Search Results for: blog what homeschooling has taught me

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 →

Time Engineers: Math and Science CD-ROM for Middle and High School Students

At a Glance: Product: Time Engineers Cost: $19.95 Individual, $49.95 School District/University Use: Homeschool, Classroom, Home Grades: Middle School-High School (5th-9th) Lessons Taught: Math, Science, History, Physics Skills: Problem Solving, Reasoning, Critical Thinking Rating: 5 out of 5 Gold Stars Today I am sharing with you one of my new favorite tools to teach math concepts to middle and high school age students. For many homeschoolers these years are difficult in terms of teaching math. I agree. It is for this reason I want to present you with a tool that you and your students will enjoy. What is Time … Continue reading →

The Reading Game

Teaching a child how to read is precious. It can also be exhausting and frustrating for both the student and the teacher. In my homeschooling experience I have taught one child how to read at a normal pace, one taught himself, and one is a reluctant reader who wishes letters did not exist and finally a three year old who seems more interested in letters than my six year old. So we run the spectrum of types of readers. Each child has different needs so I used different sources to reach those needs. With all the reading curriculum on the … Continue reading →

Teaching Higher Subjects at Home

It’s easy to sit down with a box of crayons and teach your eager little toddler his colors. His letters—piece of cake. As he grows older, it becomes more challenging, but hey, how hard can adding and subtraction really be? Thus we skate along merrily until one day we realize—it’s time for algebra. It’s time for frog dissection. It’s time for those higher subjects that filled us with fear when we were students—now it’s time for us to be filled with fear, as the teachers! Can those things really be taught at home? My answer, in a nutshell? Yes, they … Continue reading →

My Homeschool Now Includes a Teenager

On the 7th of this month, my daughter, who once spit up on me, asked me to kiss boo boos, and begged for one more bedtime story, turned 13. She has turned in teddy bears, tea sets, and crayons for a cell phone, Facebook page, and blog. The transformation has been occurring for quite some time but it never really hits until “teen” is the last syllable of the age. She is funny, smart, quick witted, discerning, trustworthy, and at times snotty, ungrateful and very teen. What I am most proud of is that she does not speak in a … Continue reading →

Interviews with Homeschoolers: Karen Loutzenhiser, Part Two

Karen Loutzenhizer, a homeschool mom from Utah, was kind enough to join me earlier to share some of her experiences. Here is the rest of our conversation. Karen, what are some of your other philosophies in regards to education? I really believe that we underestimate kids. Instead of just focusing on the pet topics so commonly taught to children, I attempt to open up all kinds of topics and present them in a kid-friendly, understandable format to my kids (all age 9 and under). We study chemistry and the periodic table, the Hittite people, and Monet–not just recycling and ancient … Continue reading →

Interviews with Homeschoolers: Karen Loutzenhizer, Part One

Today I’m talking with Karen Loutzenhiser, a homeschooling mom from Utah who took time out to chat with me about her homeschooling journey. Karen, how did you know that homeschooling was the right choice for you? I have wanted to be a teacher since I was a little girl, and the only thing that could top that career in my heart and mind was being a mommy. By the time I got my degree in education, I already had two kids in tow. I knew that they were my absolute joy and my #1 priority. Why would I drop my … Continue reading →

Pilgrims and Native Americans In One Family’s Tree

Thanksgiving is this week. You have probably seen decorations that look like pilgrims and Native Americans in every store you’ve shopped at recently. This month, many elementary school students were taught lessons that involve some version of what the “First Thanksgiving” was like. Imagine discovering that you had ancestors who were pilgrims, and that you also had ancestors who were Native Americans! This is exactly what happened for one woman. There has been some debate about the accuracy of the story of the “First Thanksgiving” that is generally presented in public schools. Homeschoolers have a lot more control about what, … Continue reading →

My Homeschool History

People often ask me how I got in to homeschooling. The answer is simple –it’s how I was raised. My parents started their home school when I was a baby. My sisters were having difficulty in their public school settings. The two oldest were getting propositioned in the hallways, and the sister next in line was struggling so much in her third grade class, she was getting ulcers. Each day when my sisters came home from school, they were nervous wrecks, and my mom was at her wits’ end to know what to do. She began to notice a pattern. … Continue reading →

Cutting to the Chase

School is about to begin again for those following a traditional school year. It’s time to go through all your teacher’s manuals and plan out your year. As you begin to go through your teacher’s manuals, textbooks, literature books, and workbooks do you ever get overwhelmed with how much curriculum you purchased? During the high of school shopping and the desire to educate your children with only the best did you buy too many workbooks or textbooks to cover in a year? One year I could not decide between three grammar workbooks. To solve my dilemma I did what any … Continue reading →