Articles by Ruth Tennis
Hi! My name is Ruth Tennis.
For me, home educating was a way to encourage my children to look for and glorify God in what He has created through subjects like science, language, and art. We might find ourselves stopping “school” to examine a newly found toad, enjoying lunch with a good read aloud, or drawing while listening to different types of music. God builds into each of us a curiosity. It is that inquisitiveness and excitement that is important in teaching children. You can teach a child innumerable facts, but if you can get them excited about learning, and most of all, reach their hearts for God - there's the joy!
Living in the country provided unique learning experiences in my homeschool. We raised chickens, gardened, and learned how to chop and split firewood. My sons apprenticed with a local luthier as part of woodshop class we created, while my daughter learned to sew from a talented friend. We took opportunities to participate in area ballet, fencing, and art classes, and in homeschool co-ops, speech, debate, and science lab classes. We intentionally spent time learning about other cultures, their languages, and their contributions to society. As adults now, my kids are working in multimedia, engineering, and healthcare and live in the Midwest and East Coast.
“Science of Reading” (SOR) is now required by 30 state education departments. If you're new to the term and want to learn more, it’s a set of requirements rooted in systematic phonics. In this article, we’ll discuss the key elements!
I’m seeing llamas everywhere. Have you been seeing them too? They are on sweaters, t-shirts, and coffee mugs. There are stuffed animals, toys, and even llama emojis and GIFs. What is all the llama fuss (or should I say fuzz?) about? Let’s take some time to study all things llama-mazing!
