Featured image for blog post on Our Family History, Studying the Past to Help Children Understand Their Place in It. Photographs are of grandparents with their young children looking through an album and doing projects outside

Our Family History: Studying the Past to Help Children Understand Their Place in It

2 Comments / Grandparents /

I’ve been thinking about the past lately. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older. Or because I dove into Eva Marie Everson’s Miss Beth Bettencourt, about a young lady in a 1960’s Georgia town. Or perhaps it’s because we’ve just experienced the birth of a precious grandchild and excitedly await another in just 3 months! All […]

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Meaningful Baby Shower Ideas That Build Your Family Legacy

6 Comments / Inspiration /

If I could leave anything for a precious newborn through a meaningful baby shower, what would it be? What experiences or material possessions of real value do I have to offer the next generation? As a third daughter (of four children) in a family of creatives, I watched my mother beautifully host gatherings, decorate rooms,

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Featured image with blog post title: Animal Studies: How Our Kindergartners Looked Differently at Animals accompanied with images of children birdwatching, holding a sketch of a ladybug, and talking about books

Animal Studies: How Our Kindergartners Looked Differently At Animals

Leave a Comment / Kindergarten Science /

Animal Studies are some of the most powerful things our kindergartners did. But, in our inquiry-based classroom, studying animals looked differently than many other places. Animal Observations Learning to look at animals became one of our greatest joys in kindergarten and where we spent much time. We interacted with animal studies in authentic ways: Collecting

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Featured image of blog post title, "Kindergartners Learn to Research: Snow and Ice" alongside picture of a collaborative project kindergartners made together

Kindergartners Learn to Research: Snow and Ice Projects

4 Comments / Expert Projects, Inquiry /

South Carolinians don’t really know much about snow and ice I bet you’ve seen some funny memes with bare bread shelves, water cases being shoved into carts, and empty milk freezers. They’re sort of… true. We love the idea of experiencing a snow day. When I was teaching though, snow days hardly ever occurred! Honestly,

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Christmas Around the World: Our Life-Long, family study of customs and traditions

16 Comments / Inspiration /

From my earliest years, I remember “Christmas Around the World” prominently in my childhood. Our family began decorating in the fall. While most moms browsed magazines, my mother studied Christmas books. Daddy even enrolled her in a special club, The World Book Collection’s “Christmas Around the World” series. “You’ve Got Mail!” The encyclopedic volumes stacked

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On Real Learning—From Our Older Students to Our Youngest

6 Comments / Real Learning /

Haven’t we all heard stories of high schoolers who don’t read whole books or write papers on their own? As I watch our five-year-old grandson launch into kindergarten, I consider what real learning looks like these days. What about all of our children’s schooling, abilities to work with others, and future jobs? What will their

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How a Writers Conference Leads to Real-Life Author Studies

2 Comments / Writers /

Conferences are like going to summer camp all over again. Heading up to Ridgecrest, North Carolina, for the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference filled my calendar at the end of May. I excitedly chose classes, received critiques on pieces, and scheduled appointments with industry professionals. But just as important were the worship services, the

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Beginning again: thoughts from a kindergarten teacher – cheering her students on

6 Comments / Inspiration /

“My first students are turning 50!” I squealed. “What?” My husband calculated my age and starting kindergartners’ age of 5.      I interrupted his figuring. “Remember, my first job was a class of 2nd and 3rd graders in a private school? And one of them was 10.” Whoa… that thought brings the memories crashing!

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Featured image showcasing the title "Dear Tucker: Exploring the Top Five Letter-writing Activities to Impact Lives." Image is of a beaming child playing in a field with an inset of a child writing a letter.

Dear Tucker: Exploring The Top 5 Letter-Writing Activities that Impact Lives

6 Comments / Inspiration /

Dear Tucker, How can you possibly be turning five? For this birthday, I’ll be praying five special things for you. Wish #1: I wish for you beautiful places that stir your heart—that field of grass you run through, those dunes of sand, that bumpy boat ride. And I believe one day, you’ll fall in love

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