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Finding Age Appropriate Preschool Books

Find age-appropriate preschool books. While you’re searching for them, don’t forget about the time factor. You want to be sure they’ll enjoy looking at the book and reading it because it will help them develop a good reading habit.

It’s important to realize kids’ brains grow at different rates. Most scientific research says that a child’s brain grows by 5% every year. Well, that’s slower than a human hair growth rate. So don’t be too concerned about the fact that your child’s brain is not fully developed until about the age of about 7 or 8.

Early Readers

Some early readers as young as four or five can enjoy books on early reader concepts such as vocabulary and letter sounds. A child will often pick up more of the sounds and names of the letters as he gains proficiency with his parents reading list. Don’t be surprised if your child will refuse to read until he’s had the opportunity to sound out the words.

My Story

I discovered my own early reading success when I had a five-month-old son. While I was on the train one day with my son, I suddenly remembered a story I’d read to him when he was two.

The story was so engrossing I didn’t stop him from picking up the story from the train station and reading it to him. He picked the story up, closed his eyes for a moment, and commenced to begin to read.

It wasn’t long before he was completely engrossed. I encouraged him to read to his brother and the two boys ended up spending the day together reading and working on the vocabulary words.

George’s Stories

When you have children of your own, you develop a bond with your baby. You also ensure that your children have the opportunity to become fluent readers.

George, our son, was blubbering away in his car on the way home when he stopped me and asked what he needed for school. I knew George had read for years and often read for his mother.

I directed him to my station and purchased him a box of Saxon Stories. “Try these ones,” I told him.

I read the story to him and then asked him to tell me some of the words by asking me questions. Again, he had read the story for years.

George went on to tell me that he liked it when he read the story because it helped him focus on the words in the story.

Now, George read to their classmates’ children every chance he had. He loved the audio feature in the book that let him hear the story in Devanagari.

George’s teacher told him earlier that week that she was going to turn over all his homework in 15 minutes or he wouldn’t be allowed to speak. George was so excited he danced around his room shouting and joyously.

What George didn’t know at the time was that his mother, Rosa, planned to talk to him in his room at break and take him to lunch when he had done his best. She played her Russian roulette game as she told him.

The legacy that 15 minutes of tutoring gave George was to remain focused and enjoy the rest of the school year. His grades improved and this began to earn him an “A” throughout the school.

Usually tutoring sessions last from 2-5 hours, sometimes longer. Students feel more in control when they learn in a classroom set-up. The behind-the-wheel-tire-changing sessions give students a chance to apply what they have learned by practicing on a wheeled carousel. Or, the traffic-act-review sessions will have students plotting their routes to improve driving.

Before heading to a session, students first look for a tract of land to park. A five-minute tutorial on turning signals will have students learning not only how to change signals but how to safely merge with traffic.

Next, students will be taught their driving techniques including recognizing when other cars are stopped or passing, looking both ways of the road, parallel parking, making turns, coming around traffic signs, dumping the speed limit, random starts, skidding, and splashing into the tires of approaching cars.

The behind-the-wheel-tire-changing sessions for beginner drivers are especially appropriate for the first time behind the wheel. The students are usually keen to begin and end their driving lessons with a driving simulator. However, even instructors are sometimes nervous about teaching such a novice driver. The behind-the-wheel-tire-changing sessions make them more comfortable in dealing with a real-life driving scenario. And these are not the beginner drivers who are excited about all driving!

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Education – A Critical Tool For Parents

Education is a process of learning how to learn. It is a building process. We all learn more efficiently when we use that efficient learning process for ourselves.

The purpose of this website is to share with you my experiences with homeschooling, to help you decide what you should do, and to answer other questions you may have. I am not a professional counselor, and I hope that my past experience and enthusiasm for homeschooling speak for themselves. If you are trying to decide whether to become a homeschool parent, please don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions! I would be happy to answer them.

I chose to homeschool because I believed that my children’s academic deficiencies, as well as other students in my community, speak to a much more serious problem than I had thought. Many parents have similar stories. HESI is a critical tool for assessment and to help target help where it is needed.

The tools within the HESI:

The HESI is a comprehensive tool for parents that must be used together with the parents’ homeschool curriculum. HESI offers parents comprehensive tools for:

And, it includes a “Homeschooling Checklist” and “casters for the Teacher:”

Check out the Books

While many people leave the learning of their children to an outside source (the public school system), parents who homeschool their children do not have to sacrifice their children’s education. In fact, parents who homeschool their children see it as a great way to spend their time with their children. Parents also gain a compelling reason for homeschooling when they see their children struggling in school with academic interests and requests.

The “Checklist” is a key tool for parents that will help make a bad situation far worse. The checklist is a Summary of Needs (not a list of demands), created with the help of educators and submitted to the school district where the child attends. Parents can easily use this “checklist” to make their children educated and engaged as they prepare for kindergarten.

The biggest issue with public schools is the lack of engaged parents. SES is designed to work for parents and teachers working together to make a difference in the lives of their children.

Here are some links to resources:

The Checklist

  • Parent’s spent more time with their children as a result of using this curriculum.
  • 21st Century skills for learning included Writing, Reading, and math for all children.
  • A review of a recent national report showed that reading practices improved for all test subjects except Reading Comprehension.
  • In almost every subject, difficulties were identified in two or more areas.
  • The most common areas of difficulties were Maths and Verbal Reasoning.
  • Many parents and teachers were shocked by the high number of struggling readers who could not understand more complicated material.
  • Many struggling readers had extremely high levels of performance in the primary grades, but they were failing in Math and Verbal Reasoning because they had not mastered these skills.
  • Many of the children who were performing well in Math and Verbal Reasoning had not mastered the printed form of numbers and only counted with their fingers.
  • Parents were astonished at the low number of middle school students who could compare synonymously with older students.
  • Almost half of the students who had not mastered the printed form of numeracy could not perform simple quantitative calculations.
  • One-third of the students in the secondary grades had not mastered the printed form of numeracy.
  • Only 15% of the students in the elementary grades had mastered the printed form of numeracy.
  • In our current school system, only 15% of the students have arithmetic literacy of a very adequate standard, and 83% have literacy of a basic or satisfactory level.
  • Out of the 15% of students who have basic literacy skills, 71% had not learned sentence repetition, and only 19% could not read a sentence at a conscious level.
  • The results of this study show that reading skills are a very important factor in the learning of most of us.
  • Although reading is not the only factor that affects our lives, it is the most powerful. The results of this study also show that reading improves throughout the grades level.
  • Apart from that, this study has also proven that reading improves the understanding of other subjects too.
  • This is the time to take action children! Don’t let the sites that teach incorrect information pass your child.
  • We try to bring the best resources for our students. To bring excellent resources and a challenging educational environment for your children.
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The Basics of Homeschooling

Educators who are considering homeschooling as an avenue to education have many tools and resources at their disposal to help them make the homeschooling plan work. Typically, at the beginning of the homeschooling program, a great deal of research and communication is required to make sure students will be cared for and comfortable in their new homeschool environment. Then, you have to figure out just what you will do on a day-to-day basis. You have to make decisions on how to spend your time, talents and money. Many parents find that with the first few years of homeschooling they have spent too much money on taking care of their child and the additional expenses that come with homeschooling. As a new homeschooling parent(ren) parent, you may feel overwhelmed and exhausted. Don’t worry. The basics of homeschooling are the foundation to any homeschooling plan.

The “homeschool basics” need to be covered in one place and that place is your state’s home law. In a nutshell, you must protect your legal rights through homeschooling in your new state.

Many parents find the first few years of homeschooling are frustrating and they may decide to just abandon the homeschooling plan all together. In many cases, the parents abandon the homeschooling plan for their own reasons. This realization brings with it a great deal of anxiety and lack of will to homeschool their children. After all, if they decide to homeschool they have to be of age. Many parents find the minimum age for a homeschooling child is five years old. Other parents find that the minimum age for a homeschooling child is seven years old. The vast majority of parents will agree that at the very minimum, children can be homeschooled until the child is around 12 years old.

There are many methods that you can use as a homeschool parent. The basic idea is to be organized and follow the model that is given to you by your church or other providers. You may wish to form a Home Schooling Committee for your church or other organization to help you with this goal. Other homeschool basics include preparing your home for a new way of learning and teaching and finding effective ways to teach your child. These are all things that will help to keep the daily schedules and activities fun and stress free for your child.

Another way to help your child with homeschooling is to be prepared for all of the “homeschool questions”. These questions can come from any school and can make or break your child’s reputation as a unschooled student. Here are a few of the questions parents of unschooling children get asked about their children:

How do you stay motivated?

What type of structure does your church have that you could follow?

How will you teach?

Are unschooling children self taught?

How will you judge them?

Will your child be allowed to teach?

Will you be available to talk to your child?

Have you check-off items for your child?

Are your child’s ideas respected?

Are you willing to try new things with your child?

Are you organized and prepared for any occurrences?

These may seem like significant tasks to do with your children. Remember that the more you commit to homeschooling, the more organized and focused you will be on your child. Remember to keep your financial and religious resources separate from your regular education and schedule planning. The last thing you want is to be trying to manage two completely separate worlds.

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What Is Homeschooling?

The concept of homeschooling is very simple. It is recommended that you stay within your means, or that you use a “homeschool trust fund.” To start with, you will need to have your child’s school records. This can be easily obtained from your local school district. Many districts operate Homeschool support centers, and your child’s diploma should be on your computer.

Parents who have been working as certified personnel in the public education system may be required to take a basic reading exam in the classroom. Parents will then need to direct their child to a website, such ashttp://www.homeschooltestcom.com. This website provides results from many different tests that you can take individually or as a class. These tests are geared to help you determine what skills need to be mastered.

The basis for most homeschool tests is state testing. But, they can be waived depending on your state’s common curriculum regulations. Some states require an internet connection before taking the test, while others do not. There are many major learning institutes that provide this testing material so that your child can take it online. These tests can be downloaded but must be saved on a computer first.

A great benefit to using these tests online is that you can take them at your own pace. Nobody knows the internet like the people who use the internet to take tests online. These tests usually have a time limit, so be sure that you can save the file before running out of time.

Private Schools: There are many private schools that provide homeschooling curriculum through seminars and other courses. The tuition tends to be higher on private schools. These schools can require parents to pay for the supplies and variable prices of books and other supplies. You may find that the teachers and faculty members from private schools are more qualified than those who teach at public schools. Many parents have left their public school teachers to teach at private schools, and have had excellent results.

Why would you want to homeschool your child? The reasons vary from teaching an individual child to fostering greater in-depth knowledge of a subject. Some children benefit by being more independent, while others benefit from a more personalized curriculum and a more engaging curriculum. Every child has different learning styles and needs to be more personalized within a system that better matches his or her current level of learning and is designed to be successful.

Also, you may find that, when your child attends a private school, he or she will be even more eager and competitive than the average public-schooled child. In fact, studies have found that private schools teachers are more inclined to teach based on the specific talents and interests of each student. Because of this, private schools place a much greater focus on preparing their students for college and everyday independent living than do public schools.

There are many different forms of homeschool curriculums. The most basic of these is the “acreage by acre” method, which allows students to incorporate more fully different parts of the world. This method, for example, will teach a student more about the Law of motions. While he or she is moving around, students can explore their world by taking in visual lessons and touching and feeling what they are learning about.

Other homeschool methods center on the study of subjects such as English, mathematics, foreign languages, history, and nature. The most in-depth of these, a unit study, follows one subject for an entire year and comes out with nothing but test questions. However, this type of study is very effective in developing a strong outline for additional learning and is used by many masterfully certified teachers.

There are different methods and curriculums for homeschooling children of all ages. The key is to find a method or curriculum that matches the needs and interests of your child. You may find that a particular subject is more appealing to your child than others, or you may find that two or three subjects are more appealing to your child than others. What is most important is that your child gets a chance to experience something new, something that he or she will not see in public schools. Give your child the opportunity to learn through fun, independence-building activities such as science projects and field trips to public places.

Some schools require that children be spoken to by their parents during mealtime. This is a nice way for children to get their parents’ attention and build social connections. Also, children who have more than one parent in the home have had more opportunities to get to know their parents and develop relationships with their peers, which is a key ingredient to being a well-rounded and well-rounded student.

It is not easy to educate a child, and it is not cheap. But, with proper homeschooling education, children can learn more in their lifetime than they would have otherwise, greatly improving their lives and shaping their futures.

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How to Find the Best Preschool Books

Reading to Kids is like giving them an audience with a violin. They can really grasp a concept if you read nice books that they can enjoy and help them develop a lifelong taste for reading.

The first thing you need to know is what your children enjoy. Are they picture books? They’ll enjoy learning to read words and pictures and to connect a story to their lives. Are they stories that make sense? You’ll also want to consider trying to identify words that are likely to be difficult for your child. A good way to do this is to read the words and have your child try and figure out what it is that you’re reading. You can do this by either taking the words out loud or putting the words and pictures together in your mind’s eye.

There are many options when picking preschool books. First, you have to know how old your child is. Once you know how old your child is you can pick out a recommended reading book based on each age. Try to get a book that is appropriate for their age. Don’t listen to anyone that tells you that certain books are too difficult or too young for your baby. You know what is right for your child.

The second thing you will want to do is read the book to them. Don’t let your child read it to you. That can be a big mistake that you can waste. A good book should be about something that is happening in the story. If it is too long and difficult for your child don’t let them read it.

There are many books that are best read aloud to your child. There are even some books that are the best read while your child is still asleep. This way when they do wake up they are still interested in the book they just stayed in bed to read.

Some of the best preschool books have a big impact on your child’s future. Even if you don’t know where or why it is best for your child this is a great place to start. Show them that books can be entertaining. They are the ones that will remember the most from the books you read to them. Remember to also make reading adventure books with really good and interesting stories to make it clear that they need to read something too.

Now when you find a book that you think your child will really enjoy reading up on its own go ahead and get them to read it. Make sure you keep in mind that it is for their own good. You want to make sure they enjoy what they are doing and that it is of interest to them. The impact it has on their future can be a very good one.

A book can be really fun for a child, with the right depository they really do not have to stay still and be quiet. They can run and play and other things while reading. Also with audiobooks, it is possible to mix and match any book you might want to read with the TV or your favorite radio program. There are lots of options out there to select from that can make reading enjoyable.

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My Favorite Children’s Books

Here is a list of my all-time favorite books.

These are just a few of my all-time favorite books.  They are small enough for easy reading, yet have enough information and curriculum for older children.

These books are all about doing a better job within the home.  Child-based homeschooling is about teaching children however the curriculum fits into the parent’s budget.

The Praise of Children is a series of books aimed at homeschooling parents. It has so many great recipes, arts and crafts ideas, reading and math activities, and learning games that will keep your children reading and playing with it for years to come.

The packages are small enough for one child but have enough activities and lessons for two children and their parents.

Math Magic has a whole series of fun math games, along with some math facts, for use with younger children. Crawling will develop your child’s concentration and have them completely intrigued with numbers.

This is one of my favorite sets, hands down. Every time I need to talk with my students about the new textbook or their math homework, I open up this book and start reading. I just can’t help myself. I read it aloud so I can hear all the wonderful things that my students have done!

I also have a set of smashing succeeds, which are collections of all my favorite stories and taught lessons. I can’t get them all in one book, but they are all easily stored in my huge Sam Sharpe Reading Tower. I use it as a classroom display.

I carry both of these sets with me at all times. I don’t think I ever have a book that I don’t have in my hands. They are simple to use, the same as my regular Reader’s Digest books. The big difference with the sharps is that they have a plethora of information on them. The stories are simply excellent.

My son, when he was about seven, he asked for his mom’s old library card. “Never, never, never,” mom said. “I’ve already filled out all the applications for books. I’m waiting for my son’s birth certificate.” Sigh.

But I said, “No. You can have the books and start reading them. Just give me the book and shut up about it.”umeric or alphanumeric or even a Basler or Woodson bookie would suffice.

Reading is indeed an enjoyable activity. A child may not always understand what he or she is reading, but that doesn’t mean the activity stops. I’ve always noticed that when my children see the fives and tens together, they stop and they seem to think about it. Maybe it is the thought of it — or the fact that it makes them feel so good to be able to do more complex math operations.

According to my son, the first week of school was the easiest because we went over everything they had learned and how they knew what they could do. By the second week though, it was a struggle to get them to remember what they had learned, much less remember what they should do.

We did some testing and discovered that their short-term memory was intact. The problem was that it seemed to be so much help with the memorization that they would not be able to learn any new information unless they would reach down and touch the author or the title of the book.

Memories of the Good Old Days

I turned things around a bit at the beginning of the year by not allowing them to read ahead, but they had to remember that theAuthor, orAuthorand that the Book had a certain familiarity factor for them. I think this is why children remember feeling “dumb,” when they cannot understand something that they are reading aloud to them.

I agree that this is a serious problem if our elementary students are to realize their full potential in math and science subjects. Helping children to open their books at the right time, recognizing that familiarities and associations aid memory, and encouraging them to ask questions while they are learning all of the time — this is what an excellent preschool can do for your child.

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Random Facts Versus Whole Science Approach to Homeschool Teaching

When it comes to learning science, most of us were taught in the public school system, which is a big proponent of the random fact teaching methodology. In other words, science was a single subject taught in a vacuum separate from other subjects. When it comes to teaching difficult or complex subjects such as science, it makes more sense to take a holistic approach. Here’s why.

The Science Random Fact Junk Drawer

There has been much news lately about the American education crisis in regard to a lack of interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) disciplines. The United States is falling behind other developed countries when it comes to new technologies and discoveries, mainly because it is producing fewer graduates with related degrees.

One of the reasons for this lack of interest in STEM disciplines is the way kids are taught. Students often learn a bit of science here and a bit of science there without being provided any logical way to connect the dots. This collection of random facts can be likened to your junk drawer at home – you know there’s a screwdriver in the midst of all those rubber bands and paper clips and batteries and gadgets somewhere, you just can’t find it amongst all the clutter.

The same holds true for kids learning science. For instance, if a child learns a little something about the earth and the moon and how the shadow of our planet can cause a lunar eclipse, that’s an interesting, but random, fact. You might also have taught your child some astronomy concepts and explained how the moon affects the ocean’s tides. Perhaps your child has also learned something about gravity and the moon’s gravitational pull. But if you are using many mainstream homeschool science curricula, those facts were never pulled together to show the student how the moon is at the core of all these facts and they are interrelated. That’s why it’s so difficult for many kids (and adults alike!) to make the leap between one science fact and how it impacts so many other areas of the world around us. This also makes it very hard to extract a random fact later because the child must rely on rote learning.

The Whole Science Teaching Approach

A better, more effective way to teach homeschool science is through an exponential approach. By helping kids make their own connections between subjects, they are much better equipped to draw broader conclusions. This is also a great way to encourage their natural curiosity and develop hands-on experimentation that offers exciting new discoveries in the child’s mind.

The whole science homeschool teaching approach is all about extrapolation. Once your student has assimilated some core concepts they are prepared to expand that knowledge and apply it to different, everyday situations.

For instance, let’s go back to that random fact about the moon’s gravitational pull on the earth. That’s a physic concept and that explains much about a lunar eclipse, which is a topic generally brought up in astronomy. Those same gravitational forces are at work when it comes to oceanic tide cycles, a topic that may be part of biology learning. By painting the bigger picture, a student can connect the dots between physics and astronomy and biology herself and become excited about learning more.

This approach also compartmentalizes and organizes bits of information so they can easily be retrieved at will and on-demand. And it aids the homeschool science teacher, who often doesn’t understand the information herself, presents complex concepts, and helps the student come to a conclusion that need not be foregone.

When it comes to teaching a difficult subject such as science, the homeschool teacher would be wise to use a wholly scientific approach rather than relying on a random fact methodology.

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Teaching Writing That’s Fun to Read

“I’m going to tell you about…” Seeing this phrase at the beginning of a paragraph/essay/research paper is, to me, the equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard. I’m also not a real big fan of the “first, next, then, last” system much past third grade. Writing, even expository writing doesn’t have to be boring.

Of course, the first thing a writer needs to keep in mind is the audience that the work is intended for. For example, if your high school senior is writing an essay for a college application, he probably doesn’t want to open with a joke… But with that in mind, teaching your child the following tips when teaching writing will not only make the writing more interesting, but the quality of his writing will be improved.

Hook your audience.

The reason movies or television shows open with an exciting or suspenseful scene is to get your attention and keep it. A good hook will draw your readers in so that they want to keep reading. A hook can consist of a number of things: a quotation, a question, an exclamation, reveal something startling or provide a description. The goal is to get your reader into your second paragraph.

Use transitions.

There are several words and phrases that your writer can use to get from paragraph to paragraph. However, I implore you to teach your child how to use these transitions correctly. I once made the mistake of simply giving a 6th-grade class a handout containing transition words. I got pages and pages full of paragraphs that started with “In addition…” The transition word or phrase used should be relevant. I suggest keeping a handout or printout of transitional words and phrases as a permanent component of your child’s writing folder. A quick Google search with the terms “writing transition” will give you plenty of options to choose from so that you can print out a list that is suitable for your child’s age level.

Proofread.

There’s nothing more distracting than trying to read something full of grammatical errors. I’ve had students write the most wonderful, creative stories, but the quality of the story is lost in the run-on sentences, the misspelled words, and the random capital letters. You’ll probably find that your child is not overly receptive to your asking for these errors to be addressed, but it is an important part of the writing process. A technique I like to use is to give the child a familiar piece of work (a fairy tale, poem, etc.) and fill it full of errors. It is uncomfortable to read and the student often sees the value in writing with correct grammar. It doesn’t make them any happier about having to correct the errors, but at least they know why they are doing it.

Smiley-Face Tricks

This is a set of writing tricks complied by a teacher from Texas (Mary Ellen Ledbetter). Using these tips in your writing adds life and depth to your writing. Some of these tips include using hyphenated modifiers (adjectives), using figurative language, and using parallel groups of words. (I just did that, did you catch it?) Again, you can do a Google search for “Smiley Face Tricks” to find many, many copies of Ms. Ledbetter’s tips.

My final tip is going to go here, in my concluding paragraph. Can you guess what my final tip is? End your writing. Even if your story has a cliffhanger, it should have an ending. Wrap things up. (There are tips for full-circle endings in the Smiley Face Tricks). Summarize and let your reader know that you are done imparting information or telling your story. In summary, teaching your child to utilize some of these tricks when writing will make their writing more interesting, more informative, and more likely to hold a reader’s interest.

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Take Out the Trash

Homeschooling can be a challenging venture. Local public and private schools offer many perks that can be hard to compete with, so often, homeschooling families can get overwhelmed with the “I have to do everything and do it well disease” or wear themselves out trying to create a homeschool program that focuses only on one unique skill or ability, such as landing a baseball scholarship or acting career. Unfortunately, many homeschool families forget the original call that they felt to begin their homeschool program, and they forget to consider the skills that need to be an integral part of their program. From time to time, stop and reassess your homeschool program. What’s working? What’s not? Why isn’t it working? It might be that you find some educational “trash” is stinking up your program. Once removed, you can return to the solid footing of an educational and academic training program that can uniquely be afforded to a homeschool student.

Much like trash day, which comes regularly twice a week, I recommend a semi-annual cleaning out of your homeschool program. If you have not asked yourself “why you do what you do” lately, then maybe it’s time to do that. Sometimes we take on academic subjects or extracurricular activities because they seem good at the time, but they begin to run our educational lives. These activities begin to shape our homeschool program rather than letting the values and goals that we have for our students, shape our activities. This is an easy trap to fall into, and one that needs to be cleaned up before it makes your program ineffective. Consider each subject and extracurricular activity that you are adding into your homeschool program. One by one, ask yourself, “Is it adding value to my child’s education?” and, “Does this support my core values and objectives?” If the answer to these questions is “no,” then throw out the garbage and move on. Some activities may be fun, and that’s okay to add to your homeschool program but keep the overall goals and objectives in mind.

Another question to ask is, “Is this course increasing my child’s knowledge and skillsets?” Each course that you add-in should be of value, and remember that every state has required value courses. But, each course should also continually be strengthening your child’s skills in learning and academic behaviors. Developing the proper academic behaviors will be critical to your child’s later studies in college, so be sure to include study habits, time management, and critical thinking and analysis as the foundation for each academic subject in your homeschool. If you find that any of the added areas of study that you have been pursuing are not living up to this standard, get rid of them. Like many businesses, you might find it helpful to write out your core values or a mission statement and keep it posted where you set up the school records.

Time is a precious commodity. It is one thing that we can truly never take back. Each minute is a gift and with the limited moments that we have, it is important to keep the focus on your vision and goals for your children. Homeschooling allows parents to have much more impact on their child’s overall character and behavior, but we cannot forget to maintain a goal of academic excellence as well. We have only a few short years to train up our children properly – in their physical needs and habits as well as in their academic behaviors and abilities. Use your time wisely, and be sure to eliminate the distractions and “junk” that may be enticing, but is of little long-term value for your homeschool student.

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Homeschool Etiquette: Discover Polite Ways to Answer Those Inevitable Questions

At some point, you will speculate if you made the right decision to teach your children at home. You may wonder if you really are compliant with the legal requirements. You may worry if your children are suffering academically. Perhaps you will doubt your ability to teach geometry and chemistry. You might grow to be concerned about your children’s capability of entering college. In addition, you may become anxious about what others will say.

Your family and friends will ask similar questions you ask yourself. They will also ask the inevitable ones, such as, “Why do you want to do that?” “What are you afraid of?” “What about socialization?” “What about sports?” How do you respectfully answer them? Prepare what you will say in advance by reminding yourself why you initially decided to homeschool. This will assist you in calmly responding rather than foolishly reacting to those who consider your educational choice as less than desirable.

Let us look at each query and how you might graciously reply.

Many people wonder how you can legally teach your children at home. First, assure them that it is legal. Secondly, make them aware of the history of the Home School Legal Defense Association and the lawyers’ active involvement in the legal issues surrounding home education.

A number of people will not understand why you have chosen to homeschool. In order to avoid an argument on the inadequacies of public education, you might not want to share your specific reasons for educating your children at home. A simple reply of, “We feel this is the best option for our family,” shall suffice. If the Lord has directed you to teach your children at home, do not feel reluctant in saying so.

One individual repeatedly asked me, “What are you afraid of?” Once I explained the Lord called me to homeschool my children and I will continue until He directs me differently, the inquiring stopped.

The most commonly asked question is “What about socialization?” People will be surprised when you reply that you have to limit all the socialization opportunities available. You might go on by listing a few of those activities. The persons will quickly see your children are not lacking peer interaction.

You may also hear “How can you teach…?” Let the person know there are teacher’s manuals, CD-ROMs, DVDs, satellite instruction, individuals willing to teach a subject, as well as additional options accessible to you. Assure the person with all these resources, your children will not suffer academically.

Parents who send their children to public schools think participating in sports is not an option for homeschooled children. Enlighten them that sports opportunities are readily available through co-ops, community organizations, and other sources.

A few people do not realize homeschoolers can successfully enter college. Help them to understand that colleges and universities seek out and accept teens that are taught at home.

You may come to realize people who disagree with your educational choice are not fully aware of the benefits of homeschooling or have had a less than desirable experience with another family. This is an opportunity to educate them on the positive aspects of home instruction. Do be cautious in trying to “convert” the persons for it may lead to additional negativity. Keep in mind that not everyone is suited to providing home education.

Occasionally, you may come across an individual who is adamantly against your educational preference. The best response is to respectively listen, agree to disagree, and let the person see the fruits of your labor.

Being gracious in your answers will leave a positive impression and may even change your family and friends’ perspective on homeschooling. They may even consider teaching children at home as a viable option.

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