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? Well, there’s […]
Hello readers of mine! I’m sorry I missed a week of posting something. I was swimming at the pool since it is so muggy and hot out here! Today I’ll be sharing my number one tip for young writers. One of the things I learned last year is the concept of “show, don’t tell.” I […]
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 […]
If you’ve ever wondered how to homeschool when life is in a low-level disarray for months on end and not one day looks exactly like another, well, pull up a chair and nestle in! It’s the last week of July and I’ve just finished weeding half of my overgrown garden. (I rewarded myself with a […]
Having a go-to meal plan is an absolute must when we’re homeschooling, but I need one in the summer too when life is busy in a different way and centers on things like travel, outside projects, gardening and pool days. One thing I love about a dinner matrix is switching it up for the season. […]
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 […]
My name is Michaiah Alsbury I live in Missouri with my parents, siblings, chickens and cats. This is going to be my first blog post ever! Today I’m going to share a little bit about myself. Born in May, 21, 2011 at home in Vacaville California, I’ve been homeschooled all my life except for preschool […]
“I just ate six oreos and a huge scoop of ice cream; I don’t know why I did that!” This was the desperate text I sent my holistic fitness coach after a particularly trying day just before my period. I waited for the hammer to drop. A few minutes later my phone pinged. “Oh, it’s […]
This post is part of a four-part series: Milestones, Gaps and Falling Behind. Find links to the rest of the series at the bottom of this post. 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 […]
This post is part of a four-part series: Milestones, Gaps and Falling Behind. Find links to the rest of the series at the bottom of this post. 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 […]
This post is part of a four-part series: Milestones, Gaps and Falling Behind. Find links to the rest of the series are at the bottom of this post. Let’s talk about milestones, gaps and falling behind for topical school subjects. The main topical subjects include history, science, geography, and literature. There are probably dozens, but […]
This post is part of a four-part series: Milestones, Gaps and Falling Behind. Find links to the rest of the series at the bottom of this post. Milestones, gaps and falling behind! Those are the things that strike panic into the heart of every homeschooling mother. In this series we’re going to break down these […]
As I sit cocooned in the ambient sounds of a coffee shop on a Sunday afternoon, I take a deep breath. I have laid the Best Plan Ever for my week (never mind that it took three hours to hammer out) and I just know that this year is going to be the year. Gosh, […]
This is the first white Christmas I remember since my childhood. It’s today’s high right now: nine degrees. (I just took a walk that hurt my face, you know…while it was warm.) I usually do this post of our house at Christmas time much earlier in December, but it’s been nonstop sickness since we returned […]
I can’t tell you how good it feels to have these photos off my camera and on to the blog! I took them in May right after we closed and just before we began renovations. I pulled them off the camera tonight and edited only this one photo below because I’ve got a goal to […]
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 […]
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 Carol, but what does that even […]
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 […]
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 […]
Movies centered on animals are some of the most family-friendly films. Adults and children alike will love these classic read-clouds on screen. Still, I’ll always recommend previewing any films you plan to show little ones! If you don’t have the time to preview, watch the trailer and then look up the movie on Focus on […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]