Thrift Schooling

If you are looking for a way to incorporate electronics into your homeschool for your 7-12 year old, then I have a treat for you! EEME is a company that makes hands-on projects and FREE online lessons to teach kids electronics. This program is created to foster their curiosity for how things work and prep them for the STEM opps of tomorrow.  Each project kit is paired with online curricula to not only show your family how to assemble the kit, but more importantly, teach them how it works. The heart of EEME is their monthly subscription program. For a low monthly cost, you receive an electronics project kit in the mail. A new kit ships every month complete with all the electronic components needed to build a new project. The breadboard, baseplate and battery pack are re-used each month, for each project. This requires the kids to break down last month's project in order to build the new project. They designed the experience this way because by breaking down l...

HEAV Virginia Homeschool Convention June 11-13, 2015 Richmond, Virginia Homeschooling…or considering it? Don’t miss the 32nd Annual Virginia Homeschool Convention for three days of encouragement, support, and resources!   Attend three, FREE how-to-begin workshops on Thursday, June 11, and afterward, tour the Exhibit Hall (340+ booths last year) as our special guest! First-time parents of just preschoolers and non-homeschooling grandparents can attend the ENTIRE convention for free.  The convention offers inspiring keynotes by Ken Ham, Buddy Davis and Voddie Baucham, plus lots of incredible workshops with speakers Steve and Megan Scheibner, Todd Wilson, Kim Kautzer , and many others; a Used Curriculum Sale; an expanded music competition; college fair, hands-on demos in the Exhibit Hall; a Children’s Program; and much more! If you are planning on going, come on by and visit me at the   WriteShop Booth  # 1210 ...

Whether you are coming to the end of your homeschool year or you school year round, assessing where your children stand acedemically is likely on your mind! This year, we are schooling through mid-summer when the baby is due. Summer vacation will officially begin the day the baby is born! Fortunately, we have gotten through the grunt work of the year and will be done with the basics and essentials a few weeks before my due date just in case this one chooses to arrive a tad early! Even though we have a couple months of work left to complete in order to be officially done, I wanted to see where my oldest son stood in his academics. Every state is different as far as what is required for yearly testing. Some states are extremely strict on homeschoolers while others are quite lax. Here in Virginia there are two options, one that requires yearly testing and one that doesn't. Even though I chose the latter doesn't mean I don't assess my kids, I just am not req...

   Whether your child is heading off to public school, private school or even if they are homeschooled, getting ready to become a high school student can be a huge adjustment for a teen. Parents can do a lot to ensure their teenagers feel comfortable with the academic and social challenges that come with this new phase of education. As your teen gets ready to make the big step into high school, there are several things you can do to help him make the transition. Being successful in high school requires preparation from an academic standpoint. The confidence that comes from academic success can also help your teen to excel mentally and socially. High school can be a very fun time, and your teen is likely to make friends that will last a lifetime. Here are Seven Ways you can assist your child in getting ready for high school.                      ...

I determined early on in my parenting years not to compare my children to each other. Everyone grows and develops at different rates and it's not fair to one child to compare them to another.  Honestly, it can stress a parent out. One child may have begun to walk before they reach their first birthday while the second one takes their grand old time! Maybe your daughter had no problem being potty trained by the age of two but your son still wets the bed into his school-aged years.  These comparisons are normal and quite common but once we begin to look for the milestones in educationally-based skills, the stress levels tend to skyrocket! Many parents are so eager to have their child reading immediately (like I was with my first!) that we might begin to push a little too hard too young. Then, when number two or three come along it's so easy to compare and expect the same developmental milestones to happen at the same time for each child! Again, every child is diff...

The Berenstain Bears: God Bless Our Country by Mike Berenstain is another wonderful faith-based Berenstain Bears book to add to our collection. I appreciate this series because the reading level is higher than a basic Easy Reader but the content is simple enough for even my preschooler. My eight year old could read this book easily but was still able to learn greatly from it. For the younger grades in our homeschool, half of my curriculum is Abeka based. If you know anything about the Abeka history program for the young ones, then you know that it is strongly patriotic. It focuses primarily on placing a love, understanding and appreciation for our country.  This book could easily be used as a supplemental resource for American history. My oldest son was was excited to review the Redcoats and my first grader recognized the Statue of Liberty. I enjoyed how the focus of the book was about the celebration of the Independence Day both historically and presently. In our area of the...

The following is a guest review from my husband. This is one impressive book. I highly recommend The River Cottage Curing & Smoking Handbook for anyone even remotely interested in curing and smoking. This is a small book but it is packed with a wealth of knowledge.  This book would be all you need to get started in smoking and curing meats and would be a valuable resource for the pro. They break down the process into all of its steps, ingredients and equipment and explain in detail why things are done a certain way.  There is a write up on the different types of salt that can be used explaining the benefits and drawbacks of each. There are tables giving quick reference on subjects like smoke favors imparted by different woods, cured products and where they come from, rub flavoring, marinade flavoring and brine concentrations. There are plenty of recipes and descriptive photos that make the process clear and easy to follow.  This boo...