Photography as a High School Elective
Photography as a High School Elective explores how to incorporate photography into your child’s schooling and count it as an elective. Includes help for planning and suggested resources. From Starts At Eight
The Juice: Current Events for Kids
The Juice is an online learning platform providing daily current events for kids in grades 5th-12th, delivered through your choice of multiple reading levels. A Review from Starts At Eight
Ways To Keep Kids Happy In The Car
Traveling in the car, even for just 30 minutes can be an act of sanity testing for moms everywhere! My children will fight over everything and nothing, arugue about the music on the radio, complain about how long it is taking, etc. Here are some ways to keep kids happy in the car that just […]
World Geography Scavenger Hunt: Africa ~ FREE Printable
Geography can feel dry and boring, but there are actually many fun ways to learn geography! One of the ways is with this World Geography Scavenger Hunt that I came up with to help make it more fun for my kids. This Africa printable is the third in my series of World Geography Scavenger Hunt […]
Life Skills: Using The Library – Dewey Decimal System
While we have the Internet and an endless supply of digital books, there is still something to be said for learning to navigate the library. Using the library is a life skill that can be taught to kids both young an old. The library offers an endless supply of free books to read and enjoy. […]
5 Homeschool Room Organization Essentials
While not everyone has the space for a designated homeschool room, nor does everyone want a designated homeschool room, there are those of us that couldn’t live without one! When we moved from our first home in 2008 I was looking specifically for a home that had a space to be my designated homeschool room. […]
Hands On Geography: Volcanoes
Our favorite way to explore history, geography, and science is through hands on projects. This hands on geography lesson is all about volcanoes. We explored multiple ways to create a volcano as well as the terminology and some history surrounding volcanoes. As many of you know North Star Geography has been a big part of […]
Middle School History Homeschool Curriculum
With middle school comes a higher expectation of content and understanding. It is a shift from the grammar to logic stage in development. For us that means more depth of knowledge and understanding is expected. With this comes the need for quality homeschool curriculum. For this reason I am excited to have the opportunity to […]
Homeschooling in New York State: Fulfilling Middle School Practical Arts
People are often fearful of homeschooling in New York State due to the seemingly stringent regulations. When you enter the middle school years the stipulations become more specific in nature. One of the things that is special for middle school is Middle School Practical Arts. What does that mean? How do you fulfill that requirement? […]
High School Series Books Summer Reading List ~ FREE PRINTABLE
I remember being in high school and being frustrated by the fact that I didn’t have time to read the books I wanted to. Summer came and I was thrilled to be set free to read what I wanted! Summer reading can help keep teens minds engaged and in motion during these months of downtime […]
Book Review: Shadows of Ladenbrooke Manor
About Shadows of Ladenbrooke Manor When Heather Toulson returns to her parents’ cottage in the English countryside, she uncovers long-hidden secrets about her family history and stumbles onto the truth about a sixty-year-old murder. Libby, a free spirit who can’t be tamed by her parents, finds solace with her neighbor Oliver, the son of Lord […]
Help Limiting Kids Screen Time with FREE Printable List
What exactly is considered screen time?Do you struggle with the screen time balance? Do you have a kid who lives for their screen time? Here I want to offer you help for limiting kids screen time… and not sending yourself off the deep end! I have a 12 year old son here who lives for […]
Middle School Series Books Summer Reading List ~ FREE PRINTABLE
Summer is here and kids are in full summer mode. As a parent and home educator I worry about the inevitable “summer slide” where our kids can lose information during the lazy months of summer. One way we can combat this is by keeping our children engaged in summer reading. Summer reading can help keep their […]
4th Grade Homeschool Curriculum
Ava rounds out our homeschool as the youngest one. Again this year we have one in high school, one in middle school, and one in elementary school. As Ava gets older we still keep a more relaxed, more “unschooled” type of schedule with her than her siblings. She will often stray off onto tangents that […]