Archives for 2008

Filed Under: Music · Strategies & Tips · Music

Piano Practicing Techniques (with Larry, Moe, and Curly)

As a piano teacher, one of my main jobs is to teach my students how to practice and learn pieces of music at home. Many students tend to practice in a very ineffective way. Here's what many students think constitutes "practicing." They start playing at the beginning of the piece. They play until they make […]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous

How to Replace a Cracked Ceramic Cooktop (Part 2)

It's fixed! And thank goodness replacing our ceramic stove top was much easier than we thought. In fact, it took only about 30 minutes from start to finish. When the cooktop first cracked, I was extremely frustrated that I couldn't find any good information on the internet about how we could replace the cracked cooktop […]

Filed Under: Curriculum

Thirteen Great Christian Fiction Authors [First Edition]

This is my very first "Thursday Thirteen," and since I'm such a book nut (my dad suggests I should drop the "book" part) I thought I'd give you a list of thirteen great Christian fiction authors—in no particular order. Happy reading! Randy Alcorn Angela Hunt Francine Rivers Karen Kingsbury Terri Blackstock Tricia Goyer Robert Whitlow […]

Filed Under: Family

The "Sport" of Letterboxing

Have you ever heard of letterboxing? I'd never heard of it before today. But it's little wonder I haven't heard of it before today; after all it is a fairly new "sport" I mean, it's only been around since the mid-1800s! (Am I really that unobservant??) Letterboxing can be described as a "modern-day treasure hunt," […]

Filed Under: Curriculum · Language Arts · Early Years · Homeschool Deals · Language Arts · Phonics · Reading Skills

Starfall Phonics Curriculum

If you're teaching your child to read, but you've never heard of Starfall, then you're missing out on a wonderful resource! Hurry on over to Starfall and check out their wonderful site. Here's a sample of what Starfall has to offer: Learn to Read—Zac the Rat and other tales: This is Starfall's absolutely wonderful interactive […]

Filed Under: Planning & Organization · Homeschool Planning

Grading Homeschool Assignments

Ever since we started homeschooling, I've struggled with the logistics of how and where the kids turn in their homeschool assignments for grading. We've finally developed a system that has—so far—worked well. The kids each have an assignment list that I generate with our Homeschool Tracker PLUS program. Ideally, they complete their work throughout the […]