In My Morning Basket: Apricot ABC (aka The Best Alphabet Book Ever)

Have you ever read a book and thought, “Why haven’t I ever heard of this book? Why isn’t everyone talking about this book? Did I miss something? People must know about this book!” (If you have, please, please share it in the comments below!) I just finished reading this kind of book to my 5-year-old…

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Homeschooling with Preschoolers: Plan for 2014-2015

I’m trying something new this year. I’ll have a 4th grader that I’m starting more formal work with, a 1st grader who will be doing very light school, a preschooler who is just along for the ride, and halfway through the year I’ll have a newborn. And possibly a nervous breakdown. I’ll keep you posted….

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Relationship Based Learning: Part 2 in the Three R’s Series

In my last post I suggested a new set of “R’s” to guide our homeschool philosophy, particularly in the early grades. I proposed A relaxed approach based on relationships and real experiences. I then encouraged us all to take a deep breath and relax. Today, I want to think about the role of relationships in our homeschools….

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When to Push, When to Hold Back: An Introduction to Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development Theory

Recently in my homeschool circles, there has been much discussion of when it might be appropriate to push/encourage/nudge our children. How can we discern whether a little encouragement or guidance from us will help them jump to the next level of competence, or push them over the edge of frustration? Lev Vygotsky, the great educational…

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