This post is part of the series 10 Ways to Inspire Your Budding Writer While helping my eight-year-old daughter write her own version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, I took a turn to write as she dictated. “Then Goldilocks went up the stairs.” “Hmmm. ‘Went’ is a rather ordinary word. Can you think of…
This post is part of the series 10 Ways to Inspire Your Budding Writer “Enjoy your children.” My homeschool mentor’s mantra may seem simple. Even obvious. But sometimes in the midst of dirty dishes, piles of laundry, math lessons, messes and bickering, this seemingly straightforward advice felt like a revelation. And on bad days, even…
Thanksgiving can be an ideal time to help our children cultivate gratitude while growing their writing skills. This is true even if, like me, your celebrations morph somewhat as you travel the world. Originally from Canada, we celebrate on the second Monday of October, a bit earlier than our American friends. When living in China…
This post is part of the series 10 Ways to Inspire Your Budding Writer Do you sometimes wonder if you are spending too much time reading aloud to your children when you could be investing in other things? Or maybe you need some encouragement to spend more time reading aloud. Here is your permission slip:…
A Mother’s Day writing activity, Just For You… One of our family’s favorite picture books is Mercer Mayer’s Little Critter book, Just For You. We laughed together as Little Critter’s best attempts to do something special for his mama all end in disaster until… he finds a way to do it. The whole story is delightful (and…
Celebrating Easter with our children can be such a precious time. For those of us who follow Jesus, it’s a wonderful opportunity to ponder the incredible gift of Jesus’ death and resurrection and all that it means for us. We can invite our children to celebrate with us in a wide variety of ways. Here…
Have you ever wondered how to integrate writing into your homeschool history studies? Our family loved studying history together. Through historical fiction like The Golden Goblet, we experienced the sights, sounds, and smells of Ancient Egypt. Gripping biographies introduced us to heroes from the past like Harriet Tubman, Corrie ten Boom, George Muller, and Thomas…
How do you feel about planning for your homeschool? Do you get excited about all the possibilities or feel overwhelmed by the responsibility? Or something in between? Perhaps, like me, you feel a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Over the 25 years that I planned for our homeschool, I appreciated some encouragement along the way….
Christmas! A season full of wonder, but also one that easily becomes busy and hectic. Finding ways to simplify and streamline your homeschool helps avoid overwhelm. Why not take a break from your regular language arts activities to focus your family’s reading and writing around Christmas themes? Consider trying some of the writing ideas below….
Does your child sometimes stare at you blankly when you ask them to write? Or worse, they groan, “This is boring!” or “I hate writing!” How do we respond? How can we woo them into writing? Imagine your child is part of a basketball team and all they ever do is drills — no games….
Do your creative children freeze or moan when it comes to actually putting their ideas down on paper? Sometimes we forget how many complex skills writing actually involves. When a child sits down to write, there’s a lot to remember. “How do I form that letter? Oh yeah, finger space between the words. How do…