This is the candy time of the year! Even if you don’t go Trick-or-Treating, you might be inundated with candy from … grandparents, Daddy’s work, the physical therapist’s waiting room … So, what do you do with all that candy? Are you doomed to days of sugar-charged circus ringmaster-ing? How can you possibly convince them […]
Homeschooling
Relationship Talks with Kids’ Audiobooks

There are many ways to start discussions with kids about relationships. You can take a more direct approach. You can employ role playing. One of our favorites is to use audiobooks! {I was given a free copy of this product and compensated for my time to review it. As usual, all opinions are my own, […]
Our 2017-2018 Homeschool Schedule Preview

If you’re an email subscriber, you’ll know that we’re following a slightly modified school schedule this year. We just had baby number eight in August, so we’re on “summer break” now and will start school in October (oh the joys of homeschool flexibility!). September is homeschool planning month for me and I’ve been working on our […]
Homeschool Planet: Premium Online Lesson Planner

To be quite honest, I hadn’t been much of a homeschool planner. At all. I ordered curriculum. We’d do a page a day, and that was pretty much the extent of my planning. But over the last couple of years, our homeschool has changed, as have our homeschool planning needs. Now I’ve got two middle […]
Science Devotions: A New Twist on Science Exploration

When I was at the HEAV Convention in June, I had the privilege to meet Josh Denhert, founder of KidMin Science. Josh, father of four kiddos, was formerly a high school science teacher, later a youth ministry leader, and currently the creator of multiple Science VBS programs, ministry training videos, and now Science Devotions for […]
Expand Chore Time to Financial Management Training with the Homey App

I’ve written before about how to create a chore system for your family and ways to manage that. But what if you could expand the horizon of “chore time” beyond just getting some household tasks done? What if family chores could actually be a launch-pad for some very practical, hands-on financial management experience! {I was […]
Why Online Learning Makes Sense for Math

If you’ve been around a while, you know that we love doing math family-style. But, while we’re able to do a lot through hands-on exploration and discussion, there is a limit. For math practice, we really need a way to be able to differentiate. Each student needs work geared specifically towards his or her own […]
MindPlay Virtual Reading Coaching: Assessment and Support for My Struggling Reader

Like any over-enthusiastic, planning-to-homeschool mom, I started reviewing letters and phonics with my oldest when he was three. He learned them quickly and was “reading” three-letter words just days before his fourth birthday. But even though we continued instruction and practice, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses from there. I wondered … Maybe reading just […]
50+ Top Kindle Fire Kids Apps

We’ve got eight kids ranging in age from high school down to toddler and they each have their own Kindle Fire tablet. Today, I’m sharing what we’ve discovered to be the best Kindle Fire kids apps!Best Kindle Fire Kids AppsThis post is a full disclosure. I didn’t skip any categories. Yes, there are some plain […]
Learn with Diagrams: Old-School Grammar Meets New-School Medium

I can clearly remember sitting in a desk in my elementary school English class working on diagramming sentences. Call me a dork, but I just love a good sentence diagram. Suddenly, fuzzy grammar becomes logical, categorical and, well, it all just fits together so neatly! {I was given free access to this product and compensated […]