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Standardized Test Prep and the Homeschool Family
We don't want standardized tests to become a source of anxiety or stress for our children. Is there a way we could not merely “suffer through” the requirement, and instead use it to our advantage?
- Education, Faith, Humility and Doxology, Life Lessons, Morning Time and Memory Work, Motherhood and Parenting
Homeschool is Not a Vending Machine: why I don’t use curriculum, books, and memory work to grow my children’s virtue
“My daughter is really struggling with lying; can you recommend good fiction books I can have her read to fix that?” “My son struggles with self-control; do you know a good unit study that could help?” “This read-aloud/poem/memory work/curriculum is really great at forming virtue in your children.” These are the types of comments and questions I see frequently in the homeschool world. And while I understand that most parents ask these questions or make these comments out of a genuine, godly desire to disciple their children more faithfully, something about this approach to the topic of “virtue formation” or “character development” always makes me cringe. In fact, I would…
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Morning Time Plans (Fall 2019): adjusting expectations to meet the needs of a wide age range
It gets trickier to plan for morning time when you have a wide range of ages. Wake-up times vary from the pre-dawn energy of the 4-year-old to the sluggish morning brain of the teen. And that doesn’t even consider the differing needs and interests that span the grades. Yet having a time for shared memories and family culture is still important to me. While the logistics of our morning time may look different this year, its central values remain intact. Would you like to peek into my morning time plans for this fall? Scheduling morning time In years past, I’ve asked all the children regardless of age to be in…
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Ordinary Homeschool Planning: sometimes crazy, often simple, still beautiful
Planning for next year’s curriculum and schedule looks a lot like piles of books and papers scattered in semi-organized chaos across the corner of my bedroom. My intention was, eventually, to craft a beautiful and photogenic display. I’m an (accidental) homeschool blogger, after all. I think that’s part of the job description. Yeah. Um. That won’t be happening. I’ll just be happy if all those books and papers get to the proper shelves before we officially go back to a regular school routine in a couple weeks. This is a semi-metaphor for the way homeschooling often goes around here. Life is sometimes hard, and often surprising. I didn’t think my…
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Simple Summer Goals
Summer is the time to get to all the things you don’t have time for during the school year. Right? Um. Maybe, not so much. Maybe, if you set yourself up with a glorious plan a mile long, you’ll end up crying the first week of June. Not that this has ever happened to me. Ahem. Purposeful Summer Planning There are a million opinions floating around the internet this time of year that catch our eye. Apparently, we’re supposed to ensure our children have a screen-free, free-range summer filled with dirt and sunshine. But, we also need to beware the summer slide and make sure we’re keeping up with academics.…
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Homeschool Conventions, Teaching, and Repentance
We go to homeschool conventions for encouragement and inspiration. But sometimes we end up discouraged and overwhelmed. How can we leave with joy and not fear?
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Thanks, Moms: 6 Things I’ve Learned from My Own Homeschool Moms
As a 2nd-generation homeschooler I can begin to appreciate how much I owe my own homeschool moms. Yes, Moms. Because not only do I have a personal experience with my own wonderful mother and her homeschooling, but my fabulous mother-in-law was also a homeschooler.
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Why Bother? What’s the point of a great education if your children can’t seem to remember most of it?
What is the point of providing a true, good, and beautiful education if our children may not even be able to remember most of it?
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Day in the Life 2019 (with a 13, 11, 8, 6, and 3 year old)
Peek into our homeschool day in the life with a 13, 11, 8, 6, and 3-year-old!
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19 Simple Ways to Pursue Joy in the New Year
What if there were some simple ways to bring joy to the New Year? What if we didn’t try to change the whole world (or the whole year) this time? What if we just choose to do one simple thing today to bring joy to our own lives and the lives of our neighbors…
