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.
“Hi Lee, I heard you on last year’s homeschool conference online and enjoyed all you had to share. My 15 yo son is a freshman and we were wondering what science and english program you recommend for him. Once I hear from you, I can share a little more. He is really struggling this year with his schoolwork. No desire,I would love to see his love for homeschooling and continue to learn. ”
~ Debbie in Alaska
Hi Debbie,
What I recommend for science and English is whatever works. If something works, keep using it, even when you get to high school.
Since you say that what you are using isn’t working, I can make a couple of suggestions. For science, I often suggest starting with Apologia, because I know for certain that it’s excellent college preparation. Sometimes it isn’t a perfect fit though. Sometimes that’s just because a child doesn’t like biology, but other times it’s a curriculum miss-match.
For English, there isn’t one particular thing that’s best, it’s all about what works for you. If you have a child that loves reading, then I often recommend Sonlight curriculum. Yes, expensive, but oh, so worth it! If you have a child that doesn’t love reading or writing at all, then Write Shop is usually the place I suggest next. Truly, though, there are a lot of good options.
Bottom line: you have identified a weak area. That is where you want to put your money. Invest in your weakenesses.
After eight year of homeschooling, my frantic homeschool life suddenly slowed dramatically, when my children began college. My children are busy studying for finals. My house is clean for the first time in over a decade.
It’s funny, because I remember how difficult that time was, but now I miss it so much! When I was homeschooling, every year, and especially every Christmas, was filled with activities – and STRESS! But you know, this is just a season of your life. Try to enjoy it! In the meantime, let me help you think through the gifts, and encourage you. I hope you find some practical ideas you can use this holiday season!
The first year of homeschooling is such an adventure! It’s hard to balance school stuff that matters (like reading, writing, and math) against the school stuff that simply isn’t necessary when you are homeschooling (desks, tests, and watching the clock.)
Even if you know you are supposed to be homeschooling, it can still be pretty intimidating. If you need a boost of encouragement, watch my video on “How do you know you can homeschool high school?”
First of all, feeling insecure and afraid is how moms have been feeling through all the ages, particularly when starting a new stage – ANY new stage. I’m guessing that is how you felt when you brought home your newborn, right? However, there are some curriculum choices that can make you feel MORE inadequate and scared than necessary. Curriculum that is originally intended for a school setting will assume that the teacher knows the material. Curriculum originally intended for a homeschool will assume that the parent knows nothing about the subject. You are more likely to feel inadequate when you use curriculum intended for a school setting. Here is my article about other ideas for choosing curriculum: 10 No-Fail Strategies for Choosing High School Curriculum.
When you are in a school, everything is separated by age groups. When you are homeschooling, you can recognized that grade levels don’t matter, it’s the LEARNING that matters. You may be able to group the kids together in many or most of their subjects. As long as they are learning, then that’s the thing that matters. You can use a curriculum that is intended for multiple ages, like Sonlight or Tapestry of Grace, etc. Or you can just use a regular curriculum each one of them has not yet been exposed to. So for example, they may all do chemistry this year together. I did all of our schoolwork together, except for math, all the way through high school, even though my children are over two years apart.
What curriculum you decide on doesn’t really matter, because it’s more about the fit between your curriculum and your children. You just want to choose a curriculum that is a good fit for you. On the other hand, if it is NOT a good fit for you, then it’s best to make a curriculum change. That’s the benefit of homeschooling – you can change when things aren’t working.
There are a million ways to save money when homeschooling. On the other hand, I think a first year homeschoolers would do best by investing in their ability to succeed. That’s why I often suggest Sonlight for beginners. It’s a little bit more expensive, but it can really help your first, most critical year, be successful.
I have a lot of homeschooling beginners on my Gold Care Club. They call me every week and talk for 20 minutes as part of their membership, and it can really help to get rid of those nagging worries, and feel confident. Here is more information if you are interested.
Someone asked me this week for some tips for beginners. “What will help?” is such a broad question! Here are my suggestions.
First, you can work together with your kids, either by grouping them together in close age groups, or by studying the same content but at different levels. In other words, you can use Sonlight Curriculum and group them together, younger kids doing world history for elementary school, and older kids doing world history for junior high and high school. Although some curricula say they are multi-age, there are no LAWS about age and curriculum, so really ANY curricula is multi-age. The only things you really need to keep separate are:
math
spelling, vocabulary, etc.
expectations.
You can give your kids the same assignment and expect your older child to produce a 1 page paper, your elementary student a paragraph, and your youngest may copy a sentence about the topic. See how that works?
My second tip is my most favorite. I love to recommend the book “Managers of Their Homes” by Teri Maxwell. It made a HUGE difference in my life and homeschool. In fact, that book is the reason why I have been (mostly) consistent with my quiet time, because she really focuses on putting God first and everything else will fall into place. She is not as academic as I am, but I found that to be a nice balance, because I tend to do too much at time.
Finally, for beginners I often recommend Sonlight curriculum. Check it out, and see if it would be a good fit for your children. Because it comes with a nice schedule, it’s perfect for beginners who don’t have a real sense of “how much and how”. The easiest starting place might be Sonlight Core 100.
Have fun learning how to love learning!
Check out my profile on The Old Schoolhouse’s Speakers Bureau, and then ask you conference coordinator to invite me to come speak to your conference in 2010!
In the city, there are lots of educational opportunities – some would say TOO MANY because we become overwhelmed with options. That’s not what it’s like for everyone, however. I have some ideas if your child has a urge to try speech and debate, but there are no other homeschoolers nearby.
Toastmasters has international meetings. You may be able to find a toastmasters group where you live, even if you are overseas.
You can look online for a speech and debate club. Here is one: http://www.psalt.com/
Or you may want to create your own homeschool course with the material on this site.
Or you could create a “deep thinker” using Understanding the Times and then practice debate skills during the summer, at summer camps.
I hope this helps
Do you have a homeschooling high school question? Send me anemail!
Hello again! I am wondering how you designed the diplomas and what wording you used on them? Thanks for all the valuable and helpful info!
~ Brenda
Hi Brenda!
I used homeschooldiploma.com to purchase my diploma. I just *love* their business. Our state homeschool organization uses them as well – they are very easy to deal with. They have a variety of suggestions for the wording. You can get all your graduation things there; cap & gown, invitations, and the works.
I love their things. When I speak, I love to show everyone my diploma, and tell them that my children graduated “with honors.” LOL! That always gets a good laugh from homeschoolers. We got our cap and gown, and diploma from them. Some large homeschool organizations will order the whole package from each of their graduates. I’ve seen a LOT of different products from them, and I’ve been very happy with them all!
Thank you for the question.
WOW!! What a Great site – Thanks so much – just what I was looking for!!
Brenda
My husband and I watched the movie “Fireproof” last night. I have to confess, it wasn’t made as well as many Hollywood movies. It was still a wonderful movie to see, and deeply moving. When I was watching it, I thought about what a great movie for homeschooling families. The movie talks about the marriage commitment, and describes how one couple overcomes a near-divorce with concepts from a book called The Love Dare.
The movie was so popular, they realized they needed to write a book called “The Love Dare” because they knew people would want to buy the book featured in the movie.
If you are looking for fun and interesting ways to teach your children about commitment in marriage, the movie should be a great fit! Wonderful values, and great practical help, in an easy-to-digest format that kids would watch. I think it’s a great way to teach teens about marriage!
The movie is a Christian movie, with a Biblical basis, but the concepts cross all religious boundaries.
On April 21, we will be launching The HomeScholar Gold Care Club to help parents homeschool high school. For the past few months, the Club has been part of a bonus package for people who purchased our e-book, “The Easy Truth About Homeschool Transcripts.” Since then, families have expressed interest in membership without the e-book. On April 21, we will be launching the this the site with LOTS of great bonuses for the early responders. Check your email for more information over the next few weeks!
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Christianbook.com Curriculum Page
