Homeschooling
Art for Homeschool
Many homeschooling families want to encourage the fine arts. There are many who sing, play musical instruments, act in local plays, and who draw or paint at home. Charlotte Mason encouraged music and art appreciation. She believed that children exposed to great music and art would appreciate the fine arts. I personally do not have any musical talent. I cannot sing... »
Having a Purim Party
One of my favorite things to do as a teacher is to experience other cultures and customs from around the world. Last week I wrote about hosting an Olympic games. When my family studied about Korea, we fixed kimchi and korean... »
Olympic Games at Home
My family and I have enjoyed watching some of the Winter Olympics in the evenings. Our favorites are the speed skating, skiing, and the snowboarding events. I love watching the athleticism, the patriotism, and the sportsmanship of the competitors. Two years ago, my family went snow skiing in Colorado. I did not ski as I was 8 months pregnant with Andrew,... »
4-H Photography Contest
One of my favorite Beatles' songs is "Here Come the Sun." My prayers have been answered and the sun is here! Yesterday it shone down brilliantly. Today as I look out my window the white ground is sparkling in the sunlight. The heavy frost is covering everything. The temperature is in the high 20s. And, I am ecstatic! I am... »
Video Making 101
Around Christmas, I read an interesting article by Terry Holliday called "A Great Homeschool Project-Making a Video." She followed it up with Part Two. These articles from My Creativity Blog were designed to inspire parents/teachers to include video making into their home-schooling. Technology enables home-schoolers to broaden their world. Used safely and responsibly, technology can be a great asset to any... »
Natural Approach to Biology
This year I entered the world of high school level science. There are many great books and programs out there. Apologia science is probably the most well-known in the home school world. It is a solid program with a text, lab work, tests, etc. However after years of observing nature, reading great informative books, and raising tadpoles in a fish... »
Building the Alphabet One Letter at a Time
Two of my children were recently diagnosed with dyslexia. I immediately went to work researching, talking to experts, and reading on the subject. My favorite source so far is The Gift of Dyslexia by Ronald Davis. Mr. Davis gives practical step-by-step instructions for helping someone with dyslexia. One of the first... »
Having a Wet Day
For the last two weeks I have bragged on Jake, my eight year old son. He gave me a thoughtful gift for Christmas. He honored me by bringing me breakfast in bed. He is a great kid. My other kids are great, too. They are wondering why his name keeps coming up in my posts. For some reason they think... »
Honor Your Parents
When my family studies or discusses the Ten Commandments, it never fails that one of the kids will ask for the meaning of "Honor your parents." I look at it as respect. Respect your parents. Do right by them. It is not the same as obedience in my book. One can... »
Happy New Year!
I am so excited that we are now in the year 2010. I had some discussion with friends if we should call it twenty-ten or two thousand ten. It should be mildly interesting to see how the media and therefore fellow Americans refer to the year. Why am I excited about a new year? It is the hope of something... »
D-I-Y Spirit
The pilgrims that boarded the sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and the pioneers that traveled this way and even further west all shared the do-it-yourself spirit. The pilgrims knew that they would have to be self-sufficient as supplies from Europe would take a long time to reach their colony. When they did not know how to do something, they learned... »
Thanks Living
From the smell of my kitchen, you can guess that it is the day before Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. The food is delicious and plentiful. Since the days of the pilgrims and Indians, we have altered the menu from the first celebration. But who can complain? Turkey, dressing (stuffing), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, squash,... »
Cooking 101 Class
When I was pregnant with each of my five children, there was always a time when I was so sick that I could not fix dinner. I laid on the couch with a bowl in my hand trying to ignore my family's question, "Hey, mom, what's for dinner?" Thank goodness my husband can... »
Kyla Shines in the Pumpkin Patch
The other day my family volunteered to work at our church's pumpkin patch. It was the day before Halloween and the lot had very few good pumpkins left to sell. It reminded me of going to a Christmas tree lot on Christmas Eve. Slim pickins. We have had rain storm after rain storm for the last month and the rain... »
I Am Not in Control
I am a planner. I make plans for everything. I am constantly thinking about what I can do. So when my now husband asked for my hand in marriage many years ago, I had something big to plan and organize. My husband and I got married outside in my parent's front yard. They lived out in the middle of nowhere so... »
