Typing is one of those skills that was expected to die out. After all, no one uses typewriters anymore, right? But now that so many kids, including mine, use computers at an early age, typing is actually more important than ever. The faster and more accurately a child types, the more capable he or sheKeep Reading…
My ten-year-old son is the artist in the family. And by that I mean he wants to be an artist. He’s very interested in drawing and painting, but sadly, neither his father nor I are qualified in the least to teach him those skills. What’s more, we don’t have any local homeschool art programs that areKeep Reading…
We’ve always wanted to build a love for reading in our kids. Now that we’re down to just one child in early grades, we’re pretty much done with teaching early reading skills. No more phonics, no more decoding, no more CVC word practice. All four of our kids are off to the reading races. OurKeep Reading…
I have to admit: I’ve been super lax about getting my kids into the kitchen. Tigger knows how to prepare breakfast and lunch for us all, but the boys….not so much. Since our kids have ADHD, it’s hard to help them exercise caution and take their time, which are two of the MOST important skillsKeep Reading…
Our preschooler is raring to go for kindergarten this year, so when I was considering what we’d use as our primary curriculum, I looked around and tried a few things. We love using apps to reinforce what she’s learning, but I also wanted her to have some hands-on kinesthetic activities to help her really “see”Keep Reading…
My boys aren’t that interested in long math lessons. Actually, they’re not that interested in long lessons in any subject. (Pretty typical for 8 and 7 year olds, right?) And since my youngest son is living with ADHD, it’s a real challenge to get him to sit still for much of anything, especially math practice. OverKeep Reading…
How many printers have you gone through during your homeschooling journey? We’re on number three. There’s no doubt that homeschoolers use a lot of printer ink. And when I say a lot, I mean a LOT. I finally just set up a subscription ink service because I got tired of always running out…lol. And, sinceKeep Reading…
We’ve all been there. It’s the start of a brand new homeschool year and we start to experience a mixture of excitement…and dread. I have always loved homeschooling my children, but as they’ve gotten older (and my responsibilities have increased), planning just isn’t as much fun as it used to be. When I first startedKeep Reading…
Piglet is my very last child to homeschool. *sniff* And I probably have enough homeschooling books, workbooks, toys, games, and printables to teach twelve more children after her. (I wish I was kidding.) But last year, we decided to streamline our homeschooling materials and practice minimalist homeschooling. Which is using the least amount of materialsKeep Reading…
My seven-year-old is well above grade level at reading comprehension, math, and writing, which thrills me. But his reading fluency needs a little help. Because he has ADHD, he’s super active. (And I mean, super active.) And that makes him rather…impatient. When he tries to read aloud or spell words, he gets frustrated whenever he can’t doKeep Reading…
New York City is one of our favorite places to visit. One of our family members lives in Queens and the kids always love traveling through the big city, staring at the buildings, and trying to spot the city’s most famous features. Usually, though, we don’t have enough time to tour all of the NYCKeep Reading…
Personally, I love history, even ancient history. Trying to make those subjects interesting to an eight-year-old, though, poses its own set of challenges. It can be tough to help kids to “see” the people and events so that they can understand what happened and why it has meaning for our modern world. And that’s whyKeep Reading…
Since we’ve been working on coding with our middle schooler this year, she’s learned how to write code for apps, video games, and more! So in this month’s Bitsbox box, we were excited to see her branching into some advanced coding lessons for kids, including if – else statements and sin() functions. And to topKeep Reading…
We’ve been working on STEM concepts with our middle schooler for the past several months and she’s been enjoying learning science, technology, and even math concepts along the way. Our Bitsbox subscription has been a huge help in this. This girl absolutely hated math a year ago, but now that she’s learning how to useKeep Reading…
I didn’t learn about Shakespeare at all during grade school, so it wasn’t until I got to college that I got a chance to read and watch classic Shakespearean plays. And, to be honest, it was confusing. I watched a live rendition of Twelfth Night for English lit class and I think I went to sleep duringKeep Reading…
Standardized testing is a somewhat controversial subject among homeschoolers. Some families perform testing regularly to assess their children’s performance each year. Others decide not to use standardized testing at all, opting for other ways to check their children’s understanding. Our state requires us to assess our children with a standardized test occasionally. And, while I’mKeep Reading…
STEM education is a huge priority in our homeschool these days. We’ve got a busy middle schooler and I want her to get a good introduction to science, technology, engineering, and math during these years. That way, as she goes on in her schooling, she won’t be intimidated by these subjects later. And who knows?Keep Reading…
My sixth-grader is a bit…shall we say, math-averse? She can do the work, but she really, really, really doesn’t like it. Teaching her math can be frustrating for both of us. And, since she has ADHD, keeping her attentive during lessons is a challenge all its own. But, in today’s society, learning a STEM skill, suchKeep Reading…
I cannot tell you how much my boys love learning about animals. They get so excited when they get a chance to see animals up close or even just to read about them. A lot of it has to do with their fascination with the Wild Kratts, which is just fine with me! In particular, myKeep Reading…
I’ve worked on multiplication with my oldest child for years. And I mean, actual YEARS. It took a while to get her to try learning her times tables, and then it took even longer to get her to work at remembering them. After several grades, the only hurdle left was getting her to enjoy working withKeep Reading…
My new middle schooler has always been interested in science. She loves examining nature and conducting basic experiments. One thing we had yet to introduce her to, though, was the microscope. When I took college biology last year, I had my very first experience with a light microscope and it was awesome. So I wasKeep Reading…
