Last Monday we started a new school year after a two month break. The first week was definitely a little bumpy, with all of us adjusting to a different schedule. I thought I'd be able to ride the wave of the kids' excitement for a while, but it crashed before we even got through the first subject on the first day. They realized pretty quickly that even though the temperature remained in the high 90s, their summer was over, and I got some major pushback. We soldiered on however, and each day got progressively better. I ended up making a schedule change right in the middle of the week, since I could already tell my original plan wasn't working. That's the beauty of homeschooling! I also gave my oldest the responsibility of doing half ... Read More...
Ancient Rome Homeschool Unit Study
Around this time of summer, I start getting excited about planning for the upcoming school year. Last Friday we went ahead and ordered all of our curriculum, that I had already underlined and circled months ago in the homeschool catalogs. The books and supplies should be arriving here within the next two weeks! We'll be continuing with our study of world history, picking up where we left off with the fall of Rome. The last stop from this past year on our tour of ancient civilizations was the Roman Empire, which honestly, I wasn't jazzed about at first. There is so much brutality and corruption that went on during this time in history, that I worried about studying it at any length with my 1st grader. However, it ended up being the ... Read More...
Last Quarter Homeschool Recap
Last Thursday, we logged two years of homeschooling in the books. That means we are officially on summer break! But that doesn't mean we'll abandon all learning for the next two months. The kids will be doing a couple of pages in activity books right after breakfast to practice the skills they've learned in First Grade and Pre-K. They'll also be reading for at least 20 minutes a day for our library's summer reading program. The science experiments we didn't get to during the year will be done once a week until they're completed also. As promised, here is a look back at some of the homeschool highlights from our last quarter. We had so much fun exploring space, traveling back in time to Ancient Rome, seeing how donuts are made, and ... Read More...
When Your Homeschool Payout Doesn’t Seem Worth Your Investment
As our homeschool year winds down and comes to a close, I feel a little bit like I’ve hit a wall. With temperatures climbing into the 80s here in Oklahoma, the kids have been running out of steam, and suddenly all those crafts and projects I excitedly pinned to various boards don’t seem worth the effort. The lack of motivation in our house right now is palpable, and at times like these, I wonder if my investment over the past 9 months was even worth it. Maybe you’re in the same place today. You started out the year strong, but as the months ticked by things didn’t go according to plan. That boxed curriculum with all of its promises just didn’t deliver. Your child struggled to meet certain academic goals that you believed he or she would ... Read More...
The Breakthrough in Needing a Break From Your Kids
One of the most rewarding parts of homeschooling is when I receive questions about it from curious moms. If I had a nickel for each time I was asked about it this past year alone, I would probably be... well, not rich but at least able to buy myself a new outfit. I have been fortunate that most of them came from a place of genuine curiosity, from other mamas who have thought about dipping their toe in the home education pool. The most recent question I received was: are there days that you feel like you need a break? Now, this may seem like a rather silly question at face value, but I really believe this person might actually think I love to spend 24-7 with my children. And there really are some women out there who begin ... Read More...