essay
Friday, 15 March 2019 / Published in * Teaching Methods, Articles, Blog

How to Grade a High School Essay

  I always struggled with grading my children’s writing, especially essays. If they had something good to say, I complimented and praised with delight, then tended to focus on their grammar and spelling. Well, that changed when I taught an essay course with my oldest daughter. She is an amazing teacher with a Master’s degree
skills that everyone will use
Thursday, 14 March 2019 / Published in * Teaching Methods, Articles, Blog

Predicting the Future

  How many times have you found yourself explaining to your child that they WILL use this ______ in their adult lives? “You will need this someday!” we sing as we force rote memory inside their beautifully open minds. We assume we know what they’ll need to know when it comes time for them to
growth mindset
Wednesday, 13 March 2019 / Published in * Encouragement, Articles, Blog

Fostering a Growth Mindset in Young Children

  How many of us have heard our students and children say, “I can’t do this” or “I don’t know how,” time and time again? It can be frustrating, as an educator, to combat this type of negative commentary, especially when we may feel the urge to simply say, “Yes, honey, you can! You can
women's history month
Tuesday, 12 March 2019 / Published in Articles, Blog

Women’s History Month

  Women have made a huge impact on our history, those who have come before us and those who to come. During the Month of March, it is National Women’s History Month, and to celebrate, we recognize women who have been movers and shakers in history. Many names of our “present history” come to mind
pooh sticks
Monday, 11 March 2019 / Published in Articles, Blog

Pooh Sticks

  My two-year-old, Linus, had his face pressed against the sliding glass door. He was miserable. He was an outdoor sort of boy, and whenever I kept him inside he reacted as if he had been put into prison. I always tried to let him have outdoor time every day, but it was 38 degrees
hey mama
Monday, 11 March 2019 / Published in * Encouragement, Blog, Hey Mama, Hey Mama Monday

Hey Mama Monday: Your Problems Are in God’s Hands

  Hey, Mama, just wanted to pop in and help you put your eyes on Jesus. He is still on the throne. While the world has gone mad, He is the same—unmovable, unshakable. He is our great and holy God and Savior, Jesus Christ. We get so caught up in the details of our current
hobbits & narnia
Sunday, 10 March 2019 / Published in Articles, Blog

How Hobbits & Narnia Bring Hope to Homeschool Moms

  Without the Great War, we might not know about Hobbits or Narnia. This is the premise behind Joseph Loconte’s book, A Hobbit, A Wardrobe, and a Great War. Both J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were shaped inexplicably by World War I. God ultimately used their experiences in the trenches to bring faith to these
sentence
Saturday, 09 March 2019 / Published in * Teaching Methods, Articles, Blog

Teach Little Ones to Write a Sentence

  What fun it is to teach little ones to write! More than fun, learning to write a basic sentence is a foundational skill that will be built on over many years of homeschooling.   Enjoy Simple Sentences Together One of the things I finally learned (probably on child #4) is that the more children
passions
Friday, 08 March 2019 / Published in * High School, Articles, Blog

Helping Teens Discover Their Passions

  As a teenager myself, I am aware of the peer pressure often tied to “success” that exists within the minds and hearts of today’s youth. The need to receive an outstanding test score so that one is able to attend a particular university. The need to generate a certain level of income by a
word
Thursday, 07 March 2019 / Published in * Encouragement, * Faith and Family, Blog

First Things

  One Sunday we actually made it to church early, and an elderly saint asked how homeschooling was going. I admitted that some days we didn’t seem to accomplish a thing. “Did you read them the Bible?” she asked. “Yes.” “Then you did accomplish something.” The truth of her words resonated, strengthening with time. At
beauty in winter
Wednesday, 06 March 2019 / Published in Articles, Blog

Finding Beauty in Winter

  Where we live, snow is a novelty. It is something we are lucky to encounter once a year.  It is the light in an otherwise dreary winter; a discovery every time it happens. It brings this joy and hope with it. The world suddenly looks clean and fresh and new. It always seems to
food labels
Tuesday, 05 March 2019 / Published in * Faith and Family, * Teaching Methods, Articles, Blog

Having Fun With Food Labels

  Since March is National Nutrition Month, it is the perfect time to incorporate a lesson or two on nutrition. No matter what ages your children are, there are ways to teach them about the foods and drinks they consume each day and why they matter. One fun way to do this is to make