Homeschooling thoughts this year...(I usually do one homeschool post per year. Here it is. :) ) --also a note on ads in the PS at the bottom.... Recently someone asked me how long I've been homeschooling, and I calculated that this is my 12th year. Wow! That makes me feel tired crazy (so many things, but mostly) grateful. In case you don't know my story, I'll begin by saying that I never dreamt of being a homeschool mom -- even up to the year that we
Home School
Swanson Boys: Homeschool Updates, and Books they’ve been Loving
I don't know about you, but my boys go back to school tomorrow. (Tomorrow!!) I hope you enjoyed the last post about Homeschooling High School. (I remember being so nervous about the idea of homeschooling high school, but it has turned out to be a blast!) As promised, I am back today to give some quick updates on the homeschool curriculum my boys are using this year, and also to share some of the books they've been enjoying. ^^My 4, yesterday -- at a Hawaiian Rodeo! :) I'm
On Homeschooling High School
Homeschooling High School.... I am so happy to be sharing an awesome post by Jen McDonald today. I've been meaning to put some words together to share a homeschool post for a while now, and when I came across this post I was like "She said it better than I could!" I wanted to highlight all over my computer screen. :) I think you'll enjoy this! Quick note -- Curriculum updates? Every year I do try to do a curriculum update for my family, (though I don't think I got to that last
How Brothers Become Best Friends
This is the last school year all four of my boys will be around on a daily basis. Change is in the air. My oldest, who just graduated high school, is currently taking a gap year to work, and work out the details of his college plans. He's in and out of the house, mostly independent, but still spending a lot of time with his brothers. Meanwhile, the younger three are just beginning to face the reality that their big brother -- the one they've never known life without -- is slowly on his
Homeschool Updates 2016: Part II High School
I'm back today to finish my annual (give or take ;) ) homeschool update. In my last post I shared an update on what my elementary and middle school boys are doing, and now I'm here to talk high school. **At the end of this post I am also going to cover the details of how we keep records, and what we plan to do for graduation. (I'm trying to keep it brief, but I get a lot of questions on this stuff...) And once again -- If you're not into the homeschool thing, there are surely more
Homeschool Updates 2016, Part I/II: Elementary and Middle School
I've been getting a lot of requests lately, so I decided it's time... Time for a homeschool update. NOTE: If you are not a homeschool family or looking into homeschooling currently, I won't even try to pretend this post will be interesting. I totally excuse you to exit this one before I bore you to sleep. Of course I invite you to click around my site and find more interesting topics, and I promise...I'll be back again soon with regularly scheduled programing. Now...for the
A Chore System, and Money Management for Kids: Our System, and a Video
I hear from a lot of families who struggle to find a simple AND effective system for getting their kids to do chores consistently. We would all love to find a system that does not involve constant nagging, or inconsistencies. (Or just giving up and doing it all ourselves because sometimes that's just easier, right?) Well, I spent years trying...and failing...to find a system that would work for my boys. And since by nature I'm not the most organized person, I was beginning to blame myself
5 Favorite Moments in our Homeschool Life
Our homeschool life is not perfect, but I can say that most of the time, I'm really happy with it. Most of the time I am so glad we do it. Most of the time I really love our daily groove. (If you read this post, you'll know that our schedule can be a little nuts, but much of that is due to surf, not homeschooling, so that's another subject.) I have come to terms with the fact that there is no ideal school situation. With the pros will come the cons, and though I believe that homeschooling
