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 […]
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
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 […]
How to Engage Middle Schoolers with the Writing Process (Freebie!)
When middle school rolls around, students discover that the writing process 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 […]
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. […]
St. Patrick’s Day Printables for Elementary/Middle School
Free St. Patrick’s Day Printables Need a fun and easy St. Patrick’s Day activity for your elementary or middle school aged kids? These printable activities will help! Our freebie has a St. Patrick’s Day scrambled word activity, library checklist, and St. Pat’s Day themed notebook page. This activity will add to your magical day of […]
5 Reasons to Incorporate Art in Your Homeschool
My kids have been participating in homeschool art classes for several years, and we have seen many benefits to setting aside this time each week. Sometimes, it is easy to get caught up in just getting the basics covered in a busy homeschool, but there are many reasons why it is important to go beyond […]