Dear Homeschool Momma Frozen by Winter

The heavy sleet coating the streets as I write this only emphasizes the fact that we are hurdling head long into SADuary...what my friends and I "affectionately" call February in the frozen tundra where we live. February with its freezing weather, grey skies, and otherwise dreary winter blahs can easily bring about a frosted view of of the world and everything in it. As winter clings and refuses to concede to spring, we look for change. Change to bring about revival...Change to breathe life into the everyday again...Change to remind us to KEEP GOING.

4 Questions to Consider Before Quitting a Curriculum

The homeschool conference brochures are already rolling in, and with them come the grand dreams of NEXT YEAR'S CURRICULUM!...making your current choices quite lack luster. In fact, by the end of January, the curriculum that once captivated both you and your children may have become a drudge. You might even be entertaining thoughts of CHANGE.

The Ugly Truth About a Blog

A few weeks ago, I gathered with a small band of exceptional homeschooling moms that meet every-other-month to support and encourage one another on the journey. I'm proud to call so many of them my friends. Out of loyalty...or maybe obligation, in a few cases...many of these dear homeschooling sisters have begun following The Unlikely Homeschool.

As the meeting progressed, it saddened me to hear how some of these women were beginning to feel defeated in their calling to home educate because of...ahem...this here chronicle of mine...or others like it around the web.

Optical Illusion Art Tutorial

It was art day, but as the afternoon began to slip away, I realized we did not have enough time for the creative painting project laid out in our art curriculum. I needed something simple. I needed something fast. With a little art enthusiast just itchin' to get his hands on a fresh sheet of white art paper, I needed something NOW! After scanning Pinterest for a PLAN B, I came upon this fun little project. As it turned out, it not only made for a great afternoon enterprise, it was a study in listening and direction-following skills.

All About Spelling, Level 1 Review

For the first few years of her education, it was quite apparent that while my Sweetie Pea (4th grade) looooooved and excelled at reading and language arts, she struggled to enjoy and thrive at spelling. There seemed to be a disconnect between her ability to read phonetically and her ability to spell phonetically. This was later confirmed with the results of her mandatory state achievement tests. Although she scored at sxactly grade level for spelling, all her other language skills far exceeded that.

How to Use the Task Card System {with videos}

Over the last few months, a couple thousand moms have downloaded my Task Card system. It sounds as if many have found them to be exactly what they've needed to not only organize their homeschool day but also encourage some independent learning. That being said, however, I do receive a few emails/messages each week with questions regarding how to set it all up and how to implement it into the homeschool day.

Adding Some FLASH to Flashcard Review: Double Review with Game Boards

Welcome to our final round of fun! I hope you have been Adding Some FLASH to your Flashcard Review this week as we have looked at a handful of enriching activities to breathe life back into a ho-hum school day.

If you're looking for one last game to add to your flashcard repertoire, look no further than...well, TO A GAME...board, that is.

Adding Some FLASH to Flashcard Review: Beat the Clock

Yeah! We've made it to Day 4 of Adding Some FLASH to Flashcard Review! I hope it has helped to add some life back into the "mid year slump."

Look out! Today's game brings about some serious competition. No need to worry about hurt feelings or poor sportsmanship, however, because there's only ONE competitor. One winner. No losers!

Adding Some FLASH to Flashcard Review: Right in a Row

Why drag out another boring worksheet today when you can review the same concepts with a simple stack of flashcards? Welcome to Day 3 of Adding Some FLASH to Flashcard Review!

Here's a simple activity that not only provides a thorough review of the material, but also stretches cognitive skills by encouraging a multi-level answer.

Adding Some FLASH to Flashcard Review: I Spy

It's Day 2 in my attempt to share some fun activities/games for flashcard review. I'm so glad you've joined me once again!

Today, I want to encourage you to break from the traditional view that you probably have of flashcards...the one in which you show one card at a time and wait for your child to give you the correct answer. Instead, try doing things in reverse.

Adding Some FLASH to Flashcard Review: Secret Code

I don't know about YOUR kids, but MY kids are a captive audience with the mere mention of a secret code. But, who doesn't love a good mystery? For this reason, SECRET CODE has become one of my favorite GO TO flashcard review activities. All you need for this simple game is a set of flashcards and a "detective" eager to crack a secret code.

Adding Some Flash to Flashcard Review

I can just hear it now!

FLASHCARDS?? What's so fun about drilling with flashcards? It seems so monotonous...institutionalized. Isn't that what we are trying to avoid by homeschooling our children?

YEP! I wholeheartedly agree. I have no desire to tediously drill a stack of flashcards while my child rattles off answers like a monotone robot. But, that doesn't mean that flashcards and repetitive drill have NO PLACE in my homeschool. On the contrary, I use flashcards all the time. In fact, I have an entire basket and a huge dresser drawer overflowing with them!

Homeschooling With Ebb and Flow: A Change in Read Aloud Time

Several weeks ago, I shared some handwork ideas for read aloud time. As I mentioned, this is not something we do everyday, but enjoy on occasion when the kids are especially antsy during that time of day.

You may also remember my thoughts on homeschooling with a baby or a toddler and how babies often necessitate schedule/school day change. Well, the two worlds have collided, causing me to re-evaluate our afternoon reading time. Because the Newbie has begun to explore and test his boundaries, it has become quite difficult for the other children to have small pieces and parts of handwork in the living room area.

Family Memories Blanket

"Remember the time..." comes the muffled voice hidden somewhere among the soft folds.

And then comes the giggle of a little boy wrapped up in a memory...a memory of an adventure taken together and arranged neatly next to many others.

Once again, I found my little man curled up in a tight bundle clinging to our much-loved family memory blanket.

About eight years ago, in a whimsical fit of determination, I sewed together a very primitive-looking blanket in hopes of creating a treasure that would safeguard the memories that we were making together as a family.

I appliquéd our last name towards the bottom of the blanket and tucked it away, eager to add memories in the coming days.

My plan for the blanket was simple...
Every time we took a memorable trip together, whether across the globe or across the street, I would stop in at a local gift shop and purchase a souvenir patch depicting a significant part of our journey. Once home, I would sew the badge onto our blanket to mark the memory in a very tangible way.

As I had hoped, my family enjoys retelling the tales of past trips while snuggling under the much-loved blanket.

Admittedly with only eight years of use, there is more blanket than badges. But, the empty space just serves as a wonderful welcome to take many more journeys together.

Field Trip Log Printable

We've got places to go and people to meet! I'm determined to get us out exploring our town, our state, and beyond.

Although I don't live in a state that requires me to keep annual portfolios, I think it's a good idea to keep informal records of all our heavy work, including field trips. We arm-wrestled our way through an entire year's worth of education, after all.

So, in addition to keeping brochures of each location we visit in our unofficial portfolios, I thought it would be worthwhile to keep some kind of log of all our travels...or better yet, for my children to keep a log.

So here it is...our FIELD TRIP LOG. Do you want a copy for your next adventure? Go ahead and grab it. You know you wanna!

More thoughts on Field Trips

Pricey Field Trips for Free or Cheap

50 Virtual Field Trips to Take When You're Stuck at Home

Traveling Deals for Wanderlusters & Roadschoolers on a Tight Budget

Sneaky Learning Ideas for Summer Road Trips

Tips & Tricks for Homeschooling On-the-Go

Disneyschooling Series- Ideas for squeezing lots of learning out of the major Disney theme parks.

Be sure to also check out this wonderful list of field trip ideas indexed in alphabetical order by state.

Family Devotions: God's Names

You probably know him as God, I AM who I AM.  But do you also know He is El Roi, the God who sees; El Shaddai, God Almighty; El Elyon, The Most High?  In fact, God is so great that it takes over 700 names to TRY to contain all that He is.  

(This post contains affiliate links.  Please see my disclosure policy for full details.)

For the past few months, for our family devotions/Bible time, we have been reading through a book I learned about from Average Housewife.  God's Names by Sally Michael is an exceptionally well-written look at 24 key names of God.  Although it is a children's book, it is packed with spiritual truths for any age.  

Each chapter introduces one name of I AM, references a story in the Bible that helps to explain that name, and ends with a few discussion/reflection questions and a short activity.  

In addition to practicing our weekly verse from our Well Versed Kids pack, each night at the dinner table, we read half of a chapter of God's Names and briefly discuss how this name of God applies in our own lives.  It is my desire that as my children begin to learn these names and titles of the Living God, they will each be able to see Him as ALL IN ALL...everything they need.

Before we began this particular study, I made a simple drawing of a burning bush with Exodus 3:14a written across it and hung it in our entryway.  I also cut out a handful of leaves on various patterns of green scrapbook paper.

Every two or three days when a chapter is completed, one of the kids gets to pick a green leaf, write the name of God featured in that chapter, and attach it to the bush.  Since we are almost done with the book, our bush is quite covered with Names.  I am hoping that by the end of this study together, our hearts and minds will be too!

We have enjoyed the book so much, that we probably read the sequel, God's Promises, in the months to come.

*We do not do an official Bible Time during the school day.  Instead, we start each day with personal devotions and anxiously await dinner time when we can study the Word as a family.

How Do You Homeschool With a Baby or Toddler?

He's on the move. For over a month now, the Newbie has spent his days launching carpet expeditions hoping to open every cupboard, dump every basket, and upturn every well-laid plan. His curiosity and moxie are natural, but naturally add a new element of adventure to our homeschool day.