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. Read more »
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.” Read more »
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!”. Read more »
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?” Read more »
“Hello learned and astonishingly attractive pupils!” I knew from the first line of the first World History video that I was going to like John Green. At that point I still didn’t realize that he is the same John Green who wrote Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars, two wildly popular young adult novels. When he started talking about The Test — as in, “Will this be on The Test?” — I was hooked. His answer to that question alone is worth heading over to watch The Agricultural Revolution, the first video in the World History playlist. Seriously. Go watch it. I’ll wait. Read more »
Science, Math, Notebooking, Changing Curriculum, and more – This month my oldest daughter graduates from high school. We are blessed to be in an area with a support group that puts on a lovely graduation ceremony for homeschooled seniors (although my I-don’t-like-pomp-and-circumstance teen would disagree about it being a blessing). We are busy preparing for graduation and her (gasp!) eighteenth birthday, which occur the same week. As you begin to wrap up your school year and plan for next year, take some time out to just enjoy your kids. You won’t regret it. Read more »
I am going to be a math curriculum expert before this whole homeschooling thing is over. Yep, we are now on our third math program in four years. This isn’t how I planned it, but then, does anything in homeschooling go according to plan? I would have liked to have begun a math program in Kindergarten and stuck with it, at least through the sixth grade. That would have helped me be able to avoid repetition, progress more efficiently, and be able to keep a more accurate assessment of exactly what she was mastering. Read more »
Kindness is taught in many schools alongside the ABCs and the multiplication tables. And when asked, most parents would probably say we already are teaching our children to be kind every day. But are we? Or rather, how can we do this more consciously and more effectively? Read more »
How we speak to and treat our children matters. Modeling skills such as good listening, how to speak nicely even when you are in a hurry or upset, and the Golden Rule, all contribute to creating a kinder Planet Earth. Of course, demonstrating behaviors like these is one thing—figuring out how to teach these “kindness skills” to our children can take a bit more thought. Read more »
Soccer? Dance? Basketball? Piano lessons? Swim team? Debate team? Choir? There are so many options, it can make your head spin. At some point in your homeschooling career, you will have to decide: What are we going to do about extra-curricular activities for our children? Read more »
