Geography and cultures Happy Diwali! We celebrated Diwali [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali] today, the Indian festival of lights. I'm a sucker for a light festival. We took a trip to India on Acorn Airlines (our fictional school airline, it's totally Pinterest-barfy, I'll post about it someday in
Art Art and history for kids: Vincent's Starry Night & 30,000 Years of Art When we have an open squishy slot [https://homeschool.humuhumu.com/our-daily-routine/] in an afternoon, and I want a little something to fill it, one of the things I'll reach for is the book Vincent's Starry Night and Other Stories: a Children's History of
Math Beast Academy level 1 is here! If you've wondered what to use before Beast Academy for math, the answer is: Beast Academy!
Language arts My language arts spackle: Nitty-Gritty Grammar I like to reach for this handy grammar reference, whether it's to fill a gap in our day, or one in my daughter's understanding.
Life skills Visual timers for ADHD These homeschool years are giving us a wonderful opportunity to develop ADHD-related skills, like time management. Tools like visual timers are an ideal way to build time awareness.
What I like best about homeschooling... ... is going to Trader Joe's on a Tuesday morning. There are so many things to love about homeschooling, but never having to deal with a crowded Trader Joe's is pretty darned high on the list. But it's not a perk I've been
Fun stuff Forest field trip Yesterday we went foraging for chanterelle mushrooms in the Willamette National Forest in Oregon. I grew up in Seattle, and while I love California—deeply—most of its forests don't quite meet my lofty, spoiled standards. I've long wanted Wanda to get to experience my idea
Geography and cultures Boosting our world learning with Geography Now! We use the popular YouTube channel Geography Now! in our homeschooling as an introduction to the countries of the world.
Fun stuff My school uniform As you read through all of these posts, and picture in your mind what our days are like, you'll need an important piece of information: I'm a bear. (This is what I wear every day. I like to be warm. Plus I can keep things in
Fun stuff Our First Day of Fall tradition Welcoming the new autumn season in true city kid fashion: with fake fall leaves.
Math Why is it so hard for kids to show their work? We've made a lot of progress on writing out math problems, so I thought I'd share some of what I've figured out along the way.
Writing Creative writing How I support my daughter's creative writing (mainly by staying out of her way).
Science Dressing like a scientist Really, I just thought Wanda in a lab coat would be adorable, and I was RIGHT!
Science Upgrading our microscope How we chose a high-quality compound microscope for our homeschool science lessons.
Science Using a lab notebook for science How we started writing in real lab notebooks for science lessons, starting with learning from real scientists about how they use their lab notebooks.
Science The Baloney Detection Kit for kids Teaching critical thinking about science, using Carl Sagan's Baloney Detection Kit.
Book recommendations Ancestor Approved Wanda and I have been reading Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids, an anthology of short stories written by Native and First Nations authors, and I highly recommend it. Graphic showing the characters in the stories, and where they're coming from. Each of the fictional stories is about
Civics Voting Each election, Wanda and I sit down together to research all of our voting options. We refer to the Official Voter Information Guide provided by the government, we turn to endorsements from a variety of different sources, and we read articles to dive deeper when we have unresolved questions. We
Life skills Typing lessons Some things about homeschooling are so dead simple, there's not much to say about them. That doesn't necessarily mean it's not worth saying anything, though. I figured it would be good for Wanda to know how to type. I googled "online typing lessons&
Fun stuff Fake camping in the fake jungle We took last week off to go camping, only not really, because California is on fire. The lower level of our house is themed to be a nighttime jungle, and Wanda had the brilliant idea to set up our tent in the jungle and "camp" for a week.
Book recommendations The Curie Society The Curie Society [https://eepuniverse.com/title/the-curie-society/] is a new graphic novel from MIT Press [https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/curie-society], the first in a planned series. It is about three brilliant young women who are recruited into a (fictional) covert organization, created by Marie Curie herself back in
Book recommendations The science of learning The book "Why Don't Students Like School?" by Daniel T. Willingham has been a huge help in understanding the science behind how our brains learn.
Free printables The Writing Revolution downloadable lessons I'm sharing all of the The Writing Revolution-style lessons I've created, using content from our various curricula. Maybe you can use them, too!
Free printables The Writing Revolution activity templates Free printable Google Docs templates you can use to create writing activities, à la The Writing Revolution.
Methods Our daily routine A peek into a day in our homeschooling life: the lessons we cover, and how it all fits together.
