The Homeschool Solutions Show

The perfect homeschool plan is not elusive. In fact it is easy to create the perfect plan for your family if you begin by considering the needs of your family, considering your limitations as a homeschool teacher, and avoiding common pitfalls. Planning means following a series of prescribed steps that will ensure that you have a plan that is going to work. Listen or read more at https://edsnapshot...

When someone asks about my favorite homeschooling resources, I give the usual list - white board, dry erase markers, lots of notebooks, and a library card. I could share that list of resources today but I think I'd rather take a look at a few different things that you'll need for homeschooling that you can't buy at WalMart or Amazon. These are my homeschooling essentials.   Listen or read more at...

Do you have a perfectionist child? One that is unsatisfied with pretty much anything they accomplish? Sometimes even when they've done a good job? It's sad to watch our kids missing out on the joy of creating art or music, playing sports or other competitive activities that could bring them such a sense of accomplishment. Listen or read more at https://homeschoolingwithdyslexia.com/helping-the-per...

Sometimes I tend to over-complicate things. Why do one math curriculum when you can do two? The best curriculum is the one with the most pieces, right? Since I'm a homeschool teacher I need a fancy lesson plan book, don't I? Not so fast there homeschool supermom. Before you get mired down in the idea of a complicated homeschool lesson planner, consider the purpose of teacher lesson plans. Listen o...

When you were in school, did you ever play around all semester before attempting to cram all the information into your head the night before a test? I did! To be honest, it never worked. Listen or read more http://classicallyhomeschooling.com/diligence/

One topic I receive a lot of questions about is starting a book club for kids. And while a lot of information about my book clubs can be found on this blog and my YouTube channel, I thought I'd answer some of your most common questions. Listen or read more at http://www.notbefore7.com/2016/08/11/creating-a-book-club-for-kids/

We went through a long, dry spell where we did not go to the library at all. I had a two-year-old, four-year-old, and six-year-old and frankly it was just not enjoyable to do. I couldn't look for books, the kids were distracted by everything shiny the library had to offer (everything that was NOT a book), they wanted to run down the stacks and NOT be quiet. It was a long, dry spell, and I suffered...

There was a stack of books sitting next to me on the driveway. We had just finished reading Aesop's Fables and I told the girls to go play for ten minutes. I set the timer and got up to stretch as well. This was the routine for most of our school days for the first three years of our homeschooling. We completed two lessons (a reading and an activity), then took a 10-minute break for them to run an...

Did you know March is National Reading Month? Because living books are so very good, every month is all about reading in our house! But in honor of this annual celebration of reading, I thought I'd take some time to share some of my best tips for raising readers. Listen or read more at https://ourjourneywestward.com/11-tips-for-raising-readers/

Three years ago my husband was deployed with the Alabama National Guard. Since we are a Guard family, we know that it can always happen, but this one took us a little by surprise. He was tagged to go with a unit that was not his own and therefore two years earlier than what we had expected. It's tough when you think you have two extra years to get your stuff together… and then suddenly you don't....

One of my kids' favorite subjects over the years has been – hands down – geography. Although they are all avid readers, there's something about the hands-on and multi-sensory approaches and applications to "real life" of this subject. There are a myriad of ways to teach it, and an equal amount of fun, interesting and practical ways to apply it. I realize, however, that not all kids feel the same w...

Do you do what I do? Lament about your imperfect homeschool, while comparing yourself to others you know? Their homeschool looks perfect. Listen or read more at http://www.raisinglifelonglearners.com/the-imperfect-homeschool/

Ahem. I know I can't be the only mom who has ever said, "If you can't learn this from mama, then you are just going to have to go to school to learn it." Please tell me I am not. It's possible I have even said it more than once. Homeschooling is tough. It's not for wimps or sissies, but requires strong doses of prayer, faith, and Diet Coke. And February is the toughest month of all. Listen or read...

Do you have a child who began reading well at three or four years old? A child who reads far above grade level? A child who soaks in more books in a year than you've read in your entire life? Do you wonder what to do with all that advanced ability? Just how do you proceed with gifted early readers?? Here's what I did. Listen or read more at https://ourjourneywestward.com/6-tips-teaching-early-read...

I watched the other moms from the basketball team laugh about a joke I didn't get. Something about the school counselor or someone who forgot to bring treats for the class party–again. It stings a little, being the outsider. We're beings created to feel like we belong to a group of people. I love homeschooling, I'm not saying I want to give that up just to get the joke, but it's worth noting that...

I had one of those stellar mommy moments a few weeks ago. You know the ones, right? Where you are just not at your best and your frustrations (with yourself and them) only escalates your behavior into something you would rather soon forget. Please tell me I am not the only one. Listen or read the rest at https://edsnapshots.com/dealing-with-the-homeschool-meltdown/

I am just so glad he didn't sit on the line … All those years ago — the pre-school teacher would hold me after class: "Mrs. Anderson," she'd say in a patient tone … (I was 29. I felt like I was the one in trouble.) "He just doesn't want to sit on the line during story time." During the drive home, my inner rebel would emerge. What 3 year old does, really? felt the questions bubble up. Followed by...

Innovator is my word for this homeschool year. in·no·va·tor ˈinəˌvādər/ noun 1. a person who introduces new methods, ideas, or products. I am an educational innovator. I am on the cutting edge of bringing education into the 21st century. I am in the practice of creating new methods, ideas, and maybe even products. And I am not the only one. The power of educational innovation rests in the hands of...

It's the new year and if you are like most homeschool moms, then you are hashing out which New Year's resolutions you want to make. And while we are deciding to lose another ten pounds and keep our bathroom cabinets organized, another area we might consider resolving about is our homeschools. Unfortunately, so many resolutions are often forgotten by mid-January, lost in an overwhelming sea of good...

It's that time of year. Time to get ready for Christmas. Homeschool moms are making angel costumes, dusting off the Baby Jesus and setting up the nativity. We are hanging our stockings, stirring up some egg nog, and singing "Joy to the World." And like everyone else, we are making our Christmas list too. I, myself, have been both a bit naughty and a bit nice this year — after Homeschool moms are m...

Have you ever started off your day by watching a movie, turning on the television, mindlessly clicking around Facebook, or skimming your online news feed? It happens. Does it affect your mood? We're fooling ourselves if we say it doesn't. I know I am tempted – and often give in to the temptation – of checking my email and "catching up" online first thing in the morning. Even if I get up before the...

Homeschooling. With a toddler. Need I say more? As homeschool families everywhere start back to school, there seems to be an echo across the Internet. "We had a great first day back, but the toddler …" The echoes are reverberating in my soul, and I haven't even started back to school yet. Over the summer, we've kept a very loose routine because, as I am sure you know, when you're a mom, there is n...

We have been doing poetry tea parties since the kids were really little. I stumbled on the concept from Charlotte Mason home educators like Julie Bogart and Elizabeth Foss well before my own kids were school-aged and fell in love with the ideas of pulling out the nice linens, finding a book of poems to read, and sharing time together over a treat in the afternoon. I know from your emails that tea...

This week has been rough. Last week was off-kilter, too. We are in a season of change. Our homeschool is changing, our therapy schedules changed, and the boys are changing. And there's been a coup. At least it feels that way. "Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream. Throw your teacher overboard . . . ." Yep. That' a pretty good summation of what our house/homeschool has felt like. Anyone...

I have totally given up on the idea that learning must be made fun for the student. It was an idea that ruled the first two years of our homeschooling and quite frankly, I'm a little bitter about it now. I feel like in many ways I have short-changed my children and their abilities, because I did not throw the idea over long ago. Fortunately, childhood is forgiving and our recovery is going well. T...