If you’ve ever come across a curriculum that was almost right for your family but you wished you could tweak it just a little bit, I think you’re going to love this custom spreadsheet I’ve created. I want moms to be able to use the STAR reading schedules–or whatever books they like–to make their own 28-week homeschool schedule. … Read more
If you have been homeschooling for a while, you’ve probably heard about Classical Conversations (CC). It is very likely that you have friends in the program, or that you have been a part of it yourself. Our family was a part of a CC community in Oregon for two years, before we moved to Virginia. … Read more
Charlotte Mason was an educator in England and lived from 1842 to 1923. She is known as the founder of the homeschool movement because she trained nannies, and eventually mothers, in her methods of educating children. She wanted all children, regardless of their rank in society, to receive what she called a “liberal education” with … Read more
Yesterday, my girls read aloud in 1 Samuel, while I assembled ingredients for scones for the tea time we had planned for the day. The girls were reading from our STAR Bible reading plan, and we have chosen the plan that will take us through the entire Bible in four years, just reading on school … Read more
**This post is dedicated to all of the STAR mamas who have little ones to motivate into the car, early, every Wednesday morning, and to every other mama out there who has children to get out the door, any day of the week.** We enjoyed Week Four of STAR Homeschool Community last week. I try … Read more
Language Arts Books If you are teaching your children using Charlotte Mason’s methods and including narration, dictation and copy work, there is really no reason to use an additional spelling or handwriting program. With this in mind, I have not scheduled a full syllabus of language arts materials. Instead, I have listed some phonics/reading programs … Read more
Each child is so unique. Even if children share the same genetics, their learning styles, preferences and personalities can be so different. Being blessed with a child who loves worksheets, soaks everything up quickly and learns to read just before the age of five can boost a mom’s confidence. And on the flip side of … Read more
You can really use any math curriculum you choose. This schedule is just to give you an example of a few programs to choose from. Feel free to print the schedule and highlight the curriculum you plan to use, or write the assignments in your planner. Make sure to do a little math everyday, in … Read more
Perhaps your family has participated in a national classical homeschool program. Our family was in a community like that for two years, and there were things that we enjoyed and did not enjoy. In developing the STAR model, I considered what we liked and didn’t particularly like about the classical community model. I will break … Read more
When we were leaving Oregon and researching states, we didn’t have the advantage of knowing how crazy or sane each state’s governor truly was. You guys, who are considering a move now, get to see which governors have handled the last year the best. I’m really glad we left Oregon, seeing how Kate Brown has … Read more