Vanstone Academy

Vanstone Academy ✨Just a mom who does not want to co-parent with the government ✨

God is good, learning can be done from anywhere, and learning can be fun! Feel the same way?

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09/09/2026

Fun homeschool group playdate 🤸 before our online Outschool math class this afternoon 🧮

I decided to outsource math this year 😅, largely due to the fact that I think Joey will have a more willing attitude towards math, if he isn’t alone in having to get it done. Might help him feel like he’s part of a team solving equations, instead of being dragged through lessons because “mom said you had to” 😆

Plus it’s only once a week, so I think that helps make it not as tedious. That’s not to say we only do math one day a week 🙄, we obviously do some sort of math daily.

But it sure isn’t stuck sitting at a desk doing worksheets 😉.

Having class once a week still offers structure, a sense of community, and shared goals. Plus, the freedom to spend the rest of your week doing math naturally in day to day life - or just working on the class material at your own leisure through the week.

Which is reason #62648 why I love homeschooling 🩵

A lot of people think because we homeschool (and don’t need alarm clocks 😉) that we all sleep in til noon every day 🙄🤣. ...
08/12/2026

A lot of people think because we homeschool (and don’t need alarm clocks 😉) that we all sleep in til noon every day 🙄🤣.

But that’s not the case at all. Just because we don’t have to be out the door at a certain time, doesn’t mean we aren’t early risers. Even without an alarm clock, I was up at 5:45 and Joey was up about an hour later. He was outside getting sunshine and doing pool chores before 8am, *after* he had a slow, hearty breakfast.

Do we let our kids stay up all night and sleep all day? No. But we also don’t get too hung up on “bedtimes” or when we wake either. Go to bed when the day is done and you’re tired. Wake with the sun when your body has gotten its fill of rest and repair. 🌙 ☀️

Another cool thing about homeschooling is that if I *wanted* to enforce a uniform policy of “90s bands only”…… I could 🤣...
08/04/2026

Another cool thing about homeschooling is that if I *wanted* to enforce a uniform policy of “90s bands only”…… I could 🤣

Unintentional matching 90s shirts with my son, I will take as a parenting win 🏆

First day of 5th grade! I guess if you do something two years in a row, it’s tradition! First day of school Cracker Barr...
08/04/2026

First day of 5th grade! I guess if you do something two years in a row, it’s tradition! First day of school Cracker Barrel breakfast, last year vs this year 🫶🏼

While the restaurant in the photo is the same, so much is different.

One photo was taken in Kentucky. The other here in Savannah GA.

One photo had two boys in a new state, far from everything and everyone they knew. The other photo has two brothers that get to see their friends and family more often, back in their home state.

One photo was taken by a mom who was in survival mode, not taking care of herself, and depressed. The other photo taken by a mom who is down three sizes, practicing self care, and is happy.

What a difference a year can make 🤍

This year we are focusing on being self sufficient, financially literate, and closer to God. We are also dedicating time to understanding our freedoms - and why they’re worth protecting by any means necessary. 🇺🇸

Friendly reminder that you can pull your kids out of the system anytime you want, at any point in the school year. They are YOUR kids 😉.

God bless!

Super late post, but that’s the reality of living life! Our last day of school was May 22, and we’ve been busy shopping,...
05/28/2026

Super late post, but that’s the reality of living life! Our last day of school was May 22, and we’ve been busy shopping, sleeping, swimming, hanging with family, and watching movies!!

This year was full of so much learning - for both Joey and I. There was a lot we will carry with us to next year, and some things we will leave behind that didn’t work for us. That’s what I love about homeschooling - my children aren’t getting a one size fits all education. We are able to take deep dives into interests. Take the time to master a concept, instead of just memorize and regurgitate because you “need” to get through the whole text book “on time”. We skip things that are unimportant. Bring light to truths in history not taught in school. Do bible study. Be outside as much as we want. Learn forgotten skills to be independent, instead of having to ask permission to use the bathroom. I am so incredibly proud of Joey and everything he’s accomplished this year. I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing the incredible growth in not just his intellect, but his family bonds, his work ethic, his patience, his confidence, and his faith.

Learning doesn’t stop just because we’ve clocked 180 “instruction days”. Over the summer we will still read, do Bible study, go outside and explore nature, interact with people in our community, and learn new skills. Almost like that’s the whole point 🩵.

Field trip to Oatland Island Wildlife Center on this beautiful Monday 🌴We saw gators, cougars, tons of birds, sweeping m...
05/18/2026

Field trip to Oatland Island Wildlife Center on this beautiful Monday 🌴

We saw gators, cougars, tons of birds, sweeping marshland, and lots of beautiful foliage and wildlife. We learned a lot about all the different animals, and Katie even let Joey feed the cows while they chatted 🐄

We finished our outing in Savannah by having lunch at the The Pirate's House and learning all the cool history about how it was an inn for sailors, a tavern for pirates, and is supposedly the oldest building in the state of GA! We also learned some history of the Chatham artillery, and learned about what different parts of the tavern were used for over the years. What a great outing with my boys exploring our coastal community, living life, and learning along the way 🌴☀️🍑

I’m still working on the prizes… help me think of some good ones! Living near the beach and having so much to do makes i...
05/12/2026

I’m still working on the prizes… help me think of some good ones! Living near the beach and having so much to do makes it overwhelming to come up with things - which I realize is a good problem to have!😆

The first photo is a bookmark I designed (that I’ll laminate) so I can use a hole punch to tally the books that Joey reads this summer. Those translate to points, which can get prizes. Kind of like the accelerated reading points we did as kids. He will have to fill in a simple one page book summary in his summer log for each book he reads, I ain’t just taking his word for it that he’s racking up mad points 👀🤣

Happy to share the Canva files with anyone who would like to make their own bookmarks and prize sheets for their kids this summer 📚☀️🌴

Science in the sunshine, and language arts with brother 🩵🧪☀️📚We’ve finally gotten some rain after a dry spell (and wildf...
05/11/2026

Science in the sunshine, and language arts with brother 🩵🧪☀️📚

We’ve finally gotten some rain after a dry spell (and wildfires!!🔥) in coastal GA, so we are soaking up the sun before more rain comes later today.

One more week, and then we’re done for summer! I’m looking forward to planning for next year to give us meaningful time off, more field trips, more group experiences, and more immersive learning with all the homeschooling and historical resources available around us in coastal GA 🌴🍑

Happy Monday y’all!

Joey’s selected reading from our unit on Ancient Greece 🇬🇷 was “Our Little Spartan Cousin” by Julia Darrow Cowles. He re...
04/21/2026

Joey’s selected reading from our unit on Ancient Greece 🇬🇷 was “Our Little Spartan Cousin” by Julia Darrow Cowles. He read all of it in just a few days!

Since he finished his unit book before his 30 minute minimum was up, I told him he can pick anything from our home library to read. He chose to read American history 🇺🇸🥹

Not even five minutes after he sat down with his history books and lunch, his timer went off 😅. He said “I know my timer went off, but can I keep reading?”

YES SIR! 👏🏼📚📖

We’ve loved using Tuttle Twins for both educational and leisure reading. And they must be doing something right, since my ten year old *chooses* to read their history books over all the other amazing literature we have. Not that he doesn’t like those other works - he just loves learning about America 🇺🇸

Started our last unit - on ancient Greece! - from EmbracingHomeschool today! 🇬🇷 But first we had breakfast at Cracker Ba...
04/13/2026

Started our last unit - on ancient Greece! - from EmbracingHomeschool today! 🇬🇷

But first we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel 🤩, and played outside digging in the dirt for a bit 🤣

Today we made his Greece journal, did Bible study, and finished his history lesson. After that, we took a break to play outside and then filled in his first journal page with what he learned 📖

After lunch, we finished language arts and reading and then it was back to playing outside! He will do a quick math lesson and solfa tonight after dinner. First day back from spring break (and moving!) has been smooth sailing⛵️

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