Curriculum Free homeschool curriculum There are outstanding free educational materials available to homeschoolers, including many aligned to common core standards. I've collected a list.
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
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 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
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!
Science PBS's It's Okay to Be Smart I want to shine a spotlight on my favorite science education YouTube channel, It's Okay to Be Smart [https://www.youtube.com/c/itsokaytobesmart], by PBS. Biologist Dr. Joe Hanson has been making these videos for the better part of a decade now. He and the whole It&
Science Taste the diffusion rainbow We wrapped up a few days of learning about Brownian motion (the wiggly nature of atoms & molecules), diffusion, and concentration gradients with this Skittles + plate + warm water activity. I don’t often do flashy science activities; I only want to do them once Wanda has the foundational understanding to
Science Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding Here's my biggest-bang-for-the-buck curriculum: Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding. The name may not be catchy, but it's accurate—it does what it says on the tin. In homeschooling circles it's commonly shortened to BFSU. I love this book, because it truly does step you
Curriculum Our curriculum By far, the number one question I get asked about homeschooling is what I use for curriculum. It’s not an easily answered question, so I’m writing it all up here. Given the current state of things, I thought some folks might find it relevant. This is what I
Book recommendations Book recommendations Up to your ears in kids? Want something to keep your kids independently engaged for a bit, OR something to do with them? Wanda has selected these non-fiction books to share with you. These are great for all ages—even adults, I swear. I've snapped pics of the
