Simple Living, Homeschooling, Faith, Homemaking, & Books
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I find that books are both a necessity and a luxury. I can’t live without them, but they also aren’t a top priority when it comes to budgeting. I decided to splurge and use some gift money and a rebate to purchase a few books that have been on my wish list for some time. …
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One of the things I am passionate about is helping parents understand their child’s learning and personality needs. I have dozens of posts on this website about tailoring our parenting and homeschooling to our child’s unique bent whether she is right-brained, gifted, twice-exceptional, spirited, highly-sensitive, or wired differently in some other way. But I also …
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As if homeschooling our children isn’t enough, many of us also decide to add working at home to the mix. I still haven’t decided if we’re blessed to be able to work at home or totally crazy. Probably a bit of both. I began working at home as a writer when I decided to leave …
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The oft-repeated story is that if you are in a plane and the oxygen masks drop, you always put on your own mask first. Once your mask is on, you are free to help others without endangering your own well-being. The point of the story is that we need to take care of ourselves first …
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Homeschooling offers the opportunity to create strong family bonds that are filled with joy because, above all else, homeschooling is about relationships. Yes, learning academic subjects is important. Children need an education that includes learning how to write, do math, and so on. But if it comes at the expense of the parent-child relationship (or …
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“In order to push back, we have to build a strong edifice against it to protect our children from becoming cogs.”
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Homeschool moms need encouragement. Lots of it. For the vast majority of us, we’re doing something we’ve never experienced before personally. We’re often striking out in a new direction among our family and friends, not all of whom are always supportive. Even other homeschool moms can tear us down. Add in all the complexities of …
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Homeschooling has been legal and relatively mainstream for almost twenty years. Homeschoolers have a tremendous amount of freedom and nearly endless learning opportunities. Colleges actively welcome homeschoolers. Homeschoolers attend a huge variety of colleges and universities, including the Ivies. Yet it’s amazing some of the ridiculous things that are said to homeschoolers. I asked a few groups …
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Since all of us were educated in some way, we all carry certain expectations regarding what education should look like. I attended public school from kindergarten through college. I then took my teaching degree and taught in various private, Christian, Classical Christian, and Hillsdale model schools. One might think that my broad experience would be …
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I don’t know who said it first, but the idea is that you become like the five people you spend the most time with. So if you want to see who you will be in ten years, look at the people you are spending the most time with every week. I’ve looked back over my …
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If there is one concept that has driven my parenting and homeschooling, it is this – trusting your instincts even when no one understands. Fully embracing this idea early on changed the course of my parenting and made me a much more effective parent to my daughter. As a Christian, I believe that sometimes it …
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Homeschool moms spend hours and hours researching curriculum, reading reviews online, and ordering just the right supplies for their children. But how much time do they invest in their own needs for the school year? Do most moms even realize or admit they have needs? Can we make one thing crystal clear right now? Homeschool …
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Congratulations on being a new homeschooler! It’s an exciting time for you and your child. In this series, I’m offering up a bunch of encouragement for homeschoolers and today is just for new homeschoolers. If you haven’t read about The Real Phases of the Homeschool Year, make sure you do that and download the free …
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There is a graphic that floats around online about the phases of the school year for new teachers. There is so much truth in it and I wish I had seen it when I was a first year teacher. After observing homeschoolers and being a homeschooler for a number of years, I’ve come to the …
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In a recent discussion on social media about my post Gifted Children in the Classroom from a Teacher’s Perspective, the topic came up that one of the elephants in the room regarding homeschooling is that it devalues women personally and professionally. Some women agreed with that statement and others disagreed. It provided an interesting discussion …
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I started my teaching career 25 years ago this fall. When I think back to what I didn’t know, I’m amazed at what I was able to accomplish that year teaching a group of twelve third, fourth, and fifth grade students in a brand new school that consisted of four portables. The reality is most …
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Do you ever struggle with feeling behind as a homeschooling parent? I think it is a normal part of the homeschooling experience that often contributes to homeschooling stress. And since I’ve been a classroom teacher, too, can I let you in on a little secret? Teachers deal with this all the time. Even the very …
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One would think that with all the challenges we face as homeshooling moms, we would be some of the most supportive women on earth. We live daily with a choice that takes us out of the mainstream in our communities, churches, families, and friendships. We should create a tight network of support for one another …
