Discerning Blog

You are already my best my advertising!  I'd like to return the love!We all chat about what's working and what's not and I am so grateful that you're telling your friends about Discern To Learn.  The BIG NEWS  ...

Do you know those beginner guides that need a tutorial? THIS is not one of those!Let's start from the very beginning... Open a new document! In your google drive (log in with your Gmail address!), Click this button!Click the Document button, and a b...

Easy Peasy Lemon SqueezyGoogle Drives For the Win!A wonderful student, who shall remain unnamed, showed me this great tool this week! (You know who you are - and Thank You!) Here is the super beginner's tutorial on how to do works cited and in-text c...

I wish I had known, don't you? All those things you know now - if you had known them before?I wish I'd known then whatt I know now."I didn't learn grammar in school, and I succeeded in University; now I teach writing!"I homesch...

Well... I cannot say how you should grade an essay, but I can tell you how I do it! Each teachers has their own way and their own standards. I pride myself on being more than a teacher; I am a mentor, and that makes it a bit different.When I was in h...

Writing. It seems like an open and closed thing to just write something down, but it is not. Writing is like baking - It is a multi-step process that takes skills each step of the way.Students often do not understand. They think there's something wr...

Welcome to the club! We all have learning gaps and your student will too! Did that surprise you? Before you get panicky, know that all students, whether they are in homeschool, public school, or elite private school have gaps. The important thing is...

Why Do I Use Sharon Watson's Curricula? I'm Glad You Asked!First, let me tell you that I am Not an affiliate of hers and I receive no benefit from the sale of her texts. She has, however, given me permission to use her texts, and supplies me with t...

Commas - sigh - there is so much stress surrounding such a little thing!Almost every time I ask a new group of students, "how do you know where to put a comma?" They will answer, "commas go where you pause to breathe."This is a very good thing to rem...

What is a Mentor Anyway?"We all know what a teacher is and what a tutor is... but why do you call yourself a mentor?"I never was good at fitting in a tidy little box and still find myself struggling against being trapped in someone else'...

Marking so Students LearnThat IS the point right? Like many of us, I went to public school. I wanted A's - I wanted to succeed, but somewhere along the line I missed the point. I strove for grades - not excellence. If I could do well with mi...