One of the most common questions we get asked via email and our Facebook groups is “Do you include tests and quizzes for your curriculum?” We don’t, so I thought I’d write up a blog post as to WHY. When I was homeschooling, tests and quizzes were almost always a component of most of the[…]
Guest Hollow Curriculums Wins EIGHT Practical Homeschooling Magazine’s Reader Awards !!!!!! …and we have you to thank for it!(An unanticipated celebration sale may just be mentioned herein 😉 ) We have been just busting at the seams wanting to share this astounding news with you! Today, we are able to reveal that back in April[…]
I’ve received a lot of questions about assigning grades, so I’m writing this blog post to share some suggestions. Ultimately, how you assign grades is up to you ?, but here is how *I* did it. My philosophy about grades I never made grades the focus of our homeschool. Learning in our house wasn’t about[…]
Using a literature-based curriculum is one of the best ways (in my opinion) to engage students. It steers clear of boring textbooks, adds variety, and builds retention. While it may be one of the best ways to engage a student’s interest, it can also really engage your pocketbook! I homeschooled my children for 20+ years,[…]
As homeschool parents, we sometimes measure our success in educating our children based on where they are according to grade level (or other man-made categories). Let’s face it, it looks good when our kids do well based on test scores, perform at or above grade level and ace other measurements of their progress. We beam[…]
Years ago, my son learned about color theory. This is a repost of that lesson. We made a color wheel featuring primary, secondary and tertiary colors out of cupcakes and frosting! I liked scheduling in activities like this into our homeschool, especially on Friday. It was a great way to wrap up the week and something[…]
Back when I was paving the way with my oldest, I worried about my children’s futures in the context of my homeschooling choices. There is a lot of responsibility placed on a homeschooling parent’s shoulders. Like, if you don’t get the BEST, PERFECT, MOST WONDERFUL curriculum, you will destroy your child’s love for learning and[…]
I’m a sucker for art books. When I was homeschooling, I had quite a few on the shelves for my kids like Mark Kistler’s Draw Squad and various Klutz Art books, among others. I have always felt that basic art and drawing skills are important to teach! I recently had the chance to review Drawing School. (Thank you Quarto[…]
Don’t have access to a library but you need books for your homeschool? This article has a multitude of solutions!
Make an edible DNA model out of licorice and marshmallows! Who says science can’t be yummy?
The Big Bag of Science gets 5 stars! My teaching philosophy when it comes to science is to make topics as hands-on and engaging as possible. When my kids were younger I invested in TONS of science kits and have always kept a closet stocked with hundreds of different science related items (as well as[…]
It’s not often that I ever found one item that could literally last me years, but Startwrite is one of the exceptions. I certainly got my money’s worth from it! I hope my sharing this review will help some of you who are looking for an affordable handwriting solution. Startwrite is a handwriting “worksheet wizard” that has so many[…]
