When I began homeschooling, I chose to use Saxon Math curriculum. We’ve gone through Saxon K, 1, and halfway through 2. It has proven to be a great fit for my family. At first, I thought Saxon Math K started out a little slow. It feels like there’s more playing with the manipulatives than actual work. But I came to…
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The American Story: 100 True Tales from American History
When we used Winter Promise last year for studying Early American History, we were introduced to the book The American Story: 100 True Tales from American History by Jennifer Armstrong. Although I had been advised against using it in our homeschool (which I’ll touch on later), I found myself delighted by the stories that make up this fun and informative…
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History Comes Alive
As a Charlotte Mason homeschooler, teaching with living literature is imperative to me. And considering that I like to package much of our history and science learning into unit studies, incorporating living literature into our current unit makes awesome connections for my children. The History Comes Alive books written by Barbara Greenwood fit both the CM and unit study aspects…
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First Day of School Ideas
It’s that time of year again! Many homeschoolers are finishing up their summer breaks, the smell of new school supplies is in the air, and co-ops and support groups are gearing up again. For many folks it’s Back-to-School time. There is something exciting about the fresh start of a new school year! Even though we school year round, we take…
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Hands-On Foreign Language for Kids
While there are many ‘foreign’ languages a homeschool family can study, the one I recommend for those with young children is American Sign Language. Our journey to ASL began out of necessity with a child who was non-verbal. However, as our family has grown and our need disappeared we discovered that sign language was a wonderful tool in our parenting…
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Memorable Faith, Courage and Virtue Stories
I like to begin our homeschool day with a faith reading, it sets a good tone for the day. A few years ago I came across a little gem of a book titled Rare Catholic Stories and Poems with Reading Comprehension, second edition, published by Catholic Heritage Curricula. This book is now newly revised to include over thirty stories and two hundred…
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Blackbird Exploring Poetry Unit
Blackbird & Company has a poetry unit study that I taught to my 12 year old son, his friend of the same age, and my 10 year old daughter. I thoroughly enjoyed the unit, and at the end, the kids didn’t want to be done. It was perfectly age-appropriate for these kids (who, for what it’s worth, are all reading…
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English From the Roots Up
We’ve implemented a new foreign language/vocabulary plan this year that’s working quite well! Every school day after Bible reading we have some sort of skill drill – math flashcards, quick math or logic games, and Greek & Latin roots. Twice a week, using English from the Roots Up by Joegil Lundquist, we are learning one new root word and reviewing…
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Growing With Grammar
I have been using Growing With Grammar with my daughter and youngest son for the past three years. This review will focus on the Growing With Grammar curriculum generally, as we have used several levels of the program. Growing With Grammar provides a thorough education in grammar, including sentence diagramming. Sentence diagramming is included starting in level 3 of the curriculum. …
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Rod and Staff Grammar
When I was a child, my younger sisters studied grammar differently than I did. They learned something mysterious called ‘diagramming’ and had very interesting textbooks. Many years later a friend of mine was selling some books, and in the pile I found Rod and Staff grammar texts. Exactly what my sisters had studied! Of course I bought them. We were…
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