When I first imagined homeschooling, I pictured myself and my children happily sitting around the table, reading books together and working math problems. But that didn’t work so well with a busy toddler and a fussy baby. My children learned to complete their work mostly independently. I’ve always been thankful that they learned to be independent learners, but I’ve never stopped wishing for bonding time. Then I was introduced to a homeschool morning basket. With a homeschool morning basket, we could carve out time for learning as a family before my children went their separate ways to complete their independent work.
Keep ReadingSet Goals for Your Child This Year
When I think about goals, I often think of all the ones I haven’t met: the missed exercise days, the unfinished writing projects, that not-even-started sewing project. The list could go on. It gets discouraging. But I have success stories: a child who is enthusiastic about reading, a child who is becoming a master organizer, a child who writes for fun. That didn’t happen overnight. Progress has seemed slow at times, but my children are actually growing up. I’m excited about the people they are becoming. They have a lot of potential. But they still need a lot of guidance and a lot of motivation. I need to continually set goals for my children—personal goals and homeschool goals—to help them continue to grow and mature.
Keep ReadingHow to Find the Best Homeschool Curriculum for High School
My daughter started high school this year. I still can hardly believe it.
This is our seventh year homeschooling, but this year I felt like a newbie. I was not prepared for the transition into the high school years. This was a strange new world of electives and credit hours, graduation requirements, and GPAs. I pored over homeschool high school curriculum choices to see whether one would meet our homeschooling goals. Here are some things that I took away from that experience.
Homeschool High School Curriculum Options
There are an overwhelming number of high school homeschool curriculum options. You can find a textbook for just about any course that your high schooler would like to take. Many online educational programs and in-person co-op classes also exist. Additionally, if your high schooler meets certain requirements, some colleges offer dual-credit courses that count for both high school and college credit.
Some homeschool options offer accredited degrees. Currently, no states require homeschoolers to enroll in an accredited program. But some homeschoolers do so to qualify for certain scholarships or gain acceptance into certain universities. When determining whether accreditation is right for your homeschool, you will want to consider your child’s future plans. You can learn more about accreditation in the post “Accredited Homeschool Programs: Advantages and Disadvantages.”
The best homeschool high school curriculum for your family is the one that meets your educational and budgetary goals and fits your family’s values.
Keep ReadingStruggling with Children that Won’t Listen?
What do you do when your children won’t listen to you? Do you give the “look”? a raised voice? bribes or threats?
In a perfect world, our children would always give us their full attention and obey our instructions. They would give so much weight to our words that they would obey them even when we aren’t around. But we don’t live in a perfect world. We live in a world broken by sin. We live with sinners.
If your child doesn’t listen to you, you may wonder how you could possibly homeschool. It isn’t going to be easy, but it’s possible. In this post are some things you can do to help your child learn to listen. Also included are tips on how to discipline a child that won’t listen.
Keep ReadingHow to Switch to Homeschooling Mid-Year
My parents never planned to homeschool, and they certainly never planned to switch to homeschooling mid-year. But halfway through my sixth-grade year at a private school, homeschooling became necessary for my family.
At first, my brothers and I cheered my parents’ decision to start homeschooling. But we found it to be a hard transition. We missed our friends. We missed playing basketball, singing in choir, and participating in group projects.
But despite the difficult adjustment, I am very thankful that my parents made the decision to start homeschooling my brothers and me. It was the best decision they could have made. My brothers and I flourished in our homeschool environment. We could focus on the joy of learning.
If you are thinking about making the switch to homeschooling mid-year, here are some answers to common questions. I’ve also included some tips on how to switch to homeschooling so you can make the transition to homeschooling as smooth as possible.
Keep Reading