Last month we had our second teen book club meeting for our Wild and Free group! (So far the girls have read Tress of the Emerald Sea and Out of My Mind.) From somewhere in the recesses of my mind circa 2007 I remembered a decoupaged reading journal bought at a craft fair. I thought […]
Hello, March; goodbye February! Last month was brought to you by winter sunlight. This month is brought to you by these Trader Joe’s tulips I get every single year at the end of February. They just elevate everything in my life for a few days. Pictured: plant watering day, homemade Valentines, early morning small group, […]
Welcome to January in Pictures! January was a month for routines, bright citrus, and getting back to the books. One of my favorite things about our area in California is that you’ll be warm as long as you’re standing in the sun, even in the winter. Makes me want to curl up in the light […]
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!) When I answer it always end up being six voice messages because where do I even start?! The homeschooling community is one of […]
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 […]
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. […]
Math 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 exponentially […]
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 […]
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 […]
“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 our child will be disadvantaged or behind for the rest of their education. We’re going to break that all down in this post and I […]
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 […]
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 posted an eight-second Instagram reel about it. (Tra la la) First of all, false. It turns out that socialization […]
Are you shopping for homeschool curriculum? Are you feeling the rush of magic and wonder? 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 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 always a safe bet for family-friendly films. If you’re looking for something to watch on a sick day or rainy afternoon, try one of these these classic animal read-alouds on screen! I’ll always recommend previewing any films you plan to show little ones! If you don’t have the time to […]
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 […]