In the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, there’s an interesting moment when educational rights are discussed in the wizarding world. In the final book of the series Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows the three main characters Harry, Ron, and Hermione, are in hiding while the dark wizard Voldemort takes over the magical world. Their friend and former professor, Remus Lupin, visits them to … [Read more...]
8 Picture Books for Lent and Easter
I'm usually on the ball with having great picture books to read during Advent, but this is the first year I've intentionally sought out Lent and Easter reads for the kids. So head on over to your local library and check 'em out! 1. Tomie dePaola's Book of Bible Stories Lent is a great time to read passages about the life of Jesus. We usually read a bit of the New Testament section of this … [Read more...]
6 Favorite Homeschooling Resources for Little Ones
Image source: Books, by shutterhacks It looks like everyone is scrambling to put together their homeschool curriculum for the year. We take it pretty easy at our house because my oldest is in Kindergarten, so most of our day involves digging in the dirt, climbing trees, playing with LEGOs, and reading books. Not much structured school time yet. But we do have a few homeschooling resources that … [Read more...]
The Why and How of Homeschooling (for Us)
(Benjamin shows off one of his many fearsome LEGO creations) Some of the most frequently asked questions I get from readers are about why and how we're homeschooling our kids. Currently, we're only officially "schooling" one child--our oldest, Benjamin, age 5. But I thought I'd share a bit about why we choose to teach him at home and what exactly we're doing. Why Are We Homeschooling? Daniel … [Read more...]
Goals for the New Year
So, we're halfway through January and I'm just now solidifying my goals for the new year. Clearly we should begin with with "stop being such a procrastinator, Haley!" Anyhow, I've never spent much effort on resolutions at the start of a year, but I've really been reflecting on what I want 2013 to look like. I've been very inspired by all the great posts about goal-making, particularly Mandi's of … [Read more...]
Catholic Preschool Curriculum Review: Twenty-Six Letters to Heaven
Although we decided long ago that we would homeschool Benjamin during his preschool years, we're still figuring out exactly what that will look like. Whenever his interest in a certain thing is peaked, we try to follow his lead and offer him resources to learn more. School for us this year is very flexible and I don't think Benjamin has made a distinction between playtime and schooltime (and they … [Read more...]
Library Favorites
As I mentioned in my last Bookshelf Love post about our Library Book Shelves, we've been getting a lot of use out of our local library since we started "homeschooling" Benjamin. I thought I'd share some of our recent favorite library finds as well as some great links to posts on using the library that I've really enjoyed. One great post is On Why I Stopped Taking My Children to the Library … [Read more...]
Bookshelf Love: Our Library Shelves
Since we started homeschooling our 3-year-old for Preschool our stack of library books has grown by leaps and bounds and started taking over our living room. I saw the idea to use IKEA spice racks as children's bookshelves that's so popular on pinterest and mentioned it to my husband. "I can make that," he said. He put them together and Benjamin "helped" paint them and now they are lovely and … [Read more...]
Preschooling at Home: Our Vision
I promised to follow-up our “why” we’re homeschooling post with a “how we plan to do it” post. And I thought I’d start out by addressing a great question from a reader who asked, “Why bother “pre school homeschool” anyways?...I might have a stricter idea of preschool homeschooling in my mind though, I really see formal preschool as something that could get in the way of natural play and … [Read more...]
My Homeschooling Experience
After last week’s post on why we’re homeschooling, readers had some questions about what my homeschoolinge experience (3rd-8th grade) looked like. I thought I would answer in a short post tonight since tomorrow’s posting prospects are looking grim. Benjamin’s having trouble with his asthma and I have a premonition that tomorrow will involve a long morning at the Dr.’s office. (Please pray he … [Read more...]
