Welcome to TheHomeSchoolMom
Serving homeschool moms for over a decade
You can homeschool! Check out our Getting Started page, which walks you through homeschooling from considering it to getting started.
Benefits of Homeschooling: Inquiry Based Learning
I recently wrote about how homeschooling parents can use a dialogue-based approach to education, which I see as a big potential benefit to home education. While many public schools have been forced into test-prep mania that defines success very narrowly, homeschoolers can use this educational approach to develop critical thinking and evaluate learning.
Scientific American has a recent story that reflects my thoughts on the unfortunate increased emphasis on standardized testing in public education.
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Resource of the Week: Smithsonian History Explorer
My family is blessed to live just 50 miles away from the Smithsonian’s Washington, D.C., museums (although the traffic isn’t such a blessing!). For those of you who are not so close, the History Explorer can bring the treasures of the Smithsonian to you by way of the Internet.
“Smithsonian’s History Explorer was developed by the National Museum of American History in partnership with the Verizon Foundation to offer hundreds of free, innovative online resources for teaching and learning American history … Learning activities feature artifacts selected from over 3 million items in the Museum’s collections, and draw on the expertise of the Museum’s renowned curatorial staff.”
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My Advice for New Homeschoolers, Part 2
Thinking of Homeschooling?
As homeschooling has grown in popularity, I have had more and more people ask me for advice on how to do this thing. And let’s be honest, there aren’t a lot of guidelines. One of the great benefits of homeschooling is that you can make it be whatever you need it to be for your individual family. However, in this benefit is also a challenge – there are so many options, so many different ways of homeschooling, it can be overwhelming to those who are starting for the first time. Many a friend considering homeschooling has moaned, “I just don’t know if I can do it!”.
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My Advice For New Homeschoolers, Part 1
I’ve had more friends this year decide to homeschool than any other year since we began homeschooling. The reasons have varied — concern over values taught in the public school system, distress about peer relationships, a desire to inculcate principles of faith, worries about increased “teaching to the test” procedures in government schools, an interest in providing more individualized instruction… but whatever the reason, each parent has had a significant “deer in the headlights” look as they have shared their newly chosen educational path. They have one question in common, whether spoken or unspoken: “How do I homeschool my child?”
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May 2013 Homeschooling Resource Calendar
May 1 - May Day
May 5 - Cinco de Mayo
May 11 - Minnesota Admission Day - 1858
May 12 - Mother's Day
May 14 - Israeli Statehood Declared - 1948
May 14 - Lewis and Clark Expedition Commenced - 1804
May 19 - National Armed Forces Day
May 23 - South Carolina Admission Day - 1788
May 27 - Memorial Day (Observed)
May 29 - Rhode Island Admission Day - 1790
May 29 - Wisconsin Admission Day - 1848
