Five Favorite Berenstain Bears’ Living Lights Stories This blog uses affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. The Berenstain Bears Friendship Blessings Collection is a five-books-in-one collection from the Living Lights series. This series from Zonderkidz is written from a Christian worldview and includes Scripture references and Christian values as the stories teach life lessons to […]
Language Arts
5 Ways to Motivate Middle School Writers
Ah, middle school! A time of hormone surges and living in a sort of limbo stage between childhood and adulthood. As a parent, I do sometimes feel like we’re living in the Matrix when it’s time to sit down and focus on “schoolwork.” And English gets a bad rap anyway as a “boring” required class. […]
Circle C Stepping Stones
Andi Saddles Up & Andi Under the Big Top This blog uses affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. Set in the wild west of the 1800s, the Circle C Stepping Stones books by Susan K. Marlow are geared toward early elementary age readers. The first two books of the projected six-book set are Andi Saddles […]
Make Language Arts Fun with a Library Scavenger Hunt!
Guest writer Jenny Herman joins us today with a wonderful way to make language arts fun for any age child with a library scavenger hunt. I love finding ways to make learning fun and practical. One thing I like to incorporate into my homeschool is scavenger hunts. Last year, I came up with the idea […]
Q & A a Day for Writers
Writers’ Prompts for Creative Inspiration This blog uses affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. Using writing prompts is a wonderful way to exercise your creative muscles by getting something on paper every day. Q&A a Day for Writers: 1-Year Journal is a fun book of writers’ prompts in a daily format, with prompts for each day […]
Jensen’s Vocabulary
Middle and High School Vocabulary This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. Gaining new words does much more than give students an edge on standardized tests. Vocabulary development is essential for unlocking better communication. Students who study vocabulary gain skills for better reading comprehension, as well as an improvement in their writing. […]
The ABCs of Reading
Teaching Young Learners Does the thought of teaching your young learner how to read make your heart race? I’ll admit that my two biggest fears when we started homeschooling were the prospects of teaching my child how to read and of one day having to conquer algebra. After all, reading is the basis for everything […]
7 Tips for Teaching Teen Writers
Guiding Teens through the Writing Process Do you teach writing in your homeschool? As the facilitator for a homeschool teen literature group, I have discovered that many homeschool moms don’t even know where to begin teaching writing to their teens. It is an often neglected subject, dwarfed by algebra, sciences, and high school elective requirements. […]
Real Teens Read The Hunger Games
Love it or hate it, you have to admit that The Hunger Games has become quite a popular book among teen readers and many adults as well. Though some parents might choose not to allow their teens to read it, if you are considering adding The Hunger Games to your or your teen’s bookshelf, you will […]
Nature Study Through Living Books: Pagoo
How We Incorporate Nature Study I found this resource at our local homeschool store. It’s currently out of print, but a search online might lead you to a used copy. Nature Study through Living Books: A Multi-Level Study Guide for Studying Nature Through Literature Using Pagoo by Holling C. Holling is a twenty-day unit study written […]
The Surprising Imagination of C. S. Lewis
Discovering the Genius of C. S. Lewis The Surprising Imagination of C. S. Lewis: An Introduction by Jerry Root and Mark Neal is a different look at the mind and works of C. S. Lewis. The authors describe and illustrate Lewis’ ability to harness the power of imagination and enlighten readers by giving us a different […]
Teaching Dictionary Skills: Free Printable Spooky Words Worksheet
Teaching Dictionary Skills Do your kids know how to use a dictionary? In this day and age of being able to hop on a phone or tablet to find out any information you need to know, is it still important to know how to open up a dictionary and learn something? As an English teacher, […]