Can you feel the excitement? My son graduates from high school on Saturday! We have invited family members and a few special friends celebrate with us. Read on to find out how we have been preparing for the event.
Build Your Bundle
Have you planned out next year’s homeschool curriculum yet? I am still praying about what my girls will study in the coming year and exploring possible resources we may use. Last year I was able to inexpensively purchase some of our curriculum through the Build Your Bundle Sale. The annual sale is coming up again in a few days!
Some of last year’s bundles included Mystery of History resources and some cool science units from Ellen Johnston McHenry. I just got a peek at some of the publishers in this year’s bundles. Are any of your favorites represented?
Live Online Coding Classes
A couple weeks ago, I was presented with the opportunity to review live coding classes from CodeWizardsHQ. Since the one hour sample class was at a beginner level, I was reluctant to have my daughter attend, figuring she would not benefit very much from it. Last summer, she and her twin sister took a web design class together, so they are both already familiar with HTML, CSS and a bit of JavaScript.
Though at first I was not thrilled to review CodeWizardsHQ, I enjoyed exploring the live homeschool coding classes they offer. While free and lower-cost options for learning to code abound, none of them include live, interactive classes which can help students succeed when coding gets frustrating.
YWAM Publishing Review
I really enjoy using resources from YWAM Publishing and was excited to have the opportunity to review of one of their Christian Heroes: Then & Now biographies. When I first skimmed through list of books we could review, it was tough to choose one. A book that capitalized on my twins daughters’ interest in Japan would be perfect, but could I find one?
I had heard of most of the heroes before, but several were new to me. I clicked on an unfamiliar name—Jacob DeShazer—and read a summary of his life. I knew at once that my girls would enjoy learning about him since he was a missionary to Japan. When I mentioned the biography to them, they could not wait to review Jacob DeShazer: Forgive Your Enemies. YWAM Publishing sent us a digital Study Guide to accompany the book.
Community Bible Study
Yesterday, I put a check in the mail for our first confirmed class of the coming school year. My three youngest daughters and I are planning to attend Community Bible Study (CBS) in the fall. All of us will be studying the book of Genesis. It seems so fitting that the first definite plans for the year involve studying the Word of God.
I am not new to CBS. When my oldest daughter was two and my son was a baby, I saw an announcement in the church bulletin about the program and attended an information session to find out more. Signing up was a no-brainer!
Empowering My Son to Write
I am about to let you in on a secret. I do not enjoy teaching every subject; one in particular is my kryptonite. It is not math; even though math challenges many homeschool moms, I happen to enjoy it and love sharing my passion for numbers with my kids. I can handle history and science just fine, unless you throw in the mess of experiments. I do not mind teaching English grammar because it flows logically—most of the time. But the hardest one for me to teach is writing.
I can hear you now: “Wait! How can you be a blogger and not enjoy writing?” The issue is not that I can’t write. I just have a hard time teaching it.
Seeking Out New Curriculum...
The end of the school year is in sight, and next year is just around the corner. As the semester wraps up, it is exciting to investigate curriculum options for the coming year. This week I started making the rounds to several of my favorite websites. In the past, these sites have recommended resources which have worked well for my kids.
Princess Cut Movie Review
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to watch and review Princess Cut, a family-friendly Christian movie from Watchman Pictures. When the DVD arrived, the kids kept asking when we would watch it.
Every Friday evening is movie night in our home, so that week’s feature was, of course, Princess Cut. We all snuggled together with our favorite movie snacks to watch an inspiring Christian film that addresses timely topics.
Spring Break!
Even though public school kids took a week-long break in February, we have been going solid with homeschooling since the second week in January. Time for spring break!
Although spring break options abound, we needed to clean house. How does clutter multiply when no one is looking? The popcorn bag by the sofa suddenly turns into three. I pick up one hairband only to find five more. What about the endless sheets of paper that collect on every horizontal surface? I could not make it through the final five weeks of our homeschool year facing a mess in every direction. Spring break turned into spring cleaning.
Monday
Homeschool Diploma Review
My son’s upcoming graduation became real to me when I ordered his high school diploma a few weeks ago. When my daughter graduated in 2016, we designed our own diploma and printed it on certificate paper. This year, however, I was given the opportunity to order the Standard Diploma from Homeschool Diploma and write a review about it.
The idea was a little overwhelming at first. Designing my daughter’s diploma a couple years ago required a bit of research to see typical diploma layouts and wording. I borrowed her diploma to take a look at what we had decided on, knowing I would probably end up making different choices on my son’s diploma.