I think the year you study geology and environmental science, you should spend time outside looking at the subject of your studies, so we did. I did not keep a daily journal, because I had […]
This blog will have musings about writing, homeschooling, secular science, and of course our travels!
Category: A Handcrafted Education
Handcrafting High School: Year 2, Month 1: The Service Project
I’m going to depart a bit and tell you about what we learned. I think it is the best way for you to get a feel for the profound benefits of exposing young people to this […]
Handcrafting High School: Year 2: Month 1 (Post 1 of 3 – On the Way to the Service Project)
The first month of tenth grade might have been the best month we ever spent homeschooling. You might be thinking, “Well, Yeah! You were traveling and hanging out. How could that not be great?” 🙂 […]
Handcrafting High School: Year 1, Month 9 through the Year’s End
We school year round with lots of breaks. That doesn’t matter to a planner like me though. Every year I have a start date and an end date. The year-end date for this year was […]
The Homeschool History Project: Handcrafting High School: Year 2: American Government
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana I interpret this quote to mean that through studying history people are less likely to repeat past mistakes. I think this is an important reason […]
Handcrafting 10th grade: The Plan for 2015/2016
Eclectic? Absolutely! Academic? Of Course! Innovative? You Know It! It’s Organic, Too! (I am a chemist, after all! ;-)) History: American government & politics with writing History and the upcoming election will be the main focus […]
Handcrafting High School: Year 1, Month 8
What a crazy month April was. We moved for the third time since the summer of 2012, and we aren’t in the military. First we moved from the mountains to San Diego where there is […]
Time to Focus: Week 2 through 4, Fourth Grade Writing
A Handcrafted Education: It’s Innovative, It’s Eclectic, It’s Academic, It’s Homeschooling The next three weeks Sean worked on narrowing the focus of his writing. I like to call writing with a […]
It’s Innovative, It’s Eclectic, It’s Academic, It’s Homeschooling: What We Did for Writing in 4th Grade, the First Week
In fourth grade we did something particularly eclectic and innovative for writing. This will not be for everyone, and when we did it I felt as if I was taking Sean’s hand and jumping into […]
The Benefit of Homeschooling, It’s Innovative, It’s Eclectic, It’s Organic, It’s Academic
By Blair Lee, A Voice from the Middle There is a revolution going on right now in education. It’s called homeschooling. I am part of a fringe group in this revolution. You don’t hear a […]
Handcrafting High School: Year 1, Month 7
Some months a handcrafted education looks like a carefully detailed pattern has been followed as if I bought something from Butterwick, cut it out carefully, pinned everything meticulously, and sewed all the pieces exactly to […]
Handcrafting High School: Year 1, Month 6
Oh my goodness! What a busy month February was for both Sean and me. There were times this month when I felt like I barely had time to breathe. I actually realized TWICE! that I […]
Handcrafting High School: Year 1, Month 5
If you have read my previous handcrafting high school posts, it might sound to you like I have it all together. I admit I am proud of how we’re doing. But I have been working […]
Homeschooling High School
Once again I have the written text for my answers. I have learned that I have to write my responses down before participating in a talk. That is because I am not a linear thinker. […]
Handcrafting High School: Year 1, The First Four Months: Crew
P.E.: Once There Were Vikings, and that Is the Last Time Any of Sean’s Relatives Rowed! Rowing, or crew as I am just beginning to call it, has been the surprise favorite this year. My […]
Handcrafting High School: Year 1, The First Four Months: Language Arts
Language Arts: How We Came to Be Homeschoolers My son Sean was an early reader; I was an early reader; my father was an early reader; my paternal grandfather was an early reader. We all […]
Handcrafting High School: Year 1, The First Four Months: History
History: A Repeat of a Favorite Class and Volunteering The Course: A Brief History of Humankind: This is a Coursera course, https://class.coursera.org/humankind-002, that repeats regularly. It is the best history course I have ever taken. The instructor, […]
Handcrafting High School: Year 1, The First Four Months: Science
Science: A Parent’s Passion I LOVE science‼ My son likes science. This is the main area of handcrafting Sean’s education that has focused on the passions of someone in his family besides him. (My […]
Handcrafting High School: Year 1, The First Four Months: Computer Science
Computer Science: A Student’s Passion I have been very thoughtful handcrafting this academic area. I will go through the process of how I did it, so you can see what I mean when I […]
Handcrafting High School: Year 1, The First Four Months: Math
Math: How a Weakness Became a Strength The Textbook: Harold Jacobs Elementary Algebra: This text is well thought out and thorough. It is the best high school algebra text I looked at, especially if you […]
Handcrafting High School: Introduction – Year 1, September, October, November, December
Year 1, September, October, November, December I am the homeschooling mom of a recently turned 15 year-old. I have been handcrafting his education for 9 years. The thing about handcrafting is […]
A Handcrafted Education: The High School Years
Oh No! The dreaded “H” word (and I don’t mean handcrafted)! If there is one thing that causes homeschooling parents to panic it is the thought of homeschooling through high school. What if we get […]
Lunar Ramblings
Once again I woke my family up in the middle of the night. Sean does a better job of waking up than Jim and the only dog that wakes up well is Sean’s pug Jezabel. […]
A Handcrafted Education, a Brief Video Interview
Of course I was early to my talk at HSC. I am always early for those sorts of things. I was curious about what was going on in other rooms around me. I began talking […]
A Handcrafted Education
I love coffee. My favorite coffee drink right now is a salted caramel soy white chocolate latte extra salt with just a little whipped cream to hold the salt. My favorite coffee drink has changed […]
