Kids and Social Media: Pros and Cons
This article happens to be due on my oldest daughter’s 13th birthday. Coco has been asking for a Facebook page for the last year, and I have been adamantly against it. The more I explore Facebook, though, the more I realize she really is one of the only kids her age we know that doesn’t have one. While I don’t mind being the only mom that says no, I want to make sure I’m saying no for the right reasons. This last month, I’ve been debating with several friends on the pros and cons of allowing a teen to have access to social media sites such as Facebook and MySpace. I even posted a question about it on my public

Self-Doubt – Get out!
“Junior is taking violin, Latin, and computer science this year,” your neighbor brags, “his teachers are marvelous. He couldn’t be happier.” You smile politely and walk away, but then it happens – self-doubt returns. Self-doubt is a dangerous thing. It undermines our good intentions and sabotages our efforts. Doubt prevents us from seeing solutions. It prevents us from moving forward. And sadly, self-doubt prevents us from fully enjoying our homeschooling experience. Every homeschooler suffers from periods of doubt. We worry that our children are not learning enough. We worry about sports, friendship

I Spy: Thanksgiving Edition
Wow, this past year has zoomed by, I can’t believe it’s Thanksgiving week already! Is it just me, or do the days seem to speed by quicker when you have kiddos in the house? I have plenty of Turkey Day linky-goodness to share with you so let’s get things rolling… Check out these adorable Turkey Cookies!

Kids Have Bad Days, Too
It seems whenever I have a really difficult day, I don’t have a hard time making it known. True, I pray for help and strength to get through whatever the obstacle might be. But the last thing I need is for someone to snap at me or push me through the day without encouragement of some sort. Typically what we expect from loved ones is encouragement and patience through a hard day, rather than the opposite. But, do we do this for our children when they have difficult days? Or do we dismiss their feelings of struggle and generally expect them to handle such situations as an adult would (or should)? I will be the first to admit, the Holy Spirit sma

Five Simple Ways to Add Art Appreciation into Your Homeschool Routine
1.  Get an art calendar and hang it in your home. Make a point to spend time at least once a month discussing what you see in the artwork. Each month you will have a new reminder and a new art print. 2.  Take a field trip to an art museum, an art gallery, or even an artist’s studio. Remember that visual art includes pottery, sculpting, drawing, architecture, and printmaking. Don’t limit yourself to paintings. Look in your yellow pages to see what options you have locally.