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Monthly Archives

June 2018

nature study books
Nature Study

Our Favorite Books for Nature Study

Here’s the thing: there is not a used book store, regular book store, library, book pile at a rummage sale, or Scholastic sale I can walk by without stopping and stacking up more books than two people can safely carry. I have a weakness, and her name is books.

It has always been, and will always be so. I’m pretty sure that’s why the Charlotte Mason philosophy resonated with me so strongly. I want shelves and shelves of books. And I want the rolling ladder so I can do that “Belle move” every morning as I swoon over my shelves and shelves of books. Continue Reading

homeschool room
Homeschool

Tour of Our Homeschool “Room”: Spring Edition

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure statement for more information.

I love homeschool room tours and videos where mamas share their homeschool spaces. It’s always fun to peek into the learning spaces of other families and see how they have everything organized and set up.

We’ve always been a bit on the casual side when it comes to our own homeschool “classroom.” In the winter, we curl up in front of the fireplace in the living room. In the summer, we spread out on the balcony between the calendulas and the zucchini (yes, we’re trying to grow zucchini on our balcony–it’s a science experiment.) The kitchen table features prominently throughout the year. Other than that, we’re talking stacks and bins of books everywhere, games tucked under our living room couch, and a modest IKEA rolling cart rip-off that houses our math manipulatives and art supplies. Continue Reading

reasons for homeschooling
Homeschool, Parenting

The Top 5 Reasons Why We Chose Homeschooling

If you gather a group of 100 homeschoolers together and ask them why they made the decision to educate their children at home, you will likely get 100 different answers. Although there are certainly similarities in the reasons that we jump into this endeavor, the heart of the matter usually comes down to specific needs of a child, values of a family, or (in many cases) a series of events that made that family decide to abandon public school.

And there is very rarely “just one reason.” Continue Reading

relaxed nature-based homeschooling
Parenting

The Beautifully Unhurried Homeschool

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure statement for more information.

I don’t know about you, but I spend a lot of time (I mean a lot) thinking about homeschooling my children. It goes in waves–for a few months, I feel like I’ve got everything figured out and have cracked the code for what works. We’ve got a steady rhythm going, they’re engaged and enjoying themselves, and I feel good about where we are. But then we come down the other side of the wave and I start wondering, researching, reading blogs of how others are doing things, and for the next several months, I’m in tweaking mode, trying new things and second-guessing myself. Are we doing enough? Continue Reading