For the past three years, a Teach Them Diligently Convention for homeschooling families has taken place fairly close to my home state of Oklahoma. The first […]
When Tough Circumstances Create Doubt: Should I Continue to Homeschool?
I have been homeschooling for 10 years now, and I’ve never really questioned our decision to homeschool. I have always enjoyed teaching my kids and being there […]
Finding Encouragement & Fellowship at Homeschool Moms Winter Summit
I’ll be completely honest: This past year has been a season of real brokenness for me, and I have mostly been in hiding. But when a friend asked me to […]
Mother & Teacher: How Do You Wear Both Hats?
When I first started homeschooling my two middle-school-aged daughters more than 10 years ago, I remember really struggling with the mother vs. teacher dynamic right […]
New Name, Old Game: Is Talent Pipeline a New School to Work — And What’s Next?
When I was in college taking American Government in the early 1990s, I wrote a research paper on the then-new School To Work Opportunities Act of […]
Homeschool Graduates: The Next Chapter
Many readers know that our two daughters are homeschool graduates: They both graduated from our homeschool when they were 16. Now that several years have passed, I thought […]
Back to School at Guardian Academy: Curriculum & Plans
We will soon be back to school at Guardian Academy, and lots of changes are taking place this year in our homeschool plans and curriculum […]
Three Generations at Teach Them Diligently
This was my third year attending a Teach Them Diligently Convention. The biggest blessing of the conference this year was being able to attend with three […]
Preparing for Teach Them Diligently Dallas
In less than a month, I will be enjoying the weekend with my sister, Elizabeth, and sister-in-law Renée, in Dallas at the Teach Them Diligently […]
Learning Continues Despite Life’s Distractions
Even after 10 years of homeschooling, my biggest challenge is still consistency. Because of our lifestyle — owning two busy donut shops — my plans are […]
Being Frugal Without Being a Cheapskate
Are homeschoolers cheap? Hopefully, we are frugal — not cheapskates! There’s a difference between being a good financial steward and avoiding paying a fair share of […]
Can Public Schools Learn from Homeschools?
Recently I was sitting at a stop light staring up at a fancy billboard ad encouraging people in my district to vote “yes” for a […]
Finding Relief for Homeschool Burnout
There are many reasons why homeschooling parents can experience burnout during the school year. It could be seasonal (a long winter), topical (curriculum feels stale), […]
Ten Things to Let Go of This Year: Not Qualified
One of the top reasons for not homeschooling that I hear from parents is that they don’t feel qualified to teach their children. They believe that if they don’t know […]
Homeschool Veterans: Pay it Forward!
It is time — past time, really — for me to pay it forward in the homeschool community. I have always liked to help people, but I […]
Ten Things to Let Go of This Year: Being Overprotective
There seems to be an epidemic of helicopter parenting in our country today… Or maybe it’s just in my suburban neighborhood. But I also notice it a […]
Real-Life Homeschooling: A Day in Our Life
Last week I got to thinking about how our homeschool days have been flowing… all over the house. So I decided to take a few pictures of where […]
Ten Things to Let Go of This Year: Sensitivity
When I first started homeschooling more than 10 years ago, I felt a lot of pressure and judgment — not only from outsiders, but also family members […]
Ten Things to Let Go of This Year: Scope & Sequence
I have written before about my love for lists and all things organizational, and with that came a love of scope and sequences. I love being […]
Ten Things to Let Go of This Year: Writing Plans in Pen
I am a planner. I love homeschool planners, lists, outlines, organizing things, file folders, three ring binders — the whole nine yards. I would much rather shop at an […]
Ten Things to Let Go of This Year: Comparison
I love going to homeschool conventions. I have written about them here several times. In fact, this year I am helping to plan the OCHEC […]
Thankful to Homeschool When Life Happens
I’m going to be honest here: This year has been particularly hard. Life has gotten pretty crazy with major changes for our business, home and […]
31 Days of Homeschool How-To: With Toddlers
Welcome to our October “31 Days” series at NextGen Homeschool: 31 Days of Homeschool How-To Tips! As NextGen Homeschoolers, we remember what it was like to […]
31 Days of Homeschool How-To: Learning Styles
Welcome to our October “31 Days” series at NextGen Homeschool: 31 Days of Homeschool How-To Tips! As NextGen Homeschoolers, we remember what it was like to […]
31 Days of Homeschool How-To: Time Blocking
Welcome to our October “31 Days” series at NextGen Homeschool: 31 Days of Homeschool How-To Tips! As NextGen Homeschoolers, we remember what it was like […]
Back to School at Guardian Academy, First Day
If I had to sum up our first day of school here at the Ward house in one word, it would be “hectic.” But hey, […]
Planning Our 1800s America Unit Studies
I decided to spend this entire school year immersed in 1800s American history. To say that I am excited about this would be an understatement! When […]
Guardian Academy Curriculum Plan, Part 1
I love new beginnings! I had started planning for this new school year even before the last one ended. This coming year I will be […]
Revisiting Our Homeschool Mission
When we first started homeschooling, I believed I was homeschooling for the right reason… and I was. More than anything else, I wanted my children […]
Encouragement From Teach Them Diligently
It’s my turn to share about the encouragement I received from this year’s Teach Them Diligently Convention. I realize this is coming late: Teach Them […]