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
**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
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
Image Source We will be starting our second year of CC next year, and we love it! I’ve been thinking ahead about what books I want to read with my kids while we study Cycle 1. Out of curiosity, I decided to research curriculum that lines up (at least mostly) with what we will be … Read more
I’ve been planning out an ideal cross-country road trip, and wondered what a road trip to as many Classical Conversations related stops for Cycle 3 would look like. At first I tried including every stop I found, and created a 43 day road trip. I decided to reduce the road trip to 1-2 sites per … Read more
I think a trap that many homeschool moms get into is believing that in order to be a REAL homeschool mom, they have to do it all themselves. This isn’t true–it’s a lie–and it causes well-meaning moms to burn out. As a homeschool mom, you’re in charge of your child’s education, but this does not … Read more
I say that I’ve been homeschooling our kids ever since my oldest was 2 (I was an over-achiever back then ;)). This year, for the first time ever, we sent one child to public school–that is a long story for another time. I am still homeschooling 3 out of 4 of our kids. I really … Read more
Homesteaders, wonderful as they are, are a different kind of folk. 😉 While most of the world is wishing for new technology and bling this Christmas, homesteaders are looking for something different. Remember this post, Money and Possessions Don’t Feed You? Homesteaders “get it.” If you love a homesteader and you don’t know what to … Read more