
No Comments

Prepare Teens for Marriage

marriage
  When I was a young homeschool mom, a conference speaker encouraged us to not just prepare teens for college, but to prepare them for all of life including marriage and parenting. How could I do that? I wondered. I decided to have my children think about marriage before they fall in love. Crazy? There
Read more
No Comments

The Grass Is Greenest in My Own Back Yard

homeschooling
I planned to homeschool my kids before I even got married. I told my fiancé, he agreed. Why did I know it was what I wanted to do? I am not entirely sure, but I love freedom and in a way I think freedom was a calling to me. I also wanted an excellent academic
Read more
No Comments

When You Don’t Love Homeschooling

love homeschooling
There was a time when I loved homeschooling. I loved researching ideas for lessons. I loved finding interesting books and creating unit studies. I loved spending time with my kids as they enjoyed learning new things. It was a lot of work, but it was fun and I loved it. These days homeschooling has become
Read more
No Comments

How the 5 Love Languages Can Improve Your Homeschooling Efforts

love language
  When my oldest son and I walked into the American Science & Surplus store, he immediately found the kits section. He held up the trebuchet kit and frowned. “You said two years ago that you would buy this for me and you never did.” I stood there, flabbergasted. He had only mentioned it one
Read more
No Comments

Looking for Those Teachable Moments

teachable moments
  “MOM!” How many times do you hear that word in a day? Over the past 25 years, I have heard that word at least 50 times a day. I remember the first time our oldest son said it.  I cried.  I thought it was the sweetest word I could ever hear.  Now, I will admit
Read more
No Comments