Happy Blogiversary

I can’t believe I’ve been blogging for a whole year. When my husband helped me set up Peering Through the Lattice last November, I did not realize I had so much to say. I certainly did not expect so many people to read what I wrote.

I imagined my blog as a kind of scrapbook to record our journey. Over the year, it has evolved into a place where I share what has inspired me. I pray that my words will inspire you to walk closer to God, live boldly for Him, and diligently teach your children.

Since today is my blogiversary, I counted up this year’s posts. There are a whopping 104 entries. This one makes 105! That’s an average of two each week for my first year of blogging. I guess I had a lot to say after all.

It is fascinating to see what categories people enjoy reading about the most. Looking at my analytics report today, I discovered that the most popular topics are Reviews and Israel.

Homeschool Crew Reviews

Writing for the Homeschool Review Crew this year has added so much to our homeschool. I’ve had a chance to teach the kids subjects I had never considered including in our curriculum.

Have you enjoyed reading the 22 reviews I shared? The most popular ones were:

  1. MathArt Online - a video course about Fibonacci numbers in nature
  1. God Schooling - a book to encourage homeschool moms
  1. Dinosaurs and the Bible - a video course giving a Biblical view of dinosaurs
  1. White House Holidays - a set of unit studies
  1. Grammar Planet - a free online grammar curriculum

These five reviews saw the most traffic on my blog. Although they are great products, not all of them were the best fit for our homeschool. Would you like to know which review items I loved?

My Favorite Review Products

Drive Thru History Adventures has awesome online curriculum covering biblical history, geography, and archaeology. Learning about the places and people of the Gospels was great preparation for our trip to Israel. Watching the videos was like taking a field trip to Israel—minus the heat and jet lag. Now we are viewing the Acts through Revelation series.

The twins and I read the book Jacob DeShazer from YWAM Publishing. I loved including this missionary biography in our curriculum, and it has started a trend. Right now we’re reading about Hudson Taylor, who was a missionary to China.

Last spring, Homeschool Diploma sent us a professionally-printed diploma. It helped make my son’s graduation day special.

Over the summer, one of my twins started learning JavaScript using Code for Teens, Volume 1. She is still working her way through the book. Yesterday, she told me that she can understand some of her older brother’s code. By the way, it’s written in another programming language, not JavaScript. Amazing!

This fall, I enjoyed reading Forensic Faith for Kids with the twins. We had fun solving mysteries together and learning about apologetics.

Journey to Israel

While reviews got the most attention, many of you enjoyed reading about my recent trip to Israel. So far, there are 20 posts in the Journey to Israel blog series. Which ones are the most popular?

  1. Capernaum
  1. The Jordan River
  1. Lunch By the Lake (St. Peter’s Restaurant)
  1. Surprises (Ramot Resort and the Golan Heights)
  1. The Garden Tomb

I took a break from this series in October, but I’m not done yet. Look for more on this topic in the coming months. I haven’t told you about the City of David, Bethlehem, Masada, or the Dead Sea…yet. Stay tuned!

When I wasn’t reviewing something for the crew or writing about our Journey to Israel, I enjoyed writing about everyday life.

I told you about some of my favorite non-crew-review curricula. Perhaps you checked out my most popular non-sponsored post, Learning English with ACE PACEs. Though we are not using ACE for English this year, I recommend their curriculum for thorough instruction in grammar.

Many of you drove with me to Walmart, where I tried out their grocery pickup service. A year later, I am still using their app and then parking in the pickup spot almost every week. It saves money and time.

When I time-traveled back to 2016 to write about our First Homeschool Graduation, did you tag along?

Thanks for hanging out with me and my family in Williamsport, MD, as we explored Family History on the Canal. I had no idea how popular that post would be when I wrote it on a whim.

As I reflect on a year’s worth of blogging, I am thankful for God’s direction. He has taught me to seek Him more diligently and share His work more boldly. He has shown me that I can do far more than I could imagine when I step out in faith and I follow Him. I can’t wait to see where He will lead me in my next year of blogging!

Google Analytics can tell me a lot about what you enjoy reading, but it doesn’t tell me everything. Is there a topic you would like me to talk about? Please share in the comments below or on my Facebook page.