One invaluable tool that I have had on hand for several years is an at-home laminator. I have found so many uses for it when homeschooling, as well as for […]
Learning goes on when life interrupts schooling
I used to feel guilty when life got in the way of our school lessons. When I homeschooled the girls, we would sometimes have days or even weeks when our […]
Friday Flashback: Reading spark from Captain Underpants
This has been a very busy week for us, but great educational steps took place in spite of my crazy schedule. With my husband traveling and my best friend visiting […]
Gotcher Family Thanksgiving
By Rosanna Ward I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday. This year for Thanksgiving, the Gotcher family gathered in force at my home in Oklahoma. Mom and Dad […]
NGHS Journal: History meets art with sugar cube pyramids
The Ward Family — Day 29 — September 14, 2012 Today we met for school at my sister’s house. While the kids worked on their math, I ran to the […]
NGHS Journal: Friday Fun Day, Shopping in the Prize Bucket
I can’t believe we have been in school for one month already! Friday was a fun day. After Devotion and Math, Joel got to use the points he earned in […]
Because there will be days that challenge us…
I have been homeschooling since the fall of 2004, so this is the beginning of my 8th year. I was also homeschooled as a jr. high and high school student. […]
NGHS Journal: Rosanna Day 14, August 23, 2012
No extra kids today. My sister decided to stay home and recuperate another day. So our routine was pretty much the same today as yesterday. We got all of our […]
NGHS Journal: Rosanna Ward – Day 13, August 22, 2012
On Wednesdays we are supposed to go to my sisters house and do our school together. I had planned to use play dough to “make” fossils, do a maze activity […]
NGHS Journal: Rosanna Ward – Day 11, August 20, 2012
By Rosanna Ward What happened to the last 10 days? Well, they certainly flew by, that is for sure. Last week we did good to get the basics covered as […]
NGHS Journal Rosanna Ward: Day 1 – August 6, 2012
By Rosanna Ward Monday was the first day of our new school year. Even though I don’t believe that learning should be limited to “school” — and decidedly believe that […]
Gearing up for Back-to-School: Ward Family
Although my son Joel and I have been reading and doing math facts practice all summer, along with golf and swim lessons, August 6th will be our “official” back-to-school start […]
Homeschool Graduation, Then Begin Again…
The year 2010 was a bizarre year for me. My oldest daughter, Hannah, graduated high school as a homeschooler in May, and Leif, our youngest son, was born in October. […]
Tulsa OCHEC Homeschool Convention 2012
The long anticipated yearly homeschool convention in Tulsa has come and gone. Both my sister and I needed the encouragement. Tuesday, the first day of the convention was awesome […]
Friday Flashback: Field Trip to Civil War Reenactment Camp
By Rosanna Ward This week you can find us at the homeschool blog link-up called “The Homeschool Mother’s Journal” hosted by The Homeschool Chick. In our homeschool this week… Last […]
Our Homeschool Systems: The Prize Bucket
This week I’m participating with a homeschool blog link-up called “The Homeschool Mother’s Journal” hosted by The Homeschool Chick. In our homeschool this week… I updated my “prize bucket” for […]
Friday Flashback: “I Want to be a Pro Golfer”
By Rosanna Ward This week I’m participating with a homeschool blog link-up called “The Homeschool Mother’s Journal” hosted by The Homeschool Chick. My six-year-old son Joel has been cracking me […]
Ward Family Christmas Traditions: Week One
Three of our favorite family Christmas traditions happened this past weekend. Saturday afternoon we went to the local tree farm to pick out a tree and visit Santa. That evening […]
Rethinking Our Holiday Session
In our homeschool, we have made it a tradition in the past that between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, we stop our regular school schedule and lessons, and we focus […]
Schedules, Routines and Time Management
MUST. GET. BACK. ON. TRACK. Somehow my life has gotten totally off track this year. I realized long ago that as a stay at home, homeschooling mother married to a […]
Homeschool Traveling as Student & Teacher
When I was 16 and soon to be a homeschool graduate, my dad planned the ultimate homeschool traveling “field trip” for our family. He planned it for months and had […]
Guided Free Time
By Rosanna Ward When I was homeschooled, I remember having a lot of free time. After our school work was done, Dad would pretty much leave us on our own. […]
What Role Can Dads Play in the Homeschool?
By Rosanna Ward Most of the time when you go to homeschool activities or see homeschoolers out and about during the day, children are with their mothers. Typically, dad is […]
High School Homeschool Record-Keeping
I am very blessed to live in “the best homeschooling state in the nation” (quote from OCHEC): Oklahoma is the only state with a constitutional provision guaranteeing the right to […]
The Title Hooked Me
By Rosanna Ward “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons,” the title beckoned me. Wait, what? Only 100 easy lessons? I can do that, or at least, I […]
NextGen Homeschooler Reminisces
Tonight I am sitting here remembering the very first Homeschooling Convention I went to with my parents. It was in 1986 (or 85?) at the Mabee Center in Tulsa. I […]
Play is Child’s Work
By Rosanna Ward Elizabeth’s post about toys got me thinking about the things we use in our home to help teach our children. I realized that our children probably learn […]
How Often Do You Get to Pet a Rhino?
By Rosanna Ward Last Thursday evening was our first official school field trip for this year. The Tulsa Zoo was having its Member Appreciation Evening, so after Homeschool P.E., we […]
This Week in History: Resolved White, our Mayflower Ancestor
This week in History, we will be talking about the Mayflower and our first intersection with our family’s ancestors. Resolved White was a five-year-old boy when he sailed with his […]
First Day of School at the Ward House
First day of school went well. Joel and I got everything on his lesson plan done by noon, and then he got to run errands with his dad. Another reason […]