Search Results for: blog homeschool family relationships

Family Game Night: 10 Days in the USA

GAME: 10 Days in the USA MADE BY: Out of the Box AGE RECOMMENDATION: 10 to Adult TIME OF PLAY: 30 minutes PRICE: $27.99 RATING: 4 out of 4 stars What is 10 Days in the USA? Start your engines and another destination in the 10-Days Travel Series… You have 10 Days in the USA – travel the country by jet, car, and on foot. Plan your trip from start to finish using destination and transportation tiles. With a little luck and clever planning, you just might outwit your fellow travelers. The first traveler to make connections for their ten … Continue reading →

Utilizing Extended Family in Your School

Sometimes when we think of homeschooling, we tend to get caught in the rut of thinking we have to do everything ourselves. That’s overwhelming and can make us think there’s no way we can do it, but you know what? That’s not true. We can get outside help. We can go on field trips, we can co-op with other homeschoolers, and we can call on family members to help. My dad spoke Spanish, and before he passed away, I would take my children over to see him so they could ask him their Spanish-related questions. Even though it had been … Continue reading →

Adventure to Inspire – Homeschool Blog Review

Over the last month, I’ve had the chance to talk with ToriAnn Perkey, homeschooling mom who runs the blog Adventure to Inspire. As we’ve chatted, we’ve investigated her reasons for choosing homeschool for her family, and today I’d like to talk about the blog itself. I was first introduced to the blog by her husband, Josh. I’m usually a little leery when someone says, “Hey, my wife blogs. Check it out.” But I’ve known and respected Josh for a long time, so I headed on over. What I found was an awesome resource. There are articles sharing thoughts and ideas, … Continue reading →

If I Didn’t Homeschool My Kids

If I had a dollar for every time someone said, “If you didn’t homeschool your kids, you would have more time for”… They always finish that sentence with something that serves them, or something that they thought was more worthwhile. I quit my Tae Kwon Do training when the instructor outright told me to put my kids back in school so I could spend more time volunteering at the center. I have stopped speaking to “friends” who told me homeschooling came in between our relationships. I have had to tell relatives that they their comments were selfish. Sometimes, even I … Continue reading →

Reasons Dad should Do the Homeschooling

It is rare to find a father in charge of homeschooling the children. In many homeschooling families, the dad’s role is that of principal and occasional tutor in one or two subjects. Meanwhile, mom takes on the bulk of the homeschooling job. Here are some circumstances when the roles should be reversed. The father is more passionate about homeschooling: I am familiar with a case where the father decided that the child should be homeschooling. He did all of the research. He decided what curriculum should be used. Then he proceeded to tell the mom that she needed to do … Continue reading →

Reasons I am Glad We Homeschool: Year Round School

I was surprised to hear on the news that a handful of local schools are doing year round schooling. The children have classes for 45 days (6 weeks) weeks and then 15 days off. It might surprise you that I am not at all in favor of year round schooling since I homeschool and my family can be found teaching and learning year round. The problem I have with year round school is that it controls the life of the families that goes to the school. It is already abundantly clear that teachers and schools frown upon any missed school … Continue reading →

Homeschooling Week in Review June 9, 2007 – June 15, 2007

Last week on the families.com homeschooling blog, I continued the glossary of books homeschooling parents should read. Stay tuned, there is more to come. In addition, I answered a great deal of questions from people curious about homeschooling. Here is the Families.com homeschooling blog week in review June 1, 2007 – June 8, 2007 09 Jun 2007 Homeschool Glossary (Books Parents Should Read) B-C by Andrea Hermitt New homeschooling parents should learn as much about homeschooling as possible by reading many different sources. Here continues my Homeschool Glossary of books parents should read. 11 Jun 2007 Homeschooling Week in Review … Continue reading →

Homeschool Family Relationships

I received some email questions this weekend from a student who is researching homeschooling. This student had some very good and informed questions, and so I thought I would present some of his questions here, with my answers. The first questions involve my decision to homeschool. Another question asked about criticism and support. This question is about the family relationship. Personal communication: how close are you to your children, and how close are your children to you? I feel that my children and I are extremely close. We are at least a lot closer than I ever imagined we would … Continue reading →

Homeschool Curriculum Glossary (McRuffy-Morningstar)

McRuffy Press Kindergarten Phonics & Reading is a reading curriculum that includes a teacher’s manual, two workbooks with 175 activities, 10 “first step readers, twenty McRuffy Readers, coloring book/readers and flash cards. This full reading curriculum includes spelling and handwriting. MECS (Montessori Educational Software) Makes educational software and learning materials for Montessori based learning. Titles include reading, astronomy, geography, math, science, and more. Mega-Words “series offers a systematic, multisensory approach to learning the longer words encountered from fourth grade on.” This series helps students to decipher and understand long words. Midwest Christian Academy is a distance-learning program for homeschoolers. Services … Continue reading →

A Day in the Life of a Highly Regulated Relaxed Homeschooler

It was Andrea’s great suggestion that we compare our days side by side. Like she said, many people want to know what a “typical day” looks like. Like Andrea’s family, we would also consider ourselves “relaxed”. However, our state mandates that starting in first grade kids spend 6 hours per day in school for 180 days. They ask that you complete 80% of your IHIP (which is basically a big long list of what you‘re going to teach for the year). Anything that we do to deviate, warrants at the very least an explanation on my quarterlies, if not an … Continue reading →