Natural Parent Guide

Kids Books About Seasons

I love living in the mountains where I can see the dramatic changes of the seasons. I grew up on the coast and the changes were mild and not very noticeable. I still love the sea and evergreen redwoods, but I walk outside now and see yellows, oranges, reds, and a rain of leaves when the wind bows. It's suddenly much cooler than it was a month ago … [Read more...]

2 Ingredient Chicken Pot Pie That Looks Like it Took Hours, But Only Takes Minutes!

You're in-laws are coming over and you have no time to prepare a fancy meal, but still want to impress? Don't stress out! I have the solution! This is the easiest "homemade" chicken pot pie (you can barely call this one homemade, but no one has to know how easy it really was!) and it tastes great! Here's all you need, a few cans of soup, a … [Read more...]

Love to Learn Blog Hop 27

Welcome to the Love to Learn Blog Hop A collection of educational activities to instill a life long love of learning in our children. Enjoy learning through play, nature, crafts, and many other educational activities. This is a PIN-IT PARTY Your hosts will pin our favorite posts to our Pinterest boards! I encourage you to do the … [Read more...]

Kids Books About Gorillas

Learning about gorillas for school or homeschool, or maybe you just have an animal lover in your home who wants to know more about majestic gorillas. Whether learning about gorillas for fun or putting together a unit study, these are great books to begin your adventure with gorillas. Gorillas are social, gentle, and shy. We can learn so much by … [Read more...]

Fascinating Kids Books Modern Wars

Studying wars is not one of my favorite subjects. Ancient battles can hold appeal, such as Ancient Grecian battles, Knights in armor, or great conquerors such as Alexander the Great. They are so far removed from the type of wars waged today, they seem like fairy stories as we listen to them via our History Curriculum on Audio book. But, getting … [Read more...]

Easy, Gluten-Free Oven Roasted Pork Loin Dinner – New Family Favorite

Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Smithfield® Marinated Fresh Pork. The opinions and text are all mine. A hearty, well rounded meal, that takes less 30 minutes to prepare and only a few ingredients? Oh, and is gluten-free as well? Yes please! Back-to-school season means everyone is busier. By the time you can get in the kitchen and … [Read more...]

Top 5 Books to Introduce Shakespeare to Kids

I still do not always understand everything in the text or plays I see and hear, but I have a love of Shakespeare. My kids are still pretty young, but I can't wait to share that love with them. I recently heard of some books to introduce Shakespeare to kids! Brilliant! I'm definitely going to invest in some of these great Shakespeare stories for … [Read more...]

Must Have Dinosaur Books for Your Dinosaur Lover

Do you have a dinosaur lover in your house? Or maybe you're studying dinosaurs as part of your homeschool science. These are some fabulous dinosaur books for kids all about dinos, of course! Create a dinosaur unit study with these story books and factual books. Most of all, enjoy learning together! Some related activities featured in these … [Read more...]

Homemade Chunky Apple Pear Sauce

Making apple sauce is a traditional fun fall activity. Once you go apple picking you always tend to end up with more apples than you can eat before they begin to get too ripe. Don't toss them out! Make homemade apple sauce! We have apple trees and a pear tree, so it's also a great thing to do with over ripe fruit. Have you tried apple pear … [Read more...]

Love to Learn Blog Hop 26

Learn About Great Scientists

Learning about how things work and doing science experiments is always a favorite part of our homeschooling week. I love to inspire my young scientists by learning through engaging stories of great scientists of the past. I've put together a fun list of books about a few famous scientists to enhance your science studies. Encourage curiosity in your … [Read more...]

How to Get More Vegetables in Your Back to School Routine

Have your kids started school yet? Or homeschooling activities? Eating healthy when you're back to busy school nights or back to overly full homeschooling schedules is not an easy transition. Back to school time is such a busy time for all families and as an exhausted mom, myself, I often don't have the time or energy to cook a balanced meal. … [Read more...]

Amazing Science Books for Kids

Learning about science is an absolute favorite subject around here! We always have fun learning about science, whether we do science experiments or are taking a closer look at the world right around us we always gather tons of science books around us on the subject of interest. I've listed here some amazing science books for kids to add to your … [Read more...]

How to Have Stress Free Back to School Mornings

Even a homeschool family feels the pressure of back to school time. Well, this family does anyway. My kids attend classes and getting up in the morning is not something we are used to as a daily routine. It can be especially hard to get going after the summer break! I'm not a morning person myself, so usually end up rushed. I don't have time to … [Read more...]

Enjoy Math Learning! Math Story books and Math Games

I shared some of our favorite math stories in my post Children's Books for Playful Math Learning, but here are some more fun math books to engage your kids with fun math story books and math games that involve math concepts. These are must have math story books and math games for your homeschool math curriculum or to supplement math learning. … [Read more...]

5 Year Old has Never Known Peace

Welcome to Monday Matters! Spread awareness to help important causes and start your week off right by making a difference each Monday, even if that is just to pin, tweet, or share to pass this information on. In America we are celebrating our freedom. We've never known war to breach our boarders and come into the midst of our cities and homes … [Read more...]

Creating a Homeschool Schedule- Include Your Children

Will I ever have a schedule that works that I can stick to? Probably not. Things are always changing; the kids needs, my needs, our goals... But, I can keep trying, right?! Since the over scheduling and then freaking out episodes of the fall... we've had no schedule at all! a very relaxed schedule as far as "school" type stuff. We have our … [Read more...]

Homeschooling Resources Under $30

Homeschool curriculum and homeschooling resources can get expensive! I trade and buy used as much as possible, but some things you need new so all the pieces are there or new workbooks that have not been written in. I love educents for quality, affordable homeschool resources. This month you can even get 10% OFF and free shipping on certain orders … [Read more...]

Why Parents Need to Talk to Kids About Vaping

Welcome to Monday Matters! Spread awareness to help important causes and start your week off right by making a difference each Monday, even if that is just to pin, tweet, or share to pass this information on. Parents, talk to your kids about vaping. Join in our efforts to educate Californians by sharing this important information. E-cigarettes … [Read more...]

Top Homeschool Resources

Top Resources Loved by Homeschoolers There are so many homeschooling resources available it can be overwhelming. Finding the right fit for your children adds to that challenge. Here is a great list of tried and true resources that homeschoolers love. My kids have the Times Tales DVD and they are learning their upper multiplication quickly without … [Read more...]