A Library Card is one of my five most invaluable items to use in homeschooling. We are book people. When we moved, we got rid of furniture, but not books. That said, there are only so many books that one individual (in most instances) can have in their private collection....
Month: December 2018
Interest-led Homeschooling
Interest-led Homeschooling While the 3 Rs are absolutely fundamental things to teach, don’t be hesitant to delve into interest-led homeschooling. While you may not give your child a choice of what math they get to do because you know the direction you are taking them, there are times and things...
In the beginning… Getting started
In the beginning ... Getting started with homeschooling. Here’s a little secret about our homeschool journey. It was very hard getting started. Even though my hubby had passed on to me what he saw our home education accomplishing and I could see the end goal, the first step to take...
Humorous Stories
Keep a journal of family funnies. It is worth your while to keep a journal of the humorous stories that come up in your child’s growing years. I wish I had kept one with diligence, but alas, I did not. Instead, I have periodically sent an email to some family...
Film Study
Introducing film study... The audio-visual medium seems to be replacing the written word for entertainment in the current younger generation, which is why I believe film study is important. What exactly is film study, what does it entail, and how does one go about studying a movie? Why should you...
Field Trips
Field Trips... They're closer than you think! A simple visit to find out about the local police department, or a trip to a museum are both field trips. You don’t have to go far afield or spend a lot of money to take such exploratory and educational excursions. Anywhere you...
End of year report
An end of year report to record what you have covered in your school year is worth the effort. When we lived in Vermont, the state required an end of year report, a written proof of what we had done in our school year. In the same way that taking...
Creating your own curriculum
If you can’t find what you’re looking for, consider creating your own curriculum. I looked for a long time for the golden bullet, the perfect curriculum, the one that would do it all. What I didn’t realize was that I was looking for someone else to do every part of...
Coping With Educational Costs
15 ways to help cope with educational costs. Here’s the headline… Education costs money. That’s just a fact which you need to realize and accept. That said, it doesn’t have to cost much. Here are 15 simple ways to get as much bang for your buck as you can as...
Making Connections
Making Connections Before you get confused, I don’t mean meeting new people when I refer to making connections. That is a completely different subject. I mean making connections in the brain synapses. Those are one of the big reasons we like unit studies, but that’s not the only reason. (See...
Sue’s Making Connections Case Study
I like the article on making connections and would like to contribute an example for use in this article. During a visit to Vermont I remember walking into the tv room and seeing the tv on, Joe (around 5?) standing in front of it, Sam, Naomi and Ruth milling around...
Caldecott Books
Caldecott Awards are given to the illustrators of children's books. One of the greatest gems of a book I read to the children was a Caldecott Book. Whereas Newbery awards are given annually to the authors of children’s books, the Caldecott Medal awards are given to the illustrators for the...
Avoid Feeling Overwhelmed in your Homeschool
Avoid feeling overwhelmed - set yourself to do it. Avoiding feeling overwhelmed is something to set yourself to do. That sense of the weight of the responsibility of your child’s education can lead to insomnia, fear and high blood pressure. That is plainly completely unprofitable. Yet it may be where...
Book Reports
Book reports help you evaluate comprehension. Every now and then you need to know what your child got out of a book, which is where book reports come in. Developing your child’s ability to articulate their comprehension of something is very important. Having them demonstrate this through book reports (or...
The #1 Homeschool Mistake
In my years, I have found this to be The Number One Homeschool Mistake Of all the possible ways to err in homeschooling, the number one homeschool mistake stands out head and shoulders over all the rest. Many people don’t realize how deep-set this one major hinderance to effective and...
Reading. Why bother?
In our modern world... Reading. Why bother? In this modern time when things are turning increasingly to audiovisual, why bother reading? Is there any good reason for children to read, and for you to read aloud to your children? Yes! Yes! Yes! In fact, it’s almost more important now than...
Five Ws and an H
The five Ws and an H of Homeschooling. Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. What are the five Ws and an H? Who can homeschool? YOU can! Even if your child is in public or private school, every parent IS a homeschooler, as it is their responsibility to oversee...