Do you get tired of hearing that the internet has changed everything? It’s pretty much true, you know, and that isn’t a bad thing. For one thing, it brings a wealth of knowledge to your desktop, no matter where you...
When was the last time you thought about the best way to schedule your school days? Six subjects, one hour each per day, five days a week — ho hum. Maybe it’s time to ask some questions about scheduling! High school scheduling...
Reviewing Miss Thistlebottom’s Hobgoblins I have a weakness for books with funny titles — especially if they are about writing, grammar, style, and usage. Miss Thistlebottom’s Hobgoblins: The Careful Writer’s Guide to the Taboos, Bugbears and Outmoded Rules of English Usage by...
During the past decade, I’ve spent a fair amount of time evaluating student writing and teaching SAT prep essay workshops and online high school literature classes. I’ve had the chance to read hundreds of papers from students all over the...
As you consider whether or how to homeschool through high school, there are a few major questions that may crop up. One of the first questions I often hear is about “high school requirements.” Parents wonder how many years of...
Creating a high school transcript is easier than it looks, but there are a few transcript questions that tend to recur like dandelions in springtime. The beginning of the spring semester seems a good time to review a couple of...
What kind of family travel do you enjoy? Our family has been on road trips, plane trips, long trips, and short trips, and all of them have been on a bare bones budget. There are ways to travel that can...
One of the things I most appreciate about Charlotte Mason is her deep understanding of how children learn, and how curiosity and creativity can be stifled by certain teaching norms, including talking too much, being repetitive, and giving tests and...
As the year winds down, it’s time to start thinking of fun things to do during the semester break. How about Pick Two Deluxe, a delightful game that almost anyone can learn and enjoy? Our family enjoys playing games. When...
“Gratefullness” is one of my favorite poems, and I’m sharing it in honor of Thanksgiving.
I often talk about college or entrepreneurial options for homeschool students because that is where most of my personal interest and experience lies. However, there are many other wonderful options to consider, including skilled work in hands-on fields such as...
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run; To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees, And fill all fruit...
We had an unexpected lesson in the science of color and light this past week. Donald graciously used most of his vacation week to paint our kitchen and dining room, and it was one of those snowball projects. We were...
I love Monday — it’s my favorite day of the week!* From the pinnacle of Monday morning, there stretches before me a string of four perfect days at home. From now until Friday, I’m able to focus on home and to be...
As parent-teachers, we’ve all seen boring writing assignments — a grammatically-correct report that simply paraphrases an encyclopedia entry or a five-paragraph essay that piles one trite cliche on another, and concludes without a glimmer of an original thought. If you’re anything like...
Did you see Jeff Opdyke’s column on homework in Sunday’s Wall Street Journal (How Homework Is Hurting Our Family, September 30, 2007)? It was thought-provoking. He vividly described how their family life is “a constant, stress laden stream of homework...
I came across an article that fit perfectly with this series, as well as with the thoughts I shared on socialization a few weeks ago. I got permission to reprint it for this installment of “What Does (Institutional) Education Look Like?”...
Thinking about September 11…. Remember Christina Rosetti Remember me when I am gone away, Gone far away into the silent land; When you can no more hold me by the hand, Nor I half turn to go, yet turning...
What does learning look like? Consider…. Scene 1: Child A sits in a classroom full of children who are just his age. “Today, students,” his teacher announces, “We’re going to learn about chickens.” She unrolls a poster of a giant...
You may remember that in February of 2006, our phone line was struck by lightning, and we had to repair or replace most of our electronic items and telephones. We promptly signed up for the electric company’s surge protection program...
It’s back-to-school planning time! Summer’s winding down, and we’re already preparing to head back into the school year (it’s almost too hot to think of!). Even though the boys are finished with homeschooling, there’s still plenty of schoolwork happening with...
Although homeschooling has become far more mainstream than it was when we first began in the 1980’s, the question of socialization occasionally still pops up. A recent article, “Get Out Much?” by Rachel Barlow, on the Nashoba Publishing website details...
I’ve always loved this poem for its depiction of the courage of spunky Barbara Frietchie. It doesn’t take place during the American Revolution, but I felt that the sentiment was entirely appropriate for Independence Day. With its simple rhyme scheme and catchy...
Once things settle down after the June convention and workshops, I always take extra time off for reading and projects. June is birthday month for four of us, so we all feel a bit celebratory. This year, my very sweet...
Homeschooling at the Speed of Life by Marilyn Rockett Reviewed by Janice Campbell As you wrap up the school year and start planning the next, there’s one thing you can do to make your next school year run more smoothly — read...
In Flanders Fields John McCrae In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the...
This time of year I am besotted by the garden, and have great difficulty staying indoors for any length of time at all. In fact, anything on my horizon that doesn’t need to be fed or planted seems dim and...
“Literature in its most comprehensive sense is the autobiography of humanity.” Bernard Berenson “This is old stuff — how can it be relevant to my life?” I’ve heard this objection from both students and adults, as I’ve spoken through the years on...
He was old and his sweet muzzle was white, but we weren’t really ready to say good-bye. But as we prepared to tuck in for the night last evening, I realized that I hadn’t seen Old Yeller for a good...
I have been coping with computer disasters of astonishing magnitude over the last week or so, but I had to share this wonderful quote with you. Leave it to a poet to tell the truth so very vividly! “I have...
