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The term research report and research paper are often used interchangeably. Although both of these assignments require research, they do differ in several ways. In a nutshell, the student writing a research report does some research and churns out facts, while the student writing the research paper analyzes a topic and forms an opinion. What is a Research Report? A research report is basically … [Read more...]
The tale of the two Story of the World series
I could go on for days about how wonderful the Story of the World series is by Dr. Susan Wise Bauer. I might have even shed a tear or two as we finished the reading through books last year. This history series is engaging and well-written, plus it lends itself easily towards notebooking, which we love around here. While using the series, we learned so much about history and enjoyed making … [Read more...]
5 More Tips to Help You Get it All Done
Awhile back I wrote a post with 5 tips for how we get it all done, but since then my little guy has arrived fully into toddler land. He's decided not to take a nap anymore, which was my work time, and teaching him about rest time is not going as well as I had planned. Plus, my daughter is more active in dance this year, which takes up extra time and requires that we are more diligent about … [Read more...]
How to choose your homeschool science curriculum
As homeschoolers, many of us adhere to a certain learning philosophy, such as classical or interest-led. These methods give us a basic framework for choosing curricula, but it can still be a challenge to find the one specific curriculum that fits your particular family. Every family has different goals and learning styles, which means that no one homeschool science curriculum can fit every … [Read more...]
The Basics of Notebooking
I recommend notebooking over straight comprehension worksheets during the elementary and middle school years because it is an excellent way of engaging the student with the information he is learning. In notebooking, the student is not merely regurgitating facts; he is thinking over what he has read or heard and responding with what he has found to be meaningful. Notebooking is an extremely … [Read more...]
What is Living Book?
Everywhere you turn, homeschoolers are touting living books and the benefits of using them in educating our children. The title is being slapped on all kinds of different books, so much so that many non-living books are being labeled as living. Even I have been guilty of mislabeling a reference book as living, which I believe has largely come out of a misunderstanding of what a living book … [Read more...]