Freshly picked spruce tips season perfectly cooked halibut.

Spruce tips are easy to find here in Alaska when temperatures are just starting to get warmer and the forest is waking up. Their bright fresh flavor is citrusy with a touch of pine that complements fish beautifully in this Spruce Butter Halibut. Ingredients for Spruce Butter Halibut Handful of fresh spruce tips (approximately one…

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Freshly picked spruce tips sit in a bucket.

And lo, the winter is past! Summer in Alaska is just stunning. The weather is perfect. The days are long. Well, non stop daylight actually. And after a two week long springtime that consists of snow melting into boatloads of mud everything is finally GREEN! I am literally drawn outside into the forest by some…

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Raddish is an easy and fun way to teach your children basic cooking skills and augment your homeschool curricula with math and reading activities. So I am dreadfully behind on my reviews, but I am gradually catching up. Raddish sent me a complimentary box to review several weeks ago. Let me first say I love…

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For the first time in months it’s light when I wake in the morning and as we draw close to twelve full hours of daylight I have had some time to reflect on our first Alaskan winter. When we first decided to spend the winter here one of the first things people would say to…

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One of the best parts of living in Alaska is that it’s North America’s version of an African Safari. There’s so much life living in these woods. We’ve seen bald eagles galore, flocks of Bohemian waxwings, snowshoe hare and lots of moose. There are tiny voles and massive grizzly bears. Every day is adventure so…

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As I mentioned when we first decided to go to Alaska, ice fishing is definitely on the must do list for us. It’s all part of our Outdoor Education Unit for our homeschool. Here we are in December and with the sun gone and the winter chill coming, it’s time to bundle up and hit…

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How do I get a diploma for my homeschool high schooler? How do homeschoolers get high school diplomas?

Do Homeschoolers need high school diplomas? As I am now homeschooling a high school senior for the third time I thought I would answer a question many homeschoolers of high schoolers ask: How do I get a high school diploma for my homeschooler and do they even need one? The short answer is no. Homeschoolers,…

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Does Rosetta Stone really work for homeschoolers?

PencilTreks would like to thank Sarah Carroll, owner of Main Line French Tutor, for contributing the following guest post, “Does Rosetta Stone Really Work?” Please visit Main Line French Tutor to learn more. As a French teacher for over 15 years, I’ve been asked countless times what I think of Rosetta Stone language learning software. …

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Denali Park Hotel is a family and pet friendly hotel. It's a great hotel near Denali National Park.

Many people are absolutely shocked at the cost of hotels near Denali National Parks. To be honest hotels near any national park are expensive, but Denali seems to be even more so. Nevertheless, Denali Park Hotel offers clean, comfortable and charming accommodations at a family friendly price. Where is Denali Park Hotel? Located along the…

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