Looking for a family movie night to enjoy? Mount Hideaway Mysteries: Exes and Oh No’s is available on iTunes/AppleTV as well as Google Play Movies. The film is a mystery-romance following a young woman who returns to her home town and embarks on mysteries with the help of her homeschooled childhood friends. Shot in the beautiful […]
Middle School
Rock Painting for Beginners
Art Class Idea This blog uses referral links. Please read my disclosure policy. Rock Painting For Beginners: Simple Step-by-Step Techniques initially caught my interest at the beginning of summer. I thought it would be a fun way to start an activity with my kids and to inspire some creativity without spending a lot of money. Walking […]
Hands-on Science: Electronics for Homeschoolers
Electronics for Alternative Learners Electronics classes are perfect for homeschool science for ‘out-of-the-box’ learners. These classes are great for kids who don’t thrive on textbook learning. Electronics projects also benefit kids who need to experience something with their hands to help them understand a concept. QSL offers online classes for homeschool students, with a flexible […]
Homeschooling Algebra: A Different Perspective
Tears . . . That is the first word that comes to my mind when I think of the word algebra. My past experience with algebra wasn’t great. I struggled to understand the concepts, spent hours studying, and got help with my homework from friends and family. I just didn’t get it. When we decided to […]
Bringing Literature to Life: Motivating Preteens to Study Literature
6 tips for engaging your reluctant reader in the world of great literature. This blog uses affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. Soon after college, I taught English in a public middle school where English was a second language to many of my students. After spending several years immersed in literary adventures as an undergrad, […]
Grammar of Poetry
Learn the Building Blocks of Poetry This blog uses affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. Grammar of Poetry is a 30-lesson course for middle school and early high school level students, with a suggested 1/2 academic high school literature credit. It is designed to be completed in one semester as part of a language arts […]
Embracing the Teen Years
![Many homeschool parents look upon the teen years with dread. They worry about how they’ll teach more difficult subjects, how hard it will be to keep track of grades, and [gulp] Driver’s Ed. Unfortunately, some parents believe that they cannot even continue to homeschool the teen years.](https://www.mylearningtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/embracingthe-teen-years-300x300.jpg)
First steps, first words, first birthday . . . We celebrate these milestones and look forward to them from the day our children are born. The teen years seem so far away, but they arrive before we know it. Many homeschool parents look upon the teen years with dread. They worry about how they’ll teach […]
Creative Writing with A Pirate’s Guide t’ th’ Grammar of Story
Creative Writing for Pirates! This blog uses affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. Creative writing is an important part of language arts, but I talk to so many homeschool moms who have fallen into the trap of not teaching enough writing and feeling overwhelmed. The common reason is the difficulty of finding a curriculum that […]
Getting Middle Schoolers Engaged with the Writing Process (Freebie!)
When middle school rolls around, students discover that writing is a big part of their curricular demands, and not just for English class. History, science labs, and even fine arts courses require more writing as students enter the secondary years. Homeschool students begin doing more independent work in these years as well, and we have […]
Brave Beauty
Finding the Fearless in You This blog uses affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. Brave Beauty: Finding the Fearless You (Faithgirlz) by Lynn Cowell is a collection of 100 ‘courage-building ways’ to find answers and confidence in God. Each chapter includes a story with relevant scripture references, questions or quizzes, challenges, and a prayer. Grow Confident […]
EASE Into Middle School
Is My Child Ready for High School? How do you prepare your middle schooler for high school? High school seems like such a daunting event for many homeschool moms, and “the experts” often make us feel like we are behind before we even start. Once sixth grade gets under way, panic sets in with the […]
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. […]