Ready for the Real World
One of the common criticisms about homeschooling is that the homeschooled child isn’t ready to face real world. After all, they haven’t been in a school setting dealing with peer pressure, difficult classmates, and lots of distractions. But I would argue that many homeschooled students are actually MORE prepared for life after school. Here’s why: 1. Homeschooled children receive more one-on-one instruction when they
A Little Whine with that Cheese Stick?
Usually I have a couple of months’ break, but this time, it started almost as soon as the school year did. I tried to stave it off from the beginning. I hyped up the new subjects and textbooks. I was excited about all the new things we were going to learn together. I talked about fun field trips we could take as we studied
Balancing Work and Homeschooling
When we first started homeschooling over twelve years ago, most of the homeschooling families we knew made it on just one income. Moms worked hard at home clipping coupons, canning food, mending clothes – anything to help save money. As time went on and the cost of living went up, however, more and more homeschooling moms found themselves back in the workplace in some form or another.
Where Do You Homeschool?
It may seem obvious that if you are homeschooling, you’ll be homeschooling at – where else — home! But this may or may not be true. As homeschooling parents know, learning can take place almost anywhere! In the Home We do most of our schoolwork at home. When all of my kids were small, we had a couple of Little Tikes desks where they
Free Homeschooling Curriculum Online
When my husband and I were first married, we planned how everything would work out for us financially. We would both work but live off of just one income until we started a family; then I would stay home with the children while he continued working. But things often don’t work out as we intend, and it was a real struggle to support ourselves with only
Things I Wished I’d Known Before I Started Homeschooling – #3
#3: Life Will Happen Life does just happen. Even the best-laid plans for getting the schoolwork done can be thwarted by the unexpected. Doctors visits, out-of-town company, car problems, bill payments, sick pets, necessary phone calls, friends or family in trouble, a neighbor in need — all types of situations can throw off a school day. If your children were in school, you could handle a lot of things
Things I Wished I’d Known Before I Started Homeschooling – #2 of 4
#2: You Don’t Have to Go It Alone When we first started homeschooling, we lived in a very rural mountain community. The closest little convenience store was four miles away; it took about 20 minutes just to get to the nearest grocery store of any size. The children and I spent a lot of time by ourselves at home working through lessons together. But
Things I Wished I’d Known Before I Started Homeschooling – #1 of 4
We have been homeschooling since my oldest was in Kindergarten, and soon he’s going to be a sophomore in college. This fall will begin our fourteenth year. And while I don’t consider myself a “model” homeschooling mom (in fact, I could make a long list of all of my mistakes), there are a few things I’ve learned along the way. #1: Homeschooling Isn’t Easy
Grocery Store Schooling
The other day, I sent my eighteen-year-old out to the store to pick up some sweet rolls. He called me while he was there, asking where to find them. I told him to go along the back wall by the dairy and they would be in the corner to the right. “How did you know that?” he asked. “Because I’ve been grocery shopping for
Interview with Kathy Kuhl – Part 2
Kathy Kuhl is the author of several books for homeschooling parents. In a recent interview, she describes her books and offers help for parents of struggling students. Question: Your book, Homeschooling the Struggling Learner, is designed as a handbook for parents in a similar situation. What types of topics are covered in the book? Kathy’s Answer: Homeschooling Your Struggling Learner is designed in a way that parents can jump
