When you open a NaturExplorers e-book from Shining Dawn books, you immediately notice the beautiful colors and neatly designed text. Neat text is essential to a good e-book - who wants to scroll through pages of hard-to-read information? Nevertheless, after scrolling for a few minutes and getting a glimpse of the first few notebooking pages included in this book, I printed the whole thing and Continue Reading >>
How to Homeschool with Videos
Learning with videos can be fascinating or frustrating depending on the video. So, what makes a good educational video? My husband and I talked about that last night for 30 minutes! For an educational video to be used in my homeschool it has to be accurate, timely, engaging, and effective. Whether you are using an video course to teach chemistry or using a video series to supplement history, Continue Reading >>
Product Review: Go Science DVDs
Short. Sweet. Science. Bible Lesson. DVD. Each short segment (chapter) of a Go Science DVD is a new Science experiment with a reference to a story or lesson from the Bible. Each segment ends with the statement "When you learn something new about Science, you learn something new about God, our Creator." In a homeschool, these video segments would work really well at the beginning of your Continue Reading >>
Homeschool With Apps
Do you have a little 4x6 beast in your house? Some days, I want to throw the iPods (insert the name of any handheld app bearing device here) in our home out the window! When my teen and tween start spending to much time with their "little beast" I remind them of this fact. "God made us to be in relationship, and you can't be in relationship with us if you are always hiding behind that iPod." Continue Reading >>
Homeschool Online! – Internet Resources you can use today for FREE.
Here's the thing about the internet as technology. You cannot stick your head in the sand and ignore the fact that the internet exists. In order to navigate through college and life -- in almost all future jobs (even that of a homeschool Mom) -- your child is going to need to understand and utilize the internet. Every other child in the United States will have at least a basic level of exposure Continue Reading >>
Homeschool with Audio Books!
My experience with using audio files in our homeschool was born out of necessity. My constant struggle to breathe has presented many challenges, not the least of which was my inability to read more than two sentences out loud without pausing for a deep breath! Imagine my relief on December 10th of 2006 when, after nearly 2 years of struggling just to breathe, I was diagnosed with an idiopathic Continue Reading >>
Facing My Giant
Have you seen the movie? I mean; the actual movie entitled Facing The Giants. It is very good. Excellent in fact. The Giants are a football team; but also each of the little things standing as Giants in the way of each person's faith. At one point, the wife of the coach is asked if she will still love God even if she cannot get pregnant. Then, in one climactic scene; the she exits a Dr.s office Continue Reading >>
Breathing Deeply: The Story of My Trachea
"After two years of not being able to read aloud to my children more than one and a half pages of a chapter book, or one short picture book — I can finally breathe!!! I am so excited. We have nearly finished George Muller, and I am totally motivated to get back into the swing of things. My doctor said my trachea sounded great yesterday, so unless more problems come up at a later date I will not Continue Reading >>
The Greatest Commandment: Love
When Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment in God’s Law, He responded with a two-part answer. According to Matthew 22:35-40, Jesus said: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like the first. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend Continue Reading >>
Making Music and Art Happen in your Homeschool
What a mess. Doing art with six children is just bound to be a mess. That's one of the reasons I 'forget' to include formal art in our weekly studies. Some years I have done a great job with the extras - other years I fail miserably. Here are some of the things I have done to make art and music more likely to happen in our homeschool. Beethoven's Wig I have said it once, and I have Continue Reading >>