BJU Press Blog

Simplified Homeschool

You know that organization is the key to a smooth homeschool day. We share tips on planning your time and lessons as well as advice from other homeschool parents. There are also highlights from our Distance Learning daily video-lesson program, which is designed to simplify your homeschool.

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Why Attend a Homeschool Convention?

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March family calendar

In March, I had the opportunity to attend the 2014 SOUTHEAST Homeschool Convention in Greenville, South Carolina, which was sponsored by Great Homeschool Conventions. I had a wonderful time attending workshops, talking to people, and exploring the exhibit hall. If you have never attended a homeschool convention, or haven’t been to one in several years, here is a list of five reasons you should go.

1) Make new friends.

It’s interesting to watch people connect at homeschool conferences. I attended a workshop about homeschooling preschoolers and had an instant connection with the women sitting near me because our kids were similar in age. When homeschooling gets tough, connections such as these can be a huge encouragement.

2) Get inspired.

Homeschool conferences have a lot of energy, and a great deal of that energy comes from the sharing of new ideas. I got really excited about little things (like learning how to make homemade silly putty) and big things (like a workshop speaker’s ideas for fostering creative writing skills in young children). I could barely wait to go home and get to work.

3) Be encouraged.

Homeschooling can be a lonely venture, and sometimes it doesn’t seem worth the effort. It’s encouraging to talk to or listen to people who have had similar struggles and found ways to overcome. It is also encouraging to be reminded of the blessings and benefits of homeschooling.

4) Explore options.

It’s a lot easier to make decisions about homeschooling curriculum when you can look at all your options at one time. Many publishers, such as BJU Press, have a display where you can interact with the materials and ask their representatives questions.

5) Enjoy a break.

Enjoy the break from the daily homeschooling routine. Even better—leave your kids with a relative or trusted friend, and enjoy a couple days away with your husband. You’ll be glad you did!

Have you attended a homeschool convention this year? What was your favorite part?

What You Should Know About Test Results

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Have you received your test results yet? Even if you’re still waiting for your child’s testing materials, there are a few things to know about the test results that will inevitably come. Last month, I covered a few test results terms; today, I’ll share some other things you should know before receiving your results.

graphic of sign with the words Things to Know about your Test Results

Access to Test Results

The access you have to your test results will depend on which company you purchase your materials/scoring from. The BJU Press Testing & Evaluation Department provides electronic test results that are sent to whoever purchased the testing (usually the parent). As the purchaser, you have access to your digital test results at any time and don’t have to worry about losing a paper copy. So check with your test provider and see if they offer print or digital copies and if there are additional fees if you request a paper copy.

Availability of Consultations

Does the company providing your results include a consultation as part of your purchase? If not, check to see if your test administrator will provide a consultation at little to no extra charge. For example, both our Testing & Evaluation Department and our local Testing Center offer their customers test results consultations (via phone) for achievement and abilities testing. This allows parents to ask questions about their child’s test results and better understand them. If you think that you will need a consultation, make sure you know if that option is offered by your test provider.

Advice from Family Members or Friends

If you have relatives or friends who are educators or testers, they may be able to walk you through your results. It doesn’t hurt to ask. Just be sure to see if they will expect you to reimburse them for their time. Some may not ask for any compensation, but something small—say, a gift card to their favorite coffee shop—would be a nice gesture. Others may expect payment, especially if they have an established client-base that they provide consultations to.

Other Helpful Resources

What other resources have you found helpful when looking at your child’s test results?

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Understanding testing terms

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Every year, achievement testing season rolls around. As a child, I enjoyed testing. It meant new pencils, special snacks, and fun games. I didn’t have to worry about interpreting the test scores. Now, after studying assessments in grad school and working with people who dedicate their lives to testing, I realize how complicated the results can be. It’s hard to remember what all the terms and abbreviations mean, isn’t it?

So this month, I’ll share some testing terms and their definitions with you. I hope they help you and your children have a great testing season.

image of a door sign that says "understanding your testing results"

Norm

When a child takes a standardized test, his scores are compared to what is called the norm. Basically, the norm is the scores of a sample group of children that took the same test. They took the test before this year so that their scores are available for comparison.

National Percentile Rank

Also known as the percentile rank, this ranks your child’s scores against the norm’s scores. When your child takes a test, his scores are compared to the norm to see how he did. If he is placed in the 80 percentile then he scored as well or better than 80% of the students in the norm group.

Stanine

Stanine may be referred to as NS on your test results. It’s another grading scale that goes from 1-9. Low scores are in the 1-3 range, 4-6 indicates medium scores, and 7-9 scores are considered high. It’s a quick way to see which “group” your child scored in.

Grade Equivalent

I remember learning about grade equivalents in one of my grad classes. It’s easy to misunderstand but fascinating once you understand it.  (I misunderstood it before learning how to read it.) Basically, the GE tells you what level of student (grade level) your child scored the same as. So if your fourth-grader has a  7.2 GE on his math test, it means he scored the same as an average seventh-grade student who took the same test in his second month of seventh grade. It doesn’t mean that your fourth-grader should be in seventh grade. That would be great though! Just remember that it’s not comparing your child to his peers but correlating his score with other scores regardless of grade level.

Note: You may see PHS in the GE column. That stands for Post High School, and again it doesn’t mean that your child is ready to attend college, just that he scored higher than the average high school senior.

What other testing terms do you find confusing or hard to remember?

Bring on the New Year’s Resolutions!

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It’s a new year, which means a fresh start, new opportunities, and . . . New Year’s resolutions. Have you made any resolutions yet?

Maybe this year you’re determined to exercise more, spend more time with your family, or start a new hobby. Wanting to do those things is wonderful, and I encourage you to stick with them! But have you ever noticed that a lot of people end up not sticking with their resolutions?

As a homeschool parent, maybe you’ve thought of making New Year’s resolutions for your homeschooling. It’s the start of a new semester and a great time to set some new goals. But I’d like to share a thought that will hopefully help you set attainable goals. 

The Key to Stick-To-Itiveness

The reason many people abandon their New Year’s resolutions is that instead of setting small goals for a short period of time, they set big goals for a long period of time (like a year). Is it any wonder that they don’t stick with those goals? It’s hard to keep your momentum going for an entire year.

But what if you thought in terms of a month, week, or day. Take those big yearlong goals and chop them up into tinier ones. Imagine how much more manageable and attainable your goals would look.

So this year, I encourage you not to think of it as a year. Rather look at a single day or month and see how much of your goals you want to accomplish then. And by this time next year, you’ll have accomplished your New Year’s resolutions.

What helps you stick with your resolutions or goals?

Overwhelmed

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notes and magnets on a fridgeIt was one of those days. It wasn’t even ten o’clock in the morning, and I’d already had to mop a flooded laundry room, clean up bright blue paint that spilled during my kindergartner’s art project, sweep up the contents of the box of cereal that my toddler had spilled all over the kitchen floor in her attempt to help herself to a snack, and gather items from my recycling bin that had been strewn all over the first floor of my house.

I contemplated whether I should lock myself in the bathroom (the only way to obtain any privacy) and have a good cry or put my children back to bed and try to start the day over. I ended up choosing a third option—I loaded my children into their red wagon and headed to a nearby playground. There’s only so much they can do to damage the great outdoors. And I could momentarily ignore the fact that my house looked like a disaster zone.

As I sat on the park bench watching my children happily burn off energy and cover themselves in sand, I thought about a lot of things. About why my house never looked as spotless and organized as the houses featured in the monthly magazines I subscribe to. About why I never seemed to have time to make those cute owl cookies I saw on Pinterest. About how my toddler still wasn’t potty trained although most of her peers were. About how much I needed a vacation—or even a nap.

It’s moments like these that help me realize how much I need help—not a cleaning service or a babysitter or a caterer but Divine help. I desperately need the strength and grace that only God can give. I need the mind-renewal that only comes from reading His words. I need His help to view my children not as vandals or interrupters but as image-bearers that need my nurturing more than they need cute owl cookies or a perfectly organized playroom. They need God.  I need God—I cannot get through my day without Him.

Yet in the busyness of life with little people, it can be hard to focus on heavenly things. Children surprise you—sometimes getting up early and interrupting the time you set aside for Bible reading and prayer; sometimes keeping you awake at night so you struggle staying alert the next day. Even after a wonderful time with the Lord, circumstances continually fight for our attention. We can get so consumed with cleaning up messes and directing activities that we can easily go through an entire day without reflecting on God at all.

So when you are feeling overwhelmed, run to your Savior. Ask Him for wisdom, for strength, for help to make it through the next hour or even the next two minutes. Psalm 46:1 assures us that He “is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” He is all we need.