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Blog — Family

What's A Unit Study?

Posted by Michelle Osborn on

Hands-on learning is lapbooks, drama, unit studies, games, nature walks, and building projects; creating artwork for Grandma and baking treats for the neighbors; sewing and beading and paper crafting. Hands-on learning is gardening and raising fish or lizards or sea monkeys. Hands-on learning is knitting hats for orphanages and entering rabbits in county fairs; collecting flowers or insects, rocks or chickens or snakes, and identifying them, researching their habits and habitats, and building exhibits. Hands-on learning is creating code for computer games and creating home-based businesses as entrepreneurs.

Your children will have far better memories and a far greater learning capacity,.... continue reading.

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Preschool and Beyond: One Room Schoolhouse or Three Ring Circus?

Posted by Michelle Osborn on

Preschool through high school: one-room schoolhouse or three-ring circus? At our house, it's a three-ring circus, for sure. If you’ve ever seen my monkeys, you’d know why. But I wouldn’t change it for the world (grin!).

It’s just that it's so loud. It’s messy. The house is like a barn. You clean. But when you turn around, it’s a disaster again. And the day is monotonous. Over and over,....continue reading

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Family Read-Aloud: Beyond the Picture Book

Posted by Michelle Osborn on

Snuggle up before bedtime, pull out a picture book and read to your preschooler. Many families read to their children in the early years. They know that reading aloud plays a significant role in a preschool child’s thinking and language development. Reading aloud to preschoolers increases their phonic and grammatical awareness, solidifies their language development and strengthens their reading readiness.

   What about after that? Why read to a student who can read independently? Is there value to reading aloud to our older children? Apparently, many families choose not to.   but 83% of children up through age 17 said they really enjoyed being read to at home. Continue reading

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Surviving the Homeschool Winter Slump

Posted by Michelle Osborn on

Are any of you experiencing the homeschool winter slump right now? The holidays are over, Weather prevents most outdoor activities for many of us. Spring seems so far away. Colds seems to be shared better than anything else in the home. If you are new to homeschooling, don't worry, this is normal. It happens to all of us, whether you have homeschooled for one year or 20+ years

These are just a few of our own ideas and ones we have gathered from other homeschool moms..... continue reading

 

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The Special Power of Family Travel

Posted by Michelle Osborn on

Travel is one of the most powerful ways to teach our children. There is a big difference between reading about it and being there. Our family has been very blessed to travel to many places together. Whether it is a mission trip to Mexico or Costa Rica or a family reunion to the Caribbean (thanks grandma and grandpa!), we have had rich learning experiences and unforgettable memories!

Below are Hal & Melanie Young's, thoughts on the value of family travel. RaisingRealMen.com 

There is a special power in the impression you get from actually “being there.” Travel is such a powerful way to teach our children about history, geography, culture, and.... continue reading

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