Q. How involved is your husband with your homeschool? A. The answer to this question will be different for every family. In our family my husband doesn’t do any “formal” schooling like I do. He has more of a relaxed, supportive involvement. Here’s a summary of what he does. Reinforcement: Our farming lifestyle is such […]
Keeping Your Child Motivated When Homeschooling
Motivation. The lack thereof can hit either the student or the teacher. What do you do? School needs to be done. I’ve written before about teacher burnout {lack of motivation}. Today I’ll offer some ideas to tackle lack of motivation in children. I am assuming you are already doing the obvious of praying for guidance.Alternate […]
GED vs. Homeschool Diploma
Q. What are your opinions on the GED vs. homeschool diploma vs. online high school diploma?A. I’ve researched this quite a bit, especially now that my older daughters are high school age and looking forward to college. There are a lot of factors to take into account for which is best for your situation. These […]
Why We Homeschool
Q. Why did you choose to homeschool? I realize you live at a distance from your local schools and that you want to teach your children your religious values, but I wonder what else led to your decision to do this. Would you share your rationale? A. I hope in answering this question my readers […]
Q & A: Homeschool Edition
Today is Q & A day here, focusing on homeschooling. Have any questions about how or why we homeschool? Ask away in the comments. When I have time here and there throughout the day I will try to answer the questions, adding both the questions and the answers in this post. If I don’t get […]
Homeschooling and Sickness
Having good health has been a big blessing for our family. We rarely get sick! When we do it is usually a mild cold. No grounds for skipping school. This past week we finally got our due. Seven of the eight kiddos are out for the count! They have sore throats and achy bodies. Poor […]
Mothering & Homeschooling: Finding Time to Personally Recharge and Refresh
Homeschooling is demanding. Motherhood is demanding. Combine the two together and what do you get? Wonderful demanding days full of teaching, snuggling, cooking, reading, guiding, serving and nurturing. In the midst of all the good things we do each day we may think ourselves to be selfish if we do not say yes to every […]
Family Work
There’s a joke we like to tell in our family about my nephew. When he was about 5 years old his mom asked him to do some chore and, of course, he complained. Someone asked him if there was anything he disliked more than doing chores. My nephew answered, “Yes . . .jobs!” Jobs were […]
GUEST POST: Day in the Life of a Large Homeschooling Family
Today’s guest post comes from another large homeschooling family. Alison and Paul have seven children, five boys and two girls. Alison is also one of 17 children so she has plenty of experience with large families! They were gracious enough to share what a typical day is like at their house. We don’t run strictly […]
A Typical Homeschool Day
My day begins at 5:30. I am a morning person and love that quiet time for personal scripture and gospel study. At 6:30 Bon Bon and Semisweet join me at the kitchen table for seminary. In our church all high school aged youth attend seminary, a scripture study program. It is usually held in the […]
Homeschool Planning
As any homeschooling mama knows it takes a lot of planning, researching, and following through on our part to make sure our children are learning everything they need to know. Multiply that by lots of children and one can be overwhelmed in no time flat! Here’s how I try to manage all the nitty-gritty details. […]
Toddlers, Babies, and Schooling, Oh My!
Homeschooling is tough! There are so many different things to keep track of and think about, especially when there are a large number of children in a family. Now that my three oldest are 15, 14 and 12 there are helpers to switch duties keeping the younger ones entertained while I help the others do […]
One-on-One Time With Mom
Yesterday I showed the schedule we follow. Throughout the day I spend some one-on-one time with each child but it’s usually for something they need: help with school, fixing their hair, helping them practice the piano, brushing teeth, reading bedtime stories, etc. I wanted to spend time with each one that was just for fun, […]
It’s About TIME
UPDATE: I now use this magnetic schedule so I don’t have to cut out all those little pieces of paper! Everything else is the same. See this schedule? This is my saving grace. And I HATE schedules. I did all right getting things done when there were only three, maybe four, children running under foot. […]
Running a One Room Schoolhouse
I’ve always harbored a secret wish to travel back in time and visit a one room school house. When I was younger I used to fantasize about what they were like as I’d read about them in books like Little House on the Prairie or Anne of Green Gables. (image credit) Now as a homeschooling […]