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…
Our Easter traditions continue to evolve with our girls' understanding of our faith in general -- and Easter specifically. But this simple tradition is our very favorite. It's slightly more meaningful when Easter falls in March and the sun sets earlier, but my girls have been talking about it all week nonetheless, and we'll let…
I've shared our philosophy about chores and allowance in the past, but I thought I would revisit the topic now that I'm the mom of three -- soon to be four! -- elementary-age kids and not a whole slew of preschoolers. For us, chores and allowance offer opportunities to teach the girls about responsibility, teamwork,…
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…
The following post is from Jason & Jennifer Bruce of New Season Design: Valentine's Day is coming with all of its candy-flower-card-giving goodness! While some kids beg for pre-printed cartoon character cards from the grocery store, our daughter prefers to add her creativity to her valentines. Sometimes we make our own with construction paper and glitter…
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.…
I started seeing a lot of different versions of this "poor man's toffee" last Christmas, and this year I decided to see what the hype was all about. In short, this is one of those super easy last-minute treats to throw together, and the great thing about it is you can really customize it however…
I'm a fan of simple packaging ideas that make a big difference, so today, I thought I'd share my two favorite ways of taking a plain ol' tin and dressing it up into fancy cookie tins -- without spray paint, glue, or anything else sticky. My dad's wife taught me the first trick a couple…
The following post is from Kristina of Toddler Approved: During the holidays we like to do at least one simple Christmas craft or activity every day. One of my favorite open-ended activities for kids is painting with cookie cutters. Last year we shared how we used cookie cutters to make gift wrap. This year I am…