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Engaging writers with collaboration – collaborative writing at home
If you’re homeschooling, chances are you have more than one kiddo at home with you. And if you’re anything like me, you’re frequently on the lookout for activities to engage all of the kids at once....
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Hands-on writing with a family notebook
My husband and I used to write little love notes to each other and hide them in tiny spaces for the other to stumble upon. It was lovely and sweet and charming. And completely forgotten when we had...
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Take a literacy field trip and make reading come alive
Books can certainly take you places in your imagination, but how about letting them take you to real places, too? Combine your family read-alouds with hands on activities by going on a literacy field...
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Connecting sensory play to writing skills, for all ages
Sensory play is usually a phrase associated with toddlers and preschoolers. But I’ve noticed that even my older kids enjoy it, especially in the summer when we can take it outside. What my kids don’t...
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David Wiesner’s wordless picture books: a springboard for imaginative play...
Whoever coined the phrase about a picture being worth a thousand words must have been talking about David Wiesner. An incredibly talented and imaginative storyteller, this Caldecott-winning...
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Creating written imagery with family photos
I’m a poetry nerd. I love reading it, writing it and teaching it. But I know it can be a difficult art to appreciate (just ask my husband, who tells me at least once a month that poetry makes no...
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Three ways to bring back the lost art of the letter
When I was a kid, I lived for letters. Visiting the mailbox was the highlight of my day, only slightly surpassed by the thrill of throwing open the lid to peer inside, eyes dancing with anticipation....
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I text, therefore I am: using Shakespeare to teach code-switching and...
Language evolves. Chaucer and Shakespeare wrote in English, but modern readers are hard pressed to decipher The Canterbury Tales and Romeo and Juliet without some form of assistance. It probably seems...
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Six creative activities to shake up your reading and writing instruction
It’s the last day of the 10 day series, and we’ve covered everything from techniques to writing with the whole family to bringing books to life through trips and scripts. But that barely scratches the...
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When the school bus looks tempting: making peace with your busy schedule
Mid-May. IOWA testing done; results in and submitted to the state. Hybrid program wrapping up. Some math to finish; a bit of writing to work on. We would chip away at it, bit by bit, until late...
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Six tips for accommodating the special needs child in your homeschool co-op
We fell into homeschooling. It wasn’t something I planned to do, nor was it something I felt called to do. But after a difficult kindergarten in Catholic school left us considering other options, I...
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Let her lead: choosing extracurricular activities for your gifted child
This post is part of the Gifted Homeschoolers Forum August Blog Hop, Choosing Extracurricular Activities for Gifted Children, Keeping Overexcitabilities in Mind. It started the second week of...
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Teaching effective revision: a free printable checklist
Revision. For most people, it means one of two things: An unpleasant task in which one checks for correct grammar and spelling, then calls it a day An unnecessary (nay, evil) task which can be avoided...
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Five alternatives to the five paragraph essay: writing the descriptive essay
Life is experiential. We use our senses to see, touch, smell and taste. We encounter our environment through our senses, and those encounters connect us to the world. A descriptive essay puts...
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Five alternatives to the five paragraph essay: writing the comparison essay
Venn diagrams. We’ve all seen them – two connected circles with a bit of overlap in the center; the characteristics of one item listed on one side, the characteristics of another item listed on the...
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Five alternatives to the five paragraph essay: writing the cause and effect...
Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter. At the end of the series, I’ll be sending out a free printable pack on alternatives to the five paragraph essay. My husband and I have two geriatric house...
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Five alternatives to the five paragraph essay – the definition essay
Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter. I’ll be sending out a free printable pack of alternatives to the five paragraph essay. In 1971, University of Oklahoma professor Dr. George Henderson was in...
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Five tips for homeschooling your strong-willed child
To call B strong-willed is an understatement. This kid has an iron core, and may the good Lord help you if you happen to get in the way. My first encounter with this came in Walmart, when an incident...
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Print and online resources to enrich your classical Catholic curriculum
We are a classical education family, and I have a confession to make. I did not choose it out of a passionate belief in its educational philosophy. I did not choose it out of a desire for my children...
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Toddler activity center – a DIY Ikea hack for homeschool moms
Homeschooling with a toddler is a lot like running a marathon. In snow boots. In the middle of the desert. I often question my sanity, not to mention my mothering and housekeeping skills. I’m not an...
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