Sight word practice doesn’t need to be a boring chore. Here are some ways to liven it up while getting your kids moving, so you can get all those learning neurons fired up.

A big problem with modern education is that we sit kids down. Sitting is not healthy for their bodies or brains. Not only does it make it harder for kids to concentrate, but it also slows down neuronal growth. And you can’t learn without growing neurons.

What can we do about all the sitting?

First, we can make sure our kids are getting some good hard exercise on a daily basis. We can make sure…

Create. Count. Trace. Write. Kids practice fine motor skills while creating a fun mosaic with Lego blocks. Get the free spring Lego mosaic printable.

When spring comes around kids tend to get a little restless and school crazy. Young ones especially have a hard time concentrating on their schoolwork. While you may just let them loose to run around outside like maniacs, sometimes you still want them to work on a few key academic skills.

These printables are a fun way to add a little novelty to your homeschool. Did you know that novelty actually helps kids learn? Our brain…

I walked into the kitchen to find a pile of peeled paint chips all over the floor, in front of the door, again. Yes, I had a toddler who was obsessed with peeling things. We did our best to feed this need with positive peeling tasks. Bananas, mandarins, and stickers were all relished activities. But still, sometimes I guess he needed more of a challenge and he would head for that door again. Most of the time we caught him before he got started and could redirect him.

This is why parents panic when their toddlers are quiet. …

There are two key relationships that can sabotage homeschool success. Your relationship with the child and the child’s relationship with learning. If either of these is in need of repair, the learning process is stunted.

So many questions brought by struggling homeschool parents to FB groups or support meetings come down to a problem with one or both of these relationships. The problem hides because we don’t think about these relationships when it comes to our kids’ learning routines. But without addressing these underlying problems it becomes impossible to move forward.

“The emotional bond between students and teacher — for…

Ever wonder why kids have trouble concentrating on rainy days? I mean, when it’s yucky, cold, and gray outside, why should they be distracted from schoolwork? It’s not like they have anything better to do.

Our brains are oxygen hogs. And the more we think, the more neurons are being built, the faster we use up that oxygen. We don’t get enough oxygen for serious brain work just by sitting around in a chair all day. To get enough oxygen to our brain for serious sustained mental work we need to work our bodies. …

Teach your kids Latin because it is good for the brain.

Latin, like any foreign language, is amazing brain food. Learning a foreign language increases both grey and white matter, brain density, and neural connections.

Check the studies yourself, second-language learning is good for the brain.

“Learning another language is one of the most effective and practical ways to increase intelligence, keep your mind sharp, and buffer your brain against aging.”

Luz Palmero

Ok, so this probably is not news to you. But it only answers part of the question. We teach kids foreign language because it is good for the brain. But why Latin? Why not focus on a modern…

Sometimes what we need to live better lives is not a resolution, but simply a shift in focus. Often this shift in focus is an expansion. We become hyper-focused on one part of our lives and this causes us to neglect other areas. We then feel like a failure because so much of our life is in disarray, falling apart, a mess.

Pulling back the zoom feature reveals the big picture. Sometimes we zoom in simply because that big picture is of a messy room. …

When you start homeschooling you are stepping into a whole new world. Knowing what to expect your first year of homeschooling can be the difference between becoming the heroess who slays the villain and the one who runs away from the story.

If you are homeschooling for the first time this year, there are a few things you need to know. Understanding that all of these things are normal, they are part of a process of creating a new culture for yourself and your children, will save you from feeling like a failure. Which brings us to number one.

Here are 13 Things to Expect Your First Year of Homeschooling

1.You will feel like a failure, but you aren’t.

This…