Search Results for: blog speech and debate in homeschool

Speech and Debate in Homeschool?

I was bopping around the Internet this afternoon and stumbled across a site where the concern was raised that homeschool children aren’t introduced to the concept of speech and debate. Um, hello? Would this dude like to take on my twelve-year-old, or even my six-year-old? Kids come with a natural ability to debate. This is why parenting is so hard sometimes. And as far as speech-making goes, lemme tell ya … my kids could talk any professional debater into a corner and make them cry. But the question did raise a good point, which is that there are some aspects … Continue reading →

Homeschool groups and resources in Kansas L-Z

Involvement with other homeschoolers is very important to a family’s success in homeschooling. Joining a homeschool network or support group in your area will make a difference in your homeschooling journey. You can find homeschooling groups as well as many homeschooling classes, and programs that your students can enjoy. In this series, we are covering homeschool groups and resources across the country. This installment will cover Kansas homeschool groups and resources L-Z LaZers This is a Competitive Homeschool Athletic program in the Kansas City, MO metropolitan area. They have boys soccer, girls soccer, boys baseball, girls volleyball, girls basketball and … Continue reading →

Reasons I am glad we homeschool: Presidential Address

You might think I am glad we homeschool so my kids won’t have to see the upcoming Presidential address to students next week that will be fed to school all over the country. In actuality, I will record it so we can watch it later. What I am glad about is that fact that we don’t have have to participate in the debate or deal with the hysteria surrounding a simple stay in school speech. Here is an excerpt from what is planned. “At noon on Tuesday, September 8th the President will be welcoming America’s students back to school – … Continue reading →

Middle School Homeschool Basics: Language Arts

In middle school, Language Arts tends to be repetitive in order to help a student gradually improve his or her skills. The basic subject matter that a middle school student must know before beginning high school is as follows. Reading: A student needs to be able to read silently and with fluency, skim a story for information, and read independently. They must have critical reading skills, as well as literal, inferential, and evaluative reading skills. Literature: Students must be familiar with numerous types of literature such as mythology, poetry (lyric, narrative, and dramatic), novels, short stories, plays, myths, legends, and … Continue reading →

Homeschool Lessons from Real Life: Elections

In my last article on teaching homeschool lessons from real life, I discussed using our current economic recession to teach children about the Great Depression and subsequent recessions. Another timely lesson for homeschooling would be elections. With American being in the midst of one of the most active election periods in US History, it only makes good sense to talk about the electoral process and history of elections with your children. Here are some resources you can use. Education-world.com has a great series of government-sponsored sites that teach children about voting, democracy, inauguration, and the overall election process. The Federal … Continue reading →

Voting for Homeschooling in the Presidential Elections

I am reluctantly writing this to address some questions recently posed to me about homeschooling and various candidates’ positions. My disclaimer is that I haven’t read every single piece of paper, every speech, nor have I reviewed every voting record out there. Which candidate do you think is most against homeschooling? Hillary Clinton, hands down is most opposed to homeschooling. She supports school choice, universal preschool and a slew of other legislation that could stand in direct opposition to homeschooling. On a side note, I have actually met her, and she feels strongly that homeschoolers should have more oversight at … Continue reading →

Kids Teaching Kids

Little kids love to emulate their older siblings. It’s just a fact of nature that when a little person sees a big person do something, they want to do it too. They pick up on mannerisms and vocabulary words from their older siblings, they learn how to perform certain basic skills by watching and observing, and this natural tendency to copy-cat can come in handy in your homeschool. When two-year-old Timmy sees eight-year-old Jimmy reading, he’ll want to do it too. He’ll want to write his name, he’ll want to learn to count, and as he gets older, Jimmy will … Continue reading →

Typical High School Course of Study: Language Arts Part 1

Four years of language arts classes are required to complete high school. There really is not much variety in the language arts choices, as you need to show that you took 9th grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, and 12th grade language arts to show you have earned a “diploma”. Of course, classes can be taken at a general or advanced level, and also at community college or AP levels as well. Ninth grade Language arts are composed primarily of grammar skills and poetry, and every day skills. Everyday skills a student should have are proofreading, reading the newspaper, analyzing propaganda, … Continue reading →

Teaching Auditory Learners

As stated in a previous article, there are three major types of student learners. It is the duty of the teacher to plan and prepare for all three types. Teachers have much to consider when planning a lesson. At times it can be difficult to find the time or energy to address every learning type in every lesson that you plan. However, there are simple things that you can do to help reach and meet the needs of all of the learners in your class. As we discussed earlier, auditory learners learn best by listening to others and communicating with … Continue reading →