So, how do you homeschool?

by on November 21, 2012
in methods & philosophies · 7 Comments

Written by contributor Amida of Journey into Unschooling.

“You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself.”

~Galileo Galilei

When people first find out that I homeschool my children, their first response is inevitably, “Wow — That’s great!” followed closely by, “How do you do it?”

They wonder if there is a set schedule with a set curriculum. To them, “homeschool” translates to “school at home”. They comment on how hard it must be to keep four kids under control or even hint at my brilliance for being able to “teach” them everything they need to know.

Usually, I just shrug it off and say it’s not really anything extraordinary. It’s all we know and very much just a part of our lives. If anything,  I find the act of getting kids to and from school and extracurricular activities, in addition to making sure they complete all their homework everyday to be an amazing feat all its own.
[Read more...]

All kids have special needs.

by on November 19, 2012
in inspiration · 38 Comments

Written by Jamie Martin, editor of Simple Homeschool and writer at Steady Mom

Over a decade ago, I had the extraordinary honor of working with special needs children in both schools and homes. I mainly helped them and their families in whatever way I could, and did my best to shower a little extra love their way. I worked with some children who were severely disabled, a child with cerebral palsy, a child with ADHD, and children with autism.

I both loved and feared this work. Loved it–because I felt like I was making a difference in the lives of these families and learning so much at the same time.

Feared it–because in the back of my mind I wondered if maybe God was preparing me for something. Like one day he was going to “make” me have a child with special needs of my own.
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Weekend links

by on November 18, 2012
in links · 2 Comments

The winner of yesterday’s Oak Meadow giveaway is Jalynn Patterson–congratulations! Head here to read more about Oak Meadow’s curriculum and other resources.

“No man who worships education has got the best out of education…. Without a gentle contempt for education no man’s education is complete.” ~ G.K. Chesterton

Weekend giveaway: Oak Meadow

by on November 17, 2012
in giveaways ·

This giveaway has ended. Thanks for entering!

Welcome to another weekend giveaway, sponsored this week by Oak Meadow.

In their own words:

Curriculum packages—dubbed “curriculum in a box” or “boxed curriculum”—offer homeschooling parents a complete curriculum for a full year. Some parents feel they have struck gold when they find a curriculum package that suits their child.

Many other homeschoolers, however, think that curriculum packages are too confining, too rigid. They think, “Curriculum in a box? That’s not for creative types like us.”

Think again.
[Read more...]

Q&A Friday: What if your child could only learn one lesson?

by on November 16, 2012
in a mom's education · 15 Comments

Written by Jamie Martin, editor of Simple Homeschool and writer at Steady Mom

Homeschooling feels awfully complicated at times, wouldn’t you agree? There are multiple subjects, multiple children (usually!), and multiple household tasks to juggle.

All these categories place demands on our time, and in one way or another we need to devote energy to them. But sometimes we lose focus and our lives become a blur of reading lessons, math problems, and test-taking strategies. Not too fun for anyone.

We measure our kids–and our success as homeschooling parents–by these external benchmarks, but what is actually most important in the long run?
[Read more...]

Always learning

by on November 14, 2012
in inspiration · 8 Comments

Written by contributor Rachel Wolf of Lusa Organics and Clean

Last week my mom came to visit.

When she arrived I was cleaning up from a class I had just taught to our homeschooling coop.

As we tidied up, she asked about our lesson.

“What were you teaching?”

I have a background in environmental education, so we could have easily been digging in to some serious topics.

Endangered species management, ecology, or plant taxonomy perhaps.

Or maybe something basic yet academic.

Like math.

But instead I was teaching letterboxing. [Read more...]

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