Thrift Schooling

  There is a point in learning when it just seems to click. I am at that point with my youngest which thrills my heart as a home educator. As the youngest of five, I have always included him in the lessons but this is the one year where he is eager to have work of his own that (in his mind) matches the level of his older siblings.  Daily 6-Trait Writing Grade 1  part of Timberdoodle's First Grade Kit  mimics a book that his older brother is currently working through. They each have their own book geared toward their own levels. In the front of the book, you find a scoring rubric, based on the six traits writing model to assess your student's writing. This is the perfect model for parents hesitant about grading or scoring their student's writing material, even in other subjects. This works as an excellent framework, or foundation, in a child's writing. The six traits include: 1. Ideas 2. Organization 3. Word Choice 4. Sentence Fluency 5. Voice 6. Conventions ...

  Game on, Thrift Schooling friends! We are big game people in this household. As I write this, three of my five children are deep into a board game that will most likely last for hours. How does this happen? How can we encourage our teens to choose playing a good old fashioned board game over scrolling the Internet in their spare time? Two things. First, introduce them to board games when they are young. My kids have a huge shelf of games that they can choose from. When young it can be a struggle or fight because we are dealing with character issues that have nothing to do with the game itself (sharing, taking turns, not being a sore loser, etc.), but as they grew, so did their desire for spending time with one another—and games are a great way to make that happen.  Second, introduce them to easy games at first that keep their attention. The  Battle Sheep board game  is a perfect example of this. Kids are able to learn to play quickly, the rules are simple, and it i...

I have a confession to make. I used Abeka to teach my first three kids to read. I know, super creative. It was all I knew with my first two and by the time I had my third I figured it worked, so, I was boring. Not that Abeka is terrible, I enjoyed using their methods to teach my kids to read but my perspective has changed. I now only recommend it if you have one or two kids. Once you add more than that to the mix it is basically impossible. Too demanding. Now that I have been homeschooling for over a decade I have learned that Abeka is not the only method out there. I mean, I learned that quickly for other subjects when it was not working out after the first few years but when it came to reading I was afraid to branch out. I am not sure quite sure why. Now that I have a preschooler and first-grader in addition to middle and high schoolers I am ready to explore my options, and I am glad I did! Now enter  All About Reading 1 . Of course, over the years I had heard about this program ...

For the past few weeks, we have been experimenting with the most diverse, activity-filled, exciting and educational history course in our homeschool! We have been thoroughly enjoying the stimulating and thought provoking presentation that Amy Puetz gives us in her  history curriculum, Heroes, Heroines and Tales of Ancient History.  I received this curriculum in digital format ($98 ARV) which included the five following downloads. (A printed version is available also for the same price). Heroes, Heroines and Tales of Ancient History Part 1 Heroes, Heroines and Tales of Ancient History Part 2 Ancient History Skits (E-book) Listen To Some Ancient History (MP3-Download) Sing Some Ancient History (MP3-Download)     This is a complete, year-long, history curriculum geared towards children in grades one through six.  Part one includes 75 lessons for the first half of the year, covering Creation to Alexander the Great. Part two has 75 lessons for the sec...