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Jen Merckling

life.unimaginable

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Homeschool Kindergarten Reading Curriculum

The Best Curriculum for Kindergarten

Kindergarten…so full of possibilities!  For many it’s the beginning of their “official,” journey into the world of homeschooling!  If that’s you–welcome!!  Along with all the excitement of starting something so monumental, comes a lot of pressure!  You are homeschooling because you feel it’s the best choice for your child and your family…You want to do…

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Filed Under: Curriculum, Early Learning, Elementary, Homeschooling, Math, Most Shared, Reading Tagged With: Affiliate, apologia science, favorite curriculum, Homeschool, Homeschool Curriculum, How to Homeschool, Kindergarten, Ready for Reading, Saxon Math, Saxon Phonics K

After 14 years of homeschooling--I've tried a lot of curriculums! Discover my top 12 favorite homeschool curriculums--the ones I keep coming back to year after year!

Top 12 Favorite Homeschool Curriculums

After 17 years of homeschooling–I’ve tried a lot of curriculums!  Homeschoolers have so many great curriculum choices available…Which is awesome, BUT–it can be totally overwhelming!  Don’t let the multitude of homeschool curriculums scare you into analysis paralysis!  Here’s the thing–there is no one perfect curriculum!  We all have different needs and preferences.  However, I do…

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Filed Under: Curriculum, Early Learning, Elementary, History, Homeschooling, Math, Middle School, Most Shared, Reading Tagged With: Affiliate, All About Reading, All About Spelling, apologia science, curriculum, elementary school, favorite curriculum, Homeschool, homeschooling, How to Homeschool, IEW, Institute for Excellence in Writing, middle school, Ready for Reading, Saxon Math, Sonlight, tapestry of grace, Teaching Textbooks, The Good and the Beautiful

12 Favorite Christmas Books for Kids (and kids at heart)

I love everything about Christmas. All the traditions…all the food…all the music…movies, decorations, lights, parties…All. Of. It.  And of course–all the books! Like the smell of Christmas trees or sugar cookies, Christmas books have an amazing way of whisking us back to childhood–the vivid pictures and words bring it all rushing back. And of course…

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Filed Under: Family, Holidays, Homeschooling Tagged With: Advent, Affiliate, Christmas, Favorite Books

It’s Okay–Give Your Homeschool Permission to These 5 Things

Whew…We just made it through our first few weeks of the new homeschool year. Even after 16 years–the transition from summer to school still exhausts me.  So in case you’re feeling a little overwhelmed (and wondering what you’ve gotten yourself into), I want to send you a hug and let you know that it’s okay…The…

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Filed Under: Encouragement, Homeschooling Tagged With: Affiliate, Back to Homeschool, Homeschool Encouragement, How to Homeschool

2nd Grade Homeschool Curriculum–What We Loved

Sometimes I get really excited about my homeschool curriculum picks and just have to share them–even before we use them…This year I decided to write my curriculum picks reflectively… (And I procrastinated.) But now you can see what worked and what ended up being tweaked a bit as the year progressed! That’s the beauty of…

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Filed Under: Curriculum, Elementary, Homeschooling Tagged With: Affiliate, Curriculum Review, Encouragement, Homeschool 2nd grade, Homeschool Curriculum

children homeschooling

6 Things No One Tells You About Homeschooling…

I’m getting ready to officially start my 17th year of homeschooling!  I can hardly believe it. I have a senior, a 3rd grader, and twins in kindergarten…The senior is my first child to officially graduate from our homeschool (my oldest two kids graduated from public high school). Homeschooling has truly become our lifestyle…But I still remember…

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Filed Under: Encouragement, Homeschooling Tagged With: Affiliate, Encouragement, Homeschool, How to Homeschool

4 Books that Will Make You Rethink Homeschooling, Unschooling, & How You Parent

As a former public school teacher, gold-star sticker student, and general rule-follower…I never really considered unschooling.  I don’t like the word. And quite frankly–I thought it sounded like a bunch of crazy talk. Who are these wild moms? I can only be so countercultural! Homeschooling is my max-limit—thank-you-very-much. To me unschooling sounded too much like…

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Filed Under: Encouragement, Homeschooling Tagged With: Affiliate, Books, Encouragement, Homeschool Resources, How to Homeschool

20 Lessons After 20 Years of Motherhood

This year I’ll be celebrating my 21st Mother’s Day as a mom…My oldest child is 20 years old–I became a mother at age 22. I’ve almost spent more of my life as a mom than not. But no matter how long you’ve been a mom, entering motherhood is a defining moment.  A bridge, that once…

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Filed Under: Family, Lifestyle Tagged With: Affiliate, Faith, Motherhood

Is Saxon Math Right for Your Homeschool?

I’ve been using Saxon Math for almost as long as I’ve been homeschooling…(16 years).  It’s my staple, no-brainer curriculum choice year after year. For whatever reason–talk of math curriculum brings out some really strong emotions among the homeschool crowd. We’re fierce about our math! Perhaps because math is such a foundational subject or perhaps because…

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Filed Under: Curriculum, Homeschooling, Math Tagged With: Affiliate, curriculum, Curriculum Review, math, Saxon Math

2020 Homeschool Mom Conference

It’s that time of year…Homeschool Conference Season!  This year, many in-person conferences have been delayed or rescheduled for later in the summer (we hope). I’ve been involved with the online Homeschool Mom Conference since it started in 2018…It’s the original online homeschool conference! But because the concept is still relatively new–you might be wondering exactly how…

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Filed Under: Homeschooling Tagged With: 2020 Homeschool Mom Conference, Affiliate

How to Start Homeschooling: The Ultimate Guide

I have been homeschooling 16 years…It’s not something I ever imagined doing–but now I can’t imagine my life without it. If you’re at the beginning of the journey, I just want to come along beside you and give you a huge hug.  You can do this!   (Currently, some of you find yourselves schooling-at-home temporarily because…

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Filed Under: Curriculum, Early Learning, Elementary, Encouragement, High School, Homeschooling, Middle School Tagged With: Affiliate, curriculum, Getting Started, How to Homeschool

Letter A : Crafts & Activities

Let the games begin! My 5 year-old twins are just beginning to learn how to read!  They’re on step one: Learning the letters and corresponding sounds. We’re using my phonics curriculum: Ready for Reading (I created it especially for them and other homeschool families after years of teaching my other 4 children to read and…

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Filed Under: Early Learning, Homeschooling, Reading Tagged With: Affiliate, Apples, Crafts, Kindergarten, Letter A, Preschool, Ready for Reading

6 Reading Strategies for New or Struggling Readers

Training wheels…Sometimes I feel like teaching children to read is much like teaching them to ride a bike.  Some kids are super confident–“Take these training wheels off; let me go!” (These are the amazing early readers that apparently all the other moms have…If only kids reading too much was your biggest problem!) And then there…

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Filed Under: Early Learning, Elementary, Homeschooling, Reading Tagged With: Affiliate, First Grade, Kindergarten, Learning to Read, Preschool, Reading, Reading Strategies, Second Grade, Sight Words, Struggling Readers, Third Grade

How to Clean Your House Fast

So the hard truth about house cleaning–it never ends.  But if you can build good habits and routines–it will “practically,” clean itself…And I know this sounds a little too Mary Poppins-ish to be comforting (now  “A Spoonful of Sugar” is stuck in my head).  But it’s really true… And what’s also true…habits and routines can take…

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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: Affiliate, Crisis Cleaning, FlyLady, House Cleaning, Housekeeping, Housework

Don't miss these 10 BEST Tips to Successfully Homeschool High School! Give your teen the life skills they need to succeed & achieve their dreams! #homeschool #highschool #howtohomeschool #tips #homeschoolhighschool

10 Best Tips to Successfully Homeschool High School

Today it’s a pleasure to have Miranda Lamb, The Reluctant Cowgirl, on the blog…After homeschooling through high school, she’s sharing her 10 Best Tips to Successfully Homeschool High School! Welcome, Miranda!  Homeschooling through high school was never part of my plan. But I made the mistake of going to a homeschool graduation. As I sat in…

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Filed Under: Encouragement, High School, Homeschooling Tagged With: Affiliate, High School, Homeschool, Homeschooling High School, Teens, the homescholar

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Hello! Welcome--I'm Jen! I've got 6 kiddos, twins, toddlers, teens--lots of laundry and always dirty dishes! I've been Jason's wife for 20 years, a mommy for 18 years, and a homeschooler for 14 years...I'd love to be friends. ♡

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I’ve never been so mesmerized by rocks!! 😍 T I’ve never been so mesmerized by rocks!! 😍

The Grand Canyon literally took my breath  away!😂😬 Jason & I hiked  down from the South Rim (Bright Angel Trail) to the bottom, camped 2 nights, & hiked out the South Kaibab Trail (4,800 ft elevation gain from camp)...If you know me—you know this was WAY out of my comfort zone!😅

My husband is the best trainer because I actually felt so good! 🥳🏆(He’s been getting me ready since September...ie...6 am hikes, sub-zero temps, & repeating the same one hill we could find elevation on in Kansas!!) And we’re still training for a rim-to-rim hike in June! 🏜 

I really could not decide which pictures to share...none of them do this amazing place any justice...🏕

❤️Here the rocks truly cry out the Glory of our Lord!❤️
❤️Love of Learning, Leadership, Creativity, Cr ❤️Love of Learning, Leadership, Creativity, Critical Thinking… 
Just some attributes at the heart of why many of us homeschool! 

We’re digging deep into all that this coming week over at the Life Skills Leadership Summit! I’d love for you to join us!! {Grab your free pass in my bio!}🎉 

I’ll be talking about growing independent learners through all the seasons of homeschooling...💐☀️⛈🍁❄️ 

And the longer I homeschool (17 years now)--the more I am convinced that our kids create & experience meaningful learning through play! 🦄🤖🤴🦸‍♀️

❤️My 6 year old twins created this barn (and a set of paper dolls & horses)--complete with apples in a barrel, hay for the horses, and tiny carrots...I did nothing but provide the materials and the TIME to play!

It may not be Instagram or Pinterest “pretty”—but they were so engrossed and immersed in the process!!

 What project is taking over your dining room table?🐴🎨😉
Slow, cozy mornings...Just one thing I love about Slow, cozy mornings...Just one thing I love about homeschooling! The twins set out their toys to enjoy the fire & then disappeared...Now it’s very quiet—maybe too quiet... #whataretheyupto
Happy New Year!!🤩 Time to take down this tree Happy New Year!!🤩

Time to take down this tree & make some changes in 2021!🥳

{GIVEAWAY—Closed!! Winners have been notified —Congratulations to Sarah & Amy!}🎉❤️

But you still have time to join me for the Make Over Your Life Summit!🥰

We're covering all the things...in 8 individual tracks or grab the All-Access Pass:

❤️Marriage 
❤️Spiritual Life 
❤️Schedules 
❤️Home 
❤️Motherhood
❤️Homeschool 
❤️Health 
❤️Finances
Starts Monday--but Early Bird Registration (and best price) is NOW!
{Link in My Bio!!}
This sweet little book is meant to be read with ou This sweet little book is meant to be read with our little ones! They love joining in & “reading” the pictures! ❤️ 
It’s part of The Story of Christmas product in my shop—which also includes a game, narration, & coloring pages. 
 
Link in my bio!!❤️
All dressed up & nowhere to go!😂 #2020life All dressed up & nowhere to go!😂 #2020life

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