Meet Me!

I would love to speak at your local homeschool convention! I try to provide helpful, concrete information in an upbeat way.  My job is to re...

Can you feel the spring in the air? I can!  And, if you've been around homeschooling long enough, you know that can only mean one thing.... It's ...

 OCEAN Conference Top Notch Encouragement The OCEAN Conference in Oregon was SUCH an encouragement to me! I loved getting together with like-minded parents, trying their best to homeschool through high school with confidence.  A homeschool conference is an important part of your homeschool year too. Even if you can’t attend one, do something to refresh and encourage yourself during the off-season, so you can start fresh next year. The first day our winner was Allison, a...

Washington State Convention Super Fun! The Washington Homeschool Convention was SUPER fun!  Did you go to a homeschool convention this year? Homeschool conferences are a great investment in your continuing education as a homeschool parent, and I really do encourage you to go to a conference each year. At the Washington Homeschool Organization Convention, I had the opportunity to meet one of my Gold Care Club members in person! It was awesome to meet Rene! Our...

I was a featured expert at Homeschool.com. Would you like to hear my interview? This might be encouraging for you today! Homeschooling Through High School – You Can Do It! - Lee Binz Homeschool.com's Extravaganza of ExpertsHomeschool.com - The #1 Homeschooling Community  The more you find out about homeschooling high school, the less scary it sounds, and the less intimidating it becomes. Listen to this podcast on Homeschool.com and be encouraged today!

With any curriculum, it's the FIT with the child that is the most important consideration. No matter how wonderful a curriculum might be, it has to be interesting and engaging, so the child can learn.  I have to say, this new curriculum was a great fit for me and my husband, and we learned a lot from it. I was thrilled to be able to look over Diana Waring's new addition to history, called "History Revealed,...

People have been asking me for an update on my kids.  My boys are all grown up - they are men now and not boys anymore.  I could give you an update, but really, I want to give you more of a warning. Children grow up. They leave home. They stop leaving messes. The other day my kids came over.  I needed an excuse to make cookies, but I also made them dinner and we all watched a movie together....

This is me when I need to write more blog posts. Haha! OK, not really, I don't actually cry like a baby.  But yup, I sometimes complain and whine when faced with work. Now it's your turn.  Have you even thought unhappy thoughts when you had to cook dinner? Again. Every. Night. Over. And. Over. Or have you ever felt inconsolable when faced with paying bills? That never ending, constant, and recurring torment. So is it...

Join me for fun and games, laughter and friendship, giveaways and prizes! The HomeScholar Online Christmas Party is going to be SO much fun! It will be just like a regular Christmas party, only it will be completely online. We will have a holiday recipe exchange, play party games, share white elephant gifts, and you’ll even get party favors! While we are together, you can ask me anything about homeschooling high school while we are chatting...

  What are you plans for Thanksgiving Dinner? I'm going to my daughter-in-law's home, and both sides of the family are getting together to share the job of cooking. It’s going to be a great time, relaxing with family.  To make the day more enjoyable, we all planned ahead and discussed what we would bring.  I know I needed to started cooking early on Thanksgiving day. Think about all you are making.  Appetizers or chips and...

It’s always great when someone says something nice about you, isn’t it?!  I was thrilled when Homeschool.com recently named The HomeScholar  website as one of their  Top 100 Educational Websites for 2013 !  What an honor!  I even get to use their Top 100 Seal on my blog!     Homeschool.com is having a February Freebie event, and I have contributed some prizes and giveaways.  Why don't you check it out?  Freebie February Deals Every year, Homeschool.com asks their...

There are certain words I hate.  They don't seem to be important for homeschooling.  Although I know it can be useful for some people, many of these words have their roots in public schools. rubric literary analysis umbrella organization accountability benchmark credential inclusive norm or normative socialization alternative education accreditation parent-partnership certified approved In fact, to me some words just scream "Certified teacher!  Lookout!"  Some things are useful - even important - with public school children...

Help!  I need some opinions on a book title!  I'm just about done with my next book.  This one is about college application, admission, and scholarships.  It's going to include information about curriculum, testing, finding colleges, elite university admission, check lists for junior and senior year, merit and need based scholarships, letters of recommendation, application essays, competitions, interviews.  Tons of college admission stuff.  Very different from  my last book about homeschool records . We decided we...

I hesitated to start because I didn't want to be over-protective.  My younger son is anaphylactic to peanuts.  He is one of those children you read about that could die if exposed to the smallest, microscopic speck of peanut. I didn’t want to over-protect my children, and it was very difficult to balance protecting him from a life-threatening allergy and over-protecting him so he didn’t know how to care for his own life-long condition. I hesitated...

Labor day is a great time to try some of these recipes I found on Pinterest! On the 4th of July, I made the  Flag Cake !  To continue with the Americana theme I also made  white chocolate filled raspberries  and  red, white and blue strawberries .  Of course I had to make brownies too, who doesn't love a good brownie? It was so fun!   For labor day, I'm thinking about a watermelon theme. This...