helping you make Torah the heart of your home
It was nice to get back to a relatively normal school routine this week. Last week, I felt like I was up to my ears in hot dogs and jerky. Nearly 50 lbs later, the butchering is all done. Toddler Highlight The little people in our house get to be
Isn’t that an awful title? I’ll try to be more creative next time. So we had our first week of school this week. I could say it went well, or I could say it didn’t go so well. I think mostly it was about learning to work with life in
I don’t normally do a separate preschool curriculum. Normally the little ones sit with me while I teach the bigger ones. They participate where they can, pick info up by osmosis, and stay out of trouble. Everyone’s happy! But this year, I felt the need to do something different with
I plan to start our school year on September 4th. I have done a lot of thinking and revamping over the summer. In some areas, I was being too gentle, meaning not pushing hard enough. We have worked very hard all summer to try to get everyone up to par
I love unit studies. I don’t care for textbooks, primarily because I like the freedom to teach in the moment, using their interests, following rabbit trails, and moving on when needed. However, I do like the convenience of our language arts books, for example. I open the book to Lesson
It has been a long week and a half, but I have emerged at last, grateful for the ability to somewhat breathe through my nose. We have had a rough sick week, with no school. I tried my best to keep us healthy, but sometimes it still gets you. I
I was recently accused of being stereotypical. I accept that “insult.” In our house, Daddy does certain jobs, and Mommy does certain jobs. Daddy defends the home, protects us, guides us, earns the paycheck to support us. Mommy does the majority of the cooking, cleans the house, and teaches the
If someone asked me what curriculum I use to homeschool my kids, I might be tempted to answer “PDF.” I admit, I use alot of resources I find online. I have dialup, so that rules out video, but it still leaves a whole lot of PDF. So how do I
I think I will ramble for a few minutes, just so you know I am still alive. It has been a very full couple of weeks and I have many things on my mind that I am trying to process. School has been going well. We are now halfway through
I am humbled and grateful to see all the positive comments on the resources I have posted. YHVH has been very good and has put more ideas in my brain than hours in a day. I’m so glad you have been able to use them. I thought it would be
I seem unable to actually keep track of what we are doing in school and organize it in a post. I do keep track of our schoolwork, but you aren’t interested in my cute little checkmarks lol! But I can tell you what we plan to do this week. This
Just a quick note to let you know some more Torah copywork is available for you. It will also have a link in the proper Torah portion over at Torah School. If there is something else in the copywork lessons that you would find helpful, please let me know. I’ll
For those of you who use copywork as part of your schoolwork, I have put together a download to go with the Torah portion. There are three levels, K-3, 4-8, and 9-12. K-3 has some simple verses to copy from the portion, with lines right on the paper to make
Okay, I’ve been at it again. This writing thing is contagious, or just plain addictive. Holly and Isaac are currently practicing their short vowel sounds, and I made this book to give them further practice. I hope your children will enjoy it, too. This book gives practice with the (at)
I just finished reading the math section in The Three R’s by Ruth Beechick. It contained a very helpful reminder that young children learn with their hands. They need to count the spoons, sort the blocks, etc. Numbers on a page don’t mean anything to them yet. This is where
“She worketh willingly with her hands.” Holly used her “Chanukah” money from Gramma to buy a wooden peg loom. I am so thrilled to see her take to it like she has. She comes from a long line of women who worked willingly with their hands. My grandmother made embroidered
This week’s challenge was to focus on what we could hear, see, and feel. Thanks to Daddy coming along and acting as photographer, we have a few extra photos this week. 🙂 Overall, it was very quiet during our nature hike, but we definitely could hear lots of snapping branches.
I know I’m a bit late in the game, but I was pleased to discover The Outdoor Hour last week. I have the book “Handbook of Nature Study,” but it had been sitting on a shelf. We are not new to the idea of nature study however. I have been
How do I know if my child is ready to learn to read? Is three too young? Is six too late? I tortured myself over this with my first and have since learned ways to watch an individual child to see if they can handle learning to read. I would
First, I must admit that I did spend some time in public school. But when my mom found out that homeschooling was legal, those years became a distant memory. She went to a homeschool conference and came home with our books on order. She sent a letter to the superintendent