Mentoring with Grace: Dancing through Life Together How to nurture meaningful connections without pressure or perfection. Mentoring is much like a beautiful dance—sometimes slow and gentle, sometimes lively and full of unexpected turns. When done well, it’s a graceful give-and-take that nurtures both hearts. For women, especially mothers navigating the […]
Vicki Bentley
47 posts
Got a kiddo who struggles putting pencil to paper? He may just not be quite ready for the handwriting at that level. Children mature at different rates in handwriting readiness, just as in reading readiness. Is he forming his letters from shapes, or is he trying to reconstruct them by […]
Occasionally a parent will ask if it makes sense to not move a student forward in their homeschool work, or to repeat past work. From a practical perspective (this is not legal advice!), it really just depends on the reason for retention. I encourage parents to think outside the grade […]
Most parents have two writing/composition concerns: How to help the student develop writing skills (which is another post!) and/or How to evaluate his writing If your child balks at writing: Smart Kids Who Hate to Write can be a good starting point. Kathryn Stout’s Design-a-Study guide, Comprehensive Composition, is a no-nonsense, no-busy-work […]
As a homeschool consultant, I get asked for ideas for math that would be consistent with a Charlotte Mason approach to learning. One of the keys to a CM approach to math isn’t dependent so much on the “brand” of the book, but on the approach and the “why” (because […]
Technically, you could homeschool with just a library card . . . but most parents feel more confident and comfortable with something guided for at least math and language arts — the sequential skills subjects. For science and social studies, library books and community resources can be easy options for […]
How to Create a High School Transcript: A Friendly Guide for Homeschooling Parents Creating a high school transcript might seem overwhelming, but don’t worry—I’ve got you covered! Whether your student is heading to college, the military, a trade school, or straight into the workforce, a transcript is an essential record […]
Homeschooling one child can feel challenging. Adding more children at different levels can feel like launching a plate-spinning act, rushing from pole to pole to give each a quick twirl and keep all those plates in the air! While I have had to occasionally “clean up a [figurative] plate that […]
If you ask yourself this, you are not alone! In fact, a few years back, I did some research for a homeschool game along the lines of Family Feud: “We asked 100 homeschool families what their biggest fear was in homeschooling…” and you may be surprised to learn that the […]
A few recordings – video, audio, FB Live, podcasts, and more Some of the recordings and interviews I’ve done in the past to equip and encourage families — I’ll add more as I find them. (Keep in mind that HSLDA’s Homeschool Heartbeat episodes were written and recorded as quickie one-minute […]