Finding Splendor in the Ordinary
Life as a homeschooler isn’t what I imagined it would be all those years ago. I suppose it takes a few years and enough failures to be humble enough to see the simplest lessons. If I were younger and reading my own words today, I’d still be filled with all the hope and joy of youth, and also the sometimes… Read More
Once upon a time there was a peaceful homeschool. The children were cheerful and loved their reading and their work. They completed assignments with ease and initiative and still had plenty of time to identify and sketch every form of flora and fauna in the backyard. Mother happily worked from task to task and child to child each day, dressed… Read More
featuring: the Erin Condren Teacher Planner I enjoy reviewing some of my favorite planner systems around this time of year! But I feel like reviewing a fresh new planner, while hopefully inspiring, can’t show you all of the potential and the usefulness I’ve found in its pages. And in showing you, it is NOT my hope that you’ll feel as… Read More
Here we are, at the end of another school year, and smack in the middle of a month of new planner launches. As we’re wrapping up a year, we’re also starting to consider what comes next! I have always loved the possibility in a fresh new school year! Almost as much as I love a bouquet of fresh pencils and… Read More
In the world of lesson planning, I must admit – I am particular. Having been a home educator for 18 years has taught me to appreciate a few key elements of lesson planners and lesson planning in general. After all, with 5 kids, I’ve taught Kindergarten 5 times, 12th grade twice now, and all the grades in between for a… Read More
February is here. Any homeschooler knows what that means. Burnout season. I choose to view it differently, and after 18 years of homeschooling, this February time of reflection has come to be one of the most important times of our year for considering some of our habits, routines and spaces anew – and refreshing! By February, here’s what is usually… Read More
Several years ago I wrote a set of Physics based lesson plans for middle school students based on a course I built for my son (at the time he was 10 – he’s now 18 and about to graduate!) – if you’d like to wander down memory lane you can read that post here. Then, three years ago, I updated… Read More
Look around – on desks and counters and tables across the world there are beautiful, shiny, new planners – all full of the potential and possibility of a blank canvas. The days we anticipate, goals we hope to accomplish, lists waiting to be listed, the season we live, responsibilities and duties folded in with fun and relaxation – it all… Read More
Can you believe another year has flown by? It seems I was just here…just sitting down to consider 2018 – our goals, plans, hopes, and prayers. And now, I’m sitting down to consider 2019. So many wonderful things happened in 2018 – so many blessings to be thankful for. I find (and maybe you do, too) that the faster and… Read More
Summer is winding down and I’ve been busy wrapping up summer projects here and there and preparing for our 17th year of home education! Wow! Where does the time go? With my last post, which many of you receive by email, it was evident that my blog had been hacked. I apologize for the nonsense that came with my post!… Read More
Setting up the Erin Condren Teacher Planner is always a joy for me! I love seeing the pages in front of me and imagining how I can use them and how they will serve us in the coming year. A planner is simply a tool. Some planners are better tools than others, but they all function as a lever to… Read More
As another school year wraps up I like to sit back, reflect on what worked over the year, what didn’t, and take a look at my plans with an eye toward the coming year. After 17 years of home educating, I’m more convinced than ever that you better bring the right tools to this game! I loved my Erin Condren Teacher Planner… Read More
Conference season really kicks into swing this summer, but many of us could use a little shot in the arm and friendly encouragement right about….now! In February. For home educators, February is historically a season fraught with second-guessing, perhaps a slump in motivation, or even an impulsive desire to change every single book and curriculum that was on the schedule… Read More
Hi friends! I’m working on a blog post about my Simplified Planner: how it has been working for me since August, and….an exciting giveaway!! If you love the Simplified Planner, you’re not going to want to miss that post! Watch for it later this week! I wanted to pop in and let you know that I’m over at Pam’s this… Read More
Friends, I promised a video detailing how I set up my Erin Condren Teacher Lesson Planner to use in our homeschool – and here it is! Before we start, it might help to remember that I’m planning for an 11th grader, 7th grader, 4th grader and preschooler in this planner. We are Charlotte Mason educators using Classical principles – so… Read More
It’s that time of year – we’re all starting to think about planning for the year ahead. Keeping ideas and records and books and assignments on paper somewhere is a necessity for any teacher. In the homeschool, planning and organizing can be a sanity-saver and is sometimes required (by different state and local requirements). As homeschool moms, we’re usually juggling… Read More
If you’ve read here for any amount of time you know that almost 12 years ago, homeschooling my young but growing children, I sought to provide a common point in our day with what I coined, the Morning Basket – a simple collection of worthy books that lived in…a basket…and we read from each…morning. Thus, the Morning Basket came to be. (You can read all… Read More
Here we go – rolling right out of holiday time and into what is, for most homeschoolers, the month of uncertainty, hesitation, self-questioning (in which we are tempted to define our homeschooling efforts thus far as a failure). That means…it’s almost February. There is just something about this time of year! With half a school year behind us we examine and… Read More
With the upcoming canonization of Blessed Mother Teresa on September 4, 2016, I wanted to share a bit about how this Saint has provided influence in my own life. This article was originally published in 2009 in mater et magistra magazine. It is republished here with slight editing to update. The vocation of home education is beautiful, but like all… Read More
I am going to make an attempt here. To be pithy. Succinct. Abbreviated. One picture. One idea. LOL! I’m not sure I’m capable of limiting my vocabulary in this way. >>>Just.Not.Sure.I.Can.Limit<<< But, I’m seriously going to try. I finished my Year 3 and Year 6 booklists, term plans, and weekly plans! Happy dance!!! After getting all of the paper… Read More
Happy Summertide everyone! It’s been a full few weeks for me and thus…a lot quieter in my digital spaces. This morning, I thought I’d take a minute to pop in and visit for a few minutes and share a glimpse of my days lately! You can catch up with me over at iheartplanners.com today – Walk Your Plans from Paper to… Read More
It’s conference time – and I’m getting excited about speaking! I’d love to see you in June if you’re in Kansas City, and in July if you’re in Grand Rapids for the Grace Gathering conference! This year I’m giving the following talks: Rebuilding Culture by Doing the Next Thing (KC) (GR) The Morning Basket: Ageless & Inspiring (KC) (GR) Planning: For the Home… Read More
I’ve been freshening up around here – we’re on the last term of the year. You know that feeling you get as you prep the last term of the year, right? That I-can-see-the-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel feeling? Yep, that one! Each term I sit down with my master notebook open and spend some time making notes to myself on each child – a child’s challenges,… Read More
If you’ve been a long time reader here, you may remember this post from six years ago – Boy Meets Machine. My then-10-year-old was enamored with a course I built around a fantastic book, The Way Things Work by David Macauley. The book naturally connected itself with some interesting hands-on Physics based explorations and some other fun reading that animated… Read More
