HomeschoolBlogger has been around for only two short years, but in that time a few things became apparent.  First a large portion of the over 17,000 blogs at HSB are those of homeschool students, which we are very grateful for.  Second, while the HSB Company Porch is available for everyone to read, it didn’t have articles a six year old would get excited about.  Third was safety.  How could we put up an article for the students without giving undesirables a place to lurk? 

The answer came in a blog called The HSB Backyard. We like to think of it as the place where all the neighborhood children hang out and have fun getting to know each other under the supervision of the resident mom.  As safety is always a #1 priority at HSB we needed The Backyard to be “fenced in”, so we made it to be viewable by only HSB members.

Next we made a list of topics we felt that students of all ages would enjoy and we asked student bloggers to write them.  The Backyard has its own Featured Blogger of the Week, just like the Porch.  The Featured Blogger is chosen by a set criteria; their blog must either be glorifying to God, encouraging to others, uplifting, or inspiring.  Other weekly articles include animal facts, bits of history, book reviews, jokes and riddles, poetry by other bloggers, and fun pictures for the students to make up captions for. 

If your homeschooler doesn’t have a blog with HSB you might want to consider it after you’ve taken a good look around for yourself.  Blogs are a fun way for children to interact with each other, sort of like a modern day pen-pal.  Many parents have found that their reluctant writers enjoy blogging and it is a great way to communicate with your children.

Before your child starts a blog be sure to print and sign the HSB Parental Consent form and send it to us as per the directions on the form. 

HomeschoolBlogger is a treasure waiting to be discovered by you and your family!  We want to be the gold sitting at the bottom of your pan after you’ve sifted through the muddy water of the internet. 

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

This article has been edited for this post.  You can find the complete article published in the Fall 2007 issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.