Looking back, most people wouldn’t say that writing essays and term papers was even in their top ten favorite memories of school.  But I would.  But I just happen to enjoy writing.  As a homeschooling mom, I figured teaching my own flesh and blood to write would be a piece of cake.  I mean, a love of writing is surely a trait passed down in the DNA, right?

It would appear not.

My kids are more of the math & science type, like their dad.   Since we do much of our homeschooling online anyway, I started looking online for suggestions on how to teach reluctant writers.  I had my daughter do the online lessons, and she learned about writing business letters, and the differences in storytelling, creative writing, expository writing, etc.  It was all great stuff, but eventually you’ve got to just bite the bullet and go for the big one….writing a paper!

She chose a topic based on a class for homeschoolers we attended at a local park.  It was about the terrible flood our city endured a century ago, and it really caught her interest.  So she spoke to the instructor when class was over, got some recommendations for additional reading, and headed to the library.  We also toured one of the dams built to protect the city from another severe flood, and she had a great time.

She followed the steps she learned in her homeschool writing class, and soon she was engrossed in the task of writing, proofreading, editing, revising, and making a bibliography.  I sat by and watched, amazed.  It was working!  She was writing, and she learned it online!

I think the key was that she not only chose a topic that interested her personally. (No kid wants to write a paper on some boring, assigned topic…and neither did you!)  She was also able to get out and about, touring the dam and interviewing some of the volunteers there.  Learning how to write online worked for her because I was able to help her make the transition to real life.   She learned the skills online, and then applied them in a practical way in her world.

Of course, I feel completely relieved.  My child can write!  But does it work the other way?  I wonder if my daughter can teach me some math & science?

We all want a homeschool curriculum that helps our children learn. Each homeschooling family defines educational success in its own way. Most would say teaching to their child’s learning style is key. For my family, an excellent educational foundation in reading, writing,  and arithmetic is essential.

There are the visual learners (pictures, what they see), the auditory (listening, talking) learners, and the kinesthetic (physical, hands on) learners. Most of our kids don’t learn solely via one learning style. Many learn from a combination of two, or maybe even all three learning styles. Homeschool curriculum is expensive and most of us don’t have a ton of money to spend on it; buying a homeschool program like a “school in a box” curriculum for a certain grade level and finding out it doesn’t work is a major disappointment and a huge financial loss.

Interactive homeschool curriculum is one that many kids take to quickly, and it has elements in it that teach to all three learning styles; it fits in with the interactive games today’s kids play and is part of learning in the 21st century. My son, David, has benefited greatly from an online homeschool curriculum; it brought the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning methods under one umbrella which is perfect for him, since he learns all three ways.

Even better, you can usually get a trial period for these curricula; if it doesn’t work out for your child, you’re under no obligation. That’s good news during these economic times.

I never thought of myself as a particularly artsy and craftsy type of mom. Many moms are, and I admire them greatly. Despite my lack of art skills, my son loves to draw, is good at it, and has learned much from a how-to drawing book and an online art program.

Okay, when I first thought about it, online art sounded a bit strange to me; I thought, “Now that’s one subject you can’t learn online.” But then I thought about it a bit; I remember Microsoft Office WordArt and you actually could use it to draw online. My son tried it and liked it, along with learning some art basics. Now there are interactive programs that actually teach online art techniques, art history, and art theory.

When most kids think about art and drawing, it’s just a cool, fun thing for them to do. They usually aren’t concerned about art history and art theory; those interests are usually piqued later.

I wouldn’t say it’s time to throw the art books away, but I think learning art online, for some kids, might be an intro into the world of art and computers and actually lead to a career. For others, simply a fun break in the homeschooling day.

I’m sure that some parents of children in school wish they could afford tutoring when their child isn’t doing so well in a subject like Language Arts or Math. Schools sometimes provide tutoring through afterschool problems, but it’s rarely enough when your child is far behind her classmates or just isn’t understanding a concept.

Homeschooled children have the benefit of one-on-one help and extra time to study and learn lessons they have difficulty with, but their traditionally schooled counterparts have to keep up with the class or be left behind. Once a schooled child is behind, it’s nearly impossible to catch up, because his class has moved on to more advanced lessons. Well, if your child didn’t understand the previous lessons that the current work is based upon, how can he understand the harder work? This sets up a cycle, and your child can become discouraged and can begin to feel as though he just can’t learn.

An online supplemental program  can help both homeschooled and public/private schooled children as a supplement. It’s self-paced, it’s fun, and it gives immediate feedback on how your child is doing. She could actually do the lessons with little parental involvement; another way she could do the lessons is with you nearby, giving a little extra help and coaching as needed.

An online tutoring program is a great way for your child to catch up and restore his confidence in his ability to learn.

During the summer, the last thing your kids probably want to hear about is intensive work. They want to have fun, you want to have fun, the whole family wants to have fun! It would be easy to not do any kind of school work, but you know that when kids take a total break from learning, they tend to forget what they learned over the previous academic year.

Some families, like mine, homeschool year round, but do less intense work during the summer months. Online summer school education is a great way to do some academic work without putting on a lot of pressure. It will also give your child time on the computer which most kids love. With a summer computer program, you can review basic skills or learn new ones.

Going to the beach, going to the park, going to summer camp, and enjoying the family should be a priority during the hot summer months. But while families are doing all this, the kids can engage in some “cool” learning on the computer.