Have You Become More Relaxed With Each Child in Parenting?

There is something I have noticed about parents, myself included. It seems that with each child you have, you tend to become more relaxed. Now that can be a good thing but it can also be a negative. I think the day I realized I had become more relaxed by my third child was several years ago at church. I was in a church service, taking advantage of the childcare we have available. Our children get a number and if you saw your child’s number on the screen, it meant you were needed. My number went up. It was for … Continue reading

Keeping your homeschoolers learning all summer

I think I have finally found the real key to keeping homeschoolers learning all summer… it must be their idea. Summer is coming up quickly and for many, funds are still low as the country attempts to climb out of the housing crisis and unofficial recession. This kind of puts space camps,sports camps, and expensive computer programming sessions out of reach this summer. Just because funds are low, however,does not mean that homeschoolers need to end up having an unproductive summer. After a talk with my son about what to do this summer, we made the decision that this might … Continue reading

Scripture Study & Learning Styles

Have you ever felt as though you weren’t getting the most you could possibly absorb from your scripture study? I’m not talking about the nights you skim over one verse and call it a day. Do you really apply yourself to your scriptures and can’t seem to comprehend them the most possible? Perhaps the problem comes from the fact that your learning style doesn’t mesh with your scripture study technique. There are three basic learning styles: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic/tactile. When we think of scripture study, we usually envision a person reading and perhaps pausing to ponder the words they … Continue reading

Profile of a Homeschooled Adult: Theresa (part 3)

Theresa is a homeschooled adult. Her mom educated her at home starting in the fourth grade. She was kind enough to answer a few questions for me, and I am sharing them here with you. If you ever wanted to know how homeschooled adults turn out, then you will want to read this blog entry and the previous ones as well. This is part three of my interview with Theresa; you may want to go back and read part 1 and part 2. One of the things I was dying to know from someone who was homeschooled is what advice … Continue reading

2006 in Review: Homeschooling Blog at a Glance

As a new homeschooling blogger at Families.com, I wanted to know everything that has been discussed to date. In response to my own curiosity, and in an effort to make perusing our articles easier for you, our readers, I have compiled all of the blogs for the year 2006. Deciding to Homeschool Why homeschool Am I qualified for this? Reasons that Homeschooling Works! My Most Important Advice for Homeschoolers. The Cost of Homeschooling Instead of standing up for their own kids, why not stand up for all kids? Disclaimer: I am hardly an expert in education. Did You Know? ‘Empirical … Continue reading

The 31 Most Talked About Blogs of 2006

Although there are lots of great articles here at the home schooling blog, not everyone has time to leave a comment. However, we bloggers love comments on our blogs–or at least this one does. I also like to look for other blogs with comments as a tell tale sign of a great article! How does a blog qualify to be on the most talked about list? I have included blogs that had to have at least 3 comments on them. Here is a look at which blogs gave occasion to comments in 2006! People comment when they can relate to … Continue reading

A Day in the Life of a Highly Regulated Relaxed Homeschooler

It was Andrea’s great suggestion that we compare our days side by side. Like she said, many people want to know what a “typical day” looks like. Like Andrea’s family, we would also consider ourselves “relaxed”. However, our state mandates that starting in first grade kids spend 6 hours per day in school for 180 days. They ask that you complete 80% of your IHIP (which is basically a big long list of what you‘re going to teach for the year). Anything that we do to deviate, warrants at the very least an explanation on my quarterlies, if not an … Continue reading

A Day in the Life of a Relaxed Homeschooler, Part III

It is 9:30 and the kids are in bed. My daughter is listening to a book on tape, and my son has his laptop in his bed playing with html codes. While they are in bed, they are trying to stay awake until Daddy gets home from the airport. He travels a lot. The concert was short and sweet, and the kids enjoyed the buffet afterward (cheese, fruit, chips, brownies) so when we got home, I just had to reheat last night’s dinner. One piece of corn on the cob, and one chicken wingette was plenty. I never did get … Continue reading

Five-finger relaxation technique

Interested in a fast, yet effective way to relax? Like all methods of relaxation, this exercise is simple. But, of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will, by definition, be easy for you to relax immediately. Any skill, including learning to relax, takes time and input, but the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. So what are you waiting for? 1. Close your eyes 2. Place your thumb on your index finger As you do this, go back in your mind to a time when your body felt pleasantly exhausted. A time when … Continue reading

Children’s Standard Time: How a Child’s Internal Clock Affects Learning

Children do not perceive time in the same way that adults do. Studies have shown that children have a very difficult time segmenting time into parts. This is why the public school system concept of time broken into forty minute sections marked by a ringing bell is often counter-productive to a child’s learning. Just as the child is warming up to the activity and becoming involved, it’s time to change subjects. Maria Montessori described times where some children become completely engrossed in a stimulating educational activity, calling it “the great work.” She said that during these intense periods of learning, … Continue reading