It’s that time of year again…Time to get creative and plan curriculum & activities to keep the kids learning through another year.  Often, literature and writing easily keep a child’s interest because reading and writing about imaginative stories and adventures can be fun.  But what if your kids aren’t so easily hooked?

Scouring the net will yield plenty of results to get you started.  I especially liked the stories about homeschoolers I found because my kids can really relate to these.   Literature about homeschoolers, or perhaps even written by homeschoolers is sure to appeal.  I also plan to incorporate literature based word lists into our studies this year.  No matter what you’ve got the kids reading, there’s a way to work a spelling or writing lesson into it, and sometimes killing two birds with one stone is such a timesaver!

I think it is natural to try to label ourselves in society today.  Everyone wants a label!  What are you?  Well…with homeschooling it is the same way.  For some people that is what they like to do and so be it, but for me I realized labels stick with you and I didn’t want that for my family.

I started homeschooling some time ago and decided to do the classical curriculum.  After-all I wasn’t trying to re-invent the wheel.  I quickly learned that in homeschooling you can evolve each and every day with your child’s needs.  My classical turned into eclectic homeschooling. I call it just evolving with your families needs.  I do what works with my two daughters.  Each daughter has strongly different ways of learning, which I have finally have got down to a “T”.

Hooking up on forums regarding homeschooling has tremendously helped me.  The forums are just one of the many ways to help you vent and get some guidance.  I think most homeschoolers out there are secular homeschooling with vibrant passion. 

There is no doubt that we can all use a little bit of support when it comes to home schooling. I know that I need all the support I can get! Support comes in many forms. Sometimes it is just a kind word, or a compliment on the behavior of our children. Sometimes it is commiserating with other home schooling parents at a parent’s night out. One way to get support is to belong to a group. Groups can be people who get together for park days, field trips, and socialization of children and parents. Online parent communities are also a good choice for support and sharing information.Sometimes support comes in the form of perks. For example, Time4Learning is willing to offer a perk for parents who are willing to write a curriculum review and post it on their personal web page or blog. For parents who are already members the perk comes in a monetary form. For parents who are not members yet, Time4Learning is willing to offer a free month of access in return for a review. It is a win-win situation. Consider checking out the guidelines for curriculum review and see if it could be a support perk for both you and T4L!

OMG!  I just might have found something to help my daughter write.  She is always discouraging me to NOT have her write.  Big tears rolling down her face saying ” I can’t”…”what do I write about?” Sadly to say she wins most the time.  Pick your own battles right?  Well, she asked to redecorate her room to something more age appropiate recently.  I threw out the idea if you enter this writing contest I found I will help you redecorate your room and even paint! So here we go on the journey of entering our first writing contest.  I am hoping and crossing my fingers a writing contest will be the perfect solution. 

I am going to have her look up some literature based word list  for her age/grade.  This will be something that is fun for her and yet educational.  This new site that is out there is looking for stories about homeschoolers….hmmmmm…why yes maybe she can write about herself being home-school and submit to the site. 

 Let the writing begin!  Updates to follow.

Sometimes I think we all need a little bit of information about the states.  For adults, our information needs  might be more along the lines of needing to find out information about home schooling laws for the state we live in, or are planning to move to.  Other information parents need is information on getting started in home schooling.  Especially for new home schoolers, it is important to have a good source for support, as well.  I have found that Time4Learning has a good place to get state home school information whether it is notes on the legalities in a particular state, or an online support group that is state specific.

Fortunately, the information our children need to know is a whole lot more fun and comes in the form of knowing more about all 50 states.  They need to know capitals, and what the flags look like.  As I have said before, I think learning something in a game is much more fun and hopefully more memorable.  I know my child would much rather play a game than do a worksheet, or use flashcards.  Games for the 50 U.S. states can help your children pack down state mottos, nicknames, and state flowers.  Kids are proud of their accomplishments when they can tell you facts about the states they didn’t even realize they were learning.  You might even find that you go back and play a couple of the games just for fun.  I know I have