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Guide to Unschooling for Beginners
There's nothing I get asked about more as a parent than unschooling, and nothing I recommend more to other parents.
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Instead of Curriculum: Living Math
Why do some homeschoolers choose not to use one of the many complete math curricula available today? And what do they do instead? To many homeschooling parents, math feels like the one thing that must...
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Can Creativity Be Taught?
For thirty years I have been asking these questions, and more: What is the best method for teaching art? Should art only be taught in art classes? Should art classes be discipline-based, process-based,...
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Homeschooling for Safety
This morning, my jaw dropped when I heard radio host Dennis Miller repeatedly tell a caller who was upset about the horrendous school shootings in Connecticut that he should consider pulling his young...
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Get Ready for Spring with Field Guides
A library of field guides is an important resource for homeschooling families, and with spring just around the corner, it's a great time to make sure you have what you need on hand to help with...
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Talking About Books By Talking About Movies
Elementary age homeschooled kids are often eager book group participants. They'll describe plot and action and favorite characters, and they are enthusiastic about their recommendations. However,...
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Unschooling
The range of homeschoolers claiming the unschool label vary from "radical unschoolers" who disdain any form of curricula or textbooks to those who prefer child-led learning but might also be called...
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Instead of Curriculum
Everyone has a comment on the increasing popularity of homeschooling. When I talk to people about homeschooling, they frequently mention the availability of "so much curriculum these days," as if that...
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How To Raise Vocabulary Geeks
When I tried to throw our dictionary out my oldest threw a fit. This is a very old dictionary. It was owned by my Great Aunt Mildred. The book is huge, with indents along the side for each letter of...
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Free To Learn Is A Transformative Book
Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life by Peter Gray isn’t just a book, it’s a powerful agent of...
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Contextual Learning: Homeschooling Through Fashion
This year in my role as a homeschool evaluator, I met a number of tweens and teens who are interested in fashion. As we went through their portfolio of work and talked about their year, I was...
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Interest-Based Groups For Learning & Fun
In my family, interest-based groups have been an important part of homeschooling life. We formed a number of these groups over the years. Some, like a history club made up of eager parents and...
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The Alphabet Walk: Learning ABCs with Rocks and Trees
Winter is a wonderful time to take Alphabet Walks with your children. In my part of the U.S., this means bundling up for the cold weather, but hunting for the ABCs in nature may be just the thing to...
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The Homeschool Parent-Teacher Conference
My first t-shirt as a homeschooling parent proclaimed, “Don’t bother me. I’m having a parent-teacher conference.” This expressed well my initial thoughts about the roles of mother and teacher while...
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9 Benefits of Hosting an International Exchange Student
Hosting an international exchange student can be a great experience for homeschooling families. We hosted a student from Ecuador, and while the commitment can seem daunting, having Isaac José with us...
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Homeschooling at Night: How Nightschooling Can Work for You
Everybody knows that your kids should be up early hitting the books, right? Homeschooling goes better if Mom is organized and has lessons prepared for first thing in the morning. Homeschooling works...
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Instead of Curriculum: DIY.org
During my busy season helping families meet Virginia's annual evidence of progress requirement for homeschoolers, I enjoy seeing all the resources parents use to help their children learn. This year,...
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Deschooling vs. Unschooling: What’s the Difference?
New homeschoolers and non-homeschoolers sometimes wonder about the word "deschooling" vs. "unschooling". The prefixes "de" and "un" often mean such similar things. We "de-humidify" and we "un-tie" our...
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Thinking Outside the Textbook
I’m a member of several homeschooling groups and email loops, and the most common questions are all related to, “It’s a battle to get my child to do her work. I thought homeschooling would be better...
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