pile of books

Not a Secular Curriculum: Bookshark

“Bookshark literature-based homeschool curriculum provides parents with engaging full-grade learning programs that offer unrivaled educational outcomes” Source: Bookshark is Literature-Based Homeschool Curriculum | BookShark I was a bit bummed this past weekend. I happened upon Bookshark, and thought, “Wow! This looks great – it’s Sonlight without the religion.” Then, I took a closer look. Unfortunately, Bookshark’s …

Book Review: True Stories from an Unreliable Eyewitness by Christine Lahti

I have a little bit of a confession: I spent many hours watching Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. So many, in fact, that every time I run I wonder if maybe I’ll discover a body. That’s neither here nor there, because I’m about to tell you why i’m telling you about my previous SVU obsession: Christine Lahti …

ground group growth hands

What Life Skills Are You Teaching Your Children?

My small ones love helping around the house with various tasks. Here they are, using the stud finder and measuring tape to “help” mount the television set in our master bedroom. What sorts of chores/tasks do you let children help with? Do you have a list of skills you’d like them to learn by the …

crop kid sitting on floor and writing in notebook

A Secular Homeschooler in Wichita

I figured that before I start writing about all sorts of homeschooling topics – finding secular curriculum, educational philosophy, etc. It would be best to start the journey here by introducing myself and talking a bit about my own personal homeschooling journey. First of all, I live in Kansas (I actually come from California), and …

Book Review: Scenes and Sequels by Mike Klaassen

As a writer, I know it’s important to continually improve my craft. So, when I was offered a review copy of Mike Klaassen’s Scenes and Sequels: How to Write Page-Turning Fiction, I jumped at the chance.   Klaassen gives two definitions. He writes: With that in mind, I define a scene as a passage of writing in which …

green leaved plants

Gardening with Kids When You Don’t Garden – Guest Post at Minnesota Country Girl

I am participating in the blog tour over at Minnesota Country Girl, where I provided a guest post for her series: “Summer in the Outdoors: A Series of Gardening, Foraging, and Nature Studies” In preparing for writing the post, I was faced with a little bit of a dilemma: I run. I hike. I love …