Welcome to our Hodgepodge. We’re glad you’re here!
Hodgepodge is a Mixture
We hope you will discover you ARE an artist with our mix of art lessons, helpful homeschool habits for multiple ages, reviews, a healthy mama journey, educational travel, simple recipes, allergy-friendly adaptations and more. It’s a Hodgepodge!
Steve and Tricia Hodges have homeschooled for sixteen years now. They have five children ranging in age from elementary to high school. Tricia’s mother, Lucia Hames (a.k.a Nana), began teaching the children the joy of art with chalk pastels back in February of 2010 – on an afternoon she was snowed in at their house. Inches of snow were piled up outside. But inside, they created puffy clouds, an ocean view and a path to that beach…Since then they have been sharing those times with you online in tutorial form. And now with a full curriculum line of art books.
You ARE An Artist!
Nana says, “Children are innately artists by themselves, and if given the opportunity and the delight of wielding a paintbrush, a child will create a masterpiece all their own. There are NO rules but one: Praise, praise, praise!” She loves to remind each and every one of us that You ARE an Artist! Tricia and Nana are truly passionate about helping you get over the art guilt, get started in small steps and grow a love of art in your home! If you are not sure where to get started, be sure to subscribe to receive our free gift to you – Getting Started in Chalk Pastel Art. This ebook is full of all our very best tips and encouragement.
Free ebook for Hodgepodge subscribers
The Art of Homeschooling
Here at Hodgepodge, we teach an age range of five children from elementary up to high school. We’ve had 17 years of preschoolers! For a long time I’ve called it Layers and Levels of Learning. That one-room schoolhouse type of learning. But Lasagna Learning describes it much more accurately. It’s a simple recipe, really, going something like this: Place a layer of learning in the pot (like my favorite slow cooker), add another layer, season with sauce, add another layer. Keep alternating layers until it is appetizing. Cook well, seasoned with spices. It’s irresistible! Fill your plate of learning high! Little ones learning from older ones. Middle ones keeping things lively, always asking questions. Settle in and browse Homeschooling at Hodgepodge.
Free ebook for Hodgepodge subscribers
For You!
Be sure to subscribe to Hodgepodge for free subscriber-only art tutorials. Don’t miss our listing of 100+ free art tutorials in chalk pastels and acrylics – including video lessons. When you subscribe, you will receive your free ebook, Getting Started in Chalk Pastels (which includes a 15% discount code for your first purchase!) plus our Homeschooling in Georgia ebook.
Keep in Touch
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Steve and Tricia are co-owners of The Curriculum Choice, a site offering reviews of homeschool curriculum and products. The review team is made up of homeschool veterans sharing reviews of the curricula they love and use in their own homes. Curriculum Decisions Made Simple.
Follow Curriculum Choice: Pinterest, Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.
These sites are rolled together under Southern Hodgepodge.
So, we hope you feel welcome and find what you might need. Please, settle in and make yourself at home.
Tricia faces a daily dose of chaos homeschooling five children. The biggest lesson she’s learned? At the end of the day – when the dishes are put away and the children are tucked in bed – truly what matters is each child’s relationship with the Lord. Raising children is a God-given privilege and, folks, the time is short.
Steve keeps busy with five children and a job in information security. He also has a second job as principal of the Hodgepodge homeschool.
Our Nana and her family have always been artistic folks. Her given name is Lucia, and she was awarded a wonderful art scholarship from the Rockefeller Foundation in her sophomore year in college. But, love intervened, and she married, had babies and left the scholarship behind. For years she and one of her sisters painted murals in schools and for the children’s ward in our local hospital. She started pastel lessons 2 years ago, finally finding what she calls “her art.” She is on a mission to show the home school communities and individuals just how satisfying, cost effective and easy pastel painting is to accomplish.
I want you to know the love that set me free, I don't worship a concept, I follow a King!
The eldest Hodgepodge boy has an intense curiosity about nature. He writes about his discoveries in My Backyard.
I'm the middle child of the Hodgepodge and the author of the Middle Moments blog.
Littlest Girl of the Hodgepodge loves books, nature and all things about sharks.
Habits for a Happy Home Contributors
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