Making Homeschooling Hands-On, Engaging, Meaningful & Memorable! Be inspired by all the possibilities!! Check out our unit studies, packets and printables!
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published December 13, 2012
I have two little stories to share…I’ll start with the less dramatic one. Yesterday afternoon I had just dropped the kids off at their art class. I was on a major road and stopped in the left turn lane to wait for the light to change so I could turn across the highway. The light finally turned red to bring the traffic going my direction to a stop. I’m not...
Fitness / Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Must Read / Nature
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published December 11, 2012 · Last modified March 16, 2016
Twice a week, I pack up the bike and take DD out into the (flat, but unfamiliar) neighborhoods where my other kids have gymnastics practice. The weather has been so mild we’re still able to go out even in December! I had just put white/red bike lights onto her bike since it gets dark so early now. So, last night DD and I set out on our usual (5pm) bike...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Our Homeschool (what our day is like, curriculum choices, etc.) / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published November 13, 2012
Every now and then I feel compelled to point out that our blog shows just the smallest snippet of our life. Sometimes we have great things going on, sometimes we’re just doing run-of-the-mill stuff and sometimes we’re overloaded with social commitments and activities. Life has been pretty hectic and crazy the past couple of weeks, especially with Hubby out of town. I’ve/we’ve been going full speed between school, activities, and...
Ages 2-6: Fall Theme / Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published November 3, 2012
The Beautiful Colors Hot Apple Cider Pumpkin Muffins! Here’s a post where I share our pumpkin muffin recipe. We make these all year long, but they are especially wonderful in the fall! Fall Decorations Roasted Pumpkin Seeds! We make ours by rinsing the seeds well and removing any extra pulp. Then we add 2 teaspoons of olive oil per 1 1/2 cups or so of pumpkin seed. We spread it...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Must Read / Nature
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published October 30, 2012
The storm is really building up and gusts are expected to reach more than 70 or 80 mph here. As many of you know everything from the New York Stock Exchange to the Federal Government have shut down. All the public schools in our area are closed both today (Monday, as I write this) and tomorrow (Tuesday, when this will post). Already more than 10,000 people are without power in...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Must Read / Science: The 5 Senses
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published October 20, 2012 · Last modified December 31, 2014
This isn’t breaking news, but it was new to me. I’ve been trying to catch up on some reading of a magazine we get called Science News, when an article caught my attention. It said that sleeping in a room with even very dim artificial light such as a night light, computer screen or TV may cause changes in the brain and depression. The results of a study from Ohio State...
Health / Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Must Read / sports
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published October 18, 2012
You’ve bought the supplies, paid the dues, your child starts an activity… only to announce not long after that he doesn’t want to participate. The shoes are too tight, the coach is too mean, the drills are ‘boring,’ it’s just “not fun.” Yes, extracurricular activities can be enriching and rewarding, but sometimes your child wants to quit not long after he’s begun. What’s a parent to do? We’ve handled this...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Homeschool: Useful Resources (websites books etc) / Language Arts: Reading / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published October 5, 2012
Plato: Knowledge that is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind. This past summer we chose not to participate in our library’s reading program. At one point, we were chatting with a librarian and she asked if the kids were doing the library’s summer reading program. She was shocked when I told her we weren’t participating this year. “May I ask why?” she wanted to know. I had a...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Our Homeschool (what our day is like, curriculum choices, etc.) / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Language Arts: Reading / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published October 1, 2012 · Last modified January 16, 2019
Sometimes homeschooling is wonderful packed with endless projects and terrific successes. I like blogging about all that. But sometimes life just isn’t like that. This past week was really challenging. We were just coming back from a trip. Who doesn’t struggle to get caught up with life after being on the road? Plus more or less as soon as we got back, Hubby left for a business trip. So while...
Food in America (concerns) / Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Our Homeschool (what our day is like, curriculum choices, etc.) / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published September 24, 2012
We just returned from an amazing vacation. It was exciting, educational and left me inspired and oh so excited about life in general! We packed in so much! That said, I know I’m behind on lots of things — for one thing I usually have blog posts ready a week or two out… but having been on the road for so long, I’m plum out of posts (except the Wednesday...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published September 20, 2012
Sometimes I’m not as patient as I should be. Perhaps I haven’t slept quite as much as I should have or one of the kids is having an off day. I feel grumpy, burdened, moody or cross at the world. On those occasions I know I’ve been guilty of not being as nice as I could. On those days I need to snap out of it, fake it, listen to good music...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published September 16, 2012
There’s an interesting article about what to do when your child is having a temper tantrum posted at Boston.com by Dr. Claudia Gold, a pediatrician and author — don’t leave your child alone, reassure them with hugs (or verbal comfort), etc. In our family, hugs or even a hand on the leg or back really does help to alleviate the temper tantrum. We also talk about the emotions she felt...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Mom Stories / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published September 11, 2012
It was a day that few of us will forget. I’m sure you remember where and what you were doing that terrible day. I was in my sister’s guest room in Nashville, Tennessee and watched in horror as the second flight flew into the World Trade Center. And then, glued to the TV, I watched it again and again and again as the news replayed it, as the towers collapsed,...
Homeschool Den / Homeschool: Random Thoughts / Must Read
by Liesl - Homeschool Den · Published September 9, 2012
Don’t be afraid to ask! On Saturday, Hubby and I spent time doing chores around the yard. Our house is set down among some very steep hills. Mowing the lawn on the ride-on mower can be harry and nerve wracking in a few spots. At one point, I tackled a tough, steep portion of the yard that is bordered by huge rocks (probably put in by the previous owners for...
Do you believe education can be exciting, inspiring, and full of joy? We do too!
I love the quote by William Butler Yeats, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." It's about getting the kids involved, engaged, and fired up about learning (while juggling the rest of life too!)
A bit about me: I have my Master's from Brown University. I have more than 20 years of teaching experience. I was a high school teacher for many years both in the U.S. and internationally and also taught for the University of Maryland before leaving to homeschool my 3 wonderful kids.
To read more about us CLICK HERE.
Click on the image to find out more about the units and packets we have available.
This post has links to dozens of posts and resources both for new and veteran homeschoolers for everything from finding homeschool curriculum to general homeschool advice and encouragement.
Click on the image above to see the History Units we covered in our homeschool.
What science topics could I teach my 5-7 year old - Homeschool Science Curriculum
Click on the image above to see the Science Units we covered in our homeschool from elementary through middle school (and beyond!).
A list of the books we've used most in history, science, math, language arts, etc.
Click the image to check out our packets on Earth Science, Rocks and Minerals, the Atmosphere, Weather, Energy and More!
Units are also sold separately.
This is one of our most popular units. It covers the Layers of the Earth, Plate Tectonics, Earthquakes, Volcanoes and More! It is included in the Earth Science Bundle (see the picture/link above).
Click the image to see our Biology Units on Animal and Plant Cells; the Biology Unit on Biomes, Food Chains, Symbiosis; Scientific Classification & Taxonomy (Domain/Kingdom/Phylum/Class, etc.); Botany - Plant Kingdom and Oceans and Oceanography.
Click on the image to see our Animal Bundle - including the Animal Unit, Life Cycles, the Rainforest, Winter (Polar Animals) & Hibernation, Chameleons, Wolves, Cicadas and more!
The Human Body Systems, Skeletal, Digestive, Circulatory, Muscular, Nervous, Endocrine Systems and More (with lots of hands-on activity ideas)! We usually study a different body system each year.
Click on the image to see our units on the States of matter, Properties of Matter, Electricity & Circuits, and the Chemistry Unit (Get to know the Periodic Table in a fun way!)
This is a free checklist I put together of the various science units I hope to cover in the elementary and middle school years.
Do your kids know the 4 largest countries? Which countries have the most people? The longest river? This packet covers basic world and U.S. facts and also covers geographic features and land forms.
Click on the image to check out our 100-page unit on World War I.
We have used AAS for 6 years! AAS is an affiliate link.
Dozens of posts about how to create a homeschool writing workshop.
Click on the image to check out all of our fun K-2 Math Packets.
This is one of the best values we have... more than 20 PDFs with games, activities and worksheets to learn/practice the multiplication facts ($7.00).
Click on the image to discover some of the pages, posts and homeschool resources within our blog that might be the most useful for you including a long list of our freebies!
Click on the image to check out our 100+page Rocks and Minerals Unit.
This is a fun, hands-on unit for early elementary students!
How the body is organized from cells to tissues... organs to body systems
Click on the image to check out some of the Spanish worksheet bundles we have available!
Click on the image above to check out our German worksheets.
Click on the image to find out more about our units and packets.
