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Homeschool Word of the Day: Strewing

Strewing means scattering, or dispersing haphazardly. In homeschooling, to strew is to leave education books, materials, and games lying about in the child’s path. Strewing is a word used by unschoolers. While unschoolers allow their children to follow their own paths, many do manage to direct the kids a bit with strategic placement of learning materials. Sandra Dodd, who coined the term, explains this practice well on her website. She explains, “Some of our most successful items have been toys or objects for playing with (sometimes not purely a toy) like pattern blocks, castle blocks, magnets (or some new magnet … Continue reading →

Homeschool Word of the Day: Flexibility

To be flexible adaptable, bendable, versatile, and yeilding. In homeschooling, flexibility is being able to loosen yourself from the confines of what is traditionally school and doing things to your own lifestyle and schedule. So often, new homeschoolers find themselves confined to doing things in the same way that they would have if they were in a school. In addition, most homeschoolers, old and new alike still hold a schedule that exactly mirrors that of a public school. In doing it they impose a certain rigidity upon their schedule and often suck the fun out of their own lives. It … Continue reading →

Vocabulary Word of the Day: Accountability

The Washington D.C. Superintendent wants homeschoolers to be more accountable to school officials. Until now, homeschool parents were free from restrictions when it came to homeschooling their kids. Unfortunately, however, a tragic incident where a mother, Banita Jacks, claimed to be homeschooling her kids, and they ended up dying, put school administrators in the D.C. area up in arms. New regulations would require homeschoolers to let school representatives into the home and give them the authority to order kids back into the schools if they are unsatisfied with a child’s education. These laws would rival those of states that are … Continue reading →

Vocabulary Word of the Day: Anarchy

Onenewsnow.com just reported that an amicus brief in the argument to outlaw homeschooling in California has labeled homeschooling as educational anarchy. The result, of course is the ire lawyers working on the case and of many in he homeschooling community. Lawyer Brad Dacus states that the argument ‘discounts reality” and argues that the anarchy is in fact in the public schools. I would like to stop for a moment and discuss the word anarchy. Anarchy is “a state of lawlessness and disorder, usually resulting from a failure in government.” (wordnet.princeton.com) Anarchy is further described as a situation in which human … Continue reading →

Vocabulary Word of the Day: Integrated

As I work on this series on typical course of study for homeschoolers, an important word of the day comes to mind. That word is “integrated”. Generally, the word integrated refers to racial issues such as in the integration of pubic school. “integrated” also means “formed or united into a whole”. (rhymezone.com) When I refer to the word integrated in the context of homeschooling, what I am referring to is the fact that sometimes it is hard to separate education from normal everyday living. For example, as I detail all of the lessons that a fourth grader is expected to … Continue reading →

Vocabulary Word of the Day: Militant

Militant means one who is an activist in the service of a cause. Militant people are competitive, engaged in war, and sometimes described as belligerent. According to Wikipedia.org, “The word militant has come to refer to any individual or party engaged in aggressive physical or verbal combat, normally for a cause” I came across the question, “Why are homeschoolers so militant?” The question was proposed in a way that it inferred being militant is a bad thing. Personally, I think sometimes a person has to be militant. As homeschoolers, we are in generally driven by something bigger than we are. … Continue reading →

Vocabulary Word of the Day: Research

Research means to “inquire into”. It is a “systematic investigation to establish facts”, and a “search for knowledge”. (worldnet.princeton.edu) Research is a very important part of homeschooling for many reasons. To learn how to homeschool your child, you must research and discover the right approach for yourself. Likewise, to truly teach a child, you must also teach them to find information for themselves. As homeschoolers on a mission, we tend to forget to do our due diligence and jump to conclusions based on the reports of others. I especially am guilty of this error. When talking about the very recent … Continue reading →

Vocabulary Word of the Day: Body Clock

Body Clock means an internal mechanism of the body that is thought to regulate physical and mental functions in rhythm with normal daily activities. (American Heritage Stedman’s Medical Dictionary) To a homeschooler, body clock means sleeping when you need to sleep and leaning when you are most alert. “A survey of sleep-deprived teens (presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference, on Sunday, May 20) finds they think that a later start time for school and tests given later in the school day would result in better grades.” The survey said what parents already know. Students are sleep deprived … Continue reading →

Vocabulary Word of the Day: Inspiration

While watching Fantasia Barrino tonight on American Idol, the word inspiration came to me. Inspiration is described as an agency, such as a person or work of art that moves the intellect or emotions or prompts action or invention. (American Heritage Dictionary) I make it a point to regularly discuss inspiration to my kids. I want to know what fuels their passions. I want them to know what fuels my passions. I want them to be inspired. They can be inspired to do their best academically, spiritually, or physically. It really doesn’t matter, though as a mother I would prefer … Continue reading →

Vocabulary Word of the day: Mastery (Mast-er-ee)

Dictionary.com describes mastery as “command or grasp, as of a subject” or having “expert skill or knowledge”. Tiger Woods, for example, is a master of golf. In traditional schooling, children rarely get to master any one subject before moving on to the next. In homeschooling, there is no reason to NOT master a subject. A child has to master the alphabet before he or she can learn phonics sounds. They must then master phonics before they can sound out a word. Finally they must master deciphering words before they can read a sentence… let alone, a paragraph. The same goes … Continue reading →