A lot of things have changed since I was a child. There is a computer in every household, and it seems every six-year-old has a smartphone or iPad. Like many, I was reluctant to give my children access to all this technology so freely; after all, the internet is unmoderated and unsafe right? One night…
In addition to reprioritizing, one of my top personal goals, while we were in Florida in May, was to complete the Focus & Align Masterclass. I was reminded through that process that while academics are definitely one of my top goals, bookwork isn't. As I went through the class, I thought these seven guiding rules would…
I've shared a few times on Instagram and Facebook already how spiral notebooks are helping us simplify. It's made such a big difference to our family that I can't help but give it its own blog post. You should know that this is not an original idea of mine, though; I'm really just passing it…
This post was first published in 2013, but it's one that I find myself talking about often in conversations with other homeschoolers who are facing the stress of trying to finish this year's work or burnt out at the end of a long year. We still "do school" all year long, and it's one of the…
Homeschool planning As the new school year kicks off, there's been a lot of talk about homeschool planning in my circles, both online and locally, and I realized I've never really shared my stress-free homeschool planning method. You see, I used to sit down once a week and lesson plan: deciding which lessons would be…
A friend and fellow Essentials tutor shared this a few days ago, and I love it! Designed by Curtis Newbold of The Visual Communications Guy, the infographic lists the 15 punctuation marks in order of difficulty (to learn and use) with the rules that govern their use. Click here to download a full-size poster version…
Daily checklists. This will be our 6th "official" year of homeschooling, and the longer we homeschool, the more questions I get from other current and prospective new homeschoolers. (Some of which I'm confident answering and some of which just make me laugh that they'd ask me for advice or an opinion.) Today I thought I'd…
The following post is from Lauren Rothlisberger of Get Me Geeky: I think everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer because it teaches you how to think. - STEVE JOBS, THE LOST INTERVIEW Do you think your kids need to learn how to program? A lot of people have never considered…
Earlier this month, I shared a screenshot of the checklist my girls have been using for their school work (as part of my "Homeschool Planning Made Easy" post), and a few people emailed to ask if it was available as a printable. So today it is! Click here to download or print the homeschool checklist.…
The following guest post is from Haley of Carrots for Michaelmas: From Picture Books to Chapter Books: Transitioning Read Alouds I couldn’t wait for the day when our firstborn was ready to enjoy some of my most beloved books. I daydreamed about snuggling up at bedtime reading The Chronicles of Narnia while my little one…