May 6, 2013 Posted by Crystal Bowden

2013 – 2014 Curriculum Plan (So far)

Next year will be Haden’s second grade year! All my researching seems to be paying off because I’m feeling pretty solid about the choices I’ve narrowed down to so far, and I only have a couple things I still need to make a decision on. So, here is the list that I promised! Math We will continue doing mostly Living Math, and will be using a variety of resources throughout the year.... read more

Apr 24, 2013 Posted by Crystal Bowden

Oh, the Curriculum!

And the purchasing has begun!!! Our next school year  has been on my mind for the past month or so. I’ve been making lists, researching, crossing things off, researching some more, and adding things on… I’ve got a pretty good list going, which I will probably post in the nearish future, even though it is subject to change.  Now I get to spend my night perusing all these new... read more

Apr 22, 2013 Posted by Crystal Bowden

Every Day is Earth Day

Today, on Earth Day, we (with the help of friends) helped SAVE the Earth! It was really quite impressive. We ventured out to Sweetwater Creek State Park to give a little TLC. The voices of outrage at the amount of trash in the water could be heard from afar. We really needed a boat and a net with a long pole to tackle the places that need it most. Our butterfly net was not up to the task.... read more

Mar 28, 2013 Posted by Crystal Bowden

Do You Strew?

One thing I love about being a homeschooling parent is that there always seems to be a never-ending stream of homeschooling styles, concepts or ideas that you have yet to explore – and I am always on the lookout for new ideas. So, recently I stumbled across a term that is closely associated with unschooling – strewing. I was like… What. Is. That? It was kinda a DUH moment for me... read more

Mar 19, 2013 Posted by Crystal Bowden

From Clay to Bricks

For once, all the Georgia Red Clay that plagues my backyard can be considered a good thing. Today, as part of our Earth unit using Elemental Science, we made some bricks. Mixing water and grass clippings into our clay hole. We used a cut up orange juice carton for our brick mold. Finished bricks! I’m hoping they will be dry by tomorrow afternoon, so we can play with them. They are currently in... read more

Mar 4, 2013 Posted by Crystal Bowden

2012-2013 Curriculum 2.0

Since my original post on our curriculum for the year (back in September), I have made a good number of changes, so I figured it was about time for an updated version! Here it is… Language Arts We left behind Time4Learning for various reasons – mostly math related issues. Now we are using How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, and Haden’s progress since starting has... read more

Feb 27, 2013 Posted by Crystal Bowden

A Little Push

It has been far too long since my last post. Honestly, I don’t know what my deal is, because I can’t really say I’ve been too busy to find the time to write. Maybe it has become like exercising. Since I’ve lost my momentum it has become hard to get back into it? Who knows. Maybe giving myself a little push, I can find my way back… Since I am here and writing I feel... read more

Jan 20, 2013 Posted by Crystal Bowden

Border Crossings Educational Event

Last semester during my Sociology course, the topic of immigration in the United States came up. In an attempt to learn more about the barriers immigrants face, I ended up having some great conversations on Facebook with my friends, and connecting with a friend that is very passionate about immigration reform, and volunteers much of her time to helping detained immigrants and their families. In order... read more

Jan 9, 2013 Posted by Crystal Bowden

2013!!! Here’s to getting it right!

I’m running a little behind on getting this post out. As usual, although I intended to be a blog writing machine during my break from school that hasn’t really panned out in reality. Oh, well. 2012 was a really good year for us. SO I really want more of that. I wrote these goals out over the summer in preparation for the new school year, but since I haven’t really given them... read more

Jan 2, 2013 Posted by Crystal Bowden

Year 2012: A Round-up on the Blog

Another year has gone by, and while I didn’t blog nearly as much as I hoped, I still managed to write a WHOPPING 93 posts in 2012. Yeah, I was surprised by that number too. I thought it would be fun to look at some of the highlights from the year. My NUMBER 1 most visited blog from this year was…..!!!! Stand Strong and Loud: My contribution to Blog for International Women’s Day that was... read more