Author: Gina @ Oaxacaborn

Gina Munsey is a Mexico-born, Eastern Europe-raised missionary kid who ended up being a Californian by way of Florida outside of Nashville, Tennessee. She lives her days full of coffee and adventures while her 12-year-old learns Mandarin Chinese and Greek, her 3-year-old uses all the markers, and her artist-husband creates worlds from pixels and light. A blogger since the turn of the century (ouch!) she's an editor, co-op teacher, and writer who has only completed four chapters of her languishing manuscript. You can find Gina right here at oaxacaborn.com, or in the middle of [home]school surrounded by stacks and stacks of books.
Homeschooling

Homeschooling a Gifted Child: A Podcast Interview

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

Homeschooling a Gifted Child: A Podcast Interview with Gina Munsey and Colleen Kessler on Pam Barnhill's Homeschool Snapshots Podcast

If you’re homeschooling an academically gifted child, you probably have had moments when you feel like you don’t quite fit in to the homeschooling community. When the convention speakers are assuring you it’s okay if you don’t finish subjects this school year, and all the other homeschool moms are nodding in assent and camaraderie and applauding, you just quietly sit there.

When your friends all connect over subjects which always get skipped week after week, you are hoping no one asks you  — wishing your child could let you get away with skipping school — because your child is on her second science curriculum book, and it’s only November.

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Homeschooling

50+ Reformation Songs for Kids (including an entire Reformation musical!)

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

50+ Reformation Songs for Kids (including an entire Reformation musical!) No-Prep Reformation Lessons

No-Prep Ways to Study the Reformation for Kids

Looking for last-minute, no-prep Reformation lessons to celebration the 500th anniversary? Me, too! I’m so thankful for these fun kids’ songs which make Reformation theology and history so accessible to children. Best of all, there’s no preparation required!

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Homeschooling, How To, Uncategorized

Where to Buy Used Homeschool Curriculum

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

Where to Buy and Sell Used Homeschool Curriculum

Wondering where to buy inexpensive homeschool curriculum? Trying to figure out the best places to shop online for used homeschool books? Here’s the ultimate resource: a list of my favorite places to buy — and sell! — used curriculum and books. Let’s start with the websites.

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Homeschooling, How To

How to Study Art History with Kids: FREE Printable

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

How to Study Art History with Kids: FREE Printable from the Oaxacaborn blog

Figuring out how to study art with kids doesn’t have to be complicated. This free, no-strings-attached printable provides art history discussion prompts you can use with any piece of art you encounter in your homeschool studies.

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Curriculum Reviews, Homeschooling, How To

Gifted Classical-Leaning Homeschool Curriculum Choices (2nd Grade)

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

Our favorite educational resources and homeschool curriculum for homeschooling a neurologically gifted child, blending a literature-based approach and classical education with an emphasis on science.Gifted Classical-Leaning Second Grade Curriculum 2017-2018 by Gina @ Oaxacaborn

I’ll just get it out in the open right away: my daughter eats curriculum for breakfast.  She’s gifted, and I mean that as a neurological identifier to explain why we have such a crazy life, not as a bragging right. Since the age of two, she’s been on a mission to flatten forests. (Don’t fret. Trees, lumber, paper, and all the various related accouterments, are a renewable resource.)

Here’s the thing. If I had held rigidly to the no formal education before age seven doctrine, I’d probably already be in a padded room.

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Poetry & Words, Theology

What We Lost When Blogging Became a Business

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

Before page-views were king, before influencers was common jargon, before the time of 5 Reasons my Words are Important Enough for you to Click, I might have opened a tab and written —

you’re impossible to me now
in a sea of lost Novembers.
the periwinkle fog has settled
over Paz, and the velvet chair.

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Book Reviews, Homeschooling, How To

A Guide to Jean Fritz Books

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

Jean Fritz’ living history books are a terrific way to incorporate a narrative, storytelling approach into to your homeschool history lessons.  You probably know about her popular U.S. history books, but did you know she was a missionary kid who also wrote books about her time in China?

A few weeks ago, I went through my entire Jean Fritz collection — over half of the books she’s ever written — and put together a guide for the iHomeschool Network blog called How to Choose the Perfect Jean Fritz History Book.  In this topical guide, I list the themes, geographical area, time in history, and suggested reading level for each book, so you can grab the title which best matches where you are right now in your history studies. You’ll see your favorites there, of course, but you just might discover some unknown gems as well, like books about Chinese history, a picture book with saturated 1950s art, and a number of longer novels for the middle grades.

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