When homeschooling was somewhat hush-hush years ago and it was almost unheard of as an option, parents had some struggles with the limited number of curriculum choices. Most choices looked just like school text books so much that it was no different than going to school, just simply more convenient not to have the drive or bus. Much of that has changed in the last 10 - 15 years of homeschooling. The curriculum choices now abound!

If you do a google search, the number of choices may seem completely overwhelming! What is the right choice for my child? What level is my child? Do I need to buy a whole packaged curriculum? Do I have to get a teacher manual? Do not get swamped! Don't let the internet choices get you into a whirlwind!

Before getting overwhelmed and trying to dive into the choices alone, I would suggest that you get together (over chocolate) with a person whom you trust that has either homeschooled already for a while or at least has kids the ages of your children. When choosing that person, first try to see if the children in their family enjoy learning and secondly see if you are like that mother/parent who is teaching? Knowing if you are organized or not, free-spirited or schedule oriented helps choose who you should talk to.  If the answer to both is 'yes' ask for some sage advice!

For our home - this is the #1 choice that we LOVE:

Sonlight!  is great for a packaged whole curriculum or picking and choosing for ALL grades/levels!

We do use other curricula to mix in now.  As I discovered what learning styles my kids have we sprinkled in a few computer things and audio learning, but by far Sonlight!  curriculum was my children's favorite!

I highly recommend it!

Blessings to your Family!

Donna Miller

Time is one of everyone’s most valuable resources. Time is constant and consistant. Time cannot be stored and it cannot be cultivated. Time cannot be augmented and it cannot be reduced. Time can be conserved and time can be appreciated.

The number eight (8) reason homeschooling is cool is: time. Since it is such a important resource, it's very indispensable to a homeschooling family to use it wisely.

Not only does the student have to learn how to USE this exhaustible reserve, but he or she has the capability to make the most of it. No time is wasted in roll call when homeschooling, so the student can get more done. No time is wasted in visiting lockers and changing rooms, so the student can concentrate on mastering a subject or task.

This apparent 'extra' time saved can then be used as the student best sees fit. He or she may work ahead in a topic, take up a new pastime, learn a trade of their own to run or just enjoy a classic novel or music.

The time spent with family is also not ever recaptured when it's gone. Time is running out as we raise our children and they will soon leave the nest. It warms our soul, to realize that we see them more often because of homeschooling and to know we’ve spent as much time with them as possible.

No matter the choices made with this finite resource of time, the fact is that time is on the homeschooling family's side.

Blessings to your Family!

Donna Miller

http://www.homeschoolheart.net

Remember walking down the long, dimly lit aisle while "Pomp and Circumstance" was playing, while you fixed those stupid bobby-pins that barely held on that strange, square hat and you tried not to trip while wearing brand new shoes? Remember thinking, "Okay, I'm finally DONE!"? Most of us remember our graduation experience as something like that. Too bad I can’t remember Algebra...well, no I don‘t mean that.

After graduation many had the warped perception that it's done; the learning years behind us and it's time for a 'Real Life'. The cool thing about Homeschooling is that most homeschoolers already KNOW that this is not the case!

This is Cool Reason number nine (#9) because it homeschooling itself reminds us that graduation is not the goal; learning is the goal. Is a textbook or curriculum the only way to learn? Those of us who can't remember what a gerund is or how to find the square root of a number would say a resounding "NO"! Most of what we remember now we learned from life after school.

This is not reason for the homeschooled student to give up on studying. It IS, however, what is cool about homeschooling. Most homeschoolers already have more real life experiences than their traditionally schooled peers.

Some of those life lesson possibilities are: Working the family business/store, learning an entrepreneurial trade, exploring passions to see if they may be a career, learning lost arts such as sewing, baking, learning or making a hammered dulcimer, helping on the farm, or helping a widowed neighbor with home repairs. These life lessons are not taught in schools. They also have deeper ramifications than just keeping busy.

Dealing with freedom after graduation is also not taught in school systems. Sadly most parents may both work demanding careers, and don't know it's missing from their child's repertoire upon graduation.

With homeschooing, both the parent and the student have to learn to be accountable or really their lives go no where. Set your own schedule and live with the consequences, good and bad, following or not following, productive or unproductive. Homeschooled students have their own minds to make your OWN decisions such as: what to wear, who are your real friends and where you want to work, and live with the consequences of being able to make your own choices with out being left-out of the ’IN’ crowd

As adults hopefully we learned that it’s not best to blindly follow a crowd, or attempt to rebelling against the 'norm' of society simply to stand out for our own attention. The DEEPER life lessons are learned well before graduation for many homeschooled students. They really can be ahead of the game, and not just academically.

Blessings to your Family!

Donna L. Miller

There are at LEAST ten reasons that homeschooling is cool! I intend to not only give this list a serious look, but also intend to count them down as I count my blessings for the opportunity teach my children at home

Cool Reason for Homeschooling number TEN (#10):

Families can plan a school break, vacation or holiday around what suits them. They don’t have to be dictated by what a city, county or board of directors deems the right amount of time off, dates and just what is a holiday. This freedom of choice lends itself to reasons of necessity, preference or religion. Taking a break when your family chooses is the first ‘Cool Reason’ to make the list.

As an example: Last week, my daughter chose her own Spring Break. She has friends who had a different week off, but she wasn't ready to take off time until last week. She also had the choice to do school work that week, but chose to take the break as time to catch up on her many projects. She sculpted, sewed, cooked, gardened, ran outside (weather permitting), drew digital art, sang and the list goes on and on. She needed that break at that time.

There is also the necessity of time off when there is a family emergency. When my mother in law was diagnosed with colon cancer, all we had to do was dump the books and take off to be by Nana’s side. The peace of mind knowing that my children did not have the stress of ‘catch up’ or feel that their thoughts were torn between Nana and their own worries made the weight of what we were facing as a family easier to bare.

The best thing that we liked, as parents, was getting to take vacations during 'off' times when theme parks were not crowded and prices were lower. Many trips to Disney World, the Beach and cross country road trips were taken while traditional school was still in session. We enjoyed many things without the higher, tourist prices, crowds and "peak season" pressures such as hotel vacancies or not.

Another great advantage to choosing your own time off with homeschooling - is the choice of taking days off as a matter of religion. A lot of Jewish religious holidays, for example, are through the year at times when traditional schools are still in session. Taking off Purim, Yom Kippur or a whole week for Passover is a family's purgative when they have chosen to homeschool.

This is a perk to be sure, but it can certainly lend a sense of peace to scheduling your homeschool when you know that you have freedom to plan your own breaks! Cool Reason number ten (#10) is just the tip of the iceberg.

Blessings to your Family!

Donna L. Miller

My Site: Homeschool Heart

Here are some ideas for homeschooling when you have a tight budget:

1. You can share the load with other parents and Co-op together (with little or no fee) getting a tutor or one of the other parents more gifted in a subject than you may be.

2. Use the Library. For many years, we would use the catalog of our favorite literature curriculum and look up the published date of each book then read them in chronological order.

3. Many websites such as The Doucette Library's Children's Literature Index, SparkNotes, Lesson Planet and Writing Help at RSCC to name just a few - will aid and often replace costly textbooks.

These are just a few of the many things we have used to keep the cost of our homeschooling budget low when those times of trying to live on one income became lean!

Blessings to your family!

Donna Miller

HOMESCHOOL HEART

The days have turned warmer in many parts of the United States. A phenomenon known as 'Spring Fever' has already begun to bloom across the nation. You can see it's effects in the faces of those around town. The warmer temperatures and sunshine seem to cause brighter smiles and a perk in peoples' steps. Spring has just about sprung!

To do any school work with the outdoor wonder of Spring calling your name is almost a sacrilege to any school aged student, but it is nearly unbearable to the home schooled student. After all, we can't we please put it off for another day, can't we? PLEASE?

If your family is anything like our family, putting off has happened enough by this time of year. We really can't afford to do that too often any more this school year! So what are we to do about the loud beckoning of butterflies, birds and sunshine? Here are some ideas:

~ Have PE outside! FINALLY!

~ Spread a blanket and read under a tree or in the sun!

~ Do a nature study! Many topics now from which to choose.

~ Pick-Nick lunch! Just make sure you can get back to any school left for the day!

~ Field Trip!

Ask the students and see how you can fit 'school' into the outside and enjoy the Spring with out sacrificing the schedule. As a last resort - mark in BRIGHT BOLD letters on the calendar exactly when that SPRING BREAK will be coming for your family! At least there is a light at the end of the tunnel this way and you can count down the days to go!

No, we aren't 'giving up' and going on to other schooling options. It is simply time to come to terms with all good things that must come to an end really do. Yes, we will graduate our last child AS a homeschooled student, but the fact that she is the last one has me thinking of the end of an era. The Miller Family Home School Era as it rushes to an end.

Facing the end of homeschooling is quite a sobering experience for me. It was with great enthusiasm and conviction that I left my decade long career to stay home and educate our three children from third grade on through high school. Each year was an exciting and invigorating opportunity to boldly go where we had not gone before and embrace all that God had in store to teach both me as teacher and our children as students.

Our homeschooling time has passed so quickly that it's almost mind-numbing to think that in a little more than one year, there will be no more homeschoolers in our house! We must not leap too far ahead! We must not cave to marking off the days left on the calendar! We must rise to the occasion of schooling the lone, remaining, single student and enjoying the year to come, without the cloud of imminent conclusion looming overhead.

After all....there’s always still the potential of the grandkids!

Homeschool Information Portal

This is a joyous time to focus on the many qualities the holidays have to offer to a homeschooling family! From learning of a different holiday, for example Kwanzaa or Chanukah, to delving deep into the history of a holiday that your family currently celebrates, we don't need to be stuck with boring text books during this festive and historical time of year!

Here are some ideas as you get to study holidays:

1. Study a brief history of all the holidays , such as Kwanzaa, Chanukah and Christmas.

2. Find out if there are more than those holidays at this time of the year.

3. Crafts are a big part of the holidays...but where did we get those specific ones?

4. Cooking is also great for learning (math, fractions, chemistry) and an activity for the holidays.

5. Giving! This is a character trait that is often lost during the rest of the year and is easily over looked in a traditional classroom setting. Homeschooling allows many avenues for giving during the holidays.

In the next article, my focus will be on the trait of Giving and how learning that trait can be incorporated into the homeschooling plan for the holidays!

Blessings to your Family!

Donna Miller

Don't be afraid of regularly reviewing your schedule. I used to think that to replan my schedule was to fail at keeping one!

To some people the word 'schedule' is a four letter word, kind of like, "plan." We plan our year, month, week, day and even morning only to watch it change beyond our control. For some, this can throw us dangerously off course and allow us to toss the plan all together! Espcially if you feel like you are not capable of keeping a schedule at all!

Admittedly, I have had days like that, where I chose to toss the plan and wing it for the day (or longer) but inevitably, that attitude has come back to haunt me if left to run too long. I think I've found the trick to scheduling/planning without feeling like a failure or letting my homeschoolers down because life changes things. It's learning a flexible schedule.

To use the term: Flexible Schedule - may seem like an oxymoron, but there is a beauty to staying with in a few mobile parameters while planning. Allowing the occasional ONE day that life has thrown your homeschool off schedule is perfectly normal, and actually therapeutic, but allowing 3 out of 5 days to happen TO you and your students, could make anyone feel like they are not doing as they should! Just limit the allowance of how often you will get off course and then you won't have trouble getting back on.

Flexibility is actually key to a good schedule/plan. In the day (extra 15 minutes here and there), the week (limiting to one trip a week unless it's a super special one to add), the month (time off for holidays are planned in) and the year (sure, change curriculums at any time if this one's not working for your student), flexible planning gives us an freedom to plan and re-plan our schedule but not permission to throw it out all together.

Schedules and plans don't have to be so ridged that there's no room for wiggling.  They're more like guidelines anyway.  So plan to wiggle just a little!

Blessings to your Family!

Donna L. Miller

Support groups are so important to successful homeschooling. Not only do they add the element of socialization that homeschoolers are often accused of not having enough of, they offer support for the parents and broaden horizons of the students.

While you may  not belong to a support group, but you can start one in your area that meets the specific needs of your child(ren) and helps others as well. If you are already in a support group, yet see a need to meet some more specifics, you can still start one for the specific needs that you and others have. If you have a high school aged student, you can start a high school support group, letting them get that special 'separate' time they need as they mature. If you have a child with special needs, such as ADHD, Dyslexia, or other needs, it would be a great benefit to start a support group that meets the needs of other parents who are working with children of special needs, as you are. 

No mater whether you live in a rural, suburban or urban area, you can expand your physical 'territory' to reach the needs of those who are in your specific criteria of support. You are grouping by need rather than by demographics.

Contact your state homeschooling agency if you have one (most states do) or Home School Legal Defense for information about how to start a support group in your area. They usually will also give you ideas on how to promote your new support group.

Sharing support and getting support can make the difference in the journey of homeschooling!

Blessings to your family

Donna L. Miller

Come by and see us at: HOMESCHOOL HEART and sign up for your free monthly encouragement letter

Just what does the season of Fall feel like where you are? Does the air take on a different feel? Does your home feel different when you come in from outside? Does the Fall air spark creativity and focus?

In our homeschooling, the season of Fall is like a boost in our steps With the crisper air and clearer skies, both teacher and student focus on things with a renewed joy. The Fall hue of sunlight brings the reminder of the blessing of being able to be home to enjoy this changing seasons.

Fall, with it's changing leaves and subtle sunlight, beckons to have us cuddle up on the couch and read or discuss together any topic, to get in the kitchen and try new things with the produce that only this time of year produces and to get outside when the weather is clear and enjoy the light air and warm, unique, glow of the Fall after noon.

The bright colors on the leaves are awaited with much anticipation along with the tastes and joys of the Fall Holidays! School has just begun for many of us, and it is a long year ahead with much work and sacrifice, but the Fall season gives us a perk in our steps and a twinkle in our eyes as we look ahead to what the year will bring for both teachers and student!

EnJOY this special season with your family!

Donna L. Miller

Donna L. Miller is a homeschooling mother of two (2) homeschool graduates and one remaining highschooler. A former preschool teacher, School Age Camp and Family Program Director with YMCAs, and current business owner, Donna’s vision is to encourage other homeschooling families. She owns and maintains the popular site for homeschool encouragement and resources: Homeschool Heart