More and more mothers have decided that their children can learn more through home schooling, either full time, or as a supplement to public schools.

Home schooling is not new, and if you think that your child is not performing well in school, talk to the teachers and ask for some feed back regarding your child. The guidance counselor can also help you in determining the best education for you child. Home schooling is already accepted and perhaps it can help your child learn better in the comforts of your home.

But make sure you establish a time for teaching, and provide the tools and materials children are using in school and home, such as a computer….

A computer is a must in any schooling program today. You’ll find having a computer available at home is helpful, because it can speed up learning. With the help of a computer, you child can have a unique and interesting educational experience. You will also.

Children today should learn about this very important tool, even at an early age and one way to achieve that is through schooling computer programs. At present, even pre-school children are already taught how to use the computer and other support resources.

If you opt for home schooling, you and your child will also spend most of your time making use of the computer and the internet. Educating your children will be much better when done online because of the diverse resources. Your child will be provided with an exceptional education which he/she will greatly benefit from in the near future, since the job market trends today involve the Internet.

Parents of school age children can help their kids learn more effectively by having an internet connection at home. The education of children are better when supported by the parents and they can also help in improving the mindset of their kids as well. The parents can pass on to their kids their great heritage through the various online resources.

Remember that home schooling will only work best if the parents are willing to support their kids all the way. They must also be committed and prepared for the challenges that they are about to encounter. The parents should look for a good computer program that can help their children learn all about computer usage.

Often times, the lessons are divided into several parts or series, so that the children can cope easily. Kids have various learning capacities and since they are not given much chance in traditional schools, this is their chance to bring out their best through the use of computers.

Before you decide to home school your children, bring up the subject. See how your kid reacts to the idea and tell him/her about its advantages. Tell them that the online computer classes will help them with their studies, and learning will be a lot easier,

It’s better if you and your child both agree to home schooling. Persuading your child to commit to it will not be very good and so you have to seriously talk now. Spend time with your child and know his/her interests. Explain that computer programs can greatly help.

Besides, tell your child that they can indulge more in their interests if they know how to use the computer.

So why not look for the best-suited computer program now? There are lots of online schooling programs to choose from, and it will take some time before you can find the appropriate one. In addition to the standard schooling programs, you’ll find information on my website.

Rallie Rallis is a business adviser and information marketer. To learn more about computer programs that can increase learning and internet skills go to my site smart-media-desktop-review/

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There is a simple way to organize a legitimate high school credit in guitar (music) for a home schooling high school student. Good documentation and class-like scheduling can yield a fine arts credit in music for guitar. Here are seven key aspects needed to put together your high school level, credit worthy, home schooling guitar course.

First, you need a guitar. Many students begin with a low-cost beginner’s guitar for about $100 or so. You can select either an acoustic or electric guitar. If you have the funds, I recommend offering to upgrade to a better guitar if your student sticks with it, and significantly improves in guitar playing skills, for one year.

Second, set up a half-hour weekly lesson with a guitar teacher, usually at a music store. It is nice to have one recommended that is a good fit for your family and goals. Some music teachers and home school groups offer class guitar. However, they are not nearly as effective as a one-on-one instructional setting.

Third, you need a written course description to be a part of your portfolio. This is your overview of the guitar course, so you need the guitar instructor to either write one for you, or dictate the details to you, or give you a list of the things that will be included in the lessons over the school year. The course description should also include your manner of grading and the weight each part will have in calculating your final course grade.

Fourth, schedule a half-hour of practice for four days a week. With the weekly lesson, this will yield a total of two-and-a-half hours per week, which is 90 hours for a 180 day school year. You can lengthen the practice time if you need more than this total amount of time in your state. It works best to include this practice within the home schooling course daily schedule. This will better insure a disciplined, documented, and graded course. Having this in a student daily calendar log as part of your course portfolio is critical.

Fifth, the instruction part needs to be graded by instructor each week to have in the portfolio. You should talk to the instructor about a grading system and his or her cooperation. Offer to provide grading sheets for the teacher to use to accurately and easily give a weekly analysis and grade. Make them simple but thorough. Get the grading criteria that the guitar teacher thinks to be important and create those sheets. A weekly graded sheet should be completed and sent home with the student. Your guitar student’s progress and skill development will be a key part of the final course grade.

Sixth, the practice sessions should be graded by parents. Some suggestions for grading are things like character evidenced, consistency, and effort. These grades will be part of the final portfolio.

Seventh, the final grade can be computed from the teacher’s weekly grades, the parents’ weekly grades, and the final “exam” recital grade.

Your final full course documentation and portfolio will include: a copy of the daily log of practice and lessons (providing evidence of the total number of hours for the course work) done the same way as any other course work (Math, Science, etc.); parental grading documents; skill tests conducted by the guitar teacher; possibly a final performance/recital to serve as a final exam; tests can be given on scales, chords, songs, reading music, reading tablature, playing by ear, playing with teacher; pictures of the student, teacher, music store or practice studio can be a good addition; a video or recording of the student playing could be used; then the final grade and how it was computed.

To summarize these seven key parts: (1) guitar, (2) guitar lessons, (3) course description, (4) daily practice schedule, (5) instructor grading, (6) home practice grading, and (7) the final grade. May your student learn to play the guitar well and earn a high school fine arts credit!

To Your Home School Success!

Go to my website for two helpful guitar tools. They are chord finding internet links: http://huntbiz.ws/Acoustic_River. Email me with questions and ideas: huntbiz.ws@gmail.com.

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The basis for our education system has not changed much over the past five thousand years. We may now be teaching children from an earlier age, but this is simply tapping into children’s natural genius; much as Mozart’s father did when he began teaching him at the age of four.

But what we teach our children as the basis of our education system becomes the building blocks for their future education and careers. These building blocks are reading, writing and counting.

Every word that you read, every letter that you write and every number that you see and can calculate was built on this foundation of reading, writing and counting.

It is therefore important to make sure that your home schooled preschooler has a solid foundation in the basics of these three skills before they move onto more difficult and complex tasks. By ensuring that they can read with ease and enjoy reading for fun, that they can write the letters of the alphabet and numbers and can count from 1 to 100 (not such a difficult task) you will ensure that the rest of their learning becomes easy and fun and that they don’t associate these simple tasks with difficulty.

The greatest obstacle to home schooling your preschooler is to ensure that you always have their attention when learning these basic skills. By following a few simple rules, you ensure that they not only have fun, but also that they see themselves as succeeding at it, thus increasing their confidence and making future learning fun and easy as well.

Reading

Teach your child the 100 most common words in the English language. This will ensure that they are able to read approximately half of everything written in the English Language. This can range from the bible to a medical encyclopaedia. All books and written material will contain these 100 words. This provides an excellent basis for their future reading.

Writing

The skill of writing, a much revered skill of the past, is at its simplest a matter of hand-eye coordination. You have to simply introduce your home schooled preschooler to writing by getting them to doodle with a pen on paper. Once they are comfortable with the idea of a pen, show them how to hold it and once they are comfortable with that action, show them how to write letters.

Your three or four year old will be able to write the letters of the alphabet within a month. It won’t be very neat or exact, but will be on par with a doctor’s handwriting.

Counting

Begin by teaching your child the primary numbers – 0 to 9. Then show them the numbers in your day-to-day world. Show them the numbers in books, magazine, phone numbers and on TV. Soon they will begin to recognise the numbers and you can then begin to teach them to count further. Remember do not teach your preschooler everything at once, but instead teach them in small increments letting them fully understand one concept before moving onto the next one.

In Conclusion

When you are home schooling your preschooler, remember that you are not on anyone’s schedule other than your child’s. So, spend as much time as you need making sure that they have a solid and confident grasp of the basics, thus ensuring the success of your preschoolers future education and also making future learning easier for them.

Trinity Montecristo specializes in home school and home school preschool reading. If you want a method to teach your child to read EASILY and FAST, you can find out more about our wonderful reading system, “Teach Your Child To Read & Reading with Phonics” by visiting our website at: http://www.yourchildcanreadin30days.com

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Problem solving is a learned skill and can be enhanced in your home schooled learners. To develop this skill your home schooled learners have to see you as a role model who has effective problem solving skills. Life allows us to have a large array of choices. Some decisions are simple but others require more effort. Problem solving is a normal reaction for us. It becomes second nature when making decisions. There is a process we work through to solve problems. Some problems need more effort than others to find solutions.

A method for developing problem solving skills is to make your home schooled learners aware that there are five steps to solving a problem and reinforce them so they have the skills to work through any problems with their studies. This builds a strong foundation for problem solving throughout life.

What is the Problem – The first step for your home schooled learner is to recognise that a problem exists and that solving it is necessary. The problem belongs to the learner so don’t down grade the importance as each problem will be unique.

Defining the Problem – Your home schooled learner will decide how important the problem is and how much attention it deserves. They will decide why it is a problem for them and whether it is a part of an ongoing problem. They may need to talk this through with you to make things clearer.

Working a Solutions – Has this problem arisen before and what solution did they use to solve it. Is there more than one option to solving the problem and what is their plan to tackle the problem.

Making a Decision – Assist you learner to make a decision as to which problem solving option they will use and examine what they feel the solution will be.

Solve The Problem – Put in motion the solution and give it time to succeed. Implement changes needed to be made. Evaluate how the problem was solved or why you need to rethink.

Helping your home schooled learner solve problems is part of your job description as their teacher. It is very important to teach them the essential life skill of effective problem solving as this leads to fostering independence.

Irene Reardon provides an easy to follow program for Educators of children in the K-7 years in the homschooling learning area. This program has helped many homeschool parents reduce their stress, improve their skills, promote active learning and improve their children’s outcomes. All this from the comfort of their own home. Find out more at http://www.howtoforhomeschooling.com.

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The threat and delivery of a swat for misbehavior is still used in many homes. I’m supposing most private Christian schools have now abandoned this practice, but like I said in a previous article, it was a disciplinary practice utilized in a private Christian school that employed me as a second grade teacher. It was designed to keep the boys in line. And it did for awhile. But like most school disciplinary policies, there was a backup plan if it stopped working. If the swat did not have its desired result, the teacher could send the student to the vice principal’s office. Like room 101 in George Orwells book, 1984, no one returned smiling.

After many “go-rounds” with one particular student, I finally decided it was this time to call upon the vice principal for “sterner” measures. I escorted the student to the V.P.’s office.

When he returned, the day proceeded without incident. However, the next day a different student seemed to go out of his way to “push my buttons”, which he did, and for which he also was sent to “Vince.” Later in the week a third student boy required the same action, and then I overheard a conversation between students that went something like this: “It’s not so bad, it only hurts for a minute, you can take it, I dare you…”

What was intended to be “punishment” for oppositional behavior had actually become the means of obtaining reward: membership in an “elite” group.

So what am I saying? I’m saying that I didn’t really understand an aspect of motivation, motivation that is extrinsic in nature. The better we understand it, the more effective we can be in leading our students to accomplish our educational goals.

So what is it exactly? Essentially, the weaker the relationship to the reward and the activity necessary to securing it, the more extrinsic this motivation is. And the more extrinsic motivation is, the more likely it will not deliver the desired results in a dependable, consistent manner over time.

Four examples of extrinsic forms of motivation are:

• Rewarding your student with money for doing their work

• Using “time out” to manage bad behavior

• Turning in all your algebra assignments to pass the course

• Requiring your child to do his chores before going outside.

As parents, we all use and are influenced by extrinsic motivation. However, like I said, the weaker the relationship between the reward and activity necessary to securing it, you can count on it failing sooner or later.

The four examples of extrinsic motivation cited above may work for a while, but likely will fail you eventually.

• Get ready to pay more as your child gets older. I’ve heard quotes of $50.00 paid out for each “A” earned for college classes taken by a home schooler.

• Some kids may like to be “timed out”. Then they can use their technology, read, or daydream.

• Doing algebra assignments to pass an algebra class may not be a big deal to some kids. Their thinking is, “When will I ever use this?” (Don’t let on that they may have a point…).

• “Going outside” may not be very desirable to the sedentary types.

One client of ours used a form of extrinsic motivation with her son when he came in for his annual achievement test. The deal she struck was if he checked his work during the test, she would take him to get an ice cream cone at Dairy Queen after it was over. That appeal may work with most seven-year-olds (assuming they like ice-cream), but it won’t carry the same weight with your average twelve-year-old, and will likely be responded to with an eye-roll if suggested to your sixteen-year-old.

I’m not saying we should discard the use of extrinsic motivation. We just need to be aware of its limitations. There are other factors that can be put to work to help us reach the educational goals we have for our children. I’ll discuss them in later articles.

Thanks for reading.

Curt Bumcrot, MRE

We’re pleased to announce the release our new interactive e booklet, How to Ask Questions That Matter. Besides helping you drill down deeper into your student’s understanding of the content you’re covering, it will also help you prepare your student to answer the kinds of questions that appear in the new Terra Nova 1 test that has replaced the CAT 5. Higher level thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation are explained and may be practiced.

Click here to go to this product page and see some sample pages.

Please feel free to forward this to home schoolers you think would benefit. Also, you have permission to copy this article to your blogs, forums, social network pages, or other websites. We only ask that you provide the live link at the bottom of the article that leads back to www.basicskills.net

Curt Bumcrot is the founder and director of Basic Skills Assessment and Educational Services. He has earned degrees in Biblical Studies from Grace Institute in Long Beach, California, a B.A. in English from California State University at Dominguiz Hills, and a M.R.E. (Master in Religious Education) from Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary. He has been active both as a teacher and administrator in Christian Schools. He and his wife, Jenny, who home schooled their three children, currently reside in Oregon City.

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Today, getting an online high school GED is becoming a popular option for individuals who cannot attend traditional classroom sessions. A GED is an accepted equivalent to a diploma in a lot of cases. However, some employers still specify that they prefer people who have high school diplomas. The best way to bridge the gap between getting a diploma and still enjoying the benefits of studying at home is to find a suitable online academy that will provide their students a real diploma instead of just a certificate or a GED.

One of the biggest issues with people who cannot or do not want to attend regular classroom-based education is the pace. Some students want to ruminate over a lesson for a long time while others are done with their study materials halfway through the school term.

This is a problem that online home schooling addresses. Good online academies usually have a self-pacing program where students can determine when they are ready to move on to the next lesson. There are no deadlines to beat and students are not pressured to finish before the next GED exam schedule because at the end of the program, they will still get their diploma.

Why settle for an online high school GED when you can get a diploma without having to attend class daily, with a regular schedule? Whether you are getting a diploma to get ahead in life or to simply feel a sense of accomplishment, receiving a diploma will be more worth it the effort.

Resource Box:

Continental Academy is a Florida-based distance learning high school that provides high school diplomas to students instead of just an online high school GED. It fully supports home schooling and has been providing quality education since 1996. See ContinentalAcademy.com or call 800-285-3514 for more information.

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Getting an online high school diploma is becoming more popular because of home schooling. Over the last few years, online degrees at the collegiate level have progressed substantially, creating amazing resources for high school students to utilize at home. A lot of students want to learn at home and at their own pace, without worrying about catching up with the rest of the class or learning faster than the teacher can teach. Home schooling is also an option that an increasing number of parents favor because it allows them to be as hands-on as possible when it comes to their children’s education.

However, most online academies do not really go as far as giving their students a diploma. Most of them only prepare the student for the battery of exams that he needs to take to pass the GED. While the GED is a certificate that some employers or universities accept in place of a diploma, more prestigious ones have a strict high school diploma requirement. This means that getting only a GED will restrict a student’s potential when it comes to employment or higher learning. It is proven that people with high school diplomas earn more and feel a higher level of accomplishment than those who merely have a GED.

Therefore, if you have decided on home schooling, make sure that you are going to find a school that will actually give you an online high school diploma. It is a good idea to invest in a school that allows you to go at your own pace but is always there to assist you whenever you need it, like when you find a difficult lesson in your course. It is important to check the quality of the school you are planning to enroll in because you are not only investing your time, money and effort on them, you are also investing on your future.

Resource Box:

Continental Academy is a Florida-based distance learning high school that provides online high school diplomas to students. It fully supports home schooling and has been providing quality education since 1996. Visit ContinentalAcademy.com or call 800-285-3514 for details.

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American home schooling is the god-given right we have, recognized in the U.S. Constitution, to educate our children at home as we see fit. Education that imparts the children necessary skills, as well as forms character, is all the more necessary in the modern world where there is all the more competition in the workplace and life. It’s an incredible privilege to impart your children the education that they need, and we as Americans are lucky to have it available to us. Now it is up to us to use it in the best possible way.

State Laws for American Home Schooling

Every state has its own laws relating to homeschools, which they use to keep a tab on them. This is a necessary inconvenience, especially because it makes sure nobody uses the homeschool in a way that abuses the rights of children and you as a diligent parent should make sure that you fulfill all of the requirements set out by laws. More information on these laws can be obtained from the Home School Legal Defense Association.

State laws are there to only regulate the homeschools; they cannot curtail your freedom to decide what is best for your child. Your child needs all your expertise as a teacher, and as a supervisor of their education, and no law will change that.

Benefits of Good American Home Schooling

There are a number of factors that will help decide to provide a better quality education to your children while homeschooling them. From schooling time, location, frequency of classes; to curriculum, methods of schooling, and tools that you use to train your child, a careful evaluation of these factors will decide how successful your homeschool will turn out to be. With the success of your child and their education dependant on this, the stakes can hardly get higher. For this, you should choose each of these elements with careful thought, keeping the specific needs of your child in mind.

It should also be noted that the education that you will provide to your child has many dimensions. Apart from skills, you will also help in the character development of your child. This experience will also help you strengthen your family unit, and the example you set will be learned by your child, whether consciously or unconsciously

In all respects, American home schooling will help your child develop the correct skills and develop character that will help them cope with the challenges of life.

Go to my website right now and learn more about American Home Schooling. While you are there you will find a plethora of important information pertaining to homeschooling laws

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Homeschool parents are constantly seeking ideas to stimulate the mind of their children. One way to stimulate young minds is through the use of clipart and visual aids. Here are three ideas that can help LDS homeschooling parents utilize clipart in their daily lessons:

1. Clipart and Holidays
Young children in the homeschool enjoy celebrating changing seasons and holidays. Seasonal emphases can teach children about religion and science as they study culture and the reasons for changes out doors. Using seasonal clipart may also help the parent to organize materials.

For example, a parent might include the image of a Baby Jesus on each of the items that will be covered in December or a Easter bunny on items to be covered in Spring. Parents may use blank labels and print our their own custom stickers for this purpose using any of the free LDS clipart resources online.

2. Clipart and Science
Science is perhaps the most difficult subject to teach in the home school. Parents may feel they lack the resources to provide an effective science curriculum at home. Many science, including biological and botanical sciences, can be effectively taught with clipart images of animals. Search libraries and clipart galleries for illustrations of plants, trees, and animals. You may look for both full-color and black and white images.

Once you’ve found a usable image, print yourself a copy of any images with labeled parts. Then use a paint program to white out the labels and print that copy for your child. Your child can label or color the image and have both art and science lesson at the same time.

2. Using LDS Clipart During Religious Studies
Religious clipart can also be used in the LDS homeschool in ways that may not be permitted in a public school. Parents might use ideas from Primary websites or printables from Young Women and youth websites to help reinforce the lessons taught on Sundays at Church. Invite small children to color images of the Savior or Prophets while you read a story from the Friend Magazine or scriptures. Older children will enjoy receiving a mirror sign with a special message they can see as they prepare for the day’s activities.

In Conclusion
Many parents find themselves busy with daily life and church activity. LDS Clipart can be a welcome timesaver for homeschooling parents seeking ideas for their lessons.

Jenny Smith is a contributor to the LDS Clipart resources gallery at Mormon Share and to the LDS Primary ideas for children’s lessons.

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If you are new to home schooling and haven’t a clue as to what to do about curriculum other than buying a set out of a catalog, there is a wealth of learning possibilities available to you. Many are free or low-cost. You just have to dig a little!

There are advantages to using boxed curriculum, if you have the money they require. If time is short or you really dislike planning, then a boxed set may be the way to go. On the other hand, if your budget is tight, there are many alternatives:

1. Your child is the one being home schooled so start here. What does he love to do? Read mysteries, skateboard, collect seashells, play with his dog, and draw? For each of his interests you will be able to find books to read, documentaries, clubs, lessons, web pages, or activities. Build a unit study or theme around one of those interests. You may be amazed at what your child will learn if it starts with something he is truly interested in.

2. Check with your home schooling support group to see if a lending library is available. Some groups keep books about the different styles of home schooling while others may have unit study kits or materials arranged by learning subject.

3. Use the public library. Every library system is different; you will have to investigate to see what your library offers. If your library is in a city or county system, you may be able to request items from other libraries to be delivered to your own branch for you to pick up. Some libraries offer science learning kits, toys or musical instruments, or have hired or volunteer guests do experiments or magic or present plays, etc. You will find DVDs of movies, lessons and documentaries, audio books, foreign language CD sets, etc. Most libraries sponsor book clubs.

4. Use the Internet. I love having our computer nearby as it is wonderful to be able to look something up as we are discussing a subject and a question arises. You will find tons of learning resources such as worksheets, coloring pages, online dictionary, thesaurus and calculators, lesson plans, educational games and skill practice. Moreover, so much of it is free! Your kids will be able to take classes online as well.

5. What resources will you find in your own community? Look for Girl or Boy Scouts, 4-H, YMCA sports, community classes, the Civil Air Patrol, government student council, Toastmasters, community gardens, Parks and Rec events and sports, extracurricular activities at your local school. There are clubs for aviation, writing, horses, the arts, radio-control racing, bird watching, dog sports, etc. Do you attend a church, synagogue or temple? Is anything available for your kids there?

6. Take a second look at the people in your life. Grandpa fishes and is a top-notch cook. Grandma plays lively music on her piano. Uncle Joe is an avid bird watcher, and Mrs. Garcia next door loves talking about Shakespeare. See what potential you may find!

7. Keep a daily journal about the activities your kids do, such as science experiments, buying their own meal at a fast-food restaurant, exchanging a roll of dimes at the bank or building a model of Stonehenge in the backyard. All of these involve learning!

Learning occurs anywhere in so many variations that you can create your own curriculum for your own home schooling kids.

To learn more about home schooling and the many options available to you, please visit our website at http://www.homeschooltheater.com. You can follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/homeschoolart.

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