Want a fun alternative to Halloween? Host a Harvest Festival! It is lots of fun. My children wouldn’t trade it for trick-or-treating any day! We have been having Harvest Festivals for the past eleven years. When we first decided that Halloween didn’t fit the description of seeking after things that are virtuous, praiseworthy and of good report, we realized that we couldn’t leave a vacuum. We had to begin a new wholesome tradition to fill the gap left when we abandoned Halloween. My children look forward to Harvest Festival eagerly each year. Rather than decorating our house with ghosts, spiders and ghouls, we focus on the blessings God provides for us in a bounteous harvest. We leave these decorations up right through Thanksgiving. We learn songs such as “Come Ye Thankful People, Come” and other hymns that celebrate the harvest. God is the center of this season.
Social Life: The Real Need
Singing round the campfire at a homeschool campout
When I first began homeschooling, all I could think of was academics. I spent lots of research time trying to find the best books and worrying that I couldn’t teach my children all they needed to know. As the years have filed by and I have gained confidence in my ability to teach them and educate them well, I have increasingly become concerned about their social well-being.
Lonely, Lonely Child
Question:
My daughter is very social and craves having a playmate all the time. She is very intelligent and easily a grade or two ahead because of homeschool, but she complains nearly constantly about feeling lonely, wishing for friend to play with, wanting to talk to someone, even on the phone. My other children are younger and do not satisfy her social need. She is pretty unhappy. What do I do? [Read more…]
Wishing to Go Back to School
Question:
My daughter is 10 years old, and we are homeschooling full-time this year. It is hard because we moved to a small town and she is used to having friends in the neighborhood. We are slowly getting to know some really nice homeschoolers in this area. How do I continue to keep her motivated? It seems like things will go along smoothly, and then she wishes she was back in school. I don’t want to send her back. [Read more…]
Homeschooling Ideas that Work!
Here are some tried and true ideas that really work well in homeschooling!
Homeschool Campout!
Idea #1: Socializing with other Homeschoolers
Since my children really hit it off best with other homeschooling children, we began to search for homeschooling friends by organizing outings such as picnic park outings, sports days, art class and other fun activities. It always amazed me how a child that feels “out of it” at church or community class with a room full of children that go to public school can bond as friends instantly with other homeschooling children. They truly have so much in common! They have lots of talk about, and so do their mothers!
Eleven Year Itch
Time to learn how to get along in the big world!
Question:
Homeschool was going great until my son turned twelve. Now I am struggling to keep him interested. Why?
Answer:
Because your son has reached what I call the “Eleven Year Itch.” It sneaks up on mothers, with their first child. Homeschool seems to be going along in a fairly regular, happy pattern when your oldest child becomes increasingly “ant-sy” and restless and sometimes downright unhappy. It took me a long while to figure it out with my first child in homeschool. Now I watch and expect it to arrive for every child anywhere between ten and thirteen years. It’s sad, it dampens the fun, but the final destination for our children is to grow up and be independent…so they are really just right on schedule!
Homeschool through High School?
Question:
I just started and am so delighted with homeschooling! My oldest is 11 and we are having a great time, and he is running a little business from home and learning so much and loving homeschooling. I have mapped out a plan to homeschool my children right through high school. Is that wise? [Read more…]
