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Homeschooling
Articles
Editor's Choice
Homeschool.com's 2009 Holiday Gift Guide
Our Homeschool.com Product Testers have done it again. This
time they have put together a great list of ideas for you
for fun, educational gifts for the holidays. You'll find
some great ideas here . . .Fun, educational kits, Links to
sites that show you how to make beautiful homemade gifts,
Gifts under $10, And much more...You name it, it's here! |
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Top 10 ways to Improve your Child's Reading Skills
Reading is the one of the most important skills your
children will acquire in their educational experience, and
an easy area for parents to provide support and
encouragement. iQAcademy has made a list of ways for you to
help your children become more effective readers. |
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Top Ten Homeschooling Books
Exciting news! Homeschool.com's Product Testers have just
selected their Top 10 Homeschooling Books. These are the
books that have been the most helpful to them in setting up
and running their home school. Homeschool.com, along with
Keystone National High School, an online alternative for
your high school student(s) would like to share this list
with you. |
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The Ten Most Important Things You Need to Know About
Homeschooling
When parents first consider
homeschooling their children, there is so much for them to
contemplate and learn that it can be very overwhelming.
Before deciding to move forward with homeschooling, parents
will read many articles about the how's and why's; they will
learn about different homeschooling approaches, available
curriculum, how to set up a homeschooling space, and
companies that can help parents create a successful
homeschooling year for their children. Homeschool.com has
put together a list of the 10 most important things parents
need to know about homeschooling to help you in your
homeschooling endeavors, or to pass-along to new
homeschoolers. |
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What About Socialization?
If only homeschoolers had a nickel for every time they heard
the question, "...but what about socialization?" I'd be
rich! That infamous socialization question, for any seasoned
homeschooler, is quite a humorous one! Although
non-homeschoolers worry that homeschooling may turn children
into social misfits, we know that the opposite is true and
the positive socialization is one of the best reasons to
homeschool your children. |
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Organization & Time Management for Homeschoolers
Whether you have one
child or four; whether you're planning field trips to
science museums for your younger children, or working on
challenging 10th grade math curriculum, homeschooling
parents share a common denominator: the nonstop dilemma of
finding enough time to do it all, and how to motivate the
kids while staying organized. Here are some tips for
Organization and Time Management for every homeschooling
family. |
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Top 10 Advantages of Online Learning
No technological invention in the history of man has
connected the people of the world like the Internet. The
ability to learn new information or a new skill whenever or
wherever you want offers greater opportunities for
homeschool education than ever before. Many online learning
courses have been researched and tested, and prove to be a
great way for students to learn from the comfort of their
own home. |
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How to Homeschool for Less
Homeschooling shouldn't be expensive. Take a look at your
school tax bill and you'll understand how most people
believe that education is pretty pricey. Many parents carry
this assumption to home education, thinking their family
must earn more in order to afford teaching their children at
home. What these parents fail to realize is that school
taxes support a huge system with building maintenance,
transportation, teachers and administrators, and their
benefits. In contrast, every dollar spent on home education
directly benefits your child's learning experience. |
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2008 Gift Guide
Looking for a last minute gift idea? A gift that is fun AND
educational? Homeschool.com was at it again this
year--finding you the best educational gifts this season.
These items have been distinguished over other products
because of their high quality and educational use, offering
lasting value, lasting learning, and of course, lasting fun!
These products have been tested by both parents and kids
alike and have been chosen for different ages, backgrounds,
skills, and interests. We strive to come up with the best
possible list each year and we want to thank both the
readers, and the educational product companies that shared
their suggestions, and products with us to test. |
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How to Improve Your
Homeschooling
This past summer we surveyed our Homeschool.com readers and
asked them what three changes they would make to their
homeschooling. Now is your chance to learn from the
experiences and mistakes of others. As you read through
these suggestions, please think about how you can apply
these ideas to make your own homeschooling better than ever. |
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Product Review 2008
Homeschool.com was at it again this year--finding you the
best educational gifts and products this season. These items
have been distinguished over other products because of their
high quality and educational use, offering lasting value,
lasting learning, and of course, lasting fun! These products
have been tested by both parents and kids alike and have
been chosen for different ages, backgrounds, skills, and
interests. We strive to come up with the best possible list
each year and we want to thank both the readers, and the
educational product companies that shared their suggestions,
and products with us to test. |
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The Internet
Broadens the Possibilities for Homeschoolers
The Internet can dramatically improve education.
Homeschoolers take full advantage of the educational use of
the net. In the discussions about the growth of
homeschooling, the impact of the Internet is often
overlooked. The general population of course, would
be surprised that "those backward homeschoolers" are
benefitting to a greater degree than their school-bound
counterparts. But arguably, one of the root reasons that
homeschooling is growing so fast is the role of the Internet
in providing educational resources to homeschoolers, the
simplified shopping, and the web-based homeschool
communities and support groups. |
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Homeschooling for
Success
Better Late than Early - An Excerpt from: Homeschooling for
Success - How Parents can Create a Superior Education for
their Child |
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Wanted: Thinkers for
the Information Age
The verdict is in. Not only is the Information Age upon us,
it will continue creating change in all aspects of life at
an unprecedented pace. While the future may be hard to
foresee, parents instinctively know that "the same ol'
education" can't prepare their children for life in the
challenging times ahead. The skills that will help a child
succeed in tomorrow's world are difficult, if not
impossible, to develop in the "one-size-fits- all"
educational approach of the past. Instead, the best prepared
children will have received a "customized education." |
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New Scientific Research
Supports Homeschooling
In the revolutionary new book, A General Theory of Love, by
Dr. Thomas Lewis, Dr. Fari Amini and Dr. Richard Lannon, the
authors draw on new scientific discoveries that prove what
mothers have known instinctively since the beginning of
time: love is paramount to their child's life-long success.
We have asked Dr. Lewis, co-author of the book, to share
with us how our current educational and parenting methods
are damaging our children--and what we must do now, to help
them develop into independent, wise, successful, and most
importantly, happy adults! |
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Educational Gift Awards
2004
Looking for a last minute gift idea? A gift that is fun AND
educational? Homeschool.com was at it again this
year--finding you the best educational gifts this season.
These items have been distinguished over other products
because of their high quality and educational use, offering
lasting value, lasting learning, and of course, lasting fun!
These products have been tested by both parents and kids
alike and have been chosen for different ages, backgrounds,
skills, and interests. We strive to come up with the best
possible list each year and we want to thank both the
readers, and the educational product companies that shared
their suggestions, and products with us to test. |
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Preparing to Homeschool for
Success
Are you a proud candidate for The Most Organized Homeschool
Ever Award? Or do you feel caught in a whirlpool of
chaos—student pages, teacher guides, books, and math
manipulatives swirling around you in an endless circle of
disorganization? Perhaps, like most of us, you find yourself
somewhere in between. Wherever you are in the spectrum of
organization, it's often helpful to know what others are
doing to keep their homeschool organized. |
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Raising a Rich
Smart Kid
The books in the Rich Dad Poor Dad series are based on the
financial advice Robert Kiyosaki received from his two dads.
His rich dad was actually a wealthy businessman and the
father of his best friend. His rich dad never finished
eighth grade. His poor dad was extremely intelligent and the
head of the educational system in Hawaii, but died leaving
unpaid bills. Continuing the wisdom from his previous books,
Robert's latest book, "Rich Kid Smart Kid," is based on the
message his rich dad taught him about financial
intelligence. Rich Kid Smart Kid is an inspiring and
important book about providing children with the tools for
educational success. |
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World-Class Mentors for
Your Child
One of the many strengths of homeschooling is the ability to
resource mentors during your child's educational experience.
Homeschool.com would like to introduce you to some very
inspirational financial mentors for your children. |
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Homeschool.com's
Product Awards
Our Product Testers have been diligently testing products.
We asked Product Testers to give each product a 1-5 star
rating (5 being the highest). The list below, represents
those products that received either a 4 or 5 star rating. |
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Unit Studies Made Easy
On any given day we are almost unaware that we are learning
a number of different subjects. For example, when we go
shopping we are utilizing nutrition, math, economics, and
communication skills, yet the process flows under the
shopping concept. Unit studies are based on this idea. They
incorporate a number of different subjects at the same time
and provide an overarching concept to tie the information
together. This approach mimics "real life" learning. |
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How to be a Spelling
Bee Champion
Spelling has always been a complicated matter for anyone
trying to learn the English language. While our everyday
vocabulary continues to grow, English word origins include
almost every language in existence -- and some are no longer
regularly spoken! Many identical sounds are spelled
differently in different words and 84 of the 90 basic
English spelling patterns have exceptions. It's no wonder
that spelling can be a competitive event! |
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Remember the Summer
and Beyond with a Nature Notebook
Summer is a great time to enjoy nature! Long days, warm
weather, and blooming plants make for exceptionally good
observations. And although summer is already underway,
there's still plenty of time for hikes, walks, and just
lying in the grass. |
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Homeschool Success
Stories
Bill Cosby once said, "I don't know the key to success, but
the key to failure is trying to please everybody."
Homeschoolers understand this well, and don't try to please
everyone with their non-traditional choices. They aim to
fill the needs of their children, and with that goal, it is
very difficult to fail! In fact, success flourishes in the
homeschool community, in many shapes and forms. |
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Advantages of Online Learning
One of the ironies of homeschooling is that students
struggling in school and falling behind often find
themselves trapped in a formal, structured setting yet are
worried about moving to homeschooling without a structured
environment. By using a flexible, individualized curriculum
that allows students (and families) to have some structure
and support combined with the ability to customize the
materials to meet the needs of the student is a great way to
break out of the dilemma; and online learning is about as
structured, yet flexible, as it gets. Because of the nature
of the Internet students can access material 24 hours a day,
365 days a year to fit their own schedule; at the same time
it also allows for a structure to be built into the process.
We spoke with Nan Cullins of Ablaze Academy to discuss some
of the advantages of enrolling in an online program, and she
reiterated the idea of combining structure with flexibility
to best meet the needs of the student. |
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Advice
for Homeschooling Dads
Homeschooling is a lifestyle decision, which gives it a lot
of advantages over traditional schooling. Parents make an
effort to have their family life be inclusive rather than
exclusive of school and have the opportunities to
incorporate daily living activities into their curriculum.
This gives everyone in the family a chance to participate in
the process. However, by its very nature homeschooling
usually necessitates having a part-time or full-time
instructor in the home, which often means that one parent
becomes responsible for the homeschooling management. For
many families this requires some financial adjustment and
the parent with the higher salary continues to work to
support the family, which often times leads to fathers in
the work place and mothers taking on the homeschooling
duties. |
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How to Homeschool While
Living Overseas
Just like no two kids are alike, not every international
school is created equal either. Some international schools
may lack the religious convictions an expatriate
family (American family living overseas) is searching
for. Or the school may have a twenty-three-kids-to-a-class
ratio that you are uncomfortable with. Others may
not provide the services we find in most U.S. public
schools; like quality programs for children with learning
disabilities, a good environment for a physical disability,
or perhaps the school is not challenging enough. In some of
the more remote places of the world there is no
international school at all. Whatever the reason may be for
finding an alternative to the local school,
homeschooling can be a very good solution
for families living overseas and it can be accomplished with
just a little bit of creativity and the right kind of
information. |
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