Friday, I read a post on Examiner.com entitled “Public School Enrollment Increasing Due to Economic Crisis“. Is this true? I don’t know.

Certainly no one can argue that money-wise things have gotten tough and will likely get tougher! Many people, if not fearful, are concerned, very concerned about the economy’s effect on their family and lifestyle. Many  have begun tightening and re-tightening their belts. Tough choices are being made.

The author, in the above mentioned post, wrote that many homeschoolers are considering putting their kids back into public school because the cost of home school is too expensive in today’s economic crisis. She stated she personally knew homeschoolers who are considering public school as an option in order to cut household expenses and to allow the homeschooling parent to get a job to further ease the financial pressures.

For any of you who may be considering the tough choice of putting your children in public school for financial reasons, may I encourage you to take your time in making this decision.

1. Pray. Ask God to show you His desires. Ask Him to reveal to you ways you can either increase your income or decrease your household outflow. Ask Him to show you creative ways to homeschool and to bring others alongside.
2. Consider why you began homeschooling in the first place and carefully, prayerfully reconsider those reasons. Have any of them changed? My guess is, if anything, they have grown stronger. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been spending a lot of time talking about money and the need for us to be teaching our high school students how to handle finances responsibly. Teaching your teen about finances is critical to their knowing how to handle money wisely & will make a huge difference in their lives when they graduate high school and are on their own in the real world.

Let me side-track for a moment….if you read Teaching Teens Real Life Money Skills: What We’re Doing, you’ll remember my “rant” about one of my pet peeves regarding young people not knowing how to make change. Well, it happened again last night. The bill was $5.81. I handed the cashier $6. She entered it into the register and it showed her she needed to give me .19 cents in change. Then… I did the unthinkable, I said, “Oh wait, I have a penny” and held it out. She looked at the register, said “Ah”, “Ah”…. “I can’t take it because I’ve already entered it into the computer and it shows me how much change to give you.” I just sighed and took my .19 cents. My grandkids were with me and were surprised. My grandson, with his sweet, sensitive heart, said “Maybe she’s just tired.” Yeah, maybe…

OK, end of rant and back to the topic at hand: our kids need to know how to handle money, especially in this economy.  It’s part of life, a huge part. To help you with this, 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 »

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 »

Looking for a fresh new way to approach highschool history? Here’s an idea – family genealogy! Have your kids trace your family back as far as you want to go in history. Not only will you cover history, you’ll learn some fascinating information about your family that can be passed on to future generations! Who knows, you may even discover a few “black sheep”

As you begin to put your family tree together, use it as the springboard for history. For each member or family group make pages on your computer to document such things as: Read the rest of this entry »

I hope you have found this series on “What About Driver’s Ed?” helpful, especially for those of you who homeschool.
Here’s the recap…

Laying the Ground Rules highlights the importance of giving thoughtful consideration to the expectations, restrictions and consequences for your new driver before he or she ever gets behind the wheel. Putting them in writing in the form of a “Parent/Teen Agreement” can save a lot of headaches and potential heartaches later.

Mechanics of Safe Driving underlines the need to include the more practical side of Driver’s Ed. Teaching your child preventative measures Read the rest of this entry »

Today you’ll find several good and free online resources for teaching Driver’s Education. These resources are perfect for homeschooled teens.

Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) by Ford
Driving Skills for Life is a free comprehensive Driver’s Ed program. DSFL covers the following four driving skills:

1. Hazard Recognition
2. Vehicle Handling
3. Speed Management
4. Space Management

Learning tools include:

• Four study modules, a quiz, car care videos, interactive games, and enhanced curriculum noting the importance of eco-driving to personal safety and the environment.
• Free Educator Packet that can be used by students and parents at home, as well as educators in the classroom and community settings. Packet includes an in-depth DVD focusing on each of the four driving skills listed above, a letter for parents, a letter for educators, a leader’s guide, brochures, and cards. Materials are available in English and Spanish. Read the rest of this entry »