Thrift Schooling

  My high school Economics class in high school was the period immediately after lunch. I seem to remember always falling asleep as the teacher droned on about the glass ceiling. I do not remember retaining much in that class and could not wait for the bell to ring so I could head off to gym class (unless we were square dancing that day!) What I love about homeschooling is I don't have to organize all of the classes into neat little 45-minute periods, although I used to. Once, I planned an entire year based on that type of system, neatly scheduling each class into the day from 8:30 am until 2:00 pm—complete with two breaks, one to go on the swing set and one for lunch.  Why I thought I needed to recreate the typical classroom model, I do not know. Lack of confidence? Fear? Habit? Whatever the reason, I quickly learned that as I added more kids to the mix, that type of education did not fit our routine. Needing to nurse a baby or going to rescue a runaway goat made me need to ...

    Bible Study Guide for All Ages  is a unique homeschool curriculum that can be used with all of your children around the kitchen table, on your couch, or even in your RV (any road schoolers out there?) Finding a curriculum that has the same exact lesson mapped out for different ages is hard to find, and a true gem once found. Bible Study Guide for All Ages does just that. Regardless of the ages of your homeschoolers, you can order the guides that will meet them exactly where they are. Not only is this great for homeschooling multiple ages but this has helped our family in the past when we had a child that was slightly behind in his reading. We were able to order a grade level below, while his older siblings stayed on grade level. They all still learned the same exact material. Yet when it came to what was required of him as far as writing things down on paper, it was not too frustrating for him. He was able to verbally state what he learned, which was on grade lev...

  “So, what do you do all day?” A longtime friend genuinely asked me after a hectic week of chasing around two active boys under the age of two while pregnant with my third. I did not know what to say. She had two young boys, too, but also worked a full-time job. Her schedule looked different than mine. Busy, but different. I had no words. I thought she would be able to relate, but our lives were not the same. The late nights of dying our hair random colors and going out for a quick coffee were gone—or at least growing fewer in number. We were now married. With kids. I was not surprised that our friendship had changed. We had new responsibilities. New concerns. New worries. What surprised me was the loss of connection. Even though we both had entered into a similar stage of life, we were doing it differently, and I could sense the gap growing stronger with every tense conversation.    It wasn’t even about the difference of opinion about being a stay-at-home or working mom...

  The  Panda Pickagram Bundle  is a brand new part of Timberdoodle's Second Grade Curriculum Kit  leaving kids with an exciting new way to do school this year. Pickagram is a magnetic puzzle that builds spatial reasoning, creativity, and logic. What I appreciate about Timberdoodle's creative line is the variety of puzzles with seemingly unending levels. Children can easily have unending play with the Pickagram, but, with the bundle, your child also receives 52 designs to work on. The challenges help them get started in their creativity, allowing them to go off script (or card) and make their own creations. Right out of the package, my son went immediately towards working on the prompts from the cards. Every child is different. Learning styles vary. Having the prompt cards available work well for the child that can get overwhelmed easily, unsure of where to begin. This would be the child who is still sitting in their room two hours after you asked them to clean their ...

  History is a tricky subject—but it did not used to be. In the 1800s, American school children learned about the origin of their country from school books, family stories, and Independence Day celebrations complete with the full reading of the Declaration of Independence. Now, American history is convoluted and viewed through political lenses, often distorting the reality of what actually happened. Do you ever wish you could go back in time and experience it for yourself? (If anyone is working on a time machine, please let me know.) Or do you ever wish you could speak first-hand with someone who heard the Liberty Bell ring on that memorable day? I know that I do.  Since I cannot do those things, the next best option is to carefully select history materials from an accurate and Christian worldview. Why Christian? Because Christianity formed America. Were those Christians perfect? No, but was the early church perfect? Is the modern-day church perfect? I am sure that we would al...

Awakened by the sun flooding my room, I rushed out of bed. Which should I do first? Brush my hair? My teeth? Quickly get dressed and then head to the bathroom? I was frazzled. It was 9 am on a Monday morning. Clearly, I had missed school. With my bright pink hairbrush in one hand and a scrunchie in the other, I dashed to the bathroom. Mid-dash, I stopped as I noticed that my little sister's room door was closed. Had she slept in, too? It was not until I was ready for school with books in hand that I sped down the stairs only to find my patriotic father dressed in a red, white, and blue three-piece suit, holding signs for his upcoming political campaign.  "I need to head out and get in place for the parade," he said,  I'll be sure to wave to you!" I slumped down on the couch in relief, thankful that it was Memorial Day and that my sister and I did not miss school. Our school year ended in June. Having that one last day off in May was always welcome, but often forg...

  Bedtime seemed hours away. It did not help that they had recently dropped their afternoon naps. "Go jump on the trampoline twenty-seven times. Then, run around the house three times," I commanded, half-joking. They were up for the challenge and were back in no time, proud of their accomplishments. Although my previous teaching experience had not prepared me for the continuous demands of motherhood, it did help me to think outside of the box when needed.  This afternoon, it was needed. Still filled with energy, I sat them down on the living room floor and we played our own version of charades. Instead of having me guess what they were acting out, I would give them something to act out, and they would have to figure out the best way to impersonate it. It lasted for almost an hour, and they were active the entire time. From fire trucks to helicopters to made-up words that I would throw in there for fun, my little ones were active, using their brains, and having a great time wi...