There are so many types of homeschooling, and so much homeschool curricula to explore….There are public school online programs, classical education, Waldorf, Montessori, Charlotte Mason, unit studies, lapbooking, and….I’m sure there are more!  There are as many approaches to homeschooling as there are homeschoolers.   That’s a wonderful thing, but how do you choose what’s right for your family?

Busy moms like me choose Time4Learning.  It covers all the core subjects, provides tests and record-keeping of the child’s progress, and can be done in the comfort of your own home, any time of day or night and even wearing pajamas!  The sound effects and bright colors in the lessons keep kids interested, and many lessons also contain games and other activities as well.  They enjoy learning!

The only problem I’ve had with Time4Learning is that sometimes I wish there were a “real” teacher to talk to, especially if a child happens to struggle with a particular concept.   That’s why I really like Time4Writing, where there are real, certified teachers teaching homeschool writing classes.  There are lots of rules for writing, but sometimes it’s subjective too.  Having an experienced writing teacher for a homeschooled student is a great bonus!

Well as you can guess from the title of this post I live in NM.  It is absolutely gorgeous here.  It took me some time to get use to it, but I love it now.  We have four seasons that are very colorful.  When I moved here in 2003 that is was when I decided to home-school my girls due to the schools here.  With that decision being made I asked myself where do I start?  Joining groups and asking other homeschoolers ” where do I start” was always my question. 

New Mexico Homeschooling was a where I started.  I could have been on the computer doing research all night if I wanted to.  Parents told me well start with teaching where they live, the state they live in.  New Mexico state games was so good at showing them what their state was about.  The Land of Enchantment was full of history and life!

I do suggest the same thing for newbies or even veterans of homeschooling.  Learning about your state that you live in leads to more learning of how things became the way they are there.  Before you know you are into discovering history on top of history!

Do you remember when and where you learned how to form contractions?  For those of us who learned English as our first language, we learned to speak in contractions, and then learned to write and spell them.  Teaching contractions sometimes falls through the cracks because we all speak using contractions and a lot of confusion can arise when possessives are added to the mix. My daughter has complained that she is just now learning to spell using all the letters and now I want her to leave some letters out.  She even told me, when I corrected a word she had misspelled by leaving out a letter, “Pretend it’s a contraction, Mama!”

We have tried writing contractions, but really, learning to form contractions through interactive games is the best way we have found to practice.  It especially works for my reluctant writer.  I compare learning contractions by means of online contraction games to playing card games online.  While playing Solitaire with “real” cards can be meditative, playing online saves time with shuffling, and dealing, the game moves much faster, the gratification is pretty instant. 

I’m thinking that anything that makes learning easy, fun, and instantly gratifying has got to be a good thing!

I have made it through these last years of homeschooling by listening and learning from online parent communities.  There is always someone else experiencing your situation or somewhat close enough to relate to you.  One online parent community I have found very helpful is the Time4Learning one.  There are so many subjects to pick and choose from to help you out. 

My current situation is my oldest wants to attend public school.  You what!?!  Seeking advise through forums has helped me.  Now I just have to put some serious thought into and see what will be best for her and our family.  She has a good head on her shoulders but I am afraid of the temptations out there.  My youngest tells her she is crazy!  She said, “I like doing school in my pj’s and being done way before the neighborhood school bus comes around!” 

 When I chose to home-school and did all the research and did all the curriculum reviews I knew I was making the right choice with Time4Learning.  I test her every so often and she seems to be ahead of her grade level.  What if she goes to school and is bored because she is ahead of them in their studies?  Maybe that will be a blessing!  Just maybe she will be bored and want to be home-schooled. 

 I am sure some answer will come to us in time and we will have to take that leap into the unknown and hope for the best!

Oh, it was awful.  My third grader and her multiplication facts.  Nothing I seemed to do would get those numbers inside her head to stay!  What’s a mom to do?!

I used bits and pieces of several different math texts, trying to hit on something that worked for her.  I thought maybe if I presented it a different way, something would click.  She seemed to understand the basic premise, but memorizing the facts was just not happening.  You know, when the tried-and-true flashcard method just doesn’t keep their interest, you’ve got to get creative!  So off I went to find something….different.

How about online math flashcards?  Yea!  The novelty of it kept my daughter’s attention as she played along.   And she really learned her multiplication facts this way.  It’s also a great idea to use for periodic review, to reinforce what the kids have learned.

I’ve been impressed with online math curriculum because it teaches the kids what they need to know, in a way they like learning.  Bright colors, engaging graphics, even sound effects…isn’t that better than some boring old math textbook any day?