It’s Halloween time and I’m exploring 31 Great Books to Read to Your Kids—what better author to share with your kids than Edgar Allan Poe, the master of suspense? Homeschooling post updated 10/29/2023 Reading a well written suspenseful tale—even one that includes murders—is nothing like watching a gory scene on TV or acting one out […]
100 Day Homeschool Year for Jr. High and High School Days 6-9
All happy families are alike; each homeschooling family is nerdy in its own way. This is our 10th year homeschooling and I have loads of free time (haha) so I’m going to share a day in the life of our homeschool—hopefully all 100 days, but this blog is full of one-off “series” so we’ll see […]
100-Day Homeschool Year for Jr. High and High School Week 1
All happy families are alike; each homeschooling family is nerdy in its own way. This is our 10th year homeschooling and I have loads of free time (haha) so I’m going to share a day in the life of our homeschool—hopefully all 100 days, but this blog is full of one-off “series” so we’ll see […]
An Old Fashioned 8th Grade Education: 4 Personal Development Books To Read Before High School
This is my 9th year of homeschooling! Last year, when Jefferson was in 8th grade, he informed me that he wanted to go to public high school. All of my relaxed, meandering, unschooling-but-not-unparenting educational ideals screeched to a halt, replaced by a drive to get this boy fully educated before he went to the local […]
9 Books for Tween Boys My Kid Says Your Kids Should Read!
Ah, summer: the time when summer reading lists swarm, and compete with summer fun bucket lists for internet saturation. Here’s the thing: those book lists are usually compiled by moms. Here are 9 books for tween boys that are recommended by one of their own! I asked my 12-year-old son Jefferson to give me a list of his Top […]
3 Reasons You Should Never Set a Reading Timer for Your Kids
I have a ton to say on the topic of reading and how we’re ruining it for our kids, but I’ll keep it short today with 3 huge reasons you should never set a timer when your kid reads. Not even if his teacher tells him to. Not even if she sends home a fancy Pinteresting […]
Beyond The Jungle Book: How to Introduce Rudyard Kipling to Your Kids
Disney’s live action The Jungle Book pounces into theaters April 15th! Jon Favreau promises a closer interpretation of the text this time around (not that I have anything against the 60s classic), so that gives every American kid 3 months to finish the book. You probably know that besides The Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling also […]
The Best Disney Book You’ve Never Read
You think you know Disney. You’ve watched—or at least heard, as you worked while your kids watched—every Disney movie at least a dozen times, or, in the case of Frozen, as regularly as you brush your teeth. You can spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. I’ll wait while you quiz your kids. If you pick 10 toys at random from […]
Great Books for BIG Kids to Read Over Christmas Vacation
“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” Walt Disney Here are some ideas for books to read on Christmas vacation, and the reason why reading shouldn’t stop when school lets out for winter break. [Affiliate links in this post are for your convenience and offer free 2-day shipping […]
How to Teach Vocabulary with Great Books! The Hardy Boys 1: The Tower Treasure
Do you want your kids to have a rich, expressive vocabulary? Sure you do! There’s really only one way to ensure your kids can easily pluck le mot juste from their magnificent brains at will: read Great Books to them! Take a good, hard look at your kids’ book lists from school: do you see […]
