Although the idea of homeschooling can be overwhelming, know that you can do it. Learning takes place all the time, and just as your child learned to walk and talk with you as their teacher, they can continue to learn at home in a relaxed, loving environment. Homeschooling is not public school at home. As Rebecca Capuano says in her post about the differences between public school and home education, "It is a completely different way of thinking about education, and a completely different way of approaching education. It is teaching tailored specifically to individual children rather than according to a standardized set of guidelines or curriculum for the masses. And because of this individualization, home education is effective by virtue of the fact that it does not have to look like the public school classroom." Continue reading »
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Homeschool Conferences: Why Attend?
Why should you attend a homeschooling conference or convention this year? Conferences help you adjust your course and recharge your batteries. If you need to refine your homeschooling style, find new curriculum or resources, or re-consider your children's needs, a homeschooling conference can provide the stimulation you need to help you figure out how to tweak and improve your homeschooling life. You'll also have a chance to re-charge your own batteries; hearing informative speakers and being surrounded by other homeschooling families can inspire and refresh you. Continue reading »
Hardwired for Writing: The Intelligence of the Hand
It's not hard to imagine a future where keyboarding replaces handwriting altogether. Keyboarding, with its helpful cut-and-paste, deleting, and spellcheck, allows thoughts to be revised and refined easily, a technological marvel that many writers--particularly those of us who remember manual typewriters--hail right up there with sliced bread. But does that mean that handwriting, and cursive in particular, is antiquated and superfluous? With the media buzzing over recent news that Common Core Standards, which guide curriculum choices for school districts nationwide, no longer require the teaching of cursive writing, a lot of attention in educational circles has focused on how the physical act of writing affects cognitive development. Continue reading »
Instead of Curriculum: Living Math
Why do some homeschoolers choose not to use one of the many complete math curricula available today? And what do they do instead? To many homeschooling parents, math feels like the one thing that must be taught and learned in a systematic way even for very young children. Even many people who are otherwise attracted to or influenced by a version of interest-based learning or unschooling often say-- "except for math."
What about Homeschool PE?
Homeschoolers have lots of options when it comes to physical education. First, we can remind ourselves that what we do for P.E. doesn't have to look like what schools do for P.E. We can get our kids moving, learning about fitness, improving their coordination, building strength, and enjoying their physical selves in a variety of ways. Let's take a look at some possibilities. Continue reading »
Guide to Unschooling for Beginners
There's nothing I get asked about more as a parent than unschooling, and nothing I recommend more to other parents. Continue reading »
10 Ideas for Curing the Winter Blahs
It's the point in the winter most homeschoolers have the winter blahs. You know, that "sick of being inside" "tired of the daily homeschool grind" sentiment that leads you and the kids to wish you could be doing anything other than school. Often by this point in the season, the art supplies have been well used, the indoor games have been played, and everyone is in need of a little excitement. Sometimes a dose of creativity and fun can help bridge the gap until Spring breathes a breath of fresh air into homeschooling life. Never fear, there are plenty of great ways to make the waning days of winter worthwhile and educational. Continue reading »
4 Strategies for Homeschooling with Babies and Toddlers
There’s no doubt, homeschooling would be much easier if everyone were old enough to maintain attention, read independently, and stay on task. The reality? Many homeschooling families have multiple children under the age of 5, and have to figure out how to educate the older ones with a little extra, uh….help from the younger crew. Being able to actually accomplish academic instruction with the multiple needs, interruptions, problems and distractions of younger siblings can sometimes seem like an insurmountable task. Continue reading »
Homeschool Convention Survival Tips
Springtime brings warm weather, beautiful flowers, and….homeschool conventions! There are few better ways to be inspired, encouraged, and invigorated along the journey of homeschooling than attending a homeschool convention. It is an opportunity to be surrounded by like-minded people, attend informative workshops, see lots of new curricula, and receive wisdom and encouragement from experts and veteran home educators. Continue reading »
Lubbock Homeschool Christian Athletics Association
Lubbock Homeschool Christian Athletic Association (LHCAA) was organized in 2004 by families of homeschooled children to provide athletic opportunities for their children. We are a Christian, membership-based organization that provides assistance in organization, fundraising, and communication. The Titans play other homeschool teams, private schools and public schools in the west Texas area. Some of our Continue reading »
Choosing a Homeschool Language Arts Curriculum
What does a homeschool language arts curriculum need to have to make it useful, interesting and comprehensive? Are there language arts lesson plans which I can use over a number of ages? Well, firstly we need to consider what language arts lessons makes a language arts curriculum. It would need to include reading, writing, speaking and listening. Getting to finer details, it would need to teach writing skills from handwriting to written sentences, paragraphs, essays and writing in a wide variety of forms. It should teach interesting use of words, sentence grammar and the use of a variety of sentence structures. It should include listening, reading aloud, discussion of character, themes, actions, morals and personal application. Quite a range of skills! Continue reading »
Avoid the 7 Biggest Mistakes When Teaching Science
Learn the seven most common mistakes made when teaching science and how to avoid them Continue reading »
Unschooling - Education Outside the Box
To understand unschooling, you really have to look back at the history of education and homeschooling. The standard used to be for children to be taught in the home. However, by the mid '70s, homeschooling was nearly extinct. Over 99% of school-aged children in the United States were attending institutional classroom schools. By that point, people seemed to have forgotten that children had ever been successfully educated without going to school. Slowly, though, an increasing number of parents began to recognize that they were in a battle for their children's hearts, minds, and time. They saw the control that the government had taken not only in education but in their families' lives, and these parents began again choosing to be in charge of their children's education. Continue reading »
Easy Art History and Appreciation
Art appreciation (or the study of art history) need not be difficult. You don't need a fancy curriculum or a complicated plan. You simply need the desire to enjoy, along with your children, the beauty of God's creation as depicted over the centuries by outstanding artists. Continue reading »
Homeschooling with the Moore Formula
Dr. Raymond Moore and his wife Dorothy Moore are sometimes called the grandparents of the modern home schooling movement. For over 50 years they have been educational professionals, and for the last 30 years have been sharing their research and their "formula" for successful home schooling, a program that is low-cost, low stress, and yet brings high-achievement. Continue reading »