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  Background I took piano lessons off and on from age six into my early twenties. And my late spouse taught guitar full-time for decades in the town we lived. He was also a regularly gigging musician. In summer, he taught “rock school” — week-long camps, in which he’d group young musicians and they’d learn how to “be a band” and perform, which is all very different from September-June lessons. When a student didn’t practice (barring some weeks that are just too crazy/illness/regular-life-stuff), he’d discuss with a parent. When a student forgot to show up with their music books (ah!...

“I’ve never met a teenage boy who works as hard as your son.” I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard these words from others when referring to my second born. Dedicated. Loyal. Steadfast. He invites the unpopular kid. Looks people in the eye and speaks with respect whether the other person is 2 or 102. Puts down his project to help someone else with theirs. Loves eating Italian food, listening to podcasts about military heroes, and exercising. If you need a sheepdog to keep a watchful eye, work hard, and care for those in need of protection, he’s...

So as homeschooling South Africans I am always looking for great Afrikaans resources to read with my kids. I am sharing this collection of fun books that we have been reading for school this year. Massive thank you to Lapa-Uitgewers and Penguin Random Kids South Africa for gifting us these books for review purposes. Fun Learning My Hart is Oppi Plaas deur Wendy Maartens illustrasies deur Linki Brand This is essentially a colouring book of the very best learning variety. Each double page spread has a farm-animal idiom and then a whole lot of facts boxes about the farm animal...

A book review of Braided Learning: Illuminating Indigenous Presence through Art and Story by Susan D. Dion Stars: **** Purich Publishing (2022)Indigenous Studies260 pages Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Summary: A guide to learning and teaching about Indigenous histories and perspectives in Canada.The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Indigenous activism have made many Canadians uncomfortably aware of how little they know about First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples. In Braided Learning, Susan Dion shares her approach to learning and teaching about Indigenous histories and perspectives. Using the power of stories and artwork, Dion offers respectful ways to address challenging topics including...

by Jessica Frierson, August 2022 Many of us in the homeschool world are transitioning back into school mode from either a summer break or, for year-round schoolers, a mini-break. Our family falls into the latter camp. We took July off intending to use the time to reorganize our school room (or rather, where our school books and other materials are primarily stored) and to begin lesson plans for the new books we will be starting. Now, we are at the end of August, and I have not made much progress on either front. Sometimes it can be tough getting back...