A Guide to Homeschool Community in Kansas City

About once a month I get an Instagram message asking about the homeschooling community in Kansas City.  (Either from people contemplating a move, or someone who has just moved to the area!) They always end up with six voice messages whether they want them or not because where do I even start?! The homeschooling community […]

Our Favorite Open-Ended Toys and Play Materials

This post may contain affiliate links. Have you ever wondered why those big play kitchens, cars and big plastic dinosaurs seem to stand unused a few weeks after Christmas?  And yet, your little one seems to find interest in everything they’re not supposed to be playing with: kitchen drawers, plastic bags…permanent markers! Whyyyyyy? That’s actually […]

Homeschooling on a Budget: The Full Set-Up

So you want to homeschool and you’re on a budget.  You need great curriculum recommendations and you need numbers. I got you. (And if you’re on a short timeline, you can also have this entire set-up in like one day!) First, a couple of things.  The expensive curriculum isn’t always the better curriculum.  Most curriculums […]

Five of my Favorite Books for Middle School Girls

Welcome back to my blog! Thanks so much for the support and the nice comments, you guys. It has encouraged me to keep writing. (This is my first post, in case you’re wondering why I’m writing on this blog!) Today is an exciting topic! Today I’m recommending five of my favorite books!  (I have to […]

Help! I’m Afraid of Falling Behind in Math!

Math.  This is the one school subject that scares us the most.  Half of us have our own math trauma that we still haven’t worked through.  We remember the tears and the struggle and test-taking anxiety. We like the idea of working at our child’s pace, but deep down we’re terrified that this will compound […]

How Do I Teach Language Arts?

Nothing plagues a new homeschooling mama more than anxiously waiting for the day her child will catch up to the neighbor kid who has been reading chapter books since they were four.  I personally know the panic that arises when your child has indeed not to learned to read “in 100 easy lessons.”  Let’s talk […]

How to Approach Topical Subjects (History, Science, Literature, Geography)

Aside from math and language arts, let’s talk about the other subjects you’ll likely be teaching in your homeschool: history, science, geography, and literature. The topical subject are bodies of knowledge and don’t follow a linear, sequential pattern. Through a child’s school years, topical subjects move from idea to idea and these ideas are not […]

What Age Should I Start Homeschooling?

“When should I start?” This is THE most common question I get about homeschooling! Often this question is tied to a deep fear that if we don’t start soon enough or “on time” that our child will be disadvantaged or behind for the rest of their education. We’re going to break that all down in […]

Answering the Socialization Question

Socialization…it’s kind of the “s” word among homeschoolers.  In fact, it can sometimes seem like a tired old topic we wonder if anyone really asks about anymore. Or so this is what I thought when I unwittingly posted an eight-second Instagram reel about it. (Tra la la) FALSE. It turns out that socialization is still […]

4 Techniques for Hacking Your Homeschool Curriculum

Are you shopping for homeschool curriculum?  Are you feeling the rush of magic and wonder?  Goodness, I love those mid summer Amazon packages of possibility on my door step! All of us have had an experienced homeschooler or two tell us to just relax on curriculum. Well, thank you for that, but what does that […]

Our 2 Essential Learning Formats

One way that I’ve simplified our homeschool (and homeschool planning) is by consolidating all of our structured learning into two simple learning formats: Reading Aloud and Table Time. While we use a lot of natural learning (games, baking, field trips, play) these two formats cover the structured part of our learning day. They represent the […]

Homeschool Year Recap 2021/2022: The Playful Pioneers

As I was doing some preliminary packing and decluttering for our upcoming move, it dawned on me that I had never done a homeschool year recap for the blog! This past school year was one of the messiest and most relaxed years we’ve ever had.  We incorporated screens, did a lot of free play, listened […]

The Everything Reading Post

One of the most intimidating parts of starting homeschool is the mysterious process of teaching a child to read. In our generation, literacy has been an affair handed over to professional teachers.  It’s a process that most of us know little about, aside from our own childhood experience.   So when our five-year-old isn’t reading Fox […]

How to Build A Peaceful Homeschool Day using Daily Anchors

Do you ever look around at your homeschool and wonder where it all went wrong? We stand in our kitchen stumped because we know we did this right.  We have classical books, hand-lettered planning sheets, tea times, nature hikes and co-op days all slated out.  We have market baskets and mini chalk boards.  This afternoon […]

10 Books to Comfort and Nourish a Mama’s Heart

With the change of season and all of the unsettling events of this year, I’m just craving some solace and a little something to soothe my heart.  There’s nothing that comforts and brings perspective like a great book. This list is designed to contain something for everyone, from devotional to memoir.  They will inspire you, challenge […]

Homeschool Recap 2018/2019: A Minimalist Approach

Hey friends, it’s countdown to baby time over here, but I really wanted to get this post up before things get too crunched! It’s fun to look back on the year and see how much things have grown and changed in our homeschooling life. And how different our homeschool space looks now! Wrapping up a […]