2025 Book Challenge: January Update
Homegrown Learners
by Mary Prather
2w ago
The response to the 2025 Reading Challenge has been overwhelming! What fun chatting books with you all this past month has been. (Visit the original challenge post if you have no idea what I’m talking about and would like to join us for the rest of the year!) Don’t forget that kids can join us, too. I’ve heard from some of you that you’re including your children, which makes me extra happy! What people love about this reading challenge is that it is NO STRESS. If you want to participate, that’s fine. If you don’t, you can watch from the sidelines. Some of you have been very active c ..read more
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Comfort For the Homeschool Mom
Homegrown Learners
by Mary Prather
3w ago
It is bittersweet to have finished the homeschool race with my children. One of the most significant benefits of the time spent home educating is the gift of HINDSIGHT. As I continue to write in this space, I would love to share tidbits from my rearview mirror and things I am enjoying currently that I think a homeschool mom would also love. As we’ve been snowed in for a few days, it’s given me time to reflect on what most nourishes our souls. In a world where it is so easy to scroll Instagram and see what the over-achieving homeschool mom who makes the perfect reels is doing in her homeschool ..read more
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Favorite Books of 2024
Homegrown Learners
by Mary Prather
1M ago
It’s that time of year - to post our favorites from the past 365 days of reading. (By the way, have you committed to the 2025 Reading Challenge yet? I promise it’s low-stress and straightforward.) This past year, I gravitated to my favorite genre, historical fiction. Several of my top 12 books taught me about history (one of the things I love most about reading!). Some of my favorites were literary fiction, and a couple were what we might consider “classics.” As I wrote this post, I discovered a theme in my reading - strong female characters and stories of females overcoming adversity to contr ..read more
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The Garden Year Printable and Copywork (with added Music Appreciation!)
Homegrown Learners
by Mary Prather
1M ago
“Slow and steady wins the race.” — The Tortoise & The Hare/Aesop's Fables I love that quote, don’t you? It was always quite applicable to our homeschool efforts, as well. Small things, done with diligence and over time, can yield great results. Copywork and memorization were key components in my children’s education, especially in their younger years. One thing I WISH we had done more was memorizing long poems - poems that would stick with my children long into adulthood. (I memorized O Captain, My Captain in 6th grade and can probably still recite much of it for you!) To that end… I have ..read more
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2025 Reading Challenge
Homegrown Learners
by Mary Prather
2M ago
Everyone loves a reading challenge, right? If there is one thing I developed a deep love for during our years of homeschooling, it is BOOKS. Books indeed are magic, and I am so fortunate to have had the time to read so many excellent books to and with my children when they were young. Every year I do my reading challenge, but this year several people in the Homegrown Book Picks Facebook group asked me to make the challenge public. So here we go - welcome to the Homegrown Book Picks 2025 Reading Challenge! And guess what?? Your children can participate in this challenge with you! They might rea ..read more
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LEGO Learning: Childhood and Beyond
Homegrown Learners
by Mary Prather
6M ago
Learning with LEGO bricks was an integral part of our homeschool! What began at an early age (after seeing an older friend’s collection of bricks) quickly became an obsession. My son was definitely hooked on LEGO, and I found myself using it to teach us about everything—from geography and history to math and science. I offered LEGO minifig writing prompts for free download (and still do!). We began a LEGO club in our basement. Bricks were strewn all over the house (and no, I don’t think I ever got a handle on how to store them!), and it was a blissful many years of play and creativity. Throu ..read more
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Personal Finance for Teens
Homegrown Learners
by Mary Prather
10M ago
One of the most important subjects for high schoolers is personal finance. Do your children know how to keep a budget? Do they understand the basics of insurance? The stock market? What is the difference between a 401K and a Roth IRA? How does credit card debt block financial freedom? These are important questions, yet the average high school graudate is clueless about how to answer them. If our children graduate from homeschool high school without a basic knowledge of personal finance, we are not setting them up for success. We have failed them in a major area. The Importance of Personal Fin ..read more
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The Lives of Recent Homeschool Graduates
Homegrown Learners
by Mary Prather
11M ago
Do you wonder what the future looks like for your homeschoolers? What will happen when they graduate from your homeschool? What will YOUR life look like as a “retired” homeschool parent? Will they be equipped for the “real world”? Will they get into college? When we abandoned the ideal of public school in 2008, some of those questions were on my mind. Now that we’ve completed our journey, I have the answers (and I wish I hadn’t worried so much about the questions back then!). This blog has been relatively quiet for the past year - oh, I’ve posted here and there, but it’s been hard to put into ..read more
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Three Winter Poems for Children to Memorize
Homegrown Learners
by Mary Prather
1y ago
I am a firm believer in children memorizing poetry. It is not only a gift of language and learning, but also of BEAUTY. And the best thing about memorizing poetry? It is one of the most simple things you can do with children! As a child, I memorized My Shadow by Robert Louis Stevenson. This simple poem has remained with me my entire life. Maybe you have a similar poem that stayed with you, too. Through my children’s homeschool years, I was sure to include poetry memorization in their education. The easiest time to practice anything we were memorizing was Morning Time. Perhaps the favorite poe ..read more
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Books for December
Homegrown Learners
by Mary Prather
1y ago
Most of the time my reading life varies with the wind; I will read whatever strikes my fancy at a given moment. I love recommendations from friends, picking up a new release from the library, or going into the bookstore and finding something on a whim. This December, however, I am going to be more intentional. I researched and sought out several different types of books to help fill my soul, help me escape, and learn a little bit, too. Last December, I shared five of my favorite holiday books, which are still my favorites today. This year’s holiday book post contains more variety and types of ..read more
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