Home Educator's Family Times News Online

Freedom to Learn Who You Are by Rebecca Auerbach

Perhaps the most common argument against homeschooling is that children who do not experience the school social scene, especially in high school, will never be able to learn how to handle the difficult aspects of relating to peers. After their "sheltered," "protected" lives as homeschoolers, they will enter college or the adult world incapable of fitting in, coping with peer pressure, or making friends. But as a graduate of twelve years of homeschooling who now attends college and lives on campus, I have found that my homeschool background is largely an advantage. Homeschooling gave me the opportunity to become sure of my identity, my priorities, and my beliefs. Now I can meet the college social scene with confidence, free to choose my level of conformity without doubting myself or becoming a slave to the judgments of my peers.

How Homeschooling Isolates Me by Rachel Cote (Homeschool Student Guest Editorial)

Homeschooling is a wonderful thing. I think it's a lot better than public or private school. Home schooling isolates me, but in a different way. It isolates me in a good way.

Adding Humor (and Fun) to Homeschooling by Lois Corcoran

Home schooling is one of the most serious responsibilities one can undertake, but that doesn't mean it must be a somber experience. Not only does humor generate enthusiasm, it increases the likelihood of retaining knowledge.

That said, how can we inject levity into the learning process’ Here are some ideas for a variety of subjects and grade levels:

Much Too Early by David Elkind

Children must master the language of things before they master the language of words.”—Friedrich Froebel, Pedagogics of the Kindergarten, 1895

In one sentence, Froebel, father of the kindergarten, expressed the essence of early-childhood education. Children are not born knowing the difference between red and green, sweet and sour, rough and smooth, cold and hot, or any number of physical sensations. The natural world is the infant’s and young child’s first curriculum, and it can only be learned by direct interaction with things. There is no way a young child can learn the difference between sweet and sour, rough and smooth, hot and cold without tasting, touching, or feeling something. Learning about the world of things, and their various properties, is a time-consuming and intense process that cannot be hurried.


Dads: How to Have a Presence in Your Absence by Derek Carter

Working outside the home has always frustrated me because I always want to connect with my kids in a tangible way. It has long been documented that a father's proactive presence in the home really seals a child's success. I have worked with families in crisis for over twenty years and have seen the agony of fatherlessness up close in fragmented families, and the long term personal and societal pain. Thus, I have always wanted to really spend quality time with my family. This desire was intensified the more when my wife and I decided to home school our children. I was convinced more than ever that I needed to have a strong presence.


Men of Character, Boys of Fortune by Rebecca Hagelin

Picture the scene: Boys and their parents gathered to discuss a “youthful indiscretion” and its consequences. I was once at such a meeting, and I was struck by the thought that what America needs perhaps more than anything else is fathers who will father.


Decluttering Our Lives by Cheryl Carter

All of us recognize that clutter is a deadly vice in our lives; none of us will argue with that assertion. It is just that we do not know how to begin to de-clutter our lives. So let's get to the root of the problem. Much of our clutter is accumulated because of fear. We hold onto things because we think we will need them one day. I have worked with clients buried in masses of clothing but afraid to throw any of it away, because they thought that one day, they might need it. Unfortunately, what they could not see was that even if they really needed it one day, they would not be able to locate it because they were buried in clutter.


Have Kids Will Travel by Dale Bartlett

When the Bartlett family goes on vacation it isn't just around the corner. They have traveled the world visiting such places as England, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and many more. They have accomplished this for less than the average family spends for a week at Disneyland. Dale and Michelle Bartlett have four children, and to say the six of them have the travel bug would be an understatement. They have however, found incredible ways to travel the world, most of the time for the cost of food and fun.


How Do I Know if My Child Gets It? by Kathryn Stout

It's easy to believe a child "gets it" when he answers a question using the exact words he just heard or read. Actually, all that proves is a good memory. I used questions from a study guide for discussion of a book I hadn't read, and, at first, wasn't sure whether or not the student I was tutoring was quoting the book. His answer to the third question, however, seemed unusual. I asked what he meant by "erratic." He then confessed that he had no idea what the word meant, but that's what the book said (and he was right). Even after using a dictionary to find its meaning, he could not explain how it fit the context.


The Farmer and the Teacher by Shirley M.R. Minster

A farmer works in all seasons. He is a futurist, always looking to future but not forgetting the present and the past. He knows that by being prepared, he will save time. The soil is continually studies and a timeframe is followed. There is a time for the ground to lie fallow so it will be better prepared for the next season of growth. Once the harvest is complete, the resting begins. Not for the farmer, though. He has many steps to take so that the soil will be its strongest for its next job of providing sustenance to plants. The farmer walks his land for closer inspection, checking the soil for moisture content and removing stones so young plants will not be hindered in their growth. Then fertilizer is added to restore nutrients. Lastly, the soil is tilled, turning it over to mix the fertilizer in and to allow the air to do its part.

Breakfast in Moonlight by Jon Remmerde

We had many interruptions of our scheduled home schooling classes, and it never bothered any of us. We all understood that learning was not confined to classes but came from the entire process of living.


College Visits: Worth the Trip by Lynn Scully

After my last student went out to his car and was out of earshot, his concerned mother agonized, “He doesn't seem interested in college at all! When we ask him where he wants to go, he shrugs. Big? Small? Private? Close to home? We get no response! I don't know if he is just lazy, or if he doesn't really want to go. It's as if he wants us to do all the work!”


Math SAT Tip - Mind and Body by Larry Shiller

This Math Tidbit marks our first foray into helping students ace the math SAT. It is excerpted from my new book 100 Days/100 Ways to Ace the New Math SAT.

Inseparable...

To take care of your mind you must take care of your body: Think of your SAT test as a sports event for your brain and you will realize that mind and body training start well before the test.

Profession Found by Peter Kowalke
Unschoolers at College

Recently I set a Hampshire College record for youngest student to run the campus newspaper. Well, technically I might not have been the youngest-I entered Hampshire a few months ago as a 19-year-old transfer-student, and I'm probably not the first 19-year-old to run the paper. I am the most green, however, having been at Hampshire less than a semester.


Public School Access by Michele Giroux

While it is steadily becoming a trend for individual states to permit homeschoolers to have wide range public school access in the U.S., relatively few homeschooling families actually use this resource.


Those Awful Gimmes by Dr. Renee Fuller

The screams from the raging child were deafening. She had thrown herself on the tile floor of the discount house shaking her four-year old fists and even legs at her mother. The mother looked tired, overwrought, at the end of her tether. It had been one of those days.