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Category: Homeschooling

Homeschooling ideas, tips, and resources.

Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling Review

Posted in Homeschooling, and Reviews

When I first started homeschooling, one of the books that I turned to for information was Debra Bell’s Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling.  It was packed with information that helped me as I started my homeschooling journey.  I kept it on my bookshelf as a reference that I turned to often. Recently, Apologia Press released an updated version of the Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Apologia Press, who is known for their excellent science curriculum, has branched out and added new resources to their product line. The bright orange cover was the first thing…

Beehive Reader 1 Review

Posted in Homeschooling, and Reviews

Beehive Reader 1 by Marie Rippel with Renee LaTulippe The Beehive Reader 1, recipient of the silver medal in the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards, is a phonics based early reader that correlates to the All About Spelling level 1 program.  Example: Story 1 ~ “At the Pond” can be read after completing step 15 of the program.  You can see more correlations to the program here.  Although the Beehive Reader 1 is set up to be used with the All About Spelling program, it can easily be used as an independent reader. The hard cover of this book makes it…

You want me to teach WHAT???

Posted in Homeschooling

Some states have strict homeschooling requirements.  Thankfully, we’ve been blessed to be stationed in homeschool friendly states the whole time we’ve been homeschooling Munchkin.  We haven’t been told what we have to study or what we can’t study for that matter.  In Virginia, we were required to teach math and language arts.  Here in Arizona, we don’t have specific legal requirements when it comes to subject matter. This freedom, for which we are extremely grateful, allows us to select courses that best suit Munchkin.  We can drop one subject and pick up another that fits in better with what is…

Foto Friday Challenge: Learning

Posted in Homeschooling, and Photography

This week, we headed to the library (at the last minute) to see a presentation on reptiles. The kids thought it was great that they actually got to touch the snakes, but they were bummed that they couldn’t touch the scorpions and tarantulas. I wasn’t able to snap a picture of Munchkin petting the snake due to how they did the line for the “snake petting”. They had all of the kids sitting on the floor for the presentation.  The presentors did a great job keeping the program moving along while maintaining good interaction with the kids.  Munchkin was more…

Getting back into the swing of things…

Posted in Christian Life, Family, and Homeschooling

We homeschool year around.  That means that we can take time off when Daddy is home or when company comes.  It means that we can take time to enjoy the rare desert rain.  It means that we can take a break from our regular school routine when someone calls to tell that there is a reptile presentation at the library that starts in 20 minutes.  We don’t school for a set number of days and call it quits for the year.  We complete the curriculum that we’re doing and then move on to the next year.  That tends to make…