When our eldest son graduated two years ago, I had no idea how much it would shift my priorities and our family dynamic. While it’s been a joy to watch him pursue his post-homeschool educational endeavors (and work in his first research internship with Oak Ridge National Laboratory), the honest truth is that… when he […]
Homeschool High School Lesson Plans: Truth Trek One
Intimidated by homeschooling high school? You don’t have to be! We’ve done the planning for you with High School Lesson Plans: Truth Trek series. A few years ago, we started to pursue a long-term vision of developing a complete course of study for Grades K-12, one in which families can experience many of the benefits […]
How to Teach Public Speaking
Public Speaking. It strikes a fear and dread into the hearts of almost all of us. A quote often attributed to Mark Twain makes the point more bluntly: “There are only two types of speakers in the world. 1. The nervous and 2. Liars.” And yet… this is one of the most important skills we […]
Mission: World Wonders Curriculum Plan
We’ve memorized history sentences. We’ve memorized science facts. We’ve memorized geography locations. These have all been valuable pieces of information for us to learn as we practice the skill of memorization. Yet… something was still missing for us in the elementary years. Our family needed more. For the past decade, I’ve developed reading plans and […]
Mission: World Wonders in Action!
Have you ever wondered how things really turn out in other family’s homeschools? Does it really look like the utopian pictures on the front of the A Beka catalog? Perhaps it does in others’ homes, but… not us. The more I learn to accept that it won’t ever look like that in our home, the […]
Story-Driven Economics Curriculum: Economics for Everybody
“I just love this curriculum.” – David, Age 17 When embarking on a study of high school economics, this was not a statement I expected to hear from my teenage son. I did not expect our 17-year-old to become an economics enthusiast. In fact, I have not seen him this excited about a course of study […]
Books we read and what we thought
As I looked back over our list of books for this year, I could hardly believe it. Our family shared over 48 books together as read-alouds this year! (This doesn’t count the personal independent reading of each of our children.) How on earth did we manage close to fifty books together?!? Well, I attribute it […]
Christmas Wrap: 2022 in Review
With Christmas upon us — it’s coming up fast! — And preparing for the chill of a cold arctic blast, Staying indoors with not much left to do, We’ll recount the blessings of 2022. The year started off with sledding in snowdrifts And a trip to the Frist to see medieval long-ago-scripts. Then we jammed […]
Favorite Christmas Picture Books and Read Alouds
Are you looking for picture books and read-alouds to share with your children this Christmas season? The following books are a collection of our personal family favorites, including Christmas legends and folktales, beloved Christmas carols, art & history connections, and stories that focus on love, joy, and generosity while also celebrating the Greatest Gift ever […]