Question:Help! I’m not too good at this! I am not very organized, and I am not doing everything in homeschool that my children need and it worries me. Should I wait until next year when I can get more prepared and organized to homeschool? I’m afraid that my kids will suffer because I’m not perfect at homeschooling yet. [Read more…]
Question:I need some suggestions on how to motivate my 9-year-old to do any school work. I took Derek out of public school about a month ago after a lot of prayers and heart ache. He was in the third grade and we spent more time at night doing his work because he won’t do it at school. He has never liked school… any part of it… hates to read, hates any part of it and so I have been trying to give him a positive atmosphere to work in and some one-on-one time to help him want to try, but it is a continual fight to get him to do anything. He just says he is dumb and it is too hard. I have only been doing some basic math, a journal, some spelling, some reading—but he fights all of it. Do you have any suggestions to get him to see how smart he is and maybe some way to teach him that will get him going with out me forcing the issue? I have backed off and let him decide when to do it or I have tried to force a time to get stuff done… he wants me to do it for him. I am very frustrated and I have a 5th grader who wants me to homeschool her. I can’t even get this to work with one. I welcome any advice you have. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hopkins, teen
Being a homeschooled teenager isn’t always easy. There are many problems that can arise. Some of these may be familiar to you: “All I do is just sit at home all day—I never get out of the house,” “All my friends are at school,” and “This is really boring.” As a teenager myself, I’ve looked at how I’ve dealt with some of these problems and how they’ve worked out. Also, I’ve looked at how and why I enjoy homeschool. Hopefully some of these tips will help you.
Puffer Fish
We need to keep going with homeschooling, but I sure am in need of a break? Have any ideas, short of stopping school?
Have you ever tried doing a “Favorite Subject Immersion Week”? It is really a fun break for everyone! [Read more…]
Question:All my kids do is complain, whine, and try to get out of school work. Any advice?
Your job is to find the best resources and methods to teach the information in a fun and interesting way that captivates their interest. Are you doing your job?
Your children’s job is to obey you, be grateful for your efforts, have a good attitude and do their work without whining. Are they doing their job?
Question:Interruptions seem to be the order of the day . . . each and every day. How do you manage homeschool when there is the phone, doorbell, visitors, dentist appointments, holidays, and more. Sometimes I feel there’s just not time to do schoolwork!
Every mom who home schools eventually experiences the nagging suspicion that she is not “covering everything”! I found myself trying to cram every subject into each school year for fear of leaving something out. When I thought about Health and realized how important it is to teach our children proper nutrition, then I put that into the schedule along with Math and English. Then I considered Logic—oh, that was very necessary too! Reading a “National Geographic” article was enough to start a guilt trip that I’d forgotten to teach them about the Renaissance! And on it goes. Aarrgh!!
My college kids, goofing around
I started thinking about having my children work towards their general education degree during the homeschool high school years when my eldest son, Daniel, turned 19. A teen is studying the basic general education subjects anyway, so why not go in more depth, learn more, and receive college credit as well? Courses such as World Civilizations, English Literature, Biology and other general education courses are taken in high school and then repeated a few years later at college. So many of the subjects are the same during high school and general education levels of college that it seemed sensible to just study these subjects once and do it well, rather than study them in the high school years and over again shortly in college at a high tuition price.
Today I thought to myself, “If I didn’t have kids to teach, I’d go back to bed.” Ever feel that way? Teaching children really helps us to do our best—doesn’t it?
