Not Another Homeschool Blog

Yesterday my daughter and I had a conversation about her homeschooling goals. We started out discussing college and looked at her favorite choice online to see if it really measured up to her goals. She's 12. If you think that is a bit much for a 12 year old to discuss, read this story about a 14 year old homeschool grad who has received two degrees . Story found at NC Homeschool News Full story at Star News online Read more Notes From a Homeschooling Mom Visit Me at the Families.com Homeschool Blog Visit My Education Column at Examiner.com

A colleague of mine at Examiner.com just wrote the article S mart Money magazine ranks colleges with "payback ratio" As many homeschoolers take CLEP exams in high school to put a few credits under their belt and to prove their worth, I thought I would compare this list to the list of CLEP colleges. The number in parenthesis is return on investment. Public Colleges University of Georgia(338%) YES Texas A&M (315%)YES University of Texas yes Austin (306%) yES, WITH FEES Georgia Tech (263%) yes University of Washington (225%) NO Liberal Arts College Washington and Lee (165%) NO University of Richmond (130%),YES Lafayette College (115%),NO College of the Holy Cross (114%),YES Bucknell (114%)YES Ivy Leage Princeton (132%), YES Dartmouth (131%), YES Yale (127%),NO Harvard (124%),LIMITED University of Pennsylvania (124%) YES Read more Notes From a Homeschooling Mom Visit Me at the Families.com Homeschool Blog Visit My Education Column at Examiner.com

I must have spent an hour searching for something light hearted, fun, and homeschooly... The reason... Everything I have read today just seems down... negative... critical. I feel like homeschoolers as a whole are spending too much time defending ourselves and justifying our condition. I am going to work on being more positive in thenext year, even if I can only come up with one positive thing to say each day. jRead more Notes From a Homeschooling Mom Visit Me at the Families.com Homeschool Blog Visit My Education Column at Examiner.com

What about Honors, AP, and IB Programs? As my son works on his high school program, I have been double checking to make sure is on track to be on equal ground with other students who will be apply to college along with him. Since he is college bound, in my mind, he must be able to compete with other college students on their level. A Warning for Hybrid Homeschoolers Some time ago, I explained that the best label for our family in the homeschooling realm is hybrid homeschooling. Hybrid homeschoolers work in the middle ground between school and home. Reasons I am glad we homeschool: Cheating Reports of an increase in students cheating has caught America by surprise. Sixty-four percent of students cheated on a test in the past year and 38 percent did so two or more times, up from 60 percent and 35 percent in a 2006 survey. Grant and Scholarship Advice for Homeschoolers As the costs of state colleges continue to rise deeming them unaffordable, I am becoming worried about how my homeschoole...

Sending out some link love to my fellow homeschoolers: Phat Mommy: she almost never blogs about homeschooling. I think that is what keeps her blog fresh and interesting. She has a life. Spiritbee: I think its the pretty colors and the logo that first attracted me. Home Spun Juggling: My favorite part of this blog is the cartoons. The regular posts are good too. Nerd Family: I am a nerd too. I can't help it. Lots of cood givaways, meal plan ideas, and fun links. Read more Notes From a Homeschooling Mom Visit Me at the Families.com Homeschool Blog Visit My Education Column at Examiner.com

I really need to sit down with my husband and discuss college. We already know that the cost of college is now out of this world. We know our kids will need some kind of scholarship to help us put them both through college, especially since they are only two years apart in age. The oldest is 14 and in grade 9. So now while the firs half of our homeschooling journey was dedicated to giving the kids freedom to learn, the second half of our homeschooling journey is leaning toward building the killer homeschool portifolio and applying for every scholarship we can get out hand on. If you have info that I don't on portfolios and scholarships, please share. Read more Notes From a Homeschooling Mom Visit Me at the Families.com Homeschool Blog Visit My Education Column at Examiner.com

I have mentioned before that entrepeneurship should be part of any homeschooling program. Like I tell my kids, a job is great, but the only purpose of a job in these days and times is as a learning experience on your way to something greater. No one is ever going to give you anything in the workforce, and you should not expect them to. It is much better to make your own way. For this reason, entrepeneurship is a great way to give a homeschooler a headstart in the real world. Young entrpeneurship from lemonaide stands to lawm mowing to babysitting in the neighborhood should be encouraged and supported. As kids outgrow these simple, lower paying endeavors and look for more lucrative options, parents should be looking for ways to continue to feed thier entrepeneural spirit and help them take their endeavors to the next level. The Kaufmann Foundation is a great website to explore with your children and students. At this website, you will find All Terrain Brain which is a multimedi...

Here is an article I recently wrote for examiner.com on socialization. Other recent articles include: Clean up your act or you're homeschooling Facebook quietly welcomes homeschoolers Homeschooling in December Read more Notes From a Homeschooling Mom Visit Me at the Families.com Homeschool Blog Visit My Education Column at Examiner.com