Today we will be talking about lighting: the types of lighting, and the pros and cons of each. The light you choose for your photo is a very important factor of photography. The direction the light is coming from plays an important part also; the way the light hits your subject could very well be the making of a wonderful, or terrible, photo. First, let's talk about the main natural lightings, Continue Reading >>
Step Into My Frame: My Creative Freewriting Adventure
The floor-to-ceiling picture looming in the great hall beckoned me. "Step into my frame," it called to me, and I stood transfixed. The stream running through the countryside seemed to move lazily across the field from the strength of an invisible current and the trees seemed to sway in an invisible breeze. For a moment as I stood in the great hall, I thought I felt the wind brushing against my Continue Reading >>
Record Keeping for the Not-so-Organized Homeschool Mom
I was once an organized homeschool mom. When we first started homeschooling, I purchased a complete curriculum that came with a nice daily schedule. As I went through the materials with my first grader, I made nice check marks in every box. It was fabulous. The next year I used some of the same materials, and I made more pretty check marks in the boxes. For some subjects, I decided to follow a Continue Reading >>
The Best Unschooling Websites
Are you interested in teaching your child in a way that creates energy and excitement for learning? The unschooling method encourages your child to learn without stress or artificially imposed deadlines and test-based standards. Even if circumstances prevent you from fully embracing an unschooling lifestyle, you can use many of the ideas from the unschool movement to greatly enhance your Continue Reading >>
4 Keys to Homeschool Success
All of us usually begin homeschooling with a combination of excitement and passion, mixed with some fear. We feel that teaching our kids at home is the best choice, and what God has called us to, but we worry that we won't be able to "do it right." We will certainly make some mistakes as we teach our kids, but I believe there are 4 keys to being successful in our homeschooling. 1. The right Continue Reading >>
How to Make Playdough: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes Galore
Have you ever made playdough? May I confess? I have six children, ages 15 to 5, and before this week I had only ever made playdough once in my lifetime! That seems a bit selfish somehow. I decided to remove this blight from my mommy-record and make playdough this week for my twins. Since Tuesday, we've made no less than seven batches! That's a lot of playdough. One of those batches was for my 13 Continue Reading >>
25 Living Books for Kindle on Amazon (Charlotte Mason)
Living Books is a term that spans many different homeschooling methods, so chances are good that if you homeschool -- you've heard the term before. But what exactly does "Living Books" mean? Living Books are those books that tell a compelling story, draw you in, captivate you, and yet teach. Books that bring the subjects alive: history, math, science, fine arts. Every subject can be brought to Continue Reading >>
Making Homeschool a Joy, Not a Fight
With the new homeschool year coming fast, my family is picking out the curriculum for this year. One of the things I love about how my family picks the subjects for us to learn is that we get to help pick some of the curriculum. Not only that, but each of us has at least one (I have 3 or 4) subjects we love to do. We like to use the subjects we love as breaks between the more difficult Continue Reading >>
Charlotte Mason Resources: an Ultimate Homeschool Resource List
Charlotte Mason was an amazing educator! Perhaps my favorite quote from Charlotte Mason reveals her understanding that a personal knowledge of and intimacy with God is the highest form of education. This is where we must begin and end! “This idea of all education springing from and resting upon our relation to Almighty God-we do not merely give a religious education because that would seem to Continue Reading >>
8 Tips for Easing Back Into the Homeschool Routine
We are counting down to the start of a brand new homeschool year. This year, my oldest will be taking classes at the local community college. My middle son will attend the local high school for his junior year. And, I'll be homeschooling my daughter who is going into the 6th grade. This will be my 14th year of homeschooling. None of us want summer to end. I don't look forward to my sons Continue Reading >>