The Rainbow Resource Center Homeschool Blog

In central Illinois, our local farmers have been busy planting with their tractors and equipment. By May, the fields already have a tinge of green. People are planning their home gardens, too. Around our office you hear talk of trying new vegetables and there are more than a couple seed catalogs in the lunchroom. It seems everyone is “itchin’ to grow” something, and planting season is a perfect time to take advantage of a learning opportunity with your children!

The beginning of May brings many bright colors, new life springing forth, birds chirping merrily, and exuberant Mariachi music! Wait, what!? On the fifth of every May, many Mexicans celebrate the commemoration of the Battle of Puebla. This holiday is conveniently called Cinco de Mayo (5th of May). This unit study explores the culture, history, traditions, language, and more surrounding this festive holiday! Make sure you have plenty of tortillas, a few sombreros, and a good internet connection. As we dive into the historic holiday together, enjoy the many links provided that will take you to videos, activities, and further information.

As a homeschool parent, there are a lot of things clamoring for your attention – the kids, the house, the schooling, outside family, work, friends, pets, church, sports, and… you get the idea! Quite frankly, we start carrying more than we can handle and it affects us. When Mama ain’t happy, nobody's happy! Whenever I find myself becoming a grumpy, tired mom, it’s time to look in the mirror and figure out why. What is sucking the life out of me? It’s then that I sit down with pen and paper, remind myself of my priorities, and reset.

When a student approaches a perceived challenge in a school subject, it can often lead to critical reflection in both our students and in ourselves. In these moments, it's important to identify the “why” behind the challenge and find ways to navigate through it. What is making this task “not fun”? Is it too challenging? Is it not enough of a challenge? What makes certain materials or subjects difficult for our students? Are they resistant because of a knowledge deficiency or is it a mere challenge to their knowledge base? 

I am amazed daily by what we can learn: all the opportunities for learning and discovery available and accessible to us. This is something to intentionally instill in our children: the importance of looking for those opportunities and looking forward to learning new things. Is it just me, or does this desire wane as our students get older? As I get older, I am developing a deeper appreciation for education, specifically my own learning. I know this is something my mother and my teachers wanted for me from the very beginning and all through my years of education. It is what we hope for every student; what we pray over every child. It is also something we can, and must, model for every learner.

How time consuming is this curriculum to teach? What is the time investment for each lesson? Does it require advance planning and preparation time, one-on-one instructional segments, or both? These are all important considerations when it comes to making a curriculum decision. We convey this information in our orange “Teacher Involvement Time” icon and it is also the part of the FAMILY Way acronym that takes YOU into account. YOU are an important part of the success equation!

It seems that kids these days have it easier when it comes to finding information. Just google it, and bam, there’s the answer! They don’t have to drive over to the library and pull large reference volumes off the shelf just to find the answer to a question or do a quick fact-check. Google is a fact of modern life and is almost essential to our lives as adults. But before our kids start googling, which is inevitable, we can teach them to be good searchers of information outside of the internet. This is an important skill to develop, and it usually means searching through physical books first!

You've bought the perfect writing curriculum and even lined up a tutor, but is your student truly equipped to thrive? In homeschooling, success in writing often hinges less on the program itself and more on the personalized environment, tools, and process that make the subject feel approachable and owned. From discovering a student's ideal learning spot to curating fun, interest-driven supplies like favorite-colored pens or themed notebooks, and experimenting with processes like mind maps or free-writing, small tweaks can transform dread into discovery. Join your child in building a space and routine that fits them—you might just nurture the next great storyteller.

Even if you’ve managed to get into a nice schedule after the holidays, the winter months can seem to drag on, and sometimes winter doldrums set in. Kids are longing to go outside but the weather doesn’t allow it. Why not overcome those winter blues by incorporating games into your homeschool routine? Games offer opportunities for hands-on learning, stimulate creativity, and foster critical thinking skills. Here are a few new games we’ve recently added to supplement the four core subjects that might make your homeschool lessons more engaging and memorable. 

February may be the shortest month of the year, but it’s packed with presidential history! It’s the month of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday (February 12, 1809) and the season when many families and schools observe Presidents’ Day. That makes it the perfect time to step into the life of a man whose journey stretched from a dirt-floor cabin…all the way to the White House!