I figure one of the big “themes” of home school is letting Katie try to do things on her own. Giving her the freedom to experiment, fail, succeed and having me stay out of it. But holy crap is that hard! It started last weekend. She had a good friend over who she hadn’t seen… More Fostering Independence (While I Take a Pill and Try to Stay Calm)

One of the best things that happened in early winter is a friend joined us in home school. Jordan and Katie had played together and I had always thought Jordan’s mom Heidi seemed cool, but I had no idea. We’re In This TogetherHaving someone to share the experience with has been outstanding. It really helps… More Home School: With a little help from my friends…

Yep. Last blog was November 16, 2009. Feels like a lifetime ago. Work got crazy, Thanksgiving was just around the corner and what happened on the home school front? Hapless grasping at learning opportunities that were often sacrificed to other commitments. I can’t be the only one who has had this happen. I had the… More Good Grief: Does Anyone Home School During the Holidays?

Unassuming. Intimate. Incredible. Those words barely begin to describe Safari West. (Click on any of the photos to see them in a larger format.) We went up on Friday to spend the night in a canvas tent cabin and then join a Girl Scout tour in the morning. Located just above Santa Rosa (it was… More Safari West: Best Animal Experience Ever

(This is part two of two on our trip to Gold Country.)We arrived at Columbia State Park just as the sun was setting. We quickly found our Bed and Breakfast, The Harlan House, which was more than adorable. We had the “wine cellar” which means we had a lot of space, the whole downstairs and… More Gold Rush Continues: Columbia State Park Takes Us Back in Time

(This is part one of two on our trip to Gold Country.) Living in California rocks. Um, hard rocks. Like in hard rock mining?!? Katie didn’t get much Gold Rush education in fourth grade (I am sure it was too taxing for her poor teacher). So I wanted to pick it up as part of… More Bringing the Gold Rush to Life: Hard Rock Mining and More!

If you grow up in Santa Cruz County it’s inevitable you will end up going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium every year for a field trip. So of course we went on a field trip with Ocean – our home school team. We went on Monday and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. We got to… More Great Field Trip: Monterey Bay Aquarium Welcomes Homeschoolers

At one of the first parent support groups, one of the things the experienced parents talked about was giving Katie time to “de-program” from her experiences at public school. I had no idea what they meant but I listened and watched because I figured they knew what they were talking about. Turns out, they were… More Public School “Deprogramming”: I Think We Did It!

We have the coolest place in Santa Cruz – it’s called Roaring Camp and they have old steam engine trains that take trips through the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains. And on Halloween, they have the ghost train based on the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. So, of course, I had to do it… More Halloween Homeschool! The Legend of Sleepy Hollow & Trains!

We are always looking for interesting ways to tie-things together so Katie can engage with a subject in different ways. With the release of Amelia, the movie, we decided to dive into Amelia Earhart. On Sunday, we took our friend Sandra to the movie with us. Although it was a little long, we really enjoyed… More Bringing Amelia Earhart Back to Life