I grew up as a year around resident in Lakeside, Ohio. It is one of the few existing Chautauqua in the United States and the unique setting definetly shaped who I am today.  Reflections of experiencing Lakeside, both as a summer and winter resident in my childhood and as a returning vacationer, has filled many journals.

At our house the "Oh-my-goodness-it's-summer" turns into boredom in about 48 hours. Without a schedule and some resemblance of a routine, my children quickly resort to game systems to fill their days.

I'm a collector of words.  My favorite Pinterest board is full of words and sayings. When I go on vacation, I gather brochures, postcards, maps, and words about the places we're visiting.  Usually these go in my suitcase with the best intentions of being transformed into something more creative once I get home.

Homeschool parents today have a spectrum of choices when it comes to language arts curriculum.  Rainbow Resource, the super center of all homeschool supply companies, offer 515 full curriculums, and over 700 individual items to help with grammar/usage/mechanics.  Overwhelming!  Instead of offering a review of specific products or endorsing one company over another, I want to offer a few tips regarding languages arts in general: