By Rachel Hoeing & Kristen Bagwell

Ready or not, school days are here! Did you have a child start high school this year? Did you send your first child off to kindergarten? Are you nervous about a child in Middle School? Are you homeschooling for the first time? Will your child start preschool next week? Does your child have a learning disability? Are you worried about homework or bullying?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, TMoM has a blog that will give you advice, resources, or some hope! We have an entire category on this website dedicated to Education.  (Look along the top of the website and you will see all the categories.) You can click on the word, or on the red schoolhouse on our homepage to see all of our sub-cats in the Education category.  Scroll through your respective sub-cat at any time to find blogs that are helpful to you! In addition, I have listed some of our favorite blogs from the past below. Read More

by Cara McLauchlan, author of Joy Goggles
As the big school machine cranks up another year, most moms are walking around with a secret smile on their face. With the kids back in school, they now have a bit of time reclaimed to do whatever moms with kids in school do. As a homeschooling mom, this time of year marks the time when I feel most insecure about educating my son at home. Read More

By Guest Blogger Ellen Dockham


When people find out I homeschool my two kids, ages 9 and 12, I get a variety of reactions, many of which can be summed up in the comment, “I could NEVER do that.” Occasionally, though, someone will say they admire homeschooling and would like to know how I reached that decision. Read More

by Cara McLauchlan, local writer and author of Joy Goggles

Lately I have been channeling my inner scientist.

Somehow I thought signing up for the North Carolina Science Olympiad was a good idea. I thought, "Hey, we'll launch rockets, we'll learn new things, it will be awesome." And it is. I'm just learning that I'm really not a very good rocket scientist. Read More

by guest blogger Becky Spence, author of www.thisreadingmomma.com

 Becky is a teacher-turned-stay-at-home mama (SAHM) of three little blessings. She is very passionate about literacy and loves to share the things they do at home as well as things she does as a reading tutor with other teachers and parents. I hope today's post gives you some great ideas.  ... Rachel Hoeing

It’s writing time!  You set your darling down at the kitchen table to write while you prepare dinner.  Then it begins.  “Mom!  How do you spell…?”   Do you ever feel tied down…like you must sit and spell every unknown word to your young speller?   I know sometimes I do.  Here are a few spelling strategies and resources this reading mama has used with young spellers to help them spell more independently.   Read More

by guest blogger Cara McLauchlan

Recently my husband and I were enjoying a sporting event on TV. We couldn’t help but notice most of the fans were not watching, but were looking down at their phones the entire time. Part of me was completely annoyed, but part of me understands.

There is something wonderful about connection. I find e-mail is the first thing I want to do in the morning and the last thing I want to do at night. I know it’s ridiculous. That got me thinking about what God would have to say about e-mail. What would He say in Facebook updates? “Just healed someone. Prevented natural disaster. Whew! LOL” Read More

by Cara McLauchlan

Teaching my son manners has made me a mom vigilante.

Like a sniper stakeout, I am constantly surveying the landscape and pouncing on any opportunity to remind and practice manners. I sit at the dinner table and wait, ready with the "where does your napkin go?" or the classic "what do you do with your dish?" and the kicker "did you ask to be excused?"

Obnoxious, I know. But how else do the kids learn the stuff but in the heat of the moment? I've decided that with enough practice, it will come natural. But it hasn't yet. Maybe it's me or maybe I'm doing it wrong. Read More

by guest blogger Cara McLauchlan

“What are you doing this summer?” is one of my favorite questions to ask.

I love living vicariously through other people’s cool plans of trips to the beach, mountain visits, fun excursions and neat-o camps. The best answer I have heard comes from a fellow homeschooling buddy who said “I’m having a Thomas Jefferson style summer.” Read More

by Cara McLauchlan

School is almost over and it's making me a little weepy.

Sad not for the reasons you might think though. I get nostalgic this time of year because the truth is real: my child is growing up. In my head, I start to count how many summers left until college and then it's Kleenex city. Read More

by Cara McLauchlan

Cara McLauchlan is a mom and a writer, and is a featured blogger on Carolina Parent magazine's website. Her blog, Joy Goggles, is dedicated to seeing the ordinary with fresh eyes and unique perspectives. Enjoy!

Homeschoolers are weird. They are the people who make meals out of dryer lint, wear clothes from hemp seed and study the sonar tracking of bats. Or so I thought. Until I became one of them. Read More

By Rachel Hoeing

This is the time of year when students are finally settled into their school routine.  It is also the time where parents have conferences and may find out some problems their child may be facing at school.  Learning difficulties and comprehension issues seem to surface around this time of year.  Many students from Elementary School all the way up to High School can benefit from one-on-one teaching from a tutor.  Bad news is that sometimes private tutors are difficult to find.  Read More

By Guest Blogger, Rachel Hoeing


Over the past few years, I have found the computer to be a wonderful tool in helping my children learn and develop many new skills. It is amazing how quickly they “catch on” to games. Many websites are so kid friendly, that once you log on and get your child started, even the youngest child can navigate through the website alone and play numerous games on their own. Read More