Melissa | Heart of the Matter

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Taking the Fear Out of your Year

I love to encourage homeschoolers, but I especially relish the opportunity to impart advice to brand new homeschoolers. Like wet-cement just waiting for an imprint, this is the perfect time to cast a vision for the endless possibilities of teaching your child at home. While many moms are excited for the opportunity to...

When You’re Not Excited to Start Back to Homeschool

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I’ve always been the poster-child cheerleader for getting organized to head back to homeschool. I make plans well in advance for every subject we’ll study. My newly-arranged homeschool room is shining with organized (and laminated) beauty and ready for fall photos. All the inspiring books stand at attention on my shelf...

Finish Summer Strong

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For many homeschooling families, summer is well underway and the upcoming school year still seems a ways off. And while there are still many relaxed days of summer left to enjoy, there are some things you can do now to ensure a strong start to your school year that actually have NOTHING to do with homeschooling. Although I...

Summer School for Mom

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It’s not hard for me to look at my bookshelves and see what curriculum just did NOT work for us this year. There’s always something that just wasn’t a good match. I expect it, actually. I’m happy we have so many things that do work well, but for various reasons, there will always be some program that I had high hopes...

When Teaching Meets Resistance

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I’m no pushover. Anyone who knows me can confirm this. And although my kids whine and complain, it doesn’t sway me to excuse them from hard work. Whether it’s chores or math, there’s no getting out of your work at my house. As steady of a taskmaster as I think I am though, I learned something about myself this year...

December is for Jesus

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I vow every December to find more ways to celebrate the real reason for the season—Jesus! After Thanksgiving, I get out my box of advent accessories and stacks of Christ-centered Christmas books. I set out the many nativity scenes we own, several of which are hands-on for the littlest ones. Then we decorate the tree and the...

Making It All Fit

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In 10 years of homeschooling, this year began as my hardest year yet. Five of my six children were now in our little homeschool, leaving just one toddler roaming its’ halls. Of course, she keeps me on my toes, but that part was feeling like a cakewalk compared to the actual work of homeschooling five children. As we...

The Race

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I didn’t have to go. He had already caught a ride with friends early in the morning while we slept. But I didn’t want my first-born child to think his mother never came to anything because she had so many little ones to tow along with her. So I loaded the car with his five younger siblings, lots of food and movies to keep...

Are You Wilting?

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It had hung next to my kitchen sink for more than 15 years; happy and green in a weathered terracotta planter. I had never done anything special to it, but my shamrock flourished in the same planter in four different homes in two states. I’d added new soil on a couple of occasions, but other than that it received no special...

Simply Basic Homeschooling

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If you have more than one child, you’ve probably noticed this: all the snazzy new things that were invented between babies. I have six children who were born about every two years. With each subsequent baby, there were several new gadgets and gizmos that I really wanted to have. Even though I really had all the basic...