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How The Economy Has Changed Homeschooling

When I started writing about homeschooling in 2006, my main motivation for writing about homeschooling was to defend the right to homeschool. Homeschooling was something that normal people just did not do. It was for the overly religious, and antisocial. Or so people thought. These days, just 4 years later, there is a lot less defending going on. Everyone we meet knows someone who homeschools and most now see it in a favorable light. These days, my motivation for writing about homeschooling is to keep new homeschoolers encouraged and informed. There is a lot of work to do too. It … Continue reading →

Has Homeschooling Become too Accessible

Diane Dachyshyn, a twenty year homeschool veteran writes” In the early days of this movement, parents wanted to know why and how to homeschool before they would commit. I can’t remember anyone who casually agreed to do it. No way! She ads, Today, homeschooling is almost commonplace. It seems that everyone knows someone who homeschools, and unfortunately, it also seems as if all of us know someone who has homeschooled poorly. The jist of the article is that homeschooling should probably be more exclusive as too many parents are jumping into it blindly and hoping for the best. It goes … Continue reading →

Ideas for keeping homeschooling fun: Study Groups

One of the things that we love about homeschooling is the fact that we can learn on an individual basis, and at an individual speed. However, sometimes all of the alone, on-your-own time can get a bit boring. A good way to remedy that problem is to pick a key subject or two where you can form a study group with other homeschoolers. Not only will this make homeschooling more fun, but in some cases, kids will learn more if they can bounce ideas off each other. I don’t recommend using study groups for core curriculum classes as it can … Continue reading →

Homeschooling is just a matter of time

This morning I read the story of a young homeschooler named Julia Nepper who is working on two Associates degrees at 14. Prodigy or not (she doesn’t like that word), her capabilities clearly outpaced the traditional school schedule. Neither the junior high school nor the high school that she went to for one semester each would promote her due to ability so she continued homeschooling and landed in college at 11 years old. “The atmosphere was too much of babysitting people’s problems,” her father said. “Here, it’s quiet, the institution is excellent and the students are focused.” While my kids … Continue reading →

Homeschooling Glossary (Books Parents Should Read) H pt1

As I mentioned in the introduction, 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. Home School Heroes: The Struggle & Triumph of Home Schooling in America by Christopher Klicka (Paperback – Aug 14, 2006) Many homeschoolers celebrate the freedom to homeschool without really understanding how hard other homeschoolers fought to gain that freedom. After reading Home School Heroes, you and your family will appreciate just how important it is to remain active in promoting homeschool freedoms. Cristopher Klicka, of the HSLDA, wrote … Continue reading →

Speed Homeschooling

At the end of every school year as graduation announcements are made, there are more and more reports of homeschoolers finishing high school and even college in record time. As homeschoolers are used to learning at their own, and often accelerated speeds, speed homeschooling (especially in high school) is becoming the norm. I first heard about this kind of warp speed homeschooling when we first began our homeschooling journey. I have to admit the prospects of my children finishing their studies in just a few years excited me. It was not long before I realized that I was placing unrealistic … Continue reading →

Why Some Parents are Unschooling Their Kids

Unschooling is a form of homeschooling that involves less structure and more child-centered learning. Parents who are unhappy with the way that learning is presented at schools have been turning to the unschooling movement as their solution for what their child’s education should be like. Unschooling has some similarities with homeschooling. In both cases, a child stays home and receives his or her education there (instead of in a classroom at a school). Each educational style allows parents to be very involved in what their child is taught. Parents can set the speed that information is presented in order to … Continue reading →

What Are You Modeling?

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Yesterday I wrote a little about raising a moral child. The more I think about it the more aware I become that although we all want to raise our children to be incredible human beings, there are so many things we do every day that undermine that. Some of the things I’ve seen and heard, and yes, I am guilty of some of these myself, that go directly against what we want our children to learn, and who we want them to be. “Well, your teacher is dumb to give you homework on a holiday weekend.” “Your father only thinks … Continue reading →

Go Pond Dipping This Spring!

Ah – it’s going to be spring soon, I can feel it! This year, use a small pond to learn about aquatic insects, and use pond invertebrates to learn about the health of a backyard pond. Whether you have a pond in your garden or you like to visit one in a local park, here are some tips that will help you explore this coming spring. Dancing dragonflies and speedy beetles – are they a reason to squeal in horror, or are they an important part of the pond ecosystem? Well, some might dislike them, but aquatic invertebrates are hugely … Continue reading →

Fun Item: Brick Stix

My children love Legos. I love Legos. Who doesn’t love Legos? Legos are fun, allows the child to be in control and spark the imagination. I have used Legos for school lessons multiple times. One of my favorite ways to use Legos is for narration or story telling. Legos can be anything in the hands of a child. My Lego loving house was certainly introduced to a creative new product which brings playing with Legos to a new level of play. BrickStix. BrickStix is one of those products that have all the right moves and none of the wrong ones. … Continue reading →