How to Thrive (Not Just Survive) as a Homeschool Mom
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How to Thrive (Not Just Survive) as a Homeschool Mom

It’s almost Mother’s Day, so check out the Mother’s Day Giveaway at the end of the article! Is it possible to thrive as a homeschool mom? I always wanted to be a mom. With six younger siblings, I usually had a baby or toddler around to play with until I was a teenager. I would play dolls and dress them up, play school, and even pretended to be Mary Poppins. What could be better than being a mom with my children all day? There were a number of things I didn’t understand about mothering and homeschooling though, obviously. For one…

Generations Homeschool Curriculum Review
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Generations Homeschool Curriculum Review

For years, I have been part of Classical Conversations and used the resources suggested by Classical Conversations even when I left the community. This year, we decided to try something different. With a focus on discipleship, not merely academics, Generations Homeschool Curriculum caught my attention. In fact, they advertise themselves as Christian Discipleship Curriculum. With the spiritual battle in our world for our children’s hearts, academics is just not enough nor should academics be our end goal. It is up to God to change our children’s hearts, but should we not take every opportunity to teach them about Christ and…

The Best Classical Christmas Music for Kids
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The Best Classical Christmas Music for Kids

The Christmas season is the most wonderful time of the year. So goes the song. And when it comes to finding engaging classical music to study with your children, there are definitely some wonderful and familiar pieces from the Christmas season which will help your children to fall in love with classical music. The ideal place to start with classical music is with short listening pieces. Here is the best short classical Christmas music for kids. Most of them are pieces from longer works, which are all worthy of listening to in their entirety when you and your child are…

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Best Bible Studies for (Homeschool) Moms

Marriage. Motherhood. Homeschooling. You can’t do them in your own strength. You may have had ideas and plans for how being a wife or parent was going to go for you. But you may also have quickly found out that you are not really in control of everything, especially when it comes to how other people – our husbands and children – are going to act. So we need much grace from God in our marriages, parenting, and homeschooling. As Jesus tells us in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and…

Patriotic Summer Music Activities for Kids
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Patriotic Summer Music Activities for Kids

Patriotic Summer Music Activities for Kids Since we have several patriotic holidays over the summer, you can bring a little structure and fun to your days by doing patriotic summer music activities with your kids. Sing patriotic songs, learn a little history, add in crafts, and you will have a fun America-themed unit study for even just 15 minutes a day. Where to start: A great place to start is to learn some of the American songs of the past and their history, like The Star-Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, God Bless America, My Country ‘Tis of Thee, and Yankee…

Walking with God in the Season of Motherhood: Bible Study Review
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Walking with God in the Season of Motherhood: Bible Study Review

Recently, I had the privilege of working through Melissa B. Kruger’s encouraging devotional Bible study called Walking with God in the Season of Motherhood. Broken into eleven chapters, each chapter includes sections of days one through five, so that one can work through the material a day at a time for daily Bible devotionals over eleven weeks. Each chapter consists of a topic in the theme of walking with God: walking by faith, walking in wisdom, walking in prayer, etc. As Melissa B. Kruger states, such a study is needed to give us the right perspective as mothers during all…

Teaching Children How to Listen
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Teaching Children How to Listen

Listening is essential! In our highly visual world where both adults and children spend hours focusing our eyes on televisions, computers, video games, and electronic devices, we distinctly overlook how important it is to listen.  Listening is the cornerstone of development. A baby first orders its world through sound, since one is unable to see in the womb and since a baby’s sight is unfocused at birth.  Yet a baby is able to hear and distinguish his or her mother’s voice in the womb.  Next, in order to communicate and develop language skills, a child must learn to listen.  And…

Best Christmas Books for Kids
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Best Christmas Books for Kids

Christmas is coming, and as intentional parents seeking to point our children to Jesus in every holiday, one way of enjoying the holiday, teaching its meaning, and creating memories is through reading the many wonderful Christmas books for kids as a family. These are the best Christmas books for kids that keep the focus on Christ or tell the legends of Saint Nicholas, candy canes, and cookies or teach valuable character lessons. Retellings of Christ’s birth: The Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt The Tale of Three Trees (Hardcover) By Angela Elwell Hunt Featuring the wonderful illustrations of Tim Jonke,…

7 Reasons to Start an Advent Calendar Devotional Tradition
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7 Reasons to Start an Advent Calendar Devotional Tradition

Advent calendars are a popular way to count down the days to Christmas. I have seen a variety of them, such as boxes with doors to open each day to get a piece of chocolate, Lego calendars, garlands, etc. But most of the Advent calendars I see in big box stores focus on the arrival of Santa at Christmas rather than on the arrival of Christ. While it is a clever commercial tactic, Advent is actually a church tradition. What is Advent? Advent (adventus) is a Latin word meaning arrival or coming. In the liturgical calendar of the church, Advent…

Easy Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids
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Easy Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids

As we seek to redeem every holiday with our children by pointing them to God and all He has done for us, Thanksgiving is a terrific holiday for making crafts which teach gratitude, while some are just fun for fall! Here are some of our favorite easy Thanksgiving crafts for kids! Fun Crafts for Thanksgiving 1. Thanksgiving Turkey Headband Our kids love to dress up, so we have a pilgrim hat, a native costume, and for super cute pictures, each child has a Thanksgiving Turkey Headband. Get the pattern here. 2. Turkey Placemats We often make crafts as decorations for…

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