Not Another Homeschool Blog

Holistic education is a system of educating the child that takes academic, emotional, and social development into consideration. Read more»

What's the problem with being a Christian Homeschooler? I asked this question in an article that was recently published on Associated Content. I should have known better. People don't necessarily mind Christians... homeschoolers only scare a select few, but to homeschool your child as a Christian, well that's just crazy. Here is the response I got, and there are sure to be plenty more: The problem is that many, if not most, Christian homeschoolers do so in order to indoctrinate their children, to brainwash them with their distorted world view. This often includes devaluing scientific fact, such as evolution, in favor of the Creationist fairytale. The children often become socially awkward at best, mentally ill at worst. While there is nothing wrong with homeschooling your children, in many cases it actually borders on child abuse. Children are not born Christian, they're born to Christian parents, and they should not be indoctrinated with myth and superstition. I mean ...

The Lost Files Prologue What a Difference A Year Makes Part 1 Chapter 1: What a Difference A Year Makes Part 2 Chapter 2: Background Influences Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 1 Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 2 Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans.... Part 1 Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans.... Part 2 Chapter 5: Socialization? Part 1 Chapter 5: Socialization? Part 2 Chapter 6 : I thought I already knew my children! Part 1 Chapter 6 : I thought I already knew my children! Part 2 Chapter 7 : Leaving the School System Part 1 Chapter 7 : Leaving the School System Part 2 Chapter 8: Choosing Curriculum Part 1 Math U See combines the concepts of two of the best traditional programs available, Saxon math and Morteson Manipulatives. Math U See uses a multi-sensory approach to math with manipulatives and systematic review. The reason I like this program is because my youngest child is definitely a visual learner and from the demonstrations I have witnessed, these manipulatives makes the math c...

If you are anything like I was when I began homeschooling, as a new homeschooler, you are starved for advice from homeschoolers who have been at it a while. Read more»

People seem feel it is their right to put homeschoolers in a position to supply Homeschool facts to all who inquire. If you need to know, here are some facts for you. Read more»

Whenever a homeschooler encounters someone who knows little to nothing about homeschooling, he or she spends a great deal of time fighting misconceptions. Read more»

I feel like grades should be completely eliminated from the education process. If anything, student's reports should reflect "Mastery", "Satisfactory", and "Unsatisfactory" progress. Read more»

A team of home-schooled students from the East Valley won the Honeywell Fiesta Bowl Aerospace Challenge Friday, employing teamwork, dedicated research and confidence in their abilities...By winning first place in the competition, the Kosmos team won a VIP trip to the Johnson Space Center in Houston for a behind-the-scenes look at the NASA facilities. The team also will be recognized on the field at the 37th annual Fiesta Bowl Wednesday. full story here Read more Notes From a Homeschooling Mom Visit Free Home Ed. Homeschool For Free!

Most children are bright. Some are bright in one area; others are bright in several areas. But, how do you know if your child is just bright, or gifted? Read more»

The Lost Files Prologue What a Difference A Year Makes Part 1 Chapter 1: What a Difference A Year Makes Part 2 Chapter 2: Background Influences Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 1 Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 2 Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans.... Part 1 Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans.... Part 2 Chapter 5: Socialization? Part 1 Chapter 5: Socialization? Part 2 Chapter 6 : I thought I already knew my children! Part 1 Chapter 6 : I thought I already knew my children! Part 2 Chapter 7 : Leaving the School System Part 1 Chapter 7 : Leaving the School System Part 2 Chapter 8: Choosing Curriculum Part 1 In writing about choosing a homeschooling curriculum, I did not do it to promote any programs I might be using, but to show the amount of thought, work, and flexibility involved in choosing one. A whole year into the process, I am still not settled completely on the curriculum we will be using in the long run for homeschooling. Though I am comfortable with what I am using right now, I ...

Most children are bright. Some are bright in one area; others are bright in several areas. But, how do you know if your child is just bright, or gifted? Read more»

The Lost Files Prologue What a Difference A Year Makes Part 1 Chapter 1: What a Difference A Year Makes Part 2 Chapter 2: Background Influences Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 1 Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 2 Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans.... Part 1 Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans.... Part 2 Chapter 5: Socialization? Part 1 Chapter 5: Socialization? Part 2 Chapter 6 : I thought I already knew my children! Part 1 Chapter 6 : I thought I already knew my children! Part 2 Chapter 7 : Leaving the School System Part 1 Chapter 7 : Leaving the School System Part 2 My son’s teacher was not exactly elated either when I told her that we would not be returning to school the next year. Her response was that he was doing "well enough". "Why mess with a good thing?. What she did not understand is how miserable and bored he was. He was just not the type to act out. He is the type to get depressed. He could easily slip through the cracks and we could end up losing him in any manner of ways...

I had a recent conversation with a relative over teaching foreign language to my kids. This person has a daughter in college who is majoring in languages. I was thoroughly impressed by this young woman. Read more»

It's Never Too Soon to Learn About College Financial Aid For many students looking to go to college, financial aid is the only hope they have of attending college. Read more» of this article I wrote for associated content.

I feel like grades should be completely eliminated from the education process. If anything, student's reports should reflect "Mastery", "Satisfactory", and "Unsatisfactory" progress. Read more»

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. - Dr. Seuss Let us remember that the Christmas heart is a giving heart, a wide open heart that thinks of others first. The birth of the baby Jesus stands as the most significant event in all history, because it has meant the pouring into a sick world of the healing medicine of love which has transformed all manner of hearts for almost two thousand years... Underneath all the bulging bundles is this beating Christmas heart. (unknown) And the angel said unto them, "Fear not! For, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, Which shall be to all people. "For u...

The Lost Files Prologue What a Difference A Year Makes Part 1 Chapter 1: What a Difference A Year Makes Part 2 Chapter 2: Background Influences Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 1 Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 2 Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans.... Part 1 Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans.... Part 2 Chapter 5: Socialization? Part 1 Chapter 5: Socialization? Part 2 Chapter 6 : I thought I already knew my children! Part 1 Chapter 6 : I thought I already knew my children! Part 2 Chapter 7 : Leaving the School System Part 1 Perhaps I should not have informed the teachers I planned to pull my children out of school so early in the game. I believe it did more harm than good considering the steps one teacher took to keep my child in the system. This caused a lot of frustration on both my part and the teacher’s. I was at a conference with my daughter’s teacher when she really got under my skin. She hinted strongly that my daughter needed to be tested for ADHD and medicated. She talked a...

Lets try this again. I tried to do a giveaway last month, but only one person responded and even they did not follow the rules. To get this free homeschool book just write why you homeschool in YOUR OWN blog WITH a link back to my blog. Then leave me a comment to let me know you did it. Got it? Great! Drawing Date is January 15th, 2008 Read more Notes From a Homeschooling Mom Visit Free Home Ed. Homeschool For Free!

In life, there are those who win and those who lose. I guess you could say that school sets children up to understand those harsh realities. Read more»

Exceptional students include those that fall into the top 3% of gifted students as well as those classified as slow or mentally retarded. ESL students may also qualify as exceptional. Read more»

The definition of e learning is education enhanced by computers. E learning is currently used in all levels of education, both in the classroom and out. Read more»

Early childhood education has become a concern of the government, who pushes poor children to be formally trained before they are old enough for Kindergarten. Read more»

Dyslexia is diagnosed when it is discovered that a child has problems processing language. Five percent of schoolchildren are said to have problems learning to read with most of those students being dyslexic. Read more»

Distance education, also called distance learning, is the process of educating people who are elsewhere (usually at home). Distance education is not a new phenomenon. Read more»

The Lost Files Prologue What a Difference A Year Makes Part 1 Chapter 1: What a Difference A Year Makes Part 2 Chapter 2: Background Influences Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 1 Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 2 Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans.... Part 1 Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans.... Part 2 Chapter 5: Socialization? Part 1 Chapter 5: Socialization? Part 2 Chapter 6 : I thought I already knew my children! Part 1 Chapter 6 : I thought I already knew my children! Part 2 After evaluating myself, I then tested my daughter and she scored right sided on several assessments as well. (These tests consisted of me checking off her traits from a list, and then adding the score.) Then I found a site with a visual test had her take, and though she had previously tested right brained, I could see a struggle where she wanted to answer in a left brained way though the right brained answer was her first inclination. I had the same struggle when I attempted the test. I assume this strugg...

To stem the flood of danger and violence, no-tolerance laws have become the way to discipline students. But no tolerance laws may have gone too far. Read more»

Reports from colleges each fall indicate that high school graduates are not prepared for college. Professors often complain of college freshmen being unable to put together a proper sentence. Read more»

The NEA supports a class size of 15 students in regular classrooms and even less students in special needs classes. Yet the average class size in American schools is still in the mid 20's. Read more»

300 years ago, an American student's education consisted of two books... the Bible, and the New England Primer. Now, what a student needs to learn can barely fill a full set of world book encyclopedias. Read more»

The Lost Files Prologue What a Difference A Year Makes Part 1 Chapter 1: What a Difference A Year Makes Part 2 Chapter 2: Background Influences Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 1 Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 2 Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans.... Part 1 Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans.... Part 2 Chapter 5: Socialization? Part 1 Chapter 5: Socialization? Part 2 Chapter 6 : I thought I already knew my children! Part 1 In preparing to homeschool, I read 30 or more books on the subject. My husband would tell you, when I get my mind set on learning about something, that I put all of my time and energy into it. My quest to learn everything about homeschooling was no exception. Two months after the decision to homeschool was made I came out of my self-imposed exile and from under my stack of books ready to use the information, I had learned. It was time to test the book knowledge with real world applications. My first responsibility, as I saw it, was to figure out how my children learned. I realize...

In 2002 forty-two of the Pennsylvania's schools were slated for privatization. Students locked arms in protest. Unions protested. Parents argued. Change is scary. Read more»

There is no person more enthusiastic and excited about his job than a beginning teacher. If they are lucky this excitement lasts a few years, but eventually that "save the world" attitude wears off. Read more»

The Lost Files Prologue What a Difference A Year Makes Part 1 Chapter 1: What a Difference A Year Makes Part 2 Chapter 2: Background Influences Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 1 Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 2 Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans.... Part 1 Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans.... Part 2 Chapter 5: Socialization? Part 1 Chapter 5: Socialization? Part 2 Ten days before her final school year had come to completion; my daughter got a good taste of socialization as well. The school held a Bazaar project that all of the first graders participated in. They all made items to sell, which other students in the school purchased. She worked very hard for the last 3 weeks because she was so excited about this project. She had me purchase equipment to make this project. She made beaded jewelry and hair accessories. Other children however did not put as much time effort into their projects. She sold out quickly and made $52.00 in play money. Other children ended up throwing half of their items in t...

Students cannot afford to miss a great deal of instruction, as teachers can seldom stop what they are doing, and teach what a child has missed. Read more»

It is a known fact that as testing and measurement becomes more important in schools that the arts become less important. The schools fell into this pattern because short-term goals were met quicker and results showed they worked. Read more»

If you are going to mock homeschoolers, you might as well be funny or at least irreverent. If you are dying for a reason to roll your eyes or for a guilty chuckle read this post that suggests picking teams should be foremost on a homeschoolers mind, and the one that followed after us homeschoolers ran the Principal off to Canada! ps. He mocks Canadians, truck stops, and several other groups as well. Good fun! Read more Notes From a Homeschooling Mom Visit Free Home Ed. Homeschool For Free!

Accreditation is the voluntary process of being certified as meeting minimum requirements designated by an accredited agency. They review schools programs to ensure that students are taught according to standards. Read more»

The Lost Files Prologue What a Difference A Year Makes Part 1 Chapter 1: What a Difference A Year Makes Part 2 Chapter 2: Background Influences Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 1 Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 2 Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans.... Part 1 Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans.... Part 2 Chapter 5: Socialization? Most people insist that homeschoolers do not receive socialization that children in schools receive. This makes no sense to me. (Socialization means the adoption of behavior patterns of the surrounding culture.) So in socializing children, we are putting them together to adopt the behavior of all of the children around them? Personally, I would prefer that I be their surrounding culture and they can adopt my behavior. Growing up, I had my own personal experiences with socialization. In first grade, I found out about guilt by association. Because I received a group spanking in class, I learned to go ahead and get in trouble anyway. In second grade, I learned th...

The Lost Files Prologue What a Difference A Year Makes Part 1 Chapter 1: What a Difference A Year Makes Part 2 Chapter 2: Background Influences Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 1 Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 2 Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans.... Part 1 Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans.... Part 2 Whether we end up using these books according to my original intention or not, does not really matter, as these books are necessary in any homeschooling house. The author/ Editor of What Your Kindergarten-Sixth Grader Needs To Know, E.D. Hirsh Jr. has compiled every well-known fact in American culture such as literature, slogans, sayings, history, math and all other subjects that a child of a particular age or grade should know. There are seven volumes in all. The premise of these books were to create a national standard so that children in the same grade are learning the same things at the same time be it from classroom to classroom, or from state to state. In the introduction of th...

The Lost Files Prologue What a Difference A Year Makes Part 1 Chapter 1: What a Difference A Year Makes Part 2 Chapter 2: Background Influences Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 1 Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 2 Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans.... Part 1 Being a planner by nature, I decided to come up with a curriculum plan for the first year of homeschooling my children. I started by writing objectives for my daughter’s second grade year. As a starting point, I used the book; What Your Second Grader Needs to Know by E.D. Hirsch. This is a very popular book within both the home schooled and schooled communities and is a great gauge to help you know if your child’s knowledge in is line with their peers. I also integrated the Kingfisher Illustrated History Encyclopedia (an illustrated history book for children that follows history from pre-historic times to middle Ages) as the basis for our historical knowledge from which unit studies will be taken. Unit studies included, spelling, rea...

The Lost Files Prologue What a Difference A Year Makes Part 1 Chapter 1: What a Difference A Year Makes Part 2 Chapter 2: Background Influences Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 1 Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 2 Am I capable of doing this? Personal history has shown that lack of patience is my biggest fault. How am I going to react when they do not feel like cooperating? What am I going to say when they have asked one too many questions on any given day? Am I going to be the one to have a tantrum when they do not understand? My lack of organization would scare away even the very best Professional Organizer. Will I be able to remain organized enough to ensure my kids learn everything they should know. Will I leave big holes in their education because I forgot, or missed something? Will projects started with the best of intentions ever get completed? My children will be witness to nearly everything I do and say in the course of a day. If I am going to mold them into the ...

Can you say intensive? there are so many pearls from so many homeschoolers in this Carnival. My favorite so far is My son was permanently removed from school in the FIRST grade. If your kid is in school and always sick, this is something you want to read! Read more Notes From a Homeschooling Mom Visit Free Home Ed. Homeschool For Free!

The Lost Files Prologue What a Difference A Year Makes Part 1 Chapter 1: What a Difference A Year Makes Part 2 Chapter 2: Background Influences Chapter 3: What Am I doing? Part 1 What am I doing? I asked myself, that question on that first morning after the decision was final. We (or rather I) were going to homeschool our children. "No one is holding a gun to your head"; I told myself; "you are making your life harder than it has to be" "Why have I chosen to home school your children, and what do they lose by staying home?" Looking back to when I was pregnant with Jackson, our son and first child, my husband suggested we try homeschooling, as we had already agreed that I would stay home and not use childcare. Why not keep going, he asked. What I said to him in response was not nice. I felt homeschooling would make me a prisoner to my children, and it was not in the original deal when we decided to have kids. No way, by the time they where old enough for...

The Lost Files Prologue What a Difference A Year Makes Part 1 Chapter 1: What a Difference A Year Makes Part 2 Chapter 2: Background Influences Looking back at my own upbringing, I remember being in a Special Ed class for first grade, mostly because I refused to speak during the placement test. I wasted away there for 7 months until the fateful day when a substitute teacher called in a male teacher from across the hall to discipline us. Now from what I can remember, although it was almost 30 years ago, the class needed discipline. The children were running around like wild animals, jumping off desks and yelling and screaming. I even remember children going in the storage closet to inspect each other’s genitals. Yes, in 1st grade. The teacher took out his paddle, sat down in a low chair, lined us all up, and paddled us. An hour later, I was the only child still crying and the teachers became concerned. This is when the substitute teacher remembered I had been sitting there the whole tim...

(this post comes from the journal I wrote in my first 18 months of homeschooling) The Lost Files Prologue What a Difference A Year Makes Part 1 At this point one year ago, we realized there was nothing we could do to help our children excel within the school system. Looking at our own educational history and that of relatives and friends with similar backgrounds as ourselves, it was apparent that problems this early on in ones academic career meant sure failure in the end. We had to do something and we had to do it now. We decided to homeschool our children. A year has passed since we made the decision. We had them stay in school for the remainder of the year in order to do research, and to prepare for the great task of teaching our kids. This was not an easy endeavor by any means. The time I spent reading and doing research did help to prepare me for the task, but the thought of shouldering such responsibility often kept me awake at nights. When the children left public school last Ma...

(this post comes from the journal I wrote in my first 18 months of homeschooling) The Lost Files Prologue What a Difference A Year Makes Part 1 Where did these brilliant children come from? At age seven, my daughter (second grade) is reading at a 4th grade level and doing math at a 3rd grade level. Not only has she finished 2nd grade in 4 months, and has started 3rd grade mid year, but in her spare time she is publishing a monthly e-magazine. She is also excelling in piano and has the ability to play by ear. She aspires to be the world's youngest millionaire. My son, Age 9 (4th grade) is reading at a 9th grade level, and is showing an incredible amount of giftedness as a musician. His skills on the piano are well beyond his years and he recently began playing the flute as well. In his spare time, he draws models of buildings and airplanes and then constructs them from mini Legos and other items he finds around the house. He says he wants to be an architect and a musician when he gr...

The Lost Files (INTRODUCTORY POST) Prologue : I wrote this poem halfway through the first year of homeschooling. It is specifically about my daughter who was the main reason we started homeschooling when we did. I thought it made a great prologue. They Said She Couldn’t Learn They said she couldn't learn; wouldn't learn. Perhaps she shouldn't learn. Let’s medicate out of concern, so she can't disturb the others. There’s something wrong inside her brain. Others are just the same. We must label them all in the name of education for all - except her. I did not listen for she is mine. Though she tires me, I will take the time. She tests my patience, but it is not a crime to be so energetic. Now I sit beside this child. She is unruly, and often wild. But on her face, there is a smile that melts a mother’s heart. I now know I've made a choice, to let a little girl keep her voice. Someday a nation will rejoice instead of just her mother. She will grow up free to be he...