Guest Writer

Whether you’re starting your first or tenth year of homeschooling, you know you’re going to need lots of homeschool supplies. In fact, you may have already compiled a homeschool supply list of essentials such as paper, pencils, crayons, glue sticks, and notebooks. But there may be some items you’re not sure you really need for homeschooling. Or you may not know where to find all your homeschool supplies or how much you should spend on them. To reduce your school shopping stress, we’ve made a list of 25 supplies that are most helpful for any homeschool.

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Your child is about to enter fourth grade, and you may be a little intimidated about homeschooling next school year. After all, fourth grade becomes more involved and more challenging. Foundational concepts and skills in reading, spelling, writing, and math will be honed during fourth grade. History and science will also broaden the borders of your student’s knowledge.

As a homeschooling parent, you want to give your children the best elementary education so they are ready for the rest of their education. But how do you choose the best fourth grade homeschool curriculum for this important transitional grade? What should you emphasize in your curriculum? Is there a curriculum that will accommodate your fourth grader’s learning style and academic needs? This blog post will help answer your questions and direct you to the best fourth grade homeschool curriculum for your journey. 

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The economist Milton Friedman once said, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” He was not just talking about lunch, but saying more generally that everything has a cost or a trade-off. The same is true when it comes to homeschooling. Many free homeschooling resources exist online that may provide a partial or surface-level “curriculum.” But there are often trade-offs in time, effort, and educational quality.    

Is homeschooling free?  

Homeschooling is not free. Even if you use free homeschool resources you find online, there is a significant added cost to your time. It takes time to put together a curriculum that will meet educational best practices and state requirements. While homeschooling is generally much cheaper than private school, it is not a tax-funded “free” service like public school. Whatever your reasons for choosing homeschooling over public and private school, you are making an investment in your children’s education. Investments, by nature, cost something.  

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If you’re in the middle of or just beginning high school in your homeschool, you’ve probably asked yourself, “How will my child receive a high school diploma?” Or maybe, “Will my high schooler even be able to get one?” Perhaps you’ve wondered, “How do I know if my child qualifies for a high school diploma?” Contrary to what you might think, it’s not that difficult to obtain a high school diploma. When students finish the required work to graduate high school, they receive a diploma from the institution where they received their education. Simply put, a diploma is a certificate that says your child has rightfully earned a high school degree. But homeschool families aren’t typically members of educational institutions, so is there anything that you, the parent, need to do to grant your child a diploma? In this article, you will find all the information you need about getting a homeschool diploma for your graduating student and a template to create one.

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Are you new to the BJU Press elementary math curriculum? Are you uncertain which grade level to start your child in? Do you need a way to assess how much of the previous year’s math curriculum your student has mastered? Often, it is useful to use the child’s age for grade placement. But if you have specific concerns about your child’s math comprehension, an assessment may help. BJU Press offers several free math placement tests for upper elementary students. These assessments may help you decide which grade level your child is ready for or highlight areas of focus where he or she lacks mastery.

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