Tag Archives: homeschool

Scratch Painting with Preschoolers

Here is a great rainy day activity that you can do with your preschooler. Not only is it fun, but it can be educational, too. Preschoolers can be creative, practice letters and numbers and learn how to hold a pencil. Plus, you’ll have some great artwork to hang on the refrigerator or send to the grandparents. The idea of scratch painting is simple. You start with a blank surface that is usually black, although it doesn’t have to be. Your child takes an implement, such as a stylus or dull pencil (although anything with a bit of an edge or … Continue reading →

New Jersey Legislature Turns on Homeschoolers

As of right now, and for quite some time New Jersey has the state where all homeschoolers wish they lived. There have been NO homeschool regulations in that state and the only laws written on paper, are more about what you need to do If someone accuses you of educational abuse. Read: Homeschooling in New Jersey Recently, two members of New Jersey’s State Assembly have introduced a bill the following: They propose that parents: 1) Be given a deadline to register with their local school; 2) Turn in an outline of educational objectives by subject; 3) Certify that children have … Continue reading →

Creating a Rich Environment for Kids

Since we have moved to our new area, we run into families that are what I would consider affluent. The kids live in large, new homes and are surrounded with plenty of the latest toys, clothes, vacations and possessions. Each home has an expensive outdoor play systems, trampolines, pools, a number of current video game systems, etc. With our frugal budget, we can’t quite compete with all of that. But what we can do is create a rich environment for our kids. I think we have managed to do that, since our house is the current “hang out house” for … Continue reading →

Kids Virtual Field Trips

Whether you home school, summer school, preschool or just like to have educational fun with your kids, you should be very interested in this blog post. Virtual field trips for kids (and in some cases by kids) are a great way to introduce children to places that are not feasible to physically visit. You can also encourage kids to chronicle their own real-life field trips and share them with others, whether through their own website, a YouTube video or through a website such as MeetMeAtTheCorner.org. Let’s start with MeetMeAtTheCorner.org. It is focused on the New York City area, but it … Continue reading →

Homeschooling Results: Strong Secure Kids

Homeschoolers spend a lot of time discussing test results, and positive socialization of homeschoolers. We like to show that are kids come out normal, or even better than normal. We like to reassure ourselves that we did the right thing by homeschooling. I especially like reading about homeschooled kids who have done something great with their lives like written a book or started a company. I like reading about gifted homeschoolers who shoot through the curriculum and homeschoolers who get great college scholarships. I also like looking at my own children and comparing where they are with where they would … Continue reading →

Perceptions of Homeschooling: When others think you are doing a bad job

One of the hardest parts of being a homeschooler is dealing with the criticism that goes along with it. Just reading the occasional article or blog makes it clear that by homeschooling people have the perception that we are doing a bad job with my kids. Many of us do try to prove that we are not doing a bad job. We write, we blog, we discuss, we try and try and try to prove to the general public that we are good parents and educators. This approach however is a colossal waste of time. It tends to come across … Continue reading →

Invalid Reasons to Homeschool: A Rebuttal to a Public Educators Opinion

Our Education blogger here at families.com gave an assessment of what she feels are invalid reasons to homeschool. We all know the cliché of how the grass on the other side of the fence always looks greener. Well, in an educational setting, we often see our grass as greener than that on the other side. It takes a special pair of rose-colored glasses to educate children. So, while I agree with her in some aspects. Of course, as a homeschooler, I am looking at the grass from a different perspective. Fad/phase: I have written about this phenomenon before in The … Continue reading →

Unschooling, Homeschooling, Classroom: Choose the Method that Meets the Needs of the Child

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One of my previous articles gave you some insight into unshcooling. Andrea has already addressed many questions about unschooling in Homeschool. However I thought that it might be interesting to throw in an article from a public educator’s point of view. As you know unschooling involves letting children learn on their own in a natural environment instead of in a structured learning setting such as a classroom. It is more relaxed with less “bookwork”. So does this work? It can. I think that unschooling and typical homeschooling and schooling in general all basically follow the same rule. That rule is … Continue reading →

Test Anxiety and the Homeschooler

My son did not finish his Algebra Curriculum during last school year. As a homeschooler, his class allowed him to move at his own pace. However, he needs to finish the curriculum this summer or start over in the fall. Since he is just going into 9th grade, it would not hurt him to start from scratch, as he would end up with a better understanding of the course. Still, He chose to finish the curriculum this summer. In watching him perform in Algebra over the last year, I noticed that he is still having problems taking tests. As explained … Continue reading →

Now is the Time to Teach Your Homeschoolers About Politics

There could not be a better time during a presidential election to teach homeschoolers about politics and the elections process. It is just so easy to take advantage of this ginormous teaching opportunity presented during a presidential elections season. This also makes a great summer project since many kids are taking a break from their regular studies. So far, during the elections process, my kids have learned about the nomination process as we have followed the nomination process of the presidential candidates. They now understand delegates and superdelegtes, and even argue as to why the process needs overhauling. When they … Continue reading →