Homeschooling 
Teaching kids to read can be challenging—at least for impatient folks like me. And trying to engage my kids on my own in any meaningful way when it comes to reading? Forget about it! That's why we've enjoyed using All About Reading. I'm a guy who used to have a 9-to-5 cubicle job where I got to go be among other adults and have adult-like, intelligent, coffee-sipping conversations. Now, I work from home, and I spend most of my mornings in charge of teaching my twin boys (currently age 7). Conversation is enjoyable, but far from intelligent or adult-like. The coffee-sipping is kept to a minimum—there have been way too ...Read More
Navigating Homeschool Biology: Success is Easier Than You Think
One of the greatest misconceptions about homeschooling is: it's too difficult to give kids a quality education in the high school years. Whenever I hear that, without fail, parent's cite science and math as the two biggest problem areas. As soon as they hit high school Biology, parent's often throw their hands up in disgust. Some parents take the route of hastily enrolling their teen in school, because they just know they couldn't possibly do high school Biology justice at home. Other parents, determine to plod on. They grab a high school Biology textbook. Their teen, bored to tears, lumbers through the book. And mom ...Read More
Foods Gluten Free Dining Guide: safe and yummy food when you’re out
Our family takes a fair number of road trips. But being a gluten-free family (some of us out of necessity), can make eating on the go a little bit trickier—especially when in unfamiliar territory. Sometimes I just wish I had a gluten free dining guide in my back pocket for every little town we went through! For more information on gluten free living check out our Everything Gluten Free resource page. 6 Tips for Gluten Free Dining Eating out can be a challenge when you are living a gluten-free lifestyle. But it's not impossible! While I can't give you a gluten free dining guide for every little town you drive ...Read More
6 Tips for Teaching High School Science at Home (even if you’re not a science nerd)
In public high school, science was full of adventure. I remember pulling the same fetal pig out of the same plastic bag for 5 days in a row, and by the end of that week, I was pretty sure the organs were completely in the wrong place. In chemistry, we loved watching our teacher make things steam, foam, fizzle, pop, and explode. In physics, we loved watching our teacher drop random objects off the top of the second floor of the school building into the parking lot to demonstrate wind friction. When my wife and I decided to homeschool our kids, as the high school years approached, we asked ourselves: How can our kids ...Read More
The Homeschoolers Guide: Saving Money on Science Supplies
When my oldest son was 8, we invited some friends over to our home to dissect a fetal pig. While there were a few "gross!" comments, by and large, the kids were very attentive and interested. Since my background's in biology, I was able to point out all the various internal parts of the pig and what each part did. It was a very fun, interactive afternoon of learning. Sadly, a lot of homeschool parents don't see the value of this this kind of hands-on learning—or at least they don't think it's worth the cost of the supplies. But the value of tactile learning—also called kinesthetic learning—cannot be ...Read More
Homeschool Success: Transitioning from the Child to Teen Years
What if I told you that as a homeschool parent as your child gets older — especially once they enter their teen years — your primary job is not to pass along information. Nor is your job price-comparing the best textbooks. Your job: look for the inspiration. (Stick with me. I'll explain.) The Metamorphosis of Education Education needs to grow and morph just as our kids do. There was a time—in the elementary years—when education was like a caterpillar. You crawled along as your kids memorized times tables and painstakingly sounded out c-a-t. You watched as your kids molted one curriculum after another—new ...Read More
Gluten-Free for Beginners
Our oldest son used to be a gluten addict. One Christmas, the present he wanted under the tree more than anything was boxed macaroni & cheese. No joke. (And his grandpa actually wrapped some up for him.) But after a lot of research, when we finally decided to take the "gluten-free plunge" as a family, we made a lot of mistakes as beginners—gluten seems to "sneak in" to a lot of things. Store-bought chicken broth. Soy sauce. Salad dressings. And even the scrambled eggs at IHOP. For more gluten-free recipes, tips, and tricks, look no further than our Everything Gluten Free page! But we began to see health ...Read More
Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Scones (paleo & sugar-free option)
Nothing says "tea time" like a good scone—well, except for maybe tea. I typically enjoy scones, but finding a good gluten-free recipe that does justice to this traditional Scottish baked good is hard to come by. Bonus: this one has chocolate chips. Funny thing about scones... First, no one really knows where we get the word "scone" from. Some think it's derived from a Dutch word schoonbroot which means "beautiful bread" or "fine bread," or maybe the Middle Low German word schö̂ne, meaning "fine flour bread." Or it may derive from the Scots Gaelic term sgonn meaning a lump or mouthful. Others say it comes ...Read More
