Little Engine! This Train Chalk Pastel Art Tutorial is a MUCH-requested one from one of my youngest students. He is a real fan of The Little Engine that Could originally by author Watty Piper. Train Chalk Pastel Art Tutorial You will need the following pastel colors: blue (of course!), yellow, black, brown, green, gray and […]
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100 Helpful Homeschool Habits
Helpful homeschool habits. Over the years with babies, toddlers, stacks of school books, hungry mouths and now towering teens, these are the basic routes I’ve discovered for seeing results. (And honestly, for keeping my sanity in that daily does of chaos with five children!) Over 100 helpful homeschool habits. All of our best habits in […]
How to Do Art in 5-10 Minutes
Q: How do you fit in art? How can you do art in 5-10 minutes? When, oh when, is a good time to do art with children of all ages and stages? (These are questions I get often.) A: The answer is super simple. We have found – after much practice in our home – […]
Elementary Homeschool Curriculum Choices
Many a time I have found myself pausing and being thankful that the younger two that make up our elementary homeschool are so close in age. Almost exactly two years apart with the same birthday month. They are buddies and they cheer each other on in their learning. Older sister coaches reading. Younger brother waits […]
Preschool and Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum Choices
In years past, I have always shared details of our preschool and kindergarten curriculum choices here at Hodgepodge. Now that we’ve had much practice with children in preschool, elementary, middle and high school all at once, I felt it was time to make a permanent spot for all our favorite homeschool curricula. One place that […]
Dandelion Chalk Pastel Art Tutorial
One of the icons of warm weather is the dandelion. Have you ever studied the detail of this beautiful creation? Oh there are so many ways you could paint it! This dandelion chalk pastel art tutorial is inspired by a photo I took last spring. I was looking down as I walked and there was […]
Homeschool Curriculum Choices at Hodgepodge
Here is a permanent spot for our homeschool curriculum choices at Hodgepodge. I wanted it to be easy for you to find our favorites and easy for me to share when I get a curriculum question (because we have such an age range and I share many reviews at The Curriculum Choice). I’ve spent some […]
Cupcake Acrylic Paint Tutorial
This lesson is narrated by Middle Girl. Both Nana and Middle Girl took the photos for this cupcake acrylic paint tutorial. Cupcake Acrylic Paint Tutorial This is a little different from our usual chalk pastels! Last weekend Nana surprised my younger sister and I with an acrylic paint lesson! She spent a little time explaining […]
ENO Hammock Chalk Pastel Art Tutorial
Any time the weather starts to turn a bit warm and breezy, we long to spend some time outdoors. Often that means time in the ENO, gazing up at the trees and the blue sky. So, we thought it would be fun to follow up our outdoor time with a favorite ENO hammock chalk pastel […]
Lightning Bug Chalk Pastel Art Tutorial
We have been oohing and aahing over the lightning bugs that light up the yard. We call them lightning bugs here in the south. You may call them fireflies. Either way they are simply gorgeous! When the lightning bugs start to come out at dusk we know that summer has truly arrived. We decided this […]
A Recipe for Teaching Multiple Ages
Welcome to 10 Days of Lasagna Learning! I’m so glad you are here. As homeschool mothers, parents, we can all learn from and help each other. I hope that some part of this series will bless you – whether you are balancing the needs of an age range or just starting your homeschool journey. So […]
The Ultimate Guide to Chalk Pastel Art
We are just a bit passionate about chalk pastel art around here. Chalk pastel art is fun. It is easy. It is successful. It is frugal. It is for all ages. There are simply so many things you can do with chalk pastels. And we are still learning about them, so I am sure I […]
Unique Senior Homeschool Year
We now have a third homeschool graduate! If ever I have been thankful for homeschooling, it is especially this year. Homeschooling has allowed us to tailor learning in a very specific way for our third child. In just one year, we have changed a senior year like we have no other. This unique senior homeschool […]












