A few of our recent posts….

Mid-Year Motivation

Got the mid-winter blahs? You are not alone! Maybe you’re having trouble getting back on track after the holidays — […]

Teaching Geography

If you know me or have read much of my material, you know I am extremely geographically challenged. I’m not sure why—my father was a navigator. He even taught me celestial navigation, which I in turn taught to the eighth grade science classes in my junior high school (does this […]

teen homeschool

Making the Most of the Middle School Years

If you homeschooled your child through the primary grades, you may find that you initially experienced moments of self-doubt, but you managed through the first year (or two, or three) and gained confidence to educate your child at home…until now! It is not uncommon for parents to second-guess themselves all […]

Life is Still Messy

Let’s be real … homeschooling is not a cure for all that ails our families. Life is still messy. In fact, sometimes all that one-on-one time can really magnify shortcomings in our relationships with our children as well as with our spouses. Some of the most heartbreaking consulting calls I […]

5 Tips for Finishing Your Homeschool Year Strong

It seems like just last week you were writing up those lesson plans for the fall, planning a few field trips, organizing the bookshelves, and suddenly . . . the year has gone by! Where did the time go? Whether you’re raring to go for another few months, or you are dragging […]

Cultivating the Habit of Kindness

We all have probably heard the principle that it is better to give than to receive, but how do we teach our children to treat others kindly, give generously, and serve willingly? What are our kids mirroring? Children are often like little mirrors, reflecting our attitudes and actions. They are […]

Evaluations & Portfolios

In other posts, we’ve discussed testing and assessment options. Depending on the legal requirements for homeschoolers in your state, you may choose to instead have your child evaluated, or have a portfolio evaluation. Evaluations Who might benefit from an evaluation? Young children, students who don’t read well or quickly yet, children with learning […]

Which test is best

Which Test is Best?

One of the most frequent questions I get about testing is,          “Which test should I use?           Which one is best?            How do I choose            From the CAT, SAT, MAT, or Iowa Test?” Well, maybe not in such Seussical style, but you get the idea! The CAT […]

Southwestern Chicken-and-Corn Chowder

Tonight was one of those What-Should-I-Make? nights, when I didn’t plan ahead and I was too tired to really cook. Enter: leftovers and bits of veggies left in the crisper, plus a few cans from the pantry. It’s pretty forgiving as well, since you can skip the extra veggies if […]

How to Use the Dough Hook Extender for the Bosch Universal Plus

For years, cooks used the Bosch Universal mixer with the original dough hook, with much success. Even after the Universal Plus was released, the same dough hook has worked well for thousands of bakers—but for some who were concerned about small-batch kneading, Bosch came out with a dough hook extender. […]

Desktop Organization -- Everyday Homemaking

Controlling Paper Chaos

(I found this in my archives from almost ten years ago and realized I need to revive this system, as my desk paperwork is again running amok. Do you ever realize you KNOW what to do but just need a reminder?)   The photos in this blog (well, in all […]