Congratulations to all homeschooled graduating highschoolers!!! And, to the parents who stayed the course, hats off to you!!! I have not yet had the privilege of graduating one from high school – that will come next year, but I have already been giving thought as to how to make this milestone in their lives special.

Homeschooled highschoolers don’t typically have the “gala events” that their public schooled counter parts do (not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion) but recognizing their accomplishment and ushering them into this new chapter of life can and should be a special time and memory in their life. Here are a few of my thoughts…. Read the rest of this entry »

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Have you ever wished you could find some reviews about a particular homeschool curriculum before you spend the cash? I know I have. In this post, I will share some of the curriculum review sites I’ve found and used. I’ll start with one of my favorites…

HomeSchool Reviews - The reason Homeschool Reviews is one of my favorite curriculum review sites is because the reviews are written by parents who have used the curriculum. Each curriculum may have several differing views that have been helpful to me in my decision making. Read the rest of this entry »

This weekend, as I know you all know, we as a nation will honor all those who have sacrificed to preserve the freedom that is so often abused and taken for granted. Memorial Day was declared a national holiday in 1971 and to many Americans that is all it will be – a holiday – cookouts, day off from work, family picnic etc. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with any of those things. In fact, they are good things and we can celebrate with them precisely because because we are free.

But our tribute to those who gave it all should be so much more, so much more.

May I encourage you to use this opportunity in your homeschooling to share with your children the real meaning and history behind this holiday. I have found some resources to help you with this. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s hard to believe that it’s that time of year again when homeschoolers begin looking for resources to use for next year. (Where does the time go?!?) Let me give you some ideas on where you can find some good buys and good places to sell the used homeschool curriculum and resources you no longer need.

eBay

EBay is one of my favorites. In my opinion and experience, it’s a great place to buy and sell. I have purchased a number of homeschool resources for a very reasonable price.

The most critical thing to check before purchasing is the seller’s feedback. I personally won’t buy anything from anyone with a feedback score below 98%

I have also sold many items, for what I believe is a fair price (my customers seem to be happy according to my feedback ratings – click here to check out my store) and I have been able to recover some of the cost of my original purchase. You can also check out the eBay box (you’ll have to scroll down a bit)on the right for some of the other current homeschool listings. Read the rest of this entry »

There is such freedom in homeschooling, just one of the many things I love about it! One such freedom is all the options we have to decide what our kids study and how they study it. An option that many who homeschool highschool students may not be aware of is the “block plan” also nick-named the “Colorado Plan“.

As you might guess, this concept took root in Colorado at Colorado College in 1968. Their motto: “one thing at a time.” At a committee meeting, professors were discussing their concern that students were feeing pulled in too many directions at a time, i.e., spread too thin, depleting them of both time and energy. As a result, they felt that students were spending more time juggling schedules than learning. (Kind of sounds like public highschool students, doesn’t it?)

They wanted their students to have the time to be able to deeply grasp the subject they were studying, rather than doing only what had to be done in order to meet the requirements of all their other classes.

And so the Colorado Plan, which has come to be known as the Block Plan was born. 40 years later it is still used and considered a great success. As listed on the Colorado College site, these are the benefits they believe the Block Plan offers: Read the rest of this entry »

Hot off the presses! Finally!!! 50 Best Websites for Homeschooling Highschool is a directory that I have been working on for months and finally it is ready - yea!!!!

This terrific resource (if I do say so myself ) features 50 of the best and FREE online resources for home educated highschoolers.

When we began homeschool smack-dab in the middle of the school year, I frantically searched the web for sites appropriate for teens. I easily found a lot of information for younger grades, but finding sites appropriate for the middle or high school ages proved considerably more difficult.

As a result, I specifically targeted sites offering high school level information, lessons, etc., for this directory. The cool thing is many, if not most of these sites, Read the rest of this entry »

If your child has special needs and/or suffers from a learning disability that seriously hampers his ability to stick to a routine, then homeschooling is your best choice. Not only will he or she be at home with you in a loving, flexible environment, your child will be gaining a quality education, without the attached stigma disabilities often bring in a public school setting.

As his or her parent, you know your child best and can adapt the learning style to best fit his or her needs. Learning from a textbook while sitting at a desk is not the only way to learn and often times is one of the least effective - for any child - especially for long-term retention.

Goal setting is an important part of homeschooling a child with disability. Try establishing a set the number of working hours per week for the child, but allowing for those “bad days” - we all have them. Read the rest of this entry »