Greece Unit: Magazine Clipping Mosaics

While continuing our study of Ancient Greece, we learned that one of the most popular Grecian art forms was mosaic scenes. Craftsmen would use tesserae, small four-sided glass tiles, to create intricate wall mountings or floor coverings.

One snowy afternoon found us gathered at the art table creating our own mosaic masterpieces out of old magazine clippings.

Teaching Sentence Structure to Kinesthetic Learners {video}

Like most kinesthetic learners, my eldest sone struggles at times to retain some of the basic foundations of rules-based subjects like language and math. To help him remember the major fundamentals, I often have to use some actions...and a few sound effects!

Here's a look at one of the little memory tricks I've taught him this year to encourage proper sentence structure.

Do you have a kinesthetic learner?  What tips and tricks have you used to help he/she memorize the "rules".

How To Begin Read Alouds With Your Young Learner

As a closet librarian, I want all of my children to devour the written word through the pages of a good book. Although I understand that part of that passion has to come naturally...a child has to develop a personal desire to read...I also believe that a reading passion can be ignited and cultivated by simply enjoying great read-alouds together. (I realize that by definition a READ ALOUD is any book that is read out loud, including picture books. But for the purpose of this discussion, I will be referring to chapter books.)

While this sounds like an easy undertaking, introducing a chapter-style read-aloud to a young child can sometimes feel like a daunting task. For some children, moving from picture books to chapter books is a natural evolution. But for others, sitting for an extended period of time to listen to a book with no pictures can seem next to impossible.

Homeschool Mother's Show-and-Tell

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend my state-wide homeschool convention. It was a time of refreshment, instruction, and challenge (Just picture a very small woman lugging about 150 pounds of books on her back for two days.)

One of my favorite POST-convention activities is to get together with a handful of other homeschool moms for a convention debriefing. In the past, we have gathered in someone's hotel room on the last night of the convention or at a coffee shop a few evenings later to share some of the speaker highlights and our curriculum purchases. This has always been an especially helpful time for those who could not attend the convention themselves.

Greece Unit: How to Make a Grecian Urn

After ending a fabulous Egypt Unit, we have moved to the next era of ancient history...GREECE! Since Grecian life and culture was heavily influenced by the people of Crete, we began there.

Taking Some of the Chaos Out of Homeschool Art Time {video}

Although most homeschool moms would be quick to acknowledge the many benefits of scheduling a weekly art time, many are naturally reluctant to make it a priority. Let's face it...sometimes art time comes with a lot of chaos. And who wants to add more of THAT to the day?!

Top 5 Websites for Inexpensive Homeschool Curriculum

While eBay and Amazon may have the "buy for cheap" market cornered, they are not always my GO TO sites to find inexpensive HOMESCHOOLING curriculum. Many times bidding wars get out of hand or the shipping prices make an otherwise "cheap" book more expensive than I had hoped.

Before you push "add to cart" on that MUST HAVE item, be sure to check out these other lesser-known curriculum sellers for used or gently used/new curriculum. 

Help, I Have a Resistant Learner!

The crossed arms...the set jaw...the apathetic look...

All tell-tale signs of the resistant learner.

How I Start My Homeschool Day on the Right Foot {video}

As your mother always said, "A good morning starts the night before."

It seems so simple...barely even worth mentioning...but in addition to setting out my task cards, preparing for my day the night before has really helped me to start my homeschool day on the right foot. Here's a quick peek...

Titus 2 Homeschooling

"Thank you so much for your kindness.  You have NO IDEA how much it helped!" came the hand-written gratitude from a momma-friend embarking on her first year of homeschooling.

My kindness?

At the risk of sounding ungrateful for her gratefulness, my instant response was "How could a few minutes sitting over coffee have helped her so much? All I did was chat and point her to a few resources."

How an Eclectic Homeschooler Uses Workbooks

WORKBOOKS...
in homeschooling??!  (Insert gaping-mouthed gasps from all across cyber-ville.)

Before you tune me out at the mere mention of the word "workbooks" in relation to homeschooling, I'll have to confess, I, too, am anti-workbook. They go against my core beliefs of how to best foster individualized, self-motivated learning. They are the GO-TO resource for the factory model of education. They promote a 2-dimensional, black-and-white way of learning. I get it! I believe it!
BUT...
at the risk of sounding like a total turn-coat to the entire homeschool movement, I must admit, I USE WORKBOOKS in my homeschool.

(I'll pause for a moment to dodge a few rotten tomatoes, and then go on to paint you the full picture.)

No-Fuss Easter Brunch

As I've mentioned, on the Saturday before Easter, we invite some of our extended family over for an Easter brunch and a morning filled with Easter-themed family traditions. This is one way we have chosen to extend the celebration of Christ's resurrection and incorporate some spring-themed fun without encroaching upon the reverence of Easter Sunday.

This year was no different...except for the fact, that all of our cherished extended family unexpectedly came down with illness the morning of our planned brunch. So, our table wasn't quite as filled as we had hoped it would be.

This year's brunch activities were a mixture of some treasured family favorites and some new...but INSTANT...classics.

Devotional Resources for 2013

Back in September, I shared my curriculum plans for the 2012-2013 school year, including the devotional/Bible books that my children would be reading through every morning. But, then came Christmas with its gift of Myrrh and many of our devotional plans were changed.

April Fool's "Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream"

Pssst...I've got a secret...

It's April Fool's Day today!  

OK, so that's not really a secret...to YOU. 

BUT, since my kid's don't ever remember that April 1st is April Fool's...please DON'T tell them!