Teaching Tips

tips for new homeschool families

7 Mindsets for New Homeschool Families

If you're one of the thousands of new homeschool families, here are 7 powerful mindset shifts that will help your new life of teaching at home more peaceful and productive. There is a steep learning curve to go from the formality of doing school at home to a...

how to teach the sq3r method

How to Learn From a Textbook: The SQ3R Method

The SQ3R Method is an excellent way to help kids learn from a textbook. This post will show you what the SQ3R Method is and how to teach it to your kids. As a long-time, homeschooling parent of 7 kids with dyslexia, I don't usually recommend a traditional textbook...

tips and resources for teaching at home during a crisis

When Life Gives You a Pandemic, Learn!

There's nothing like a pandemic to teach you what's really important in life. We're wrapping up our second week of quarantine. I was thinking today about the many challenges our family has homeschooled through over the past 20+ years. I've homeschooled through...

Informal Reading Assessments

Informal Reading Assessments

Have you ever wondered at what grade level your child is reading? Have you wanted a way to measure your child's reading progress? Informal reading assessments can be a valuable way to see how your child is progressing. Assessments can also show you areas where you...

shut down reluctant learner

Help for the Shut Down Learner

Do you have a child who shuts down when it comes to learning? This week's Mailbox Monday speaks to this situation. "My son IMMEDIATELY says “I don’t know” to ANY educational question. No thought or attempt to try.  Any suggestions for that?  Have any of your...

Overcoming Dysteachia

Overcoming Dysteachia

This post on Overcoming Dysteachia was first published as a series of weekly newsletters. Since it struck a nerve with so many of you, I am republishing it here. Subscribe to the newsletter here. Table of contentsOvercoming Dysteachia Means Redefining...

Homeschool Charter Schools and Dyslexia

Homeschool Charter Schools and Dyslexia

This article will discuss the pros and cons of joining a homeschool charter school for children with dyslexia. Despite a growing awareness of dyslexia, the traditional school setting continues to fail to offer students with dyslexia the kind of individualized...

Homeschool Success Formual

My Homeschool Success Formula

Are you looking for a formula for success as you homeschool your struggling learners? This is the closest thing you will find to a formula for a more peaceful, purposeful homeschool. To listen to this post, click on the player below. When our family first started...

Success and academics

How Important is Academic Success?

How important is academic success to overall success? The answer may surprise you! Updated post October 2026. I'm going to start this post with a story - my story actually. It's important for you to know how much I value academics before I tell you to rethink its...

Rethinking grade levels

Help! My Homeschooler is ‘Behind’

One sure way to lose confidence in your homeschool is to worry that your homeschooled child is behind grade level. Welcome back to the 5-Days to a More Confident Homeschool Series!  This week we're looking at the things that trip us up and knock our confidence as...

Dyslexia causes discouragement

Helping the Discouraged Learner

How our kids react to learning plays a huge part in how effective our teaching is. When our kids are discouraged learners, our teaching is ineffective and this is one of the biggest reasons we lack confidence as we homeschool our kids with dyslexia. Yesterday we...

Homeschool with confidence

5 Days to a More Confident Homeschool

Would you like to have a more confident homeschool? When we first started homeschooling 20+ years ago, I had big plans. Yup, my kids were going to be the super kids whose knowledge and educational excellence would set me apart from others. Education had been very...