Don’t you love the last week of the calendar year? You don’t “have to” do anything. You get to spend time with your family, friends, drink hot chocolate, binge some shows while throwing popcorn in your mouth, and generally be of good cheer. We are looking forward into the future.
Grateful for my family
The news reminds us that homeschooling is on the rise. School safety, indoctrination, and a global pandemic have pushed our numbers ever higher in the last few years. Continue reading
I pause to reflect on the magic you’ve brought into my world this year. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being the heartbeat of this blog community. Your unwavering support has turned Homeschool Ways into more than just a blog. Our corner of the internet represents a cozy virtual hearth. We gather here to swap stories, strategies, and the occasional homeschooling mishap. Above all, this blog serves real homeschool families.
My husband took photographed us by our treehouse, which he built as we were beginning our homeschool journey
On the other hand, now we have a YouTube channel and an award-winning podcast. As I keep learning about producing video content, I thank you for your patience with my burgeoning skills. 🙂 Continue reading
In Tennessee, if you are college-bound, you need 22 credits on your high school diploma. My son just finished all of his requirements this month – December 2025. Yes, his official graduation ceremony will happen in May 2026, but this month marks the end of his high school. He is done. I am done homeschooling. Boom. Just like that, 13 years (almost) of homeschooling him are over. I can’t believe I just typed that.
My daughter slicing the cheesecake I made for my son’s 18th birthday
What is there left to say? I feel grateful. Grateful for the privilege to mold him and to help him become all that God wants him to be. At this point, he is thinking about starting his own business. Many people take a gap year between high school and college. My son will probably do that. At least, that is what is looking like now for him. Continue reading
If you want to give your child the gift of music but feel intimidated because you never learned an instrument yourself — you’re not alone. Homeschool moms write to me saying:
“Where do I even start?”
“What instrument should we choose?”
“Is my child too young?”
“How do I know if the teacher is good?”
My daughter played in the Knoxville Youth Symphony Orchestras for six years.
This guide breaks down the 5 steps I wish I had known when I started my children in violin and piano (and then harp for my daughter). Continue reading
Of course I like supporting small businesses and Amazon is anything but. At the end of the day, there is room for all in our lives. We have Amazon Prime and have had it for years. It is a part of our lives now.
Amazon Prime Logo
Three reasons we love Amazon Prime:
If you are ready to give Amazon Prime a try, click here to lock in this year’s price. As an Amazon Associate, I make a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase through my affiliate links. Thank you for your support! It means a lot to me and I appreciate it.
What’s the next best thing to a physical book? A Kindle book. Digital books have one advantage over physical books: they don’t take much space. If you travel a lot as a family, don’t even think about bringing your textbooks with you. A Kindle is the only thing you will need (for each child, of course).
Kindle Colorsoft – glare-free, 16 or 32 GB of storage, colors, up to 8 weeks of battery life, wireless charging
If your child does not yet have a Kindle e-Reader, please know there are seven different models to choose from:
You cannot go wrong with any one of these. We have several Kindle Paperwhites and a Fire Tablet. Continue reading
Do you spend a lot of time in the car, taking your children to co-op, doctor’s appointments, violin lessons, science olympiad practice, soccer etc? That is the perfect time to listen to books together. In this post, I am sharing only one resource, but it is the key that unlocks a lifelong relationship with books and knowledge: Audible memberships. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Listening to books in the car doubles your teaching efforts.
I read 1,000 books before Kindergarten to my children. By the time we enrolled them officially in our homeschool as “Kindergarten students,” my children could read on a 3rd grade level. Use this Reading Level Test to assess where your child is now. Continue reading
Over the years, we have been reading all sorts of books about Thanksgiving: from board books to picture books to chapter books to full-on memoirs. As the children grow, the books change, naturally. You are busy, especially now around the holidays, so I have put together a book list for your convenience. You can always find them at your local library or purchase them for your homeschool. Affiliate links – thank you for your support!
The Story of the PilgrimsVersion 1.0.0
The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh
A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting
‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey – delightful parody to the original Christmas poem
Thanksgiving in the Woods by Phyllis Alsdurf – based on a true story from upstate New York
Thanks for Nothing! by Ryan T. Higgins – A Bruce Bear Book – love him!
Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxas
Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende Devlin
Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano
One Tough Turkey by Steven Kroll
Happy Thanksgiving, Biscuit! by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving by Charles Schultz
The Story of the Pilgrims by Katharine Ross
If your children are teenagers, I would look into getting them some of these titles. Continue reading
I am so grateful for Thanksgiving. What a great holiday! A day to remember what we have as a gift from Providence and to acknowledge how truly blessed we are. Yes, we eat and fellowship, but above all, we give thanks to the Creator for His goodness towards us.
Gratitude Journal
Friends, if you feel like you have nothing to be grateful for, think again. You are alive, reading things on the internet on some rather expensive device, willing and able to homeschool, you had a good meal not too long ago, you have a home and a family and children. You probably have a car and a pet. Do you know how many people in the world would love to be in your position? Look around you. All the things. Give thanks for what you have. If you develop gratitude for what you have, you will receive more. But if you despise and neglect and mismanage what you already possess, you will have more to complain about. Gratitude is key to receiving promotion. Continue reading
In order to help homeschool moms who are just getting started, I have decided to slash prices on all my homeschool books. Get 50% off all my early elementary homeschool books now through December 1 at 6pm. Use code BF2025.
This mom of two preschoolers told me recently how much she was learning from my book, 101 Tips for Preschool at Home. She said, “As I read, I have questions. And you answer my questions in the next paragraph or the next chapter. You understand exactly what a mom who is trying to learn about homeschooling needs to know.”
101 Tips for Preschool at Home
101 Tips for Kindergarten at Home
101 Tips for First Grade Homeschooling
101 Tips for Second Grade Homeschooling
101 Tips for Third Grade Homeschooling
These are digital downloads available instantly as PDFs you can print or keep on your screen.
If you would rather purchase a paperback copy or a Kindle version, click here for my book list on Amazon.
Take advantage of this offer now, during the Black Friday season of wise savings.
Thank you for your support!