Jamie | Heart of the Matter

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Field Trip Ideas

Some years, I’ve been pretty good about doing fun field trips for us to do in our little homeschool. Some other years… not so much. In a perfect homeschool world (which, of course, does not exist), we’d do a field trip every month of our school year. So far, that hasn’t happened, but I can still make a...

Is it Useful and Beautiful?

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Over our Christmas break, I began a mass war-on-clutter/organize-my-life project. I’m not one to make “new year’s” resolutions, but it seems like the holidays are a time of year I end up pondering what has been going well, and what changes I ought to make in the fresh new year. This year, the two words...

Embracing Interruptions

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I like schedules. They make me happy in a strange list-making addiction sort of way. I know, I know: it’s a sickness! I’ve found that I’m not alone, though; many of us homeschoolers tend to be a little OCD that way. That’s often actually a good thing, as plans are essential to managing our homes and our...

Flexibility: One of Joys of Homeschooling!

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Every time I have to give a reason for why I choose to homeschool, flexibility comes to mind as one of my biggest reasons. There are plenty of other, more noble reasons, but flexibility ranks high on the list for me as one of the reasons I so love home education! Right now our family is in a season of having one child (my...

Tradition of a Thankful Tree

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“To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything He has given us — and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence a gift of grace.” ~Thomas Merton I believe that developing a real habit of gratitude is a wonderful way to grow our faith and to keep our...

God fills in the holes

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Toward the end of every school year, I find myself sifting through a pile of homeschool curriculum catalogs, re-evaluating what has worked well this past school year and what could be better. By summer, I’ve completed most of my plan for the upcoming school year, but there are always still a few decisions to make. I...

Gardening with Kids: A Treasure Trove of Nature Study

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It never fails that we have at least one early warm spell here in Georgia, and it always seems that my garden catalogs arrive just about exactly then. The combination of spring-like weather and the photos with descriptions of gorgeous flowers gets me dreaming of all the new things I’ll plant. I imagine how great my flower...

On the Rocks?

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I once heard a college professor suggest that marriage should be a five-year contract with the option to renew–or not–at the end of that contract. Most of the world seems to take marriage lightly. Many confuse lust with love, and some think living together is good way to “try out” marriage. When we do...

Nature Study – Relaxed and Fun!

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This past spring, we finally began doing weekly nature studies. All along, I’ve had good intentions, and we’ve done some lovely nature readings but actually getting OUTDOORS to do our studies just wasn’t happening. I think I was overwhelmed at the multitude of possibilities, and just didn’t know where to begin. Then I...

Masterly Inactivity

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It’s hot outside, and summer is in full swing. For me, summer has always brought to mind vacations at the beach, lazy days at the lake, and a break from school. In other words, relaxation! One of the many reasons I love Charlotte Mason is her emphasis on the importance of leisure time. “Masterly inactivity,” as she called...