Do you need a hug today? According to the Harvard experts, you need 8 hugs per day just for maintenance. Virtual hugs are not the same - I get that. If I could, right now I would wrap my arms around each one of you and give you a hug. For most of us, that's just not gonna happen this side of heaven. If you are like me you might be "all done" with being hugged and touched by the end of the day Continue Reading >>
Autism Isn’t Contagious!
I'm up with Johnny Ben again tonight. Yes, it's 4:30am. I'm not looking for sympathy. He's been the cutest, sweetest, and kindest little boy imaginable tonight, as he is almost all the time. It's just that he's awake. Considering his stages of sleep are not like the rest of ours, it happens from time to time. Most of the time, this is how he is. A funny little guy who loves to hug and laugh. Continue Reading >>
Book Review: iWitness Series by Apologia Educational Ministries
You might already realize that I am a fan of Apologia Educational Ministries if you read my blog very often. My daughter and I posted a review of Exploring Creation with Marine Biology just a few weeks ago and that is the fifth or sixth book I have reviewed for the company in the past few years. My younger daughter is using Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day as her science curriculum, and my Continue Reading >>
Do Not Fear! Printable Scripture Cards and Posters
A World of Fear It is far too easy to be fearful these days. Whether it's anxiety over life circumstances, internal turmoil, or the flood of news reports that haunt our days, fear is everywhere. Fear is also just a part of the human condition. It keeps us up at night and causes great anxiety. Young children go through phases where they can't seem to escape it at night. However, fear is not Continue Reading >>
Games to Encourage Thinking Skills
When my husband and I began our homeschooling journey back in 2002, we did plenty of research and set out to define our chief goals for the children. These goals have remained our primary goals from that day forward: 1) Our children would love Jesus. 2) Our children would love to read. and 3) Our children would have excellent thinking skills. Because our children love playing games, finding Continue Reading >>
Fortuigence Essay Rockstar: Our High School Writing Curriculum of Choice (My Review)
I wasn't really sure what to expect when my husband and I agreed to sign up our 10th grade daughter for the Fortuigence review. I don't normally ask her to use review products because she is not a fan of the reviewing process. (Most people don't realize this, but reviewing a product is quite a bit of work.) However, this one seemed enough like what we were looking for that I had my husband take Continue Reading >>
Fire Safety For Kids Plus Free Printable with Lego® Theme
Talking to your kids about fire safety is so important. We all know that, but actually making time to do it is not always a priority. This is not something we should leave to the schools to teach. My kids are homeschooled, so covering fire safety is definitely not optional. On the page below I've gathered lessons and books and ideas and toys for teaching fire safety. Then at the end of this page, Continue Reading >>
Tips For The Intense (Stressed!) Homeschooling Mom
A while ago, a homeschooling mom asked if she could get together with me and "pick my brain" about homeschooling. She was a former school teacher and was having a hard time changing the way she viewed learning. She openly admitted that she was STRESSED all the time, and asked me if I could give her some tips on how to relax and chill. I would describe her as the INTENSE HOMESCHOOLING MOM Continue Reading >>
Why We Chose to Join a Homeschool Co-op
Way back when my boys were younger (they're now 16 and 20), we attended a homeschool co-op. Four families from my church, with children roughly the same ages, met every other week for science class. The moms spent the summer planning out the lessons. We divided the kids into three age groups. Three moms were each in charge of a different group while the other mom (also the hostess for the week) Continue Reading >>
Apologia Exploring Creation with Marine Biology for High School – Curriculum Review
When I planned my trip to the 2:1 Conference in March of last year, I wasn't really expecting to come home with anything extra. So coming home with the hardcover Exploring Creation with Marine Biology and the text booklet ($85 for the set), and the audio CDs ($29) from Apologia Educational Ministries was an incredible blessing for our family. My eldest daughter Clara had already decided she Continue Reading >>