What is Homeschooling?
Simply put, homeschooling is educating your child at home. Within that definition is a wide range of options giving parents the freedom to choose what best fits their child and family. Homeschooling is not the same as doing homework — even though both involve assignments at the kitchen table. It can be extraordinary—come see for yourself.
Is It Right For Me?
Homeschooling isn’t for everyone. I don’t love my children less because I hire a swim coach to teach them butterfly; neither do I love them more because I homeschool them. That said, almost anyone is capable of homeschooling. Taking family and student needs into consideration, many discover they can homeschool confidently and successfully.
What About the Social?
This is the question everyone asks. As a homeschooling mom of four, we finish school most days around lunch and spend the rest of the day with friends in extracurriculars. We get plenty of social, as the mileage on my car attests. The real question to ask is not if social matters, but how, and if there are benefits from separating the academic from the social.
Homeschool Legally
Homeschooling is legal across the US, with each state having its own options for teaching from home. This article discusses where to start in seeking permission to homeschool, how to avoid truancy issues, and an overview of state requirements.
Four Ways to Homeschool
It matters. Do you want the state to reimburse you $$$$ per child to school at home? Or, do you want full autonomy to decide your child’s curriculum, pace, and schedule? Or public school offered online at home? Does Zoomschool work for you? There are many great ways to get an education.
Remote VS. Homeschool?
It’s the question parents everywhere are asking—remote learning, school in masks, or homeschooling? Some families feel they are being forced to consider which is the lesser of two evils. It is not an easy question. There are, however, ways to reach an easier answer
Podschooling: What? How?
What is Podschooling, and how are families finding creative ways to make it work with different curriculum and family work schedules? Consider these practical tips as you build your Pod for providing a customized education while supporting social needs and keeping kids safe.
“My Child is Crying to Go Back to School”
Who ever thought we’d hear children begging—even marching in streets—to be allowed to go back to school? Children are developing sleep issues due to the effects of screens, stress, and loneliness. It’s beginning to take its toll, and the school year is just getting started.
Affordable Homeschooling
Only wealthy families with a full-time stay-at-home parent can homeschool. This, as well as assumptions about unmet social needs, are the top two misconceptions about homeschooling. Both are wrong.
The Biggest Reason Not to Homeschool
It isn’t social needs. It isn’t budget. It isn't curriculum. It’s this: parents aren’t teachers. Or, so critics would have us think.
Mind the (Education) Gap
Teaching is about much more than content—it is largely about successful classroom management, and that’s where a lot of parents are struggling. The good news: this is an easy solve.
What Happened to Screen Time Worries?
While useful, at some point online learning becomes self-defeating—with over-exposure to screens undermining our children’s healthy brain development. There is more than one way to learn.
My Favorite Free Resource
In the hardest seasons and the best seasons we have found that five minutes a day of this simple exercise can reap a lifetime of treasures.
Setting Goals With Kids
Setting goals doesn’t have to be hairy, scary, or mysterious. Check out these tips (and a free handout!) to make the process an easy win for the whole family.
Make Memorizing Fun
Every student has to memorize something sometime. Check out these great tips for working with your student’s strengths to make it fun—not to mention memorable!
For the Love of Reading
Helping our children fall in love with reading is, more than anything, about finding the right book. What makes a book “right” is the tricky part.
Did They Learn Enough?
Do we ever feel like we have taught our kids enough, and how do we know if we have or haven’t? Here are practical tools around stress-free learning and how to handle testing.
Finding (And Fixing) Gaps This Summer
Summer is a great time to close the gap on need areas and build it better for the coming fall. The good news? It doesn’t have to be painful.
The “Easy Make” Summer Reading Program
Getting kids excited about summer reading isn’t as hard as we think. Here are five steps, with free downloads, to make it easy (and fun!)
The Best Homeschool Resource? The Teacher.
Nearly none of us has unlimited funds for homeschooling our kids, and all of us want our kids to achieve their very best. So, how to get the most bang for our buck when it comes to home education?