//
Browsing Category

Homeschool

minimalist homeschool planning
Homeschool Planning

How I Plan My Homeschool Part 2: “Do the Next Thing” Subjects

Welcome to part two of my homeschool planning series in which I attempt to write many words describing a painfully simple process. (If you missed Part 1: Big Picture Planning, click here to read it!) Once again, I want to throw it out there that this is not a post for people who need beautiful planners, loads of cute stickers, and marathon planning sessions drafting out the details of every week of the school year. No. This is a post for people who want to get the job done quickly and without stress, and who need a lot of flexibility in their homeschool year. Continue Reading

July 26, 2018 by
homeschool planning big picture
Blossom and Root Early Years, Blossom and Root First Grade, Planning

How I Plan My Homeschool Part 1: The Big Picture

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

I keep getting asked to write a planning post. I get it–it’s the end of summer, it’s really exciting, and planning posts are all you see on Instagram right now. I’m not sure how to tell you this, but…my homeschool planning is super un-pretty. It’s incredibly anti-climatic. And it’s a far cry from Insta-worthy.

Continue Reading

July 24, 2018 by
Waldorf homeschool
Homeschool Planning

Our Eclectic Homeschool: Favorite Elements of Waldorf

In my last post, I described our relaxed, eclectic homeschool approach as a recipe–one that starts with a Charlotte Mason and Waldorf foundation, throws in a a generous helping of unit studies, sprinkles in some classical education, and occasionally gets ignored in favor of periodic unschooling. This recipe also changes often with seasons, interests, and with the phases in our lives. We are far from purists of any of these approaches, choosing rather to take what we love about each and combine them in a way that fits our homeschool rhythm perfectly. Continue Reading

July 9, 2018 by
charlotte mason eclectic homeschool
Homeschool Planning

Our Eclectic Homeschool: Favorite Elements of Charlotte Mason

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

Like many homeschoolers, we embrace an eclectic approach that combines multiple philosophies or approaches. I often describe our homeschool as a kind of ever-morphing stew that starts with a base of Charlotte Mason and Waldorf, throws in a heaping spoonful of unit studies, stirs in some classical education, and occasionally gets ignored in favor of periodic unschooling. And it’s always changing–sometimes with the seasons, sometimes with our interests, and sometimes because life happens and we are okay with adapting as needed. Continue Reading

July 2, 2018 by
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

June 20, 2018 by
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

June 14, 2018 by
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

June 7, 2018 by
tinker boxes
S.T.E.A.M.

5 Essentials for Homeschool Enchantment: Tinker Boxes

This post may contain affiliate links. To learn more, please read our disclosure.

Last winter, we went through a few months of medical issues with a close family member that required a lot of driving back and forth across the Colorado front range. Normally, this sort of upheaval of our “usual routine” would have made me feel anxious and unsettled, but thanks to the Brave Writer lifestyle (and Julie Bogart’s endless, soothing wisdom), I accepted that things would just need to be a little bit looser in this season of our homeschooling life. Continue Reading

May 10, 2018 by