Writing. Without a doubt, it’s the most challenging subject in our homeschool. The problem isn’t that my kids are incapable of writing. The real issue is that I can’t seem to actually teach them how to write. Over the last few weeks we’ve been trying out a new homeschool writing…
It seems a bit laughable now, but I never expected math to be a hurdle in our homeschool. I assumed that because I understood and enjoyed math, I’d be able to help my children succeed with math, too. It didn’t work out quite that simply. I worked hard to find…
My 14-year-old son, Collin, has been interested in playing the guitar for quite some time. With the help of our pastor’s wife, who has a special knack for teaching music to young people, he was able to pick up enough to play a few songs for various church programs. While…
I’ve always believed that economics was a dry, boring study–especially for high school students. After all, most teenagers are primarily concerned with the amount of money in their pockets, not with how the entire American economy operates. Am I right? Well, I have to tell you… The study of economics…
Pennsylvania has acquired the dubious distinction of having some of the most stringent homeschool laws in the nation. Although the passage of HB 1013 gave homeschoolers a little more freedom, we still have a host of hoops to jump through. One of the requirements that has been particularly challenging is…
A few years ago we were fortunate enough to belong to a very active homeschool group. Several of the moms were enthusiastic planners and scheduled as many field trips as we could possibly fit into our schedule. It was wonderful! Then life happened. Several families moved away or joined another…
It is commonly expected that students will work hard and memorize the math facts by a certain age. If those pesky facts aren’t mastered at the “right” time, the child is obviously not working hard enough, right? Wrong. Every child learns differently. While one student may easily memorize math facts,…
Math was a painful subject in our family for a year or two. Tears and frustration became all too common–something I had wanted never to happen in our homeschool. Because my children already dreaded math, things only escalated when I had to reteach a concept or require any corrections. Bad…
Art is one subject that often gets overlooked in our homeschool. We faithfully cover all the “essential” subjects–math, language arts, history, science, Bible, and such–but it’s always a challenge to fit in the “extras.” Recently, though, we have been trying out a new art technique: 3D drawing. This unique art…