Aw, holiday get-togethers with extended family. All the togetherness, food, conversation, and… …the questions. The judgement. The desire to hang out at the punch bowl and add a lil’ something to it because you just know Uncle Matthew is going to be on your case again about homeschooling. The struggle. It can be so real. …
Homeschoolers: Stop Freaking Out About Holiday Family Get-Togethers Read More »
It’s nice to receive compliments about your kids, especially as a mom who might be swimming a little bit upstream. So what’s the best compliment I ever received as a homeschooling mom? Well, let me tell you. Because it’s nice to hear something positive. It’s great to hear we’re doing a good job. It’s fabulous …
The Best Compliment I Received From a Public School Teacher Read More »
As homeschoolers, we are often so worried about what we should do. But let’s—just for a moment—focus on a few things we can maybe stop doing. So I ask you: fabulous awesome homeschoolers, please stop doing these seven things: 1. Homeschoolers, please stop being afraid of your kid being mad or uncomfortable. If your child is mad …
Want to know how someone feels about their life as a homeschooled kid? In my opinion, it’s best to go straight to the source. I present to you two unedited interviews with homeschoolers. Namely, my two sons. (My sons are now homeschooled teens, but these interviews are from when they were 9 and 10 years …
Hey, fellow homeschooling mom! We all need homeschool mom friends, right? Here are the seven types of friends every homeschool mom needs in order to sweeten up life and get through the day with minimal scarring. Homeschool mom friends #1: the new homeschooling mom I love moms who are new to homeschooling. Generally speaking, New Homeschooling …
Remember those days of hauling out massive stacks of books from the library? When the potential overdue fines for that stack of books was a real financial threat? I remember those days. That was our life not too long ago, but things are different now. Let’s talk a bit about some reasons older kids don’t …
Reasons Older Kids Don’t Read (as much as they used to) Read More »
How many of you decided to homeschool partly because you wanted lots of that togetherness that comes with homeschool family relationships? Ok, now fess up. How many of you, at some point in your homeschooling journey, have looked at these wonderful people you have all this togetherness with and have thought seriously, what in the …
Homeschool Family Relationships: How to Handle Always Being Together Read More »
All the at-home moms in the room, raise your hand. Oh, good! I see you! Now tell me: how often have you received a phone call or text like this: “Our daycare gal is sick and I can’t take the day off work. Can I just drop the kids at your house tomorrow?” Check the …
Adults often tell kids winning isn’t important or all that matters is that you do your best. But do adults ever model that to children? Let’s chat today about why it’s actually important for your kids to realize that Mom and Dad aren’t always the best, and why it’s okay that your kids see you …
I received a copy of Garage Band Theory free and was compensated for my time. Opinions belong to my sons and myself and we were not required to give a positive review. Rock on, fellow musicians. Rock on. As a guitar-playing, singing mama, I was very excited to teach my kids about music right away. As …
It’s perfectly fine to be proud of our work as homeschooling parents, right? Perhaps. But watch out—I’ve found six ways that homeschool pride can actually mess up our homeschool experience if we’re not careful. Here are 6 ways that pride can creep into our life as homeschooling parents. 1) Homeschool pride tells us to care …
If soup cans didn’t have labels, we wouldn’t know if we were buying tomato or cream of celery for lunch. But when it comes to labeling what kind of homeschooler we are, do homeschool labels hurt us more than help? Labels, like those on soup cans, can help with organization and identification. Homeschool labels that identify …
Tech is a part of all of our lives, right? So how do we handle it when our kids want to use tech, electronics, and the internet? Should we have tech limits? Should we just let them run free with it? Or does it depend on the circumstances? I am often asked how we deal with …
Tech Limits: How we Deal with Screen Time and the Internet Read More »
If you’re anything like me, you like to spend time in the garden. Recently I realized there are some aspects of gardening that remind me of things we have to deal with on our journey as homeschooling parents. Here are seven similarities I’ve discovered— Weeding (or dealing with the problems of homeschooling) takes constant attention: It doesn’t matter what …
Mama friends, let’s have a chat about why you should get dad involved in your homeschool. Now, I want to give kudos to you, mama. You’re rockin’ this homeschooling thing in a hard core way. You’re totally slayin’ it. But let’s face it—sometimes it doesn’t matter what you say or how you say it, it …
Three Reasons to Get Dad Involved in Your Homeschool Read More »
Awhile back, I wrote a piece called Dear Homeschoolers, Please Stop. It detailed seven things we should stop doing as homeschoolers in order to have an easier, more awesome experience. Well. I’m still homeschooling and I’m still taking notes. So, for your entertainment and enlightenment, here are seven more things we should stop doing if …
Dear Homeschoolers, Please Stop. I’m serious this time. Read More »
This whole following your interests thing has almost become a buzz phrase. “Homeschooling is so great because it’s all about following your interests!” And it’s true, as homeschooling families, we have time to follow our interests. Because we have such freedom and flexibility with our hours, we have the ability to pour ourselves into the …
While the decision to homeschool might affect your child in many ways, it never ceases to amaze me the amount of people who still believe that kids are shy (or loud. or talkative. or introverted. or…) simply because they’re homeschooled. You’ve probably dealt with this, too. Let me give you an example from our experiences. …
It’s Because They’re Homeschooled: No, Actually It’s Not Read More »
Reading, writing, and arithmetic are important, no doubt. But there are a lot of other things kids should learn that will help them function in the real world—and they’re not the things we are going to find taught in any curriculum. This list might be a little different than what you’re expecting. So, here goes. …
10 Real Life Things Kids Should Learn That Aren’t In A Curriculum Read More »
Hi. My name is Amy (hi, Amy) and I’m a homeschooling mom. I’m also a writer with a habit of telling it like it is. So when my family started our journey down the road of homeschooling back in 2007, I knew that homeschooling was going to be added to my list of things I …
