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.
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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 »
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’ve put together a handy list of ways to keep the family entertained that are budget-friendly, easy to pull together, and fun for all ages! 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 »
There are thousands of reasons to be grateful for homeschooling. I was so inspired when I polled my Instagram community and they shared all the reasons they love and appreciate the ability to homeschool. These are my top 8. What are yours? 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 »
We all want to nurture our children to develop their creative potential and find opportunities for artistic expression (especially as homeschooling parents), but sometimes we may worry about what our role should be in that process. Here are ten starting points for nurturing your child’s creativity... Continue reading »
Our 10th grade non-traditional learner stated that he wanted to tackle more challenging content, more in-person classes with homework and projects, and wanted to be in charge of his schedule. I got to work researching local classes, online classes, curricula, and more. We had long conversations, lots of texting back and forth, and finally came up with a plan that worked for him, for me and his dad, and for our budget and schedule. Continue reading »
The concept of kids being differently wired sparked my interest and had me nodding my head as I researched the idea. I knew one of my kids fit this description and I had been at a loss, even after evaluations, recommendations, and hours of researching. Each differently wired child is different in their own special way. These are the materials that I've found helpful for homeschooling and parenting differently wired kids. 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 »
Learning stations for homeschooling can often accommodate students of varying levels—activity prompts and supplies can encompass different abilities. Your learning stations can be focused on themes and subjects from the curriculum (such as animal habitats or creative writing), or your spaces could be more freestyle. These ideas for 7 different learning stations will help you to offer space for children to create, explore, and enjoy. Continue reading »
Homeschooling middle school can be a great thing because all the peer pressure, negativity, drama, etc. that comes along with these years can be lessened by choosing to home educate. I’m sharing my top four tips to help make your transition into homeschooling middle school manageable—whether you’re brand new to homeschooling or you’ve been homeschooling from the beginning. Continue reading »
As families turn to homeschooling due to lack of information (or what they see as unacceptable policies) from public school systems about what fall may bring, they have questions. One of the most common questions we are seeing is whether a certain curriculum is accredited. Continue reading »
I really wish I liked homeschool planning. I've tried. Trust me. We are nearly a decade into this homeschooling journey and I've taken multiple planning courses, have purchased five different types of homeschool planners, spent countless hours planning and planning and buying and buying and organizing all the things. By the time I get around to actually homeschooling, I'm tired. Continue reading »
As schools around the country publish their plans for the upcoming academic year, homeschool advocates continue to see more families who tried homeschooling last year deciding to continue. For real, this time—not the suddenly-home-from-school situation parents faced when schools suddenly closed. Here are a few suggestions to use or pass on. 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 »
Sharing audiobooks is a great way for kids and parents to learn together. Hearing the same material at the same time means that moments for discussion are well-synchronized, and kids can ask questions or ponder meaning in real-time—leading to all kinds of opportunities for inquiry-based learning. Best of all, you can access many audiobooks for free! Continue reading »
Early on in our homeschooling journey, we tried many methods and styles of homeschooling. As my kids got older, I had to step back and evaluate what type of learning environment I wanted to create in our home. I had one vision, and it included all of us still sitting around doing as much together as possible because it was easier for me and because I thought that I had to do that in order to be ticking off the boxes for homeschooling the right way. However, my kids had other ideas. And, because it's their education, I really needed to listen. This felt good and scary. Continue reading »
Dear Homeschool Parent, I say this in the nicest possible way with my sweetest voice: YOU NEED A HOBBY! You need an interest outside of homeschooling. You need time away from planning and teaching and making crafts and blowing up things in your kitchen. You need to rest your voice from all the reading. You need something that is not pre-algebra equations. You need to plan a field trip for yourself and not another one to the zoo. Stay with me... Continue reading »
I don't know about you, but we love to use YouTube videos to complement various subjects and interests in our homeschool. I've polled my kids and some of my trusted homeschooling friends to put together a list of 20 YouTube channels to add fun and learning to your homeschool. There's something for everyone: art, baking, music, science, engineering, and random facts (our favorite). Continue reading »
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