Tailoring Your Homeschool Curriculum: A Child-Focused Approach to Thriving ~ Written by Colleen Kessler of Raising Lifelong Learners Whether you’re using an all-in-one program, mixing and matching from various providers, or DIY-ing it with online resources, the key to ensuring your curriculum choices fit your family’s vision is to shape it around your child’s unique needs ..read more

It’s time to redefine success as homeschoolers ~ Written by Jamie C. Martin of Simple Homeschool and Introverted Moms It’s time we redefine success as homeschoolers. Time we move away from thinking there’s one correct definition of this word. That belief often comes from our conditioning in an educational system that judged us not on ..read more

Navigating Election Season as Homeschoolers: Finding Peace in the Chaos ~  Written by Amber O’Neal Johnston from Heritage Mom As a homeschooling mom, election season can be uncomfortable and tension-filled. It’s hard enough to deal with adults bickering over politics, often letting their strongly held beliefs overshadow grace, respect, or even basic civility. But what really ..read more

Where Can An Interest Lead? ~ Written by Lusi Austin of That Homeschool Life My beautiful 15-year-old daughter recently made this dress to wear to Sydney, Australia’s production of Hamilton, the musical. She made it from a $10 piece of fabric she found in a local second-hand store (in Australia we call them ‘op shops’ short for opportunity ..read more

Creating Traditions for Shared Lifelong Learning ~ Written by Debbie Douse of An Adventurous Education Next year will possibly be my daughter’s last year of homeschooling. Wow, just writing those words causes a squeeze on my heart and a tear in my eye! There are plans afoot for her to attend school for her last ..read more

And now he’s a Senior: Reflecting on 12 years at Simple Homeschool ~ Written by Kari Patterson of Sacred Mundane He was five when I wrote my first homeschool post. Headed into Kindergarten, reading Bob books. I already felt overwhelmed and we hadn’t even started. I’d followed Jamie for several years at SteadyMom.com. I’d read ..read more

Seasons of Homeschooling: A Mother’s Journey ~  Written by Amber O’Neal Johnston from Heritage Mom Homeschooling is a unique and transformative journey, filled with distinct seasons that each bring their own challenges and rewards. As mothers, we often experience these seasons in waves—moving from survival to maintenance to growth—each demanding different aspects of our energy, creativity ..read more

Switching from the Deficit Mindset ~ Written by Lusi Austin I love a good story. I love listening to them; singing them; writing them and bringing them to the theatre. But sometimes, the story I tell myself in my own mind is not helpful. Sometimes I lean too hard into the land of the deficit: the place where I focus on what we HAVEN’T DONE. Or who we AREN’T. I concentrate on just how far SHORT we have come, of all the targets and goals I had. Here in Australia, we are halfway through our learning year. And I find that my deficit mindset needs to be RESET about this time every single year. I h ..read more

Stepping Outside the Grade-Level Box ~ Written by Sarah Small of Small World Ask a homeschooled kid the innocuous “What grade are you in?” and you’ll often get a furrowed brow and an answer with a question mark at the end. “Fourth?” This response can be alarming to grandparents, non-homeschooling friends, and the cashier at Walmart. Their raised eyebrows ask, “He doesn’t know what grade he’s in?” Well, no. Not exactly. That hallmark of traditional schooling—the passing from grade to grade—isn’t of utmost importance in homeschooling. The age/grade correlation just isn’t necessarily present. If ..read more

Encouraging Independence in Teens During Summer ~ Written by Debbie Douse of An Adventurous Education I have an honest admission to make here: I like to be in control, preferably with an efficient plan of action! Delegation and asking for help do not come naturally for me. I’m guilty of doing things for my teens that they could not only do for themselves, but would hugely benefit from completing without my input. This is especially true during term time, when our lives are at their busiest, as we juggle many extracurricular activities alongside their academics. During the summer however, we ta ..read more