วีดีโอ

Higasfy and Mrs. Beth are amazing!!

When did you start grammar? I am thinking of using the Brave Writer program starting in 2nd grade since those seem fun. Did you do grammar other than MCT?

Do you exclusively use Night Zookeeper to teach the foundational skills? If not, what do you supplement with?

I love Night Zoo Keeper! I wish my kid did as well! We did end up finding something that worked for her though. We went with Evan Moor's Daily 6 Writing Traits. Bite sized pieces of information helped her to want to write! And I just took the same approach as you, but with grammar 😬 I figure she'll learn it through writing. Oh! And being able to spell well helped her enjoy writing too!

We also began reading a poem a week to meet new authors and hear fun words like beseech but keeping it short and sweet. Something I've managed to sneak in and kiddo has been enjoying it. My kiddo prefers nonfiction and would much rather write about how Earth's moon was formed or why honeycombs are efficient designs. So I sneak in fiction writing where I can. We have been doing Super Silly Sentence prompts which have been a lot of fun and some days they become super silly paragraphs.

Here comes my Whoo-whoo homeschool stance. Spelling out my homeschool writing philosophy for the first time. Eager to hear your thoughts!!

What are you using for building language? Is that part of MCT? Love your videos! They’re so informative and detailed.

I remember when you posted the pre algebra (we both were so happy) this year Im using algebra 1 legacy (MUS) without the video lesson or the answer key bc its pricey for me, and we are struggling. Here Im trying to figure out another algebra 1 bc I will have to redo algebra 1 again bc of the inconvenience.

What is Poodle? Great video thank you!

I’m ready for my routine as well! I usually also plan out the year in the summer and check where we are before going into winter break. For the most part we are right on track, just a few things that got left behind as new responsibilites popped up

Oh the nostalgia this also brings back more of my wonderful childhood memories as well:).

I agree with the writing

I agree with the writing

I hope this helps many families. I have shared this before. As a history professor, the best students I have had were homeschooled. So in terms of why parents should do it, I can tell them that odds are they will do better in college than if they send their kids to public schools, of course there are always exceptions. And I am always here to offer my free history lectures for homeschooling families. Good luck!

The importance of Why is one of my favorite motivators for homeschool (and life!.) It is so simple and yet so impactful. I often forget to remind myself of my why. I would love to hear your why! Feel free to share any of the amazing reasons you homeschool. This could be the list that helps someone pivot to a new way of life!

I couldn’t get exactly what all classes/curriculums your 3rd grader is taking. I’m new to homeschooling with a second grader (using TGTB for ELA and Math) and wanting to change to a more secular curriculum. Thank you for the videos! Enjoying learning from your experience. Keep it up!!

We pivoted and started new curriculum about 8 weeks into our school year so we were already behind in those. Then we moved and took another 2 weeks off everything. Feeling really behind but I knew we wouldn’t be able to catch up in the new things we switched to and life happened. Gonna take a page from your book and assess where we are and make the best of the remainder of the year! Happy New Year!

We love crafts! This new-to-us kit is so adorable! I can not believe that the wool is sourced from the owner's own sheep. ♥♥

This really helped me! At a family event, we played a trivia game. My son couldn't think of 2 amphibians for a question he had. A family member said, right in front of him, "this doesn't bode well for your homeschooling." I felt ashamed for about 1 minute, but then refused to stay in the shame. My son's overall well being is more important to me than beating any one science fact into his head. He's allowed to have a brain fart just like every human on earth. It's good to find support on you tube. I know my family member had it beat into them that they had to perform on demand and get permission to do what interested them, so they never did. I'm not going to get mad or feel bad. Praying for my family and the whole world. We're all struggling.❤

That was really helpful! Thank you!

Oh I needed this! I'm trying to stay on track but also not rush. Trying to enjoy this season because next year my daughter will be in 3rd grade and I'm trying not to stress about testing in 2026 - trusting my gut.

Oh my goodness I wish I could post this in so many Facebook groups! It's ok to make mistakes. We have to model risk assessment, take risks, and evaluate risks. We can learn from it. Not fear it. ❤

We should be in the 13th week of our curriculum, but just finished week 8 (of 36). We are so far behind and won't finish before the new school year begins - and that includes schooling throughout the summer. We were on a really great schedule until hurricane Helene came through. Since then we've been unable to find our groove. I'm hoping that a long break will rejuvenate our love for learning and we can make up some lost time.

What are you using for 3rd grade spelling? I must’ve missed it. We just started MUS, which I know you’re using for your 3rd grader too, but your 7th grader switched? What was the switch to?

I am ready to get back into a routine!! Now that I have a plan, we are doing just fine. What is your mid-year progress like?

Amen

Yes to all of this!

First of all, I wanted to say thank you for the history quest video. It helped me decide on our curriculum. 😊 This comment isn’t related to the video, but I’m curious about what you think of The Good and the Beautiful curriculum? My child is in first grade (first year homeschooling) and she doesn’t necessarily love it. She doesn’t hate it, but she doesn’t love it. And I see so many options out there. I see you’re using MCT with your 3rd grader and Math U see, and also that you switched the math curriculum on 7th grade? I haven’t seen all your videos yet, only a couple. I want to make sure my daughter will be set for success. What other secular homeschool pages do you recommend? We’re non religious, but don’t mind religious curriculum as long as it’s great and also not pushing dogma. Hang in there mama! Phases of life, right? I felt like that deep into the fall, the. We got back on track and moved ahead of what I had originally anticipated. We’re almost ready to move on to second grade level core books. Which makes me think of another question. When your kid moved ahead in levels, do you still count the grade level they’ve be at at school or you say the level they’re working on (assuming they’re moving in all subjects at the same pace)?

Not super offense but funny .my mother in law was worried about school pictures. At that time I was taking the kids yearly to get pictures at JCPenney ( long time ago ...) but somehow that was her worry. Overall I've had tons of support. And now with 2 adults in college I have some proof that it worked out well.

We always talk about how beneficial homeschooling is for kids but we don’t often recognize how beneficial it is for parents. Homeschooling has given me such a backbone and so much self-confidence. I think people look at me differently because I show up different.

Have you gone seeking permission or applause only to receive criticism or disappointment? This is going to be a touchy subject. I know that I have been guilty of it.

Happy Holidays! 🎉 Hope you have a wonderful week

Hi!!! I love timberdoodles tic tac toe game

You know we love games! Smart Games and Timberdoodle ALWAYS deliver! Their collection of single-player games is next level!! Please share your favorite games with us!

Thank you 🙏 I could probably do this in a couple of years. Would you recommend buying the full set?

Now I need to look into MCT!! 😅thanks for sharing

Our homeschool status is currently "it's complicated." We (I) over scheduled our fall semester with outside of the house enrichment programs. One program is not giving us the actual enrichment or social experience we were hoping for, and it's feeling like a waste of time. Im hoping that after the holidays, life will calm down a bit, and we will find our path. I am glad we homeschool year-round. It's the only thing saving me.

As a fellow Texas homeschooler, I 100% agree with everything you've said. Most homeschoolers I know are fantastic and are doing the best for their kids. But for the very few that aren't . . . those kids deserve better.

I feel very similarly, it was such a strange semester for us due to hurricanes, election fall out, work travel for my husband and new extra curricular activities that require more flexibility also. I feel like flexibility is one of the main pluses of homeschool but it does stress me out when I have to use it. I am not sure if we are where we should be in all our curriculum either, but I know we can recorrect in the new year. Happy holidays!

Authenticity is so nice. Very relatable ❤ We are moving through just the same this year.

We just moved, like last week. Things are off for us too. We will make it through the year and we’re learning, but not making as much progress as I would like.

We are not half way through but I don’t consider us behind. If some stuff has to be finished up next year or over the summer that will be OK. Especially the writing curriculum. I feel done thoroughly is better than finished on time. Remember the goals. It’s about learning not finishing.

Well..... here we are! Not the progress report I expected to give. How are you doing at this midyear point?

So when you restart your usual schedule do u plan to continue until you finish the books completely or just go until your school calendar ends?

💯% agree with you. There needs to be basic accountability and oversight for homeschoolers. A basic education is a human right for all children, and we need to be catching when children are not getting that basic right. I am in WA state, and our regulations are middle of the road. They are better than nothing, but they are still not very well enforced. I hate to get political, but current events show us just how severe the consequences are of not ensuring all kids learn basic literacy, numeracy, social studies, and critical thinking. Low-educated individuals are simply more vulnerable to being manipulated. This is the consequence we are paying as a society.

I'm in NY, one of the most regulated states and you are 100% right. It's all me sending in paperwork and test scores. But no one checks to see if those things are true. I know of so many people that simply lie on their paperwork and say they're teaching things and spending the hours when they aren't. I do sometimes wish that we could claim our costs on our taxes so that we could do more things. But you're right, there needs to be a system to make sure the regulations are actually being followed that is better than self reporting.

I made holiday folders. With all the free holiday-themed worksheets that I get it made sense to take it easy and just see what he knows and what he doesn't so I made a holiday folder for each subject and whatever he felt like doing that day we pulled out the subject and sat down and went through the folder. And it helped me see what we need to work on when we get back to regular school stuff in January and it also showed me how much he's learned. I think I'm going to do this every year because it gave me time to just take a break and we can sit in my bed or on his bed or on the couch and do them and we got creative with some of them and included Hands-On activities it just became fun School rather than homeschool. It was too much to try to keep up with all the doctor appointments all the school events (older kids public school) and shopping and holiday stuff and decorating and if I did homeschooling my house wouldn't be decorated and if I decorated I couldn't do homeschooling because I have a disability so my body wears out before 2:00 everyday. I'm definitely happy with the choice that I made and now we're using from today till after New Year's to only do computer schooling which is adventure academy, prodigy, nightzookeeper etc. He finds it fun.