Think You Have a Strong-Willed Child? (Maybe not…)

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Think You Have a Strong-Willed Child? (Maybe not…)

For years and years, I would have called a couple of my children (and myself) "very strong-willed." I'd read book after book about these children who are like little attorneys. Children who must learn everything "the hard way, " and who are so determined and set in their ways that it's an act of war to have them ever obey or submit to authority. 

Defiant.

Hard-headed.

Stubborn.

Big personality.

Strong-willed.

If you have a child who could give a Harvard law grad a run for their money... You aren't alone. I have two such children, and I've been told, I am that person too.

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Homeschool Scheduling with Teens to Toddlers (Mom of 4)

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Homeschool Scheduling with Teens to Toddlers (Mom of 4)

I do really love to chat homeschool scheduling! I believe our schedules are and should be just as unique as our families and our homeschools are. But also, we are always looking for ways to improve- maybe to streamline, reduce overwhelm, or just enjoy our day better. So, I’m happy to share our general flow, both as it kind of went this year, and also as I plan for it to continue into the fall.

We do school year round. We take June off, and July is very casual with a long reading list and math only. So, this schedule applies to our more typical school year, August-May.

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Our Curriculum Choices (10th, 7th, K4)

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Our Curriculum Choices (10th, 7th, K4)

I did what I think no other homeschool blogger has ever done- I failed to write a “curriculum pick” post for last year. Eeek. Honestly, in hindsight, I’m thankful. I was full excited about a few programs over last summer, but when it came down to it, they weren’t a good fit and we swapped to new programs after a few weeks.

I’m thankful for the experience, as it was an incredible learning opportunity to me. It also shows that no matter how amazing a program seems, once you get into it, it just might not be a good fit! Suffice it to say, that after an initial “fail” of one program in the fall, we found our way to a program that I now am certain we will use for many years (as certain as an easily distracted homeschool mama can be!).

So, what are our choices for this year? Many of them are simply a continuation of last year…

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Do Digital Products Really Save?

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Do Digital Products Really Save?

In this 2-part series, I'll discuss my process for decision making on digital products as well as share my favorite resources for making printing affordable! You can read the digital discussion here and the printing help HERE. 

It's not an uncommon message for me to receive-

  • How many pages is this document?

  • Will I need to print ALL of it? I'm trying to figure out how much it's going to cost all together?

  • Where do you get your stuff printed?

  • How can you afford to have so much printed?

  • How are digital products a saving when printing is SO expensive? 

I 100% get it, my friend! Every single one of us is on a fixed homeschool budget, and even if the budget is generous, we want to stretch every penny because- books, right? So I wanted to develop a "guide" for choosing and printing digital products because opportunities abound for these in the homeschool world, and it can get overwhelming! 

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Moral Imagination? Poetic Knowledge? What the What?

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Moral Imagination? Poetic Knowledge? What the What?

I’ve been on an educational and spiritual adventure that God is gently (forcibly) leading me through as I quake in overwhelm at the idea of penning GC Preschool 2. I’ve never felt such incredible weight and responsibility, but I’ve also never felt God so tangibly pulling me in a particular direction. I recently updated the overview page of The Gentel + Classical Preschool 2 (HERE) and removed the study of history from the framework. I give a brief overview of why on that page and mention words like “moral imagination” and “poetic knowledge.” If you are anything like I was just a few short months ago, you have no idea what those words mean. (I feel you.)

I won’t pretend to be an expert…

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Headed to the Zoo anytime soon? (FREEBIE!)

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Headed to the Zoo anytime soon? (FREEBIE!)

We are annual zoo members and have been for years. Our kids have always treasured days at the zoo, and when the weather isn’t sweltering, I always have too. I feel like it’s an excellent opportunity to get out of the house and do a little roamschooling.

I wanted to create a tool for us (and for you!) that would serve our whole family. I have babies from 2 up to high school freshman, so it’s not often we do anything or learn anythign that EVERYONE can enjoy and benefit from. However, the zoo is definitely an excpetion to that. Furthermore, with this zoo explorers pack, that’s even more true than ever.

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Review of Foundational Phonics Program

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Review of Foundational Phonics Program

You may have noticed, if you've browsed this blog much, that I'm an enthusiastic supporter of All About Reading. So, it may come as a surprise that I'm sharing a review for a different phonics curriculum.

When the author of Foundational Phonics, Ariel Gunther, reached out to me with her gentle phonics program, I was more than intrigued. As we worked for years to get my dyslexic daughter reading on grade level, we tried more than a handful of programs. That process, along with the success my friend Hayley has also had with AAR, left me looking through Foundational Phonics with a discerning eye. So it's only natural that as I share all I love, or might not, about Foundational Phonics, I'll be making a few references to All About Reading as well. 

What is Foundational Phonics?

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Redeeming Suffering Through Action

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Redeeming Suffering Through Action

Things I find unacceptable about the last 15 months of my life:

  • My mom was killed instantly in a car accident- the day before my 36th birthday.

  • Thirty days later, my best friend moved 15 hours away.

  • The following several months held sickness, anxiety, and yet another autoimmune diagnosis for myself.

I lost my mom.

I felt like I lost my best friend.

I rapidly began to lose my health.

You want to talk about some raw, lonely, abandoned feelings?

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Be Interruptable: The Tension Between Mary and Martha

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Be Interruptable: The Tension Between Mary and Martha

The mist from the prior evening's rain was frozen solid in the shade at the Toledo Art Museum in December. As my best friend and I skated every-so-gracefully out of the shadows of the parking garage into the sunshine, we'd just wound up an intriguing chat about those famous sisters- Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). Scripture + My Best Friend + Art. This may have been my best day ever.  

As a self-proclaimed Martha, I've revisited this section of scripture again and again. One question has always haunted me, and I chatted about it that day with my self-proclaimed "Mary" friend: Wasn't there stuff that needed to get done? I know Martha was fussing at Mary which obviously isn't very Christ-like (and Christ called her on it), but wasn't Martha (and all her busyness) kind of necessary? Those disciples wanted to eat... right?  (Assuming Jesus wasn’t going to pull a water-to-wine + fishes-loves miracle last minute.)

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