Category Archives: homeschooling

Mar 5 2025

Homeschooling Made Simple | Part 2 of 7 – Academic Planning

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In Part 2 of 7 about how to organize your homeschool in 7 days, we cover planning your academics. Above all else, your homeschool will be judged by others in terms of how well prepared your children are for school subjects. So yeah, this is a biggie.

Homeschooling Mady Easy

Homeschooling Mady Easy

The only other aspect of homeschooling which might get more attention than academics is socialization. Homeschool detractors like to point out the S word: what about socialization? Well, we answer them in a future video. This Part 2 is about academics. Continue reading »

Sep 16 2024

Sick Week, No. 2

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For the second week in a row, I am sick. The thing is, I got better. I ran errands for two days; I did things. We were back to full-time homeschooling. Then I got the worst sore throat of my life, which, by the way, is called pharyngitis.

Shrub sleeping on the ottoman

Our cat, Shrub, sleeping on an ottoman.

I treated it with home remedies and, after two days of things getting worse, I asked my husband to take me to an urgent care clinic. I was feeling soreness and knots in places I did not know I had down my throat. Continue reading »

Jun 3 2024

Forest Bathing

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If you have never heard of forest bathing, you should probably look into it. We humans living in the Western Hemisphere, spending most of our day indoors, in front of a screen for legitimate work, are suffering from Nature Deficit Disorder. The solution? Spending time in a forest, also known as forest bathing.

Teenage boy on a river rock

My son sunbathing on a river rock, Old Sugarland Trail

While simply hiking will bring you physical benefits, it also helps with your mental state. Forest bathing implies that you engage all your senses while in the forest: you see trees and plants and animals and birds. You hear squirrels scuttling nearby or birds singing. Or you can touch different tree bark textures or run your hand through a rushing mountain river. And, naturally, you can breathe in amazingly clean air and absorb the sunshine. Continue reading »

Apr 5 2024

The Last Month of the School Year

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For many of us, April represents the last month of the school year. Sure, we homeschool through the middle of May sometimes, depending on how the 36 weeks hit and where they begin. But, for sure, by the middle of April, we find ourselves facing the last month of the school year.

Teenage boy formal attire

My son at a recent formal event

There is a joke in our homeschool community that in August we all hit all sorts of goals and follow planning sheets. By April, the joke continues, we just tell our kids, “Read something.” Well, not quite. Continue reading »

Mar 31 2024

So Much for Spring Break

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It is a good thing we took spring break last week, because we all got sick anyway. We drove to co-op on Monday feeling half back to normal, and we left earlier than usual. My son talked to his teachers and we just left. Gotta love spring allergies.

Gatlinburg sunset

The sunset at our house a few days ago

As we slowly recovered, we got a few more lessons done, but not much. This is one of the many examples where homeschooling has a clear advantage over institutionalized schooling. You do not need a permission slip to take a trip or a signature on a form which states you are ill and will take a few days off. Or whatever they do in school these days. I would not know.

Alum Cave Foggy Vista

Alum Cave Foggy Vista

Having said all that, I love that spring is finally here. We took a hike with our group the following week and things are looking up. All winter long, we did not get sick. I suppose we were due one illness for the season.

Jan 26 2024

New Semester

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The beginning of another calendar year only means one thing for a homeschool mom: the beginning of the second semester. The weather has kept us inside and so we have been working on our books, but we also made it out once for a hike.

Teenager at Panther Creek State Park

My son at Panther Creek State Park

With so many events canceled, we simply took this new schedule and made the best of it. The kids must learn flexibility at some point or other. Continue reading »

Jan 14 2024

Book 49 of 50 – Baking with Mary Berry

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The Princess of Wales lead me to Mary Berry because I saw a clip of the both of them baking together. As I researched who Mary Berry was, I learned they call her the Queen of British Baking.

Baking with Mary Berry

My copy, purchased from McKay’s, a used bookstore in Knoxville, for $8

Next thing I knew, in one of my visits to a bookstore, I spotted a cookbook by Mary Berry. When you open yourself up to a certain concept, the road veers  and steers you in the right direction for the next step. You just have to take the first step. Providence will supply the next and the next. Continue reading »

Jan 10 2024

Book 48 of 50 – Thrive

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Arianna Huffington wrote Thrive to advocate for the third metric of success: a life of well-being, wisdom, wonder, and giving. In this world, there are two metrics of success: money and power. But if in the pursuit of your first (or hundredth) million you drive your health into the ground, go through divorce, and get estranged from your family, what have you really accomplished?

Thrive by Arianna Huffington

Redefining success

Huffington preaches the gospel of sleep, meditation, and self-care. Her audience is made up of Type A personalities who brag about how little sleep they got at night. She tells them to go take a nap. Their conversation would be even more interesting if they had gotten more sleep. Continue reading »

Jan 2 2024

Book 45 of 50 – The Screwtape Letters

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We knew C.S. Lewis was brilliant and The Screwtape Letters (affiliate link) only confirms it. How did Lewis even come up with this book? God only knows.

The Screwtape Letters

If you do not read anything else by Lewis, read this one.

Screwtape is a devil who is teaching his nephew, Wormwood, how to tempt a young man (a British man named The Patient in the book). The book educates you and shocks you about the way demons look at us humans. Very insightful indeed.

Every letter becomes a chapter which advances the story of the young man. This is a small book and the chapters (or letters) are short. As such, The Screwtape Letters is very easy to read.

The ending will give you chills. Throughout the book though, depending on how much you already understand about the battle between Jesus and Satan, you will have goosebumps.

Teenagers should read this book for themselves, in my opinion. It would help them gain an understanding of the forces at play in their lives as they make decisions.

Dec 29 2023

Book 44 of 50 – Tennessee Woman

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Wilma Dykeman wrote several books and newspaper columns and lived in Tennessee. Tennessee Woman, An Infinite Variety is an interesting list of outstanding women from Tennessee who have made a difference in the lives of others.

Tennessee Woman, An Infinite Variety

This book is actually an updated version of a previous project

From Dolly Parton to Pat Summit and less famous women in between, Dykeman walks you through a series of role models. Continue reading »