The doctors on the show recommended the book as a common sense way to eat healthy food inexpensively. I just thought Clara was adorable! She also had a video filled with more recipes and her stories from the depression. Check it out! Great Depression Cooking with Clara.
Read to what others are saying about The HomeScholar Gold Care Club!
Listen. Learn. Discern. Get guidance. Sounds great! Now if we could just teach our children to have a quiet time and devotional with the word of God, they could listen, learn, discern, and get guidance too!
Proverbs 1:5
Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.
Sometimes kids will gobble it up, and love reading the Word. Other times… not so much. Same kid, just different stages. It doesn’t mean they have made a long term commitment to fighting you on devotions. In general it just means their brain is focused on other things.
There are two things that can help you train a child to have devotions. First, demonstrate a devotional lifestyle, but having a quiet time yourself. Show your children that real adults really read their Bible on a day-to-day basis, and that will become normal behavior for them.
We read it together, and discussed the scriptures we read. I called it “cozy couch time” because I wanted it to be a warm, friendly, non-schoolish environment. My goal was for them to love scripture. Like teaching them to love reading, I thought the best way would be to get cozy with the book.
Later in high school, I bought them each their own devotional. Rather than commentaries, I really liked The One Year Bible NIV
Each day it provides a section from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. It was a good fit for me, because sometimes I get bogged down in some sections (Lamentations and Revelation come to mind…..) and having a mix of Old, New, and Wisdom books really helped me have something each day that would spark my interest and keep me excited about devotions.
People think that dealing with gifted children is easy. Hah! No way! It’s amazingly stressful!
Hi Lee,
I just got a jolt when I read on your website that a rough conversion from PSAT to SAT is to add a zero to the end. So what do I do with a 14 year old who has a PSAT selection index of 201, average percentile of 97, Critical Reading score of 70, Mathematics score of 61, and Writing Skills score of 70?
~ Amazed in Auburn
To be honest, that was EXACTLY the place I found myself when son was 14. He got an 800 in reading, 790 in writing and math, with a perfect score on the essay. That was the moment I realized that I just *might* have to graduate him early. He is a senior at Seattle Pacific University now, and he’s 20 and headed to law school. Here’s a few things that will help.
Homeschoolers should keep high school records. We know that. Still, for parents who have never kept records before, change is hard. How do you change your own behavior, and begin keeping good records? The secret is the same for ALL kinds of change.
Do one simple thing differently. Take just one thing and make a change, and slowly change behavior one task at a time. They say it takes 6 weeks to make a habit. Take one simple thing and do it differently. In 6 weeks, try changing another simple thing. A starting place may be to keep a tub for papers, and throw in some papers, tests, quizzes, or daily work each day.
As they say, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Don’t do the same thing, and keep your sanity. Create an environment that will help you meet your goals. Put a tub for your records in a clearly visible place, as a reminder to put something in it. The first step of record keeping is simply KEEPING something from which you can make your records.
Instead of feeling discouraged about records, take one small step and do something different today.
Sitting there getting my hair cut, I overheard a conversation between two mothers of high school teens. They were talking about how they had moved their children from public schools and private schools, searching for a quality education and yet unable to find it. “They just don’t teach the basics of reading, writing and math anymore!” one mother moaned. The other mom said, “And my child is getting completely lost in the system!”
She went on to describe how her child completed Algebra 1 with difficulty. The following year, the guidance counselor signed her child up for the wrong class. This poor student was sitting in a calculus class for TWO WEEKS before anyone figured out that he wasn’t supposed to be in that class!
I realize that homeschoolers sometimes feel insecure about their ability to advise their children in high school. You have to admit, however, that a homeschooler would NEVER stick their child in a Calculus class after having difficulty with Algebra 1! We may not be perfect high school advisors, but we do truly KNOW our child, and that’s what makes us successful!
Sitting there getting my hair cut, I over-heard a conversation between two
mothers of high school teens. They were talking about how they had moved
their children from public schools and private schools, searching for a
quality education and yet unable to find it. “They just don’t teach the
basics of reading, writing and math anymore!” one mother moaned. The other
mom said, “And my child is getting completely lost in the system!” She went
on to describe how her child completed algebra 1 with difficulty. The
following year, the guidance counselor signed her child up for the wrong
class. This poor student was sitting in a calculus class for TWO WEEKS
before anyone figured out that he wasn’t supposed to be in that class!
I realize that homeschoolers sometimes feel insecure about their ability to
advise their children in high school. You have to admit, however, that a
homeschooler would NEVER stick their child in a calculus class after having
difficulty with algebra 1! We may not be perfect high school advisers, but
we do truly KNOW our child, and that’s what makes us successful!
I have said it so many times, it almost seems like a cliche, “College tuition is like buying a car – hardly anyone pays the sticker price.” I felt strangely satisfied to see almost those exact words from the University of Washington President in our Seattle Newspaper:
ANYONE who has ever gone car shopping knows that the price you see on the sticker is rarely the price you pay. The same can be said of college tuition. Recent headlines about “soaring” tuition and fees have no doubt left many with a bad case of sticker shock ["Tuition and fees soaring at colleges across nation," page one, Oct. 21]. The more surprising story might be, “tuition at public universities offered at deep discount.”
Of course, he is trying to convince people to attend HIS college, so he does talk a lot about public education. Toward the end of the article he mentions the funding crisis in our state, and the impact on public universities:
“So why increase the sticker price of tuition when it’s going to be sold at a discount price? One of the primary reasons is the withdrawal of state tax support from public universities. At the UW, we just lost 26 percent of our state general fund budget.”
I would like to remind parents that private education is not funded by state governments in crisis. Many of them have wonderful funding from endowments and donations. If college costs are a concern, try to find a college with lots of money to give away, and that’s a good fit, so they want to give YOUR child money.
I still see private universities providing wonderful scholarships! In fact, private colleges are becoming a better and better value. Look at what The Washington Post says:
Compared with the past school year, tuition and fees rose 6.5 percent at public four-year colleges and 4.4 percent at private, nonprofit, four-year institutions, according to the report. Those were steeper rates of increase than in previous years, after adjusting for inflation. Over the past decade, annual increases have averaged 4.9 percent at public colleges and 2.6 percent at private colleges. The good news for students is that most do not pay full price.
Don’t panic. Don’t limit your choices by only applying to public schools because of the sticker price. Apply to schools that are a good fit for your child. You may be pleasantly surprised!
I have said it so many times, it almost seems like a cliche, “College
tuition is like buying a car – hardly anyone pays the sticker price.” I
felt strangely satisfied to see almost those exact words from the University
of Washington President in our Seattle Newspaper
One of the most difficult parts of parenting is always making a decision about which direction to go. In the beginning is the decision to have children, then choosing how to have the baby. Then nursing? Go back to work? What about homeschooling?
Even now that we have made it to the homeschooling part, we still have decisions in front of us. What is the best decision for our children? Should they take a class outside the home? Where should they go to college? How do you make the decisions? Read this story in the Old Testament, about Abram and his nephew Lot made a decision about which direction they should choose.
Genesis 13:8-18
So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”
Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD… So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.
The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”
So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.
Lot chose the direction that looked the prettiest. He chose in a superficial way, based on outward appearances. Abram knew that what make a place “good” was the Lord – and anywhere he went with the Lord would be the right place.
When you are making decisions about where to educate your children, whether for an outside class or for college, avoid looking at the outward appearances. It doesn’t matter how many people say it is wonderful, or who else is doing it, or what the current fad might be. Look beyond the superficial. Do you really want your children there? Will it make them a better person, or is it just the best-looking?
Listen to your heart. Parents know best. Not your friends or relatives, not your homeschool buddy or the author of a book. Parents know best.
I have a new homeschool high school Twitter site. Get all the homeschool posts of parents homeschooling high school by joining my Twibe.
Foreign language is difficult. Trouble. Hard. From my perspective as a math/science gal, I can also say it’s yucky. Not my cup of tea. It’s also possible. Doable. Not insurmountable, even for homeschool parents who
don’t know a second language.
In Europe, many countries teach a variety of languages to school children. I have heard that in Germany, kids learn one language in early elementary, another in middle school, and another in high school. I guess that means German kids know four languages by the time they graduate from high school. I’m pretty sure that demonstrates foreign language is possible for everyone.
There are some great reasons to study a foreign language. Like math and science, the study of foreign language has value. Even though it isn’t MY preference, and I would rather work on math, I can still see benefits.
Learning a foreign language can help you learn English, learn vocabulary, learn critical thinking. It can teach kids to be less ethnocentric. It’s critical as a Christian, to help fulfill the great commission. It’s also not easy, so it can teach hard work and study skills.
Home School Legal Defense (HSLDA) does a wonderful job of explaining what it means to be a homeschool friendly college. In general, a homeschool friendly college is one that treats a homeschool applicant the same as a public school applicant.
Your child would be requested to take the exact same tests as any other student – more tests are not required of a homeschool applicant. Some colleges say they are homeschool friendly, when in reality they have “hoops” that we have to jump through.
Home School Legal Defense (HSLDA) does a wonderful job of explaining what it
means to be a homeschool friendly college. In general, a homeschool
friendly college is one that treats a homeschool applicant the same as a
public school applicant. Your child would be requested to take the exact
same tests as any other student – more tests are not required of a
homeschool applicant. Some colleges say they are homeschool friendly, when
in reality they have “hoops” that we have to jump through.
Read the article
What is a Homeschool Friendly College?
Today, more colleges than ever are homeschool friendly, and homeschool friendly colleges do not require an accredited transcript. Even the military academies understand that a homeschool transcript will not be accredited. Usually a college will understand a transcript that a parent makes for their child and will often accept such non-accredited transcripts. If they don’t, colleges will often offer an alternative to an accredited transcript, like a GED or other testing. After all, some public high schools are not accredited either.
Even a college that says it will only accept accredited transcripts may still show some flexibility. In that situation, the best strategy is having a high quality college prep education with a clear demonstration of specialization. In other words, if your student really has their heart set on that ONE college that says they won’t accept a homeschool transcript –
DON’T DESPAIR — you may still get in!
*First,* document your student’s college preparation with outside sources, using CLEP, AP, SAT Subject Tests or dual enrollment credits.
*Second*, encourage specialization in the student’s area of passion, whether it is academics, sports, volunteering, or other specific area. Document that specialization on their college application.
If they want your student, they can review their application on a case-by-case basis. That’s where homeschoolers REALLY shine!
I have a new homeschool high school Twitter site. Get all the homeschool posts of parents homeschooling high school by joining my Twibe.
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