Socialization is not about a group of kids all the same age.  True socialization is about people of ALL ages getting together. When kids are feeling alone, then getting out into the world can provide the socialization they are craving.  Here are some suggestions for socialization activities:

1. Family and family outings.
2. Play-only groups;  many support groups will have park days in the summer.  It may be worth joining a group JUST to meet kids are park days.
3. Homeschool days at various activities:  skating and bowling businesses will often have “homeschool days.”
4. Church and youth groups.
5. Volunteer work;  work together at a food bank, clothing bank, YMCA or church camps.
6. Community classes:  take pottery, photography, or exercise classes with a local YMCA.  Take art classes at Michael’s or JoAnn stores.
7. Fitness groups;  join a swim team, running team, or volksmarching.
8. Call local homeschool groups and ask “What are some ways your group gets together?”

I hope this helps!

Get our new FREE training webinar, “Grades and Credits and Transcripts, Oh My!!“  It will really help you get a jump on your high school record keeping.

In Lake Wobegon all the children are above average, but in the real world some kids struggle.  What is a parent to do?

I have a son with fairly significant learning disabilities.  He is dues to begin high school this fall.  He is on a sixth grade level in math…so we keep going…do I give him high school level credit for the math we do next year?  His writing looks like a second grader’s ~ do we continue on and give high school credit for his English work?  He is 15 and says he really wants to go to college and I want to prepare him to do so, which means an intelligible but honest transcript.  thanks!
~ Carol

Hi Carol,

Yes, he can be in high school and yes, you can give him high school credit. I have an article about College for Struggling Learners that you may enjoy here.

Your question about high school credits is answered more fully in my free one-hour homeschool training webinar.

I hope this gives you the answer you need!

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In response to my Homeschool Mom’s Universal Translator (HMUT), readers asked me to create a translator to help homeschool parents deal with disapproving, insensitive relatives.  You know the type…the ones who make you feel like DIRT.

Here is your very own copy of my Disapproving, Insensitive Relatives Translator, or DIRT.  (For my French readers, it is called the “Translator Universalle for Relatives Disapproving”).

Consider it my gift to you.

You might want to cut this out and keep it in your wallet for handy reference. (If you think of any others I might have missed, please feel free to post a comment.)

Get our new FREE training webinar, “Grades and Credits and Transcripts, Oh My!!“  It promise it won’t make you feel like dirt!

Ooops.  They were supposed to be independent.  Instead they goofed off.

Never under-estimate a teenager’s ability to avoid work.  Sometimes intentional lapses, many times teens are simply focused on other things (like their hair, or their new shoes) and they forget trivial things like math assignments or research reports.

It would be nice to have teenagers grow up one day and suddenly just BE responsible.  Nice, but unlikely.  It’s much more common for teenagers to slowly BECOME responsible.  It take a lot of time and a lot of practice, often with constant shaping and molding from their parents.  Kids don’t start the first day of 9th grade as responsible adults.  The BEGIN the process of becoming responsible adults.

That’s where the Morning Meeting idea can help.  When you check on your child each day, you can shape and mold their “responsibility index” each day.  A quick 15 or 30 minute check in can give you the time you need to assess the situation and correct the behavior, shaping and molding your child’s responsibility as you go.

The Morning Meeting can help your child stay on task, so they don’t “forget” school for a week – or a month!- and suddenly fall hopelessly behind.  A daily meeting is a great goal.  In practice, though, a day will be missed here and there.  We are all busy people with busy lives, after all!  But if you forget a day or two, you will still benefit.  Any meeting can provide feedback for children.  If you miss a few days, you will eventually return to the meeting and discover any missed assignments.

Even in “real life” after school, adults are often faced with frequent check-ups.  In our business, we attempt to have a daily meeting with our employees.  While it doesn’t ALWAYS happen, it does USUALLY happen, and it can find any missed assignments.

If you tend to fall behind, or if you see your student overwhelmed by an insurmountable mountain of work, instituting a “Morning Meeting” can be the  perfect non-punitive answer.

Try having a quick morning meeting for a successful homeschool.

Read to what others are saying about The HomeScholar Gold Care Club!

The school year is over.  Perhaps it wasn’t as successful as you had hoped. The best solution is to not give up.  It’s not too late, and you haven’t ruined your child forever.   You do realize that all children will sometimes have a “bad year” right?

For encouragement, listen to this encouraging song by TobyMac Lyrics
Music: “Get Back Up” Lyrics by TobyMac

You turned away when I looked you in the eye
And hesitated when I asked if you were alright
Seems like you’re fightin’ for your life
But why, oh, why

Wide awake in the middle of your nightmare
You saw it comin’ but it hit you out of nowhere
And there’s always scars when you fall that far

We lose our way, we get back up again
It’s never too late to get back up again
And one day you gonna’ shine again
You may be knocked down, but not out forever

We lose our way, we get back up again
So get up, get up, you gonna’ shine again
It’s never too late to get back up again
You may be knocked down, but not out forever

You rolled out of the dawning of the day
Heart racin’ as you made your little get away
It feels like you been runnin’ all your life
But why, oh, why

So you pull away from the love that would’ve been there
And start believin’ that your situation’s unfair
But there’s always scars when you fall that far

This is love callin,’ love callin,’
Out to the broken this is love callin’
This is love callin,’ love callin,’
I am so broken
This is love callin,’ love callin’

If you don’t like contemporary Christian music, then think about the song “Tomorrow” from Annie.  You know, the little red-haired girl who sings, “The sun will come out tomorrow!”  It will get better!

It’s never too late to get back up again.  You may be knocked down, but it’s not forever.  You can start again!  Next year will be better.  Take a summer break, then hit reset in the fall.

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In spring and summer parents may look back on the year and feel VERY discouraged.  They see how little they got done, they notice what was not finished.  They clearly see the difficulties and traumas that got in the way of  formal education.  But all is not lost!  You can’t actually PREVENT a child from learning.  That’s where standardized tests can help.  They can show you how much your children have learned while you weren’t even paying attention!  Even if you don’t believe me, listen to what my client Rebecca shares:

This has been an extremely difficult year for us as we had a baby in  the middle of the school year, took an entire month off, and struggled through the last semester with nursing and diapers and spit-up and everyone wanting to stop working to stare at the baby…  Anyway, they just got their CAT scores back.  I was so worried.  They both scored in the 99th percentile a grade ahead of where they’d be in public school.  My new mantras are Lee quotes:  You can’t keep a child from learning if they’re reading; Mastery, not Perfection; and Failure is Feedback!!  Thanks a bunch!!
~Rebecca

Read “The Joy of Tests” for more encouragement.

If you are curious about providing a great homeschool education for your gifted child, check out my audio training, “Gifted Education at Home.“

As parents homeschooling high school, our goal is NOT to teach something. Our goal is for our kids to LEARN. I could have taught my kids “at grade level” and they would have not learned a thing. Instead, I gave them curriculum at their ability level, and then they had to learn something that they didn’t already know.

I have been telling people for 3 + years that I don’t teach my kids, I just give them the materials they need to learn and find a method of accountability (testing!). They teach themselves. I tried to tell the schools they attended that no one was teaching anything because the kids were not learning at their level. Your article stated exactly what I had been trying to say! LOL My daughter is now 13 and taking AP tests in Physics and Calculus this spring, having been adopted from Russia 7 years ago. I haven’t taught her math since she learned English. Her brother, at 12 is less motivated, but has found that he can learn math using a different program, and having just starting high school geometry 2 weeks ago is 50% done! We basically do the same in all subjects: learn the material, discuss what they feel is interesting and correct assignments and tests together. This has eliminated a lot of stress in our family.

Thanks,

Nancy in Connecticut

Click here to read more about why teaching is highly overrated here.

Enjoy this free online magazine from Heart of the Matter.

How do you teach State History so it’s not boring? And do successful homeschoolers ever completely flop teaching something?

Hi Lee, I would like to know if you can give any information on teaching Washington State History without making it boring. I have a book and an old version of switched on school house that isn’t up to date, because it for 2000-01 school year. I want to make the study interesting not boring.

~Homeschool Mom

Hi there,

I completely failed at teaching State History. Really. I never made it into something that wasn’t boring.

Did you know that State history is NOT a requirement for homeschoolers in Washington State? You don’t have to cover that at all…. boy, I wish I would have known that!

If you want to cover Washington State history anyway, you can do as little as just a research report or a mapping project. As far as Switched on Schoolhouse goes, I don’t think it matters what year it was created, because you’re looking more at the history and geography of the state, rather than current events.

But all in all, I’m completely NO HELP here, except to say you don’t have to teach it I’m pretty sure my readers will have some ideas though.

EVERYONE: Can you please help us struggling homeschoolers with some interesting ways to teach State History?

Isn’t it wonderful that I’m willing to admit my failures, though? LOL!

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If you need help saving money on your food budget, I saw the most wonderful book while watching “The Doctors” on TV!  The book is called “Clara’s Kitchen: Wisdom, Memories, and Recipes from the Great Depression”

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!