Homeschooling help and encouragement from experienced homeschoolers - find out how homeschooling works and how to start, get tips & ideas for when things need adjusting, read curriculum reviews before buying, learn how online schools work, gain confidence about homeschooling high school, and more.
A popular speaker at homeschooling conferences, business groups, and parents’ groups, Jeanne Potts Faulconer homeschooled her three sons in North Carolina, Mississippi, and Virginia for twenty years. Jeanne is director of Brave Learner Home, which provides homeschool coaching, community, and "grad school for homeschool" for parents. She is the contributing editor for TheHomeSchoolMom newsletter and writes the popular Ask Jeanne column, addressing homeschool parents' questions here at TheHomeSchoolMom. She is a former college faculty member, former editor and book reviewer for Home Education Magazine, a long-time editor for VaHomeschoolers Voice, and a news correspondent for WCVE, an NPR-member station. Holding her Master of Arts degree in Communication, Jeanne has conducted portfolio evaluations for Virginia homeschoolers for evidence of progress for many years.
Now’s the time to make your summer bucket list or bingo card! Over some pancakes or smoothies, you and the kids can brainstorm experiences you don’t want to miss this summer. If you live in an area that has opened up, checking things off your bucket list will feel especially good. Here are some ideas to get your started. Continue reading »
In much of the U.S., the spring and summer seasons also bring yard sale season. Where you live, it might be known as a garage sale, rummage sale, or tag sale, but whatever the name, buying used items from families who are ready to let them go can be a boon for your homeschool budget. Here are some great homeschool supplies to search for at yard sales. Continue reading »
The single most important thing you can do as a homeschooling parent is read to your kids every day. But what to read? Try consulting some high quality book lists and recommendations to learn about the books librarians, educators, book bloggers, and families have loved. Pin or print a book list that appeals to you, or mix and match suggestions from multiple lists. You can find book titles grouped into checklists, lists with descriptions, lists by year, lists by topic, and more. Continue reading »
Are you trying to decide whether to homeschool again for the coming year? If you’ve only homeschooled a year or two, you may be concerned you and your kids will be isolated or lonely because you’re basing your decision on your experience of homeschooling during shut-downs. Here's how things will probably be different post shut-down. Continue reading »
The education pendulum swings, and homeschoolers often swing along with the trends of public schools. I’m old enough to have heard the experts be sure of phonics then whole language then phonics again. I’ve been through arithmetic, new math, and Common Core math. Various approaches to education have experts in their corner, and the experts often draw the battle lines clearly. Their way is the way. You do it their way, or you are doing it the wrong way. At least that’s the perception. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Consider Both/And instead of Either/Or. Continue reading »
Studying scientific current events—or science news—is a good way to help your kids understand that scientists are always learning and revising their understanding. Here are some ways you can follow science news with your kids as a way to help them understand the scientific process. Continue reading »
What makes spring? The vernal equinox! Well, at least that’s the term for what’s happening as the Earth’s tilt and revolution around the sun change whether the Northern Hemisphere or the Southern Hemisphere gets the most sunlight. Learning about the vernal equinox is a great way to welcome spring. Continue reading »
You might have noticed many homeschooling families spend a lot of time outdoors, regardless of the season of the year. If you need to jumpstart your homeschooling, consider the potential benefits of going outside more. Continue reading »
We’re halfway through February. Can we do this? February is the second semester version of October. Here's how to get perspective on the February blahs, when new pencils aren’t sharp and our own minds don’t feel so sharp either. Continue reading »
Homeschoolers know we can help our kids learn through life experience, curriculum, field trips, art, library books, nature walks, documentaries, and projects. Don’t forget games! Playing games with your kids has so many benefits. Here's how playing games can help your kids. Continue reading »
Winter is the perfect time for a bird unit study! Birds can provide you and your kids with a wild distraction from current events, a connection to the natural world, and a chance to be grounded in an off-screen reality. If you’re in a winter climate, the leafless trees, snow, and dormant vegetation provide a crisp backdrop for spotting birds. In moderate climates, your locale may be the recipient of migratory birds, providing an ideal opportunity to spot species that aren’t around during other times of the year. Continue reading »
In many parts of the Northern Hemisphere, winter is downright chilling, and both the season and the change from Daylight Saving Time mean the sun sets early. An activity that works well for homeschoolers this time of year is amateur astronomy—and you don't even have to stay up late to see the night sky! Continue reading »
If your kids are learning at home for virtual classes, it’s time to call on grandparents, family friends, and helpful aunts and uncles to join your virtual education team. How can they help via Facetime or Zoom? Share these nineteen ideas for your relatives and friends who are meeting with your kids online. Continue reading »
A question to consider: how will you change homeschooling? You might be a long-term homeschooler, or you might be homeschooling in reaction to public school closures and virtual classes. If so, your choice, along with the choices of many others, may impact both public school and homeschooling. Will the public education ecosystem change as a result of so many people opting out of the public schools? Will homeschooling change? Continue reading »
Many homeschoolers have to submit an end-of-year homeschool progress report of some kind to meet state, school division, or charter school requirements. Plan now to save yourself turmoil and make that process easier by asking yourself these questions now to prepare for spring requirements. Continue reading »
Resistance and resentment are warning signs that your homeschool could use some tweaking. Here's how to turn them around to avoid and/or solve problems with homeschooling. Continue reading »
Are you embracing the flexibility of homeschooling to make things better? It sounds like a huge overhaul, almost as big as those first questions you had about curriculum and socialization. It's actually not. Simply adjusting these three things as needed can get you back on track and/or head off future problems. Continue reading »
Homeschooling is boring, your child is resistant, the curriculum seems “complete” but moves on quickly and without depth. You can improve this kind of homeschool experience by opening yourself to following the rabbit trails. What are rabbit trails? They are the paths you make as you help your child follow an interest or a question from one resource to the next. Continue reading »
Are you using audiobooks in your homeschool? If not, you are missing out on the awesome benefits that come from listening to books. Homeschooling parents embrace the benefits of audiobooks because audiobooks create a shared listening experience, with adults and kids on "the same page," like watching a movie together... Continue reading »
"I am a homeschooling mom from Minnesota. My brother-in-law told me that he knows of homeschool families in North Dakota who get paid $1500.00 a month to homeschool. Is this true?" Get paid for homeschooling? Sounds good, right? Find out more about the circumstances in which there might (or might not) be money for homeschooling. Continue reading »
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