After they find out that we homeschool, people often ask me how I know my kids are learning. After all, while kids in schools (and even some homeschoolers) take tests, I don’t test my children. And the answer is, in a myriad of ways.
Sometimes I know they’re learning because they demonstrate a skill. For example, my 8-year-old can add, subtract, multiply, divide, and work basic fractions. … Continue reading
Last year, my elder son made a family friend a series of four bead ornaments depicting the life-cycle of a caterpillar (an egg, a caterpillar, a chrysalis, and a butterfly). She loved them, and suggested that he start a business selling them. My then 7-year-old leaped on this idea and began to make ornaments to sell.
The problem arose when we couldn’t find a venue through which he could sell them. … Continue reading
In case you’re looking for a last-minute, healthy, patriotic dessert idea, it’s hard to go wrong with an edible fresh fruit flag. It’s essentially a disassembled fruit salad. It tastes delicious, looks great, and is very easy to make.
We began the tradition of making an Edible Fresh Fruit Flag as part of our July 4th celebration two years ago. … Continue reading
I love to play games. Board games. Card games. Strategy games. Word games. Puzzle-solving games. Any of them. And my boys seem to have inherited that same love.
Over the years my 8-year-old has been a fan of a huge number of games, each for their own period of time. My 4-year-old is just beginning to enjoy game playing with games that aren’t cooperative, meaning everyone works together (Cauldron Quest and Wildcraft are two cooperative games that we enjoy; I’ll review them another time.).… Continue reading
While my boys generally get along well, like all siblings they sometimes squabble with each other. The other day when we were cleaning up my [then] three-year-old’s room to prepare for his birthday party, I found the above message on his shelf. It was clear he had taken the time to write something, but I wasn’t aware that he could spell (let alone write!)… Continue reading
Our local library recently started a program entitled 1000 Books Before Kindergarten as a way of encouraging parents to read to their young children.
In our house, we read all the time. I homeschool my kids, and our homeschooling largely consists of sitting down with stacks of books and reading them together.
When one of the children’s librarians told us about the program, my older son immediately announced, “Mama, we should sign up [my 3-year-old].” … Continue reading
Last week my 3-year-old walked up and handed me his little car, “I’m ready to give this to Ari,” he declared. (Ari is the grandson of our next-door neighbor. When my 3-year-old outgrows his clothes or toys, we pass them along to Ari.)
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yes. I don’t like it any more. I shouldn’t have bought it. … Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago I posted a list of my family’s favorite picture books with strong female characters (see HERE). Today, I am posting a list of our favorite chapter books containing strong girls or women.
The list contains everything from books accessible to early readers to chapter books that are appropriate for young adults. I’ve read most of the books geared at younger readers with my 8-year-old, though none of the young adult books (those are waiting on our bookshelves for future reading).… Continue reading
A few days ago, a friend’s post on Facebook lead to a discussion about books with strong female characters. I started to put together a list to send to her, and realized that other people might be interested in this list. So now I’m posting it here. The following are picture books that my boys and I have enjoyed over the years. … Continue reading
My son approached me and asked, “I can’t remember which is bigger: one-half or one-twelfth?”
This, of course, led to an impromptu math lesson. We talked about fractions. I explained that the denominator – the bottom number – of a fraction tells you how many equal parts something is divided into. I explained that the numerator – the top number – of a fraction tells you how many of those equal parts you’re discussing.… Continue reading