Blog
When Homeschooling Isn’t As Easy as You Thought
This homeschooling blog was recently published in The Canadian Homeschool Minute - a division of The Old School House Magazine. July 4, 2018. The journey of homeschooling is full of twists and turns, questions and uncertainties, challenges and trials. What do you do when your child learns differently or struggles to learn the concepts that seem so easy for their siblings or their peers? All...
Why Unit Study is Ideal for the Unique Learner (or Any Learner!)
Through most of my 25 homeschooling years, people have known me as The Unit Study Mom. I fell in love with the idea of Unit Studies way back in my Early Childhood Education days and carried this idea of ‘themes’ right into my Homeschooling Days. My memories include exciting units on The Body, Flight, Africa, Canada, and Electricity. It was these topics - hands-on activities, books and projects...
5 Tips for Choosing Curriculum for your Homeschool
Conference season is around the corner! The exhibit hall is full of wonderful curriculum and resources for you to peruse and purchase. But sometimes the choices are overwhelming, especially when we consider the unique needs of each of our children. Somehow, we hope that if we scour through the curriculum exhibits, we will hit the jack pot and choose the very best one. Back in the day, when we...
Laziness, Late Bloomer, or Learning Disability?
Laziness, Late Bloomer, or Learning Disability? This is the question! As parents, this question churns around in our mind over and over again. As we watch our child interact with others, work at their addition and multiplication facts, and attempt to sound out words in their favourite books. And so you wonder, “Why is this so hard for them?” We know that our child has the ability, we see their...
Creating Experiential Learning Opportunities
It has been widely established that we learn best through experiential learning! As we involve more of our senses, more learning can take place. Learning promotes more learning. Experiential learning is the process of learning through experiences and then reflecting on them. As parents and educators, we have the incredible opportunity to provide powerful experiential learning experiences for our...
The Excitement and Angst of September
And that was that! I always find September’s arrival bittersweet. I love the easy, breezy summer days, but I also like the excitement and rejuvenation that comes as I head into the new season. It conjures new goals, new school supplies, new relationships – a fresh start. But the reality of what lies ahead stirs up a mixture of excitement and angst…both for students and parents! I have a friend...
What Will I Be When I Grow Up?
What will YOU be when you grow up? I remember adults posing this question to me as a child. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” What does one answer? Is growing up a state of being? Do you arrive after you’ve achieved your goal? Is there a formula to ‘success’, whatever that might be? As a mother, is growing up a reflection of my career or is it an end result of parenting? For me,...
