I currently have four kids in "regular" school, three in homeschool (and three not-yet-school-age), so I often get asked why we transition our kids out of homeschooling, and how we make the decision when to do that. This post is my answer to that question. <note:...
Uniforms for Homeschool? Three reasons why we do.
If you are like many people who follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you are wondering what is up with my kids wearing uniforms for homeschool. I know. I know. It seems somehow un-homeschoolish, doesn't it? Maybe not wanting to stress about if you and your kids are...
Homeschooling Multiple Grades: MODG hacks and other things I’ve learned the hard way
It's still homeschool week on the blog. For earlier posts see here and here, and come back Monday for one last installment. Today, I'm answering another mailbag question, and sharing how I handle six kids from preschool through middle school all at once, plus a...
Homeschooling for Beginners
All this week, I'm sharing questions I've received from readers about homeschooling, and my answers to those questions. Just in case they might help you decide if homeschooling is right for your family. See the first installment here. Today's question is all about...
How to Get Your Husband on Board With Homeschooling
So . . . it's spring, and that means decision time for a lot of folks on how to school the kids next year. Of course, you can always change your mind. We did. Our oldest son went to our parish school for a couple of months, before we decided to give homeschooling a...
How To Introduce Kids to Poetry, Fine Art, and Classical Music
Mailbag time! As school winds down for the year for many of us, homeschoolers and traditional schoolers alike, many of us are looking for ways we can make the summer an educational time for our kids, but without trying to keep up the same rhythm of the school year. ....
See Me Homeschool
It's a blog hop, y'all. The lovely Micaela of California to Korea and Theresa of Ordinary Lovely have invited me to share a homeschooling day in photos . . . only. No lengthy descriptions, no captions. It nearly killed me. But here it is. I took these photos last...
Seven Odd Things I’ve Come to Appreciate About Homeschooling
I've written before about why and how we homeschool. But, recently, as we go about our daily routine, I keep noticing odd little things that I really like about homeschooling. I don't think any of these would be a very good reason to have decided to start...
How to Teach Catholic Kids About Creation and Evolution
More from the mailbag! This time it's a homeschooling faith vs reason question I received on the Catholic All Year Facebook page from reader Karen. Question: We are new to homeschooling and love your blog! We are starting our journey through the history of the world ....
Maybe Homeschooling Isn’t For Me?
MAILBAG TIME! Question: My oldest is now approaching Kindergarten age and, honestly, I am getting cold feet about the whole homeschooling thing. Sending him to a Catholic school nearby is oh-so-tempting. Even though I'm drawn to it, the whole homeschool thing is very...
My Top Ten Books for Teaching Kids
Continuing my mailbag week, another thing I get asked about sometimes is: Books. I didn't want to say "Homeschooling Books" specifically, because even though WE use them for homeschooling, I think any or all of these books could be used by all types of families,...
A Homeschooling How We Roll
UPDATE 2024: This post was originally shared on Micaela's blog California to Korea, as a part of her How I Homeschool series. She has since started a new blog on a new website, and when we asked if we could share Kendra's old post here she generously dug through her...
Homeschooling: One-Room Schoolhouse Meets Three-Ring Circus
In the comments of a kind of random post about some Latin quizzes I made, Tamar and Caitlin asked me how I manage a homeschool day with four different grades, a preschooler, a toddler, and one in the oven. I guess the real answer is: Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't....
Why I Homeschool Like That
Unless you were homeschooled yourself (which I wasn't) the decision to homeschool your own kids can feel overwhelming in a thousand different ways. It's easy to look at a really easy-going homeschooling Mom and say, "I couldn't live like that, I need order and...
Standardized Tests: Psst . . . Your Agenda is Showing
My kids are homeschooled. The reasons I began homeschooling are various and ignoble and you can read more about them here. But not a year goes by when I don't find another big reason to like it. The most recent came as I was administering the Terra Nova standardized...
How Butter Proves the Existence of God (a summer re-run)
Hey, summer re-runs aren't just for network TV right? If you saw this post, you'll know that I'm planning to run some of my earliest blog posts over the summer while I try to accomplish some other things. So in case you missed it, here's a post from Day 5 of this...
Quit Worrying About Preschool. Seriously, Stop It.
I have lost track of the number of people who have asked me about what kind of homeschool preschool curriculum they should be using with their kids. Dozens anyway. And me being, well, me... I have actually looked into it for them (especially since some of them were...
Not Tamed: A Lesson in Walking Out of the Theater
Hey all, while we're out of town for Easter Break, I'm cleaning out my drafts folder. So if this sounds like it was written a while ago, it probably was. I'll still be checking comments, so feel free to have an opinion. And a very happy Easter to you...
The Secret Truth About Why I Homeschool
A pretty standard response to "regular" people finding out that I homeschool is, "Wow, you're amazing, I could never do that." I never know how to respond in person. So I'm going to do it here instead. I'm going to let you all in on a little secret....
Why We Wii
I have to preface this by saying I don't "get" video games. I don't play them myself. Not since my dad and I conquered Myst anyway. If I'm going to sit down and stare at a screen for two hours I at least want to have a blog post to show for it. I have...
Notable and Quotable
Hey All, For today, you get a roundup of how things sounded around my house this week and the important lessons we learned. 1. I am not an acceptable substitute for Julie Andrews.Anita (3) in the car: "Mom, could you not sing? I'm trying to hear Mary...
The Myth of Me-Time
Thanks to Diana for sending in A READER QUESTION! It still counts if I know her in real life right? What things usually look like from where I'm sitting. So, the question is: How do I take care of myself in general, and specifically during the homeschool year? The...
Homeschool Holiday
Our "School Table" up until yesterday And mom and dad can hardly wait for school to start again . . . Well, it's happened, school has started again. But, as a homeschool mom, I have to say that my perspective on school vacations may be a bit different than the folks...