Homeschool Support Groups: Do You Need One?

Burn Out, Classroom Help, Informative, Preparing for College, Preschoolers, Single Parents, Special Needs

Written with Permission
By Pamela Greer
www.TOSMagazine.com

 

“Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14). The Bible clearly encourages employing the counsel of others in our endeavors, and homeschooling is no exception. With the myriad of choices and decisions regarding curriculum alone, the support of other like-minded individuals is vital. I could not imagine venturing through this journey alone.

When I was invited to join our support group, my 3-year-old and I were singing rhyming songs and playing Candy Land and identifying colors and shapes in library books. I was so new to homeschooling I didn’t know support was something I needed. Nearly ten years of homeschooling later, I think of my support group as more of a life support group. (more…)

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Fun Writing Projects for Reluctant Writers

Classroom Help, Informative

Written with Permission
By Tamara Christine Van Hooser
www.TOSMagazine.com
www.facebook.com/teachingisFUN

 

Young Kelly talks your ear off for hours on end with stories filled with wonder and imagination, but as soon as you ask her to write, the “clunk” in her spirit is almost audible as her enthusiasm quickly fades. You hear protests like “I can’t write!” and “Writing is boring!” and “I hate writing!” Cue the heaving, sighing, scowling, and rolling eyeballs.

If you live with this child, you know as her parent that a lack of creativity is not the problem. A child’s imagination often sends the ideas flowing so fast from her head that she gets frustrated when her hand cannot keep up. (more…)

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Updated: We Are Not Alone

Biography, Informative, Just For Fun

Written with Permission
By Katharine Trauger
katharinetrauger.wordpress.com

 

What if you are not the mother of the children you home school?

Suppose you come from balmy Cornwall to cold Yorkshire to nurse your sister, Maria, who is dying of cancer at age 38. Her children’s care passes to you, then, despite the fact that you’ve never even married. What if you are only Aunt Elizabeth, housekeeping for your brother-in-law in the bogs and fens of northeastern England? You are lively and intelligent, and no one expects a clergyman to raise six children, alone, while spiritually feeding a parish. Therefore, you stay on to help him manage his extensive responsibilities.

Does home education work in such situations? (more…)

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