Does your homeschool have a name? Does it need one? What makes a good name for a homeschool? Whether you name your homeschool has to do with law, custom, and personal preference. You will want to consider benefits and disadvantages to naming your homeschool, as well as naming ideas, things to avoid, and how you can use a homeschool name to your (and your children’s) advantage. Continue reading »
Jeanne Faulconer
A popular speaker at homeschooling conferences, business groups, and parents’ groups, Jeanne Potts Faulconer has homeschooled her three sons in North Carolina, Mississippi, and Virginia. 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 recent news correspondent for WCVE, an NPR-member station. Jeanne teaches writing and literature for her youngest son’s homeschool co-op, and she is a student of how learning works – at home, in the music room, in small groups, in the college classroom, on the soccer field, and in the car to and from practice. Holding her Master of Arts degree in Communication, Jeanne conducts portfolio evaluations for Virginia homeschoolers for evidence of progress. To read more of Jeanne’s writing, inquire about a homeschool evaluation, or ask her to speak to your group, see her blog, Engaged Homeschooling.
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“I Can’t Homeschool – I Have to Work!”
by Jeanne Faulconer
Recently, a visitor commented on a post on TheHomeSchoolMom about educating at home. This visitor expressed sentiments that homeschoolers often hear, including the idea that homeschooling is only for privileged families that can afford for at least one parent to stay home. This Ask Jeanne column is a response to the general notion that homeschooling is out of reach for many families because of finances. Continue reading »
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Ask Jeanne: Homeschooling and Immunization Law
by Jeanne Faulconer
I have a 4-year-old little girl. We have always wanted to homeschool her. The main reason for this decision is we don’t agree with vaccinations. My fiancé is older than I am. He grew up in the ’70s, so in his mind, this was going to be easy. Well, times have changed. I have been doing research, and it seems so much harder than I was thinking. I’m so overwhelmed with information that I don’t know where to start. My little girl is so smart, and she’s easy to teach, so we’ve got that down, but as far as the law goes we, of course, want to make sure we follow the guidelines so it doesn’t backfire on us. If there is any way of simplifying all of this, I would greatly appreciate any advice. Continue reading »
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Ask Jeanne: Homeschool a Prospective Dropout?
by Jeanne Faulconer
I am seriously looking into whether homeschooling would be an appropriate option for my high school student who is failing in the public school system. She’s extremely bright, and excels in honors and higher courses, but is failing everything else. I believe homeschooling might be helpful, but I also know it could backfire too. We desperately need some expert advice! ~ Concerned in Colorado Continue reading »
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Ask Jeanne: Homeschooling and Social Anxiety
by Jeanne Faulconer
Our reader Sue asked a question about homeschooling and social anxiety in response to our piece, “What About Socialization?” We thought it was such an important question, we decided to feature it as part of our Ask Jeanne column. Continue reading »
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Instead of Curriculum: Earn High School Government Credits Differently
by Jeanne Faulconer
Don’t depend on boring government textbooks; use an activities approach to learning how government works. If teens do these activities, talk about their experiences with you and others, and follow rabbit trails online, they will likely retain more knowledge about how government works than if they just read from a government textbook. Continue reading »
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Controlling Internet Access While Homeschooling
by Jeanne Faulconer
Is your older child or teen sneaky about using the internet, even though you have rules limiting computer use to online curriculum? Some parents complain of kids straying from school assignments and hiding browser history, especially as kids approach and pass into the teen years when they are more computer savvy and more aware of internet content beyond their curriculum. Continue reading »
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Ask Jeanne: Online Virtual School?
by Jeanne Faulconer
The first few weeks of school this year haven’t gone well for Cheryl, and she wrote to me for help deciding whether to homeschool her 7th and 11th graders who are in negative school situations. I wanted to answer a specific part of her question in greater detail: I have never homeschooled and I need advice. I thought of doing the online homeschool called [name of virtual public school withheld]. Please help! Continue reading »
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Ask Jeanne: Help! Should I Homeschool?
by Jeanne Faulconer
My son has just started a small private Christian school but I am not at all happy with it. I want to withdraw him but I need to make sure it is the right decision. He is in 7th grade. My husband is worried he will be isolated. He is also not disciplined enough to sit continuously without being distracted. My 11th-grade daughter is in an honors charter high school. The work is rigorous and she often comes home crying. I have never homeschooled and I need advice. I thought of doing an online homeschool. Please help! ~ Cheryl Continue reading »
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Too Much, Too Fast, and for Too Long
by Jeanne Faulconer
It’s the time of year when families are suffering from Sudden Onset Homeschooling Syndrome. On social media, I’m seeing a lot of questions from new and newer homeschooling parents who are unhappy to find themselves with resistant children. “Please tell me how to make him sit down and do his work,” a mom requests. Continue reading »
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Hero of Homeschooling: The Mother’s Helper
by Jeanne Faulconer
Need a few quiet hours to work or write or think or walk or nap or do the dishes? Have you considered the potential miracle of a mother’s helper? That ten- or eleven-year-old homeschooled child from someone else’s family might be the key to helping your family blossom. Continue reading »
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Ask Jeanne: “Does school decide what grade?”
by Jeanne Faulconer
We have moved and I would like him to attend our new home public school at the beginning of the second semester. If I began the school year doing 3rd grade work, would they accept him as a 3rd grade student at the second semester? Who decides what grade a child enters when they return back to public schools? Continue reading »
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When Your Child Goes from Homeschooling to Public School
by Jeanne Faulconer
Sometimes things change, and your child will go from homeschooling to attending public school. What should you expect when you start the process? Here are a few first thoughts… Continue reading »
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Short-term Homeschooling
by Jeanne Faulconer
Some people know they will homeschool before their children are born. Some begin homeschooling after their children spend some time in school, but then they decide to homeschool “forever” — or at least, for years. Others decide to take it “a year at a time,” but the implication is that if it works out, homeschooling will be ongoing. And then there are short-term homeschoolers… Continue reading »
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Finding Friends at Homeschool Park Days
by Jeanne Faulconer
Many official homeschool groups and co-ops, as well as loose knit homeschooling companions, gather regularly at community parks throughout the United States. The “park day” is the activity that has the lowest barrier to entry for new homeschooling families. Homeschool Park Days are held at public parks, so people can come and go, and there is no cost or commitment for joining a group because you’re not joining a group. Continue reading »
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Instead of Curriculum: Boomerang Audio Magazine
by Jeanne Faulconer
Those of us who have been homeschooling a while know that sometimes the best resources aren’t the newest or flashiest. That’s the case with Boomerang Audio Magazine for kids. A big benefit of these audio resources is that kids can be busy doing other things with their hands or bodies while listening. For some kids, this actually enhances learning, because they’re not focused on having to keep still, which can take a lot of energy. Continue reading »
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Homeschool Mom Survival Gear
by Jeanne Faulconer
How do we do it? Schlep our kids to activities, keep up with the errands, haul around all those overdue library books, and homeschool, without losing our minds? Continue reading »
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Homeschooling the U.S. Presidency
by Jeanne Faulconer
Are you homeschooling the presidency? No matter our political views, there are issues brought up by the 2016 U.S. election and current presidency that our children can learn from. As homeschoolers, we can help them learn about government through most of their homeschooling years, even without an official course. Continue reading »
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Mid-Year Homeschooling: Connection, Not Curriculum
by Jeanne Faulconer
Did you or someone you know just start homeschooling “after the holidays” – right in the middle of the school year? “What curriculum should I use?” Even among experienced homeschoolers, January ruminations run toward assessing the curriculum and whether it is working. I know you don’t want to hear this – but your homeschool priority should be connection, not curriculum. Continue reading »
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Homeschool Reset with the “Let’s” Effect
by Jeanne Faulconer
One way to make homeschooling more effective is to get involved on the child’s level. You each carry a basket for treasures you’ll find on your walk together. You sit down and paint your not-very-good-painting while your child paints at the table with you. You take your child to the library and model looking up a book in the computer catalogue; then you and your child search among the Dewey Decimal numbers on the shelf to see who can spot the book first. Let’s explore the “Let’s” Effect. Continue reading »
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