When You Feel Like Sending Them to "Real" School

Written by Jessica.

It’s January, and many of us are in the heart of mid-winter: cold weather, short dark days, cabin fever from being cooped up inside. As an unapologetic homebody, I happen to love the way winter calls for cozy, quieter living with my family. I like the restart and the self-reflection that comes with January, too. But there’s no question that mid-winter is a tough time of year for educators of all sorts. If you’re a homeschool mom who never truly steps away from juggling your parent and teacher roles, that can be even truer.

The Best of The Unlikely Homeschool in 2018

Every year I sit down to compile a list of The Best for you. It's kind of like a one-stop-shop for those who've come late to the party or those who just want the cliff-notes.

But, here's the thing, putting together a list of The Best based on page views alone is tricky business. The following posts garnered the most clicks, but aren't necessarily a true reflection of the posts you liked best or that I liked best or even the ones that created the most conversation between the two of us.

Page views happen for various reasons and sort of skew the results, in my opinion. But, then again, one of my best friends is always quick to remind me that numbers don't lie, only words are guilty of that. (She's a financial advisor. What does she know?!)

What We're Reading in January 2019

Our reading took a bit of a dive in December. We hosted so many get-togethers, played lots of board games, and just generally filled our days with shenanigans that books took a back-burner. So, some of our book selections for January are roll-overs from last month.

And I'm OK with that.

I never want meaningful stories of fiction to interrupt the meaningful stories we're living in real life. Here's a look at the books we are starting the year off with.

The 10 Best Books I Read in 2018

2018 proved to be my best reading year to date. 

Apparently, writing a book puts me in a reading mindset. I finished 44 books which is not necessarily all that impressive, in and of itself. But what is mildly noteworthy is the number of fiction books I read in the past 12 months. I read twenty.

For a girl who spent most of the last decade avoiding the adult fiction section of the library, twenty books is a record-breaking number. Admittedly, the genre hasn't changed much in the past ten years. But I have.

A Repurposed Christmas Tree for Nature Study

Written by Jessica.

It is just one week until Christmas Day, and right now the family Christmas tree is a gathering place for many. In our house, we cozy up on the couch and read with tree lights aglow as we count down to Christmas.

The foot of the tree is everyone’s favorite spot to play or do schoolwork in December. It’s a place for sharing family memories; my children never tire of pointing to the ornaments and asking to hear the story behind each one. During Christmas week, branches, heavy-laden with the decorations of years past, provide a backdrop for our family’s celebrations.