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CollegePlus
Higher Education. Customized.
Personalized higher education solutions for students ages 14 and up.
Click here for Details...

CollegePrep
In one semester, your homeschooler aged 14-18 can earn 12 college credits
and 2 high school credits. And through the process, they will strengthen their
testing skills and grow into a young adult who loves learning.

Featured Articles

A Predictor of Homeschool Success
,by Barbara Frank
 
 One of the best predictors of homeschool success is whether or not you have faith in institutions*.
 Most people do. They figure schools know what’s best for kids, medical personnel know what’s best for people, and government knows what’s best for everyone.
   

It’s easy to say that “I don’t feel that way!” But think about it. Do you figure if homeschooling doesn’t work out, you can always send your kids back to school? When the doctor’s prescription not only doesn’t help your child but makes him worse, do you immediately go back for a different prescription instead of educating yourself on the problem first? And when your government tells you it will handle its enormous debt, do you figure it knows what it’s doing and go back to your day? Because these are all signs of reliance on institutions. Read full article...

To teens early in the 21st century:
SOME UNCONVENTIONAL IDEAS FOR WISE LIVING

By JOHN O. ANDERSEN
March 9, 2008

You are at a major crossroads. You are not yet vested in the adult world. As such, you are in a better position to make objective choices than many adults.

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.

”--Upton Sinclair

That's the problem with too many adults (even well-meaning and otherwise intelligent ones). Their perspectives are clouded by self-interest and ego.

As a teen, on the other hand, your perspective is relatively uncluttered, enabling you to make positive choices that will have long term implications. Read full article...

Parents are responsible for their children's education, period.
by Linda Dobson

Whatever you are thinking about your children’s education at this point,
one thing should be perfectly clear: The days of throwing blame for the
condition of public school between politicians, teachers, unions, and the
schools themselves are over. These folks are either unwilling or unable to
create positive change.

If unwilling, the current agenda is suspect and should not be supported,either by money or participation. If unable, then the torch must pass tomore capable, caring hands. There’s only one logical place for the buck to stop – in your lap. Sure, it’s heavy. You’ve never carried this kind of weight before. Yes, it’s scary. The unknown always stirs fear and self-doubt. But keeping responsibility for the family’s education within the family is the price you pay for freedom of spirit for you and the kids. Read full article...

The Adventure of Raising Boys
by Paula Moldenhauer

Boys are a different breed. Ask any mother of the male gender, especially if she has a couple of boys with no sister in between to tame them. There’s a wildness in boys that just doesn’t appear in girls. And sometimes we moms are left standing with our mouths agape, wondering what
planet our bundle of energy came from.

My youngest two boys are only 18 months apart. Several years ago I took them to a Mommy and Me Music course. One day while we were waiting for class to begin my little guys started wrestling on the floor. I honestly don’t know where my head was. Wrestling is not appropriate behavior for a classroom experience, but for some reason it didn’t faze me. I didn’t even notice it until the teacher (mother of two girls), said very sweetly, "Umm . . . is that okay?" Read article...

A Child’s Place is in the Kitchen; How Cooking Advances Learning

Royal Academy now offers more personalized services and a virtual classroom experience

 Press Release
Gray, Maine, May 1, 2013

Royal Academy Education, Inc. a Maine Recognized School and Homeschooling service provider, is opening a second office in New England in order to service the needs of its growing operations worldwide.

 Penny Cote, MA and Shirley Minster M.Ed, Administrators of Royal Academy Education & Home Education & Family Services, have partnered to enhance educational services to current home educators and build upon technologically advanced opportunities in the digital world.  According to Penny, “a world of knowledge is at our finger tips; with the right tools we are able to guide an exceptional educational process for a student anywhere in the world, real time; we are doing that today through our Virtual Online Personal Presence classes and tutoring.” Read more...

In the News http://www.worldmag.com/2013/05/appeals_court_denies_homeschooling_family_s_asylum_claim Appeals court denies homeschooling family's asylum claim The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a German couple’s bid for asylum in the United States today, pushing their family one step closer to deportation. Uwe and Hannelore Romeike moved to the United States in 2008 because Germany does not allow parents to homeschool their children. The couple, devout Christians, feared the state school system would undermine their children’s faith. The couple already faced $9,000 in fines for keeping their children home and knew the German government could take their children from them if they continued to keep them out of government-approved schools. Read article... http://www.worldmag.com/2013/05/appeals_court_denies_homeschooling_family_s_asylum_claim Homeschoolers Alarmed by plans to Track Students "Big Brother" mentality "has no place in a free society" WND Education The nation’s leading homeschooling organization is warning parents that the federal government is advancing its aim of identifying and tracking students throughout their school careers, from birth through college graduation. Read full article here: http://www.wnd.com/2013/04/homeschoolers-alarmed-by-plans-to-track-students/#dzQvIptUh02CMo5r.99 Related Article: Americans Warned: Homeschoolers Stripped of Rights BERLIN -- Recently, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has said that homeschooling is not a parent's right. It is a statement some are saying should frighten American parents. Nations like Germany and Sweden show that when governments take away homeschooling rights, it's a slippery slope to no parental rights.  America the Refuge or Not The Romeike family came to the United States from Germany five years ago hoping to find refuge. They wanted to homeschool their children in freedom and a federal judge granted them asylum. But now the Obama administration has been trying to deport them, arguing that homeschooling is not a right. The case is currently before a federal appeals court. Uwe and Hannelore Romeike began homeschooling in Germany because they didn't want their children exposed to things like witchcraft and graphic sex education that are taught in German schools.  "There were stories where (school children) were encouraged to ask the devil for help instead of God and actually the devil would help (in the story)," Uwe said. "When we found out what's in the textbooks, it's exactly the opposite from what the Bible tells us and teaches us, and we wanted to protect (our children)," his wife Hannelore added. But homeschooling is illegal in Germany, except in rare cases. And many homeschooling parents are persecuted with fines, jail, or the loss of their children. Homeschoolers Going Into Exile? Most homeschoolers in America are left alone. But what if state politicians and the federal government started to move against it? Two of the worst nations for homeschoolers are Germany and Sweden. If you want to see what things might be like if homeschooling was banned in America, travel to Sweden, where the government controls education and the homeschooling movement has been crushed. In fact, the head of the Swedish Homeschooling Association, Jonas Himmelstrand, had to take his family into exile. They fled to Finland. "We're in exile. We were forced out of our country and that makes a stronger impact than I can imagine," he told CBN News. "This was our country. This was where we had our friends and business relationships and a whole lot of things and now we're pushed away from it." Attorney Michael Donnelly, the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, called the situation "incredible for a nation like Sweden that calls itself a free nation, a democracy, so to speak." Ruby Harrold-Claesson, President of the Nordic Committee for Human Rights, went even further, branding Sweden a dictatorship where social workers tell parents what to do. "Sweden claims to be a democracy but it's far from it. It's a dictatorship," he said. "You have the social workers dictating how people are to live. You're not supposed to be different. You're not supposed to be different from anyone else in Sweden. Everyone is supposed to be uniform. They want to have these cookie cutter children." Claesson is also the lawyer representing Christer and Annie Johansson, who have lost custody of their son Domenic, because of homeschooling. After Domenic was abducted by Swedish officials, Annie's health began to fail. Christer said the stress of the ordeal is killing his wife. "If we cannot solve this issue soon, Domenic won't have a mother anymore," he said. Russia, A Homeschooling Haven Nations like Germany and Sweden could learn a thing or two about parent's rights from, of all places, Russia, which is one of the freest nations in which to homeschool. "We have complete freedom of home education in Russia, in terms of legality," Pavel Parfentiev, a family rights advocate in Russia, said. "The Russian Federation is sort of a champion of human rights in this particular area, so of course I think it is a good example for both Germany and Sweden where home educators are persecuted," he said. Among the persecuted, German homeschooler Juergen Dudek has been taken to court every year for the past 10 years by the German Jugendamt, or Youth Office. "The Youth Office, I used to call it the 'Gestapo for the Young.' As soon as they step in, as soon as they get hold of you, you've really got problems," Dudek said. German homeschooler Dirk Wunderlich and his wife have lost custody of their children, although they are still allowed to live with them. He also told CBN News he expects to be sent to jail, but said he will never stop homeschooling. "But I'm not afraid of this. I'm only sad for my family. I will go (to jail) laughing. You can do what you want but my children will not go to school," he said. America Safe for Homeschoolers? In America, a red flag went up earlier this year when the Justice Department argued in the Romeike case that homeschooling is not a fundamental human right. A source close to the case said the White House cares more about relations with Germany than about a family seeking political asylum. Asylum for the Romeikes might open a floodgate of refugees from Germany, further embarrassing the German government. Uwe Roemike, who makes his living as a piano teacher, knows what to expect if they're deported. "First they would fine us with increasingly higher fines and they would threaten to take away custody," he explained. "There might be jail time, too, but the main threat is the aspect of custody because then, of course, the children are taken away from you completely and that's what no family wants," he said. Uwe said the fact the White House would be willing to deny homeschooling freedom to his family, should make all American homeschoolers concerned. *Dale Hurd also reported from Stockholm, Sweden and Morristown, Tenn.

Homeschooling for Safety
 By Barbara Frank
 
This morning, my jaw dropped when I heard radio host Dennis Miller repeatedly tell a caller who was upset about the horrendous school shootings in Connecticut that he should consider pulling his young daughter out of school and homeschooling her. Miller was clearly serious.

I’m not used to hearing homeschooling being recommended by people like Dennis Miller, but in the wake of the awful event at Sandy Hook, I can see where shaken parents all over the country are looking at their children and thinking, “How can I protect them?” when dropping them off at school each day no longer looks like a safe thing to do.
Read Full Article...

The Tenth Intelligence by David H. Albert

That best portion of a good man's life,
His little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love. William Wordsworth,
~from "Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey"

I have on occasion wondered what it might have been like to go through life as a Robin.

I never had the opportunity to find out. In the second month of the first grade at P.S. 131, my public elementary school in New York City, we were separated into “Bluebirds and Robins”. (I have since discovered that in other schools there were also “Sparrows”, who were “Special Ed” children before Special Ed was invented, those destined to ride “the short bus.”*) I don’t remember any test being involved; we were just told we were either Robins or Bluebirds and that was that. Read Full Article...

Americans Warned: Homeschoolers Stripped of Rights

BERLIN -- Recently, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has said that homeschooling is not a parent's right. It is a statement some are saying should frighten American parents.

Nations like Germany and Sweden show that when governments take away homeschooling rights, it's a slippery slope to no parental rights. 

America the Refuge or Not

The Romeike family came to the United States from Germany five years ago hoping to find refuge. They wanted to homeschool their children in freedom and a federal judge granted them asylum.
But now the Obama administration has been trying to deport them, arguing that homeschooling is not a right. The case is currently before a federal appeals court.
Read Full Article ...

Addicted to Experts by Linda Dobson

Book Excerpt from The Art of Education

"We have a right," our forefathers cried once upon a time, “to think for ourselves." We have surrendered that right, not to a dictatorial, hostile monarchy overseas, but to our own government's institutions. And oh, the tangled web these institutions have woven.

A web, because their "experts" pervade every area of our lives today. Tangled, because they work hand-in-hand. Woven, because they get closer to marriage every day we remain asleep.

It all begins in school, folks. By law, it is required that you attend. (That you learn is not required, that school be the best place for you to learn is not required, just that you attend.) Read Full Article...

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From Previous Issues

Stretch Like Elastigirl!
(The marvel of the homeschool mother!)

By Barbara Frank

In the movie “The Incredibles,” a pair of retired superheroes marry, have a
family and settle down…or so they think, because before long they’re yanked out
of retirement to save the world from an evil genius.
How astute of the movie’s creator to make the character of the mother
someone who can change shape in order to help her children! Being “elastic” is a
necessity for all moms; adapting ourselves to the needs of our families is a
regular event for us. And never is this truer than in the case of homeschooling
moms, because we’re faced with so many changing situations as we work with our
families. For instance: [10]Read Article
http://www.homeeducator.com/familytimes/2013/february2013/frank-stretch.html

What Kids Learn From Chores
(or More Proof That Suffering Builds Character)
By: Dr. James G. Wellborn

Like so many parental expectations and requirements, getting your kid in the
habit of doing chores will help prepare them for the real world (if you can ever
get them to move out).

Here are some of the benefits kids derive from assigned chores.
• Responsibility (or “I’m not your maid.”)  When you make a mess YOU are
obligated to clean it up.  The most straightforward reason your kid needs to do
chores is to drive the point home that he is responsible for his actions in the
world (and the messes he makes).
• Personal Obligation (or “You helped create this mess now get up and help clean
it up!”)  When you live with other people, you’re obliged to contribute to the
general upkeep of common living areas.  Chores help your kid learn to pull her
own weight when it comes to keeping shared spaces clean (so she doesn’t end up
moving back home because even her friends consider her a slob). [11]Read
Article... 
 http://www.homeeducator.com/familytimes/2013/february2013/wellborn-chores.html

Much Too Early by David Elkind

(Editor's Note: Children must be protected from early institutionalization - and
also from very formal early educational methods. They DO NOT need to be herded
into classrooms - Jane Boswell)

Children must master the language of things before they master the language of
words.”—Friedrich Froebel, Pedagogics of the Kindergarten, 1895

In one sentence, Froebel, father of the kindergarten, expressed the essence
of early-childhood education. Children are not born knowing the difference
between red and green, sweet and sour, rough and smooth, cold and hot, or any
number of physical sensations. The natural world is the infant’s and young
child’s first curriculum, and it can only be learned by direct interaction with
things. There is no way a young child can learn the difference between sweet and
sour, rough and smooth, hot and cold without tasting, touching, or feeling
something. Learning about the world of things, and their various properties, is
a time-consuming and intense process that cannot be hurried.
Read Article...
http://www.homeeducator.com/familytimes/2013/february2013/Elkind-tooearly.html

Early Childhood Education: The Case Against Direct Instruction of Academic Skills By Alfie Kohn

"The earlier [that schools try] to inculcate so-called 'academic' skills, the
deeper the damage and the more permanent the 'achievement' gap."
-- Deborah Meier

Some of the most ambitious and expensive educational evaluations conducted in
this country have looked at programs growing out of Head Start – that is,
programs begun in the 1960s to help disadvantaged young children.  One of those
efforts, known as Follow Through, was originally intended to provide support for
children after they left preschool.  Threatened by the Nixon Administration with
a loss of funding, Follow Through was hastily reinvented as an experiment
involving more than a dozen different models of instruction at more than a
hundred sites around the country.  Among the results of that comparison was the
finding that some programs emphasizing basic skills – in particular, a model
known as Direct Instruction, in which teachers read from a prepared script in
the classroom, drilling young children on basic skills in a highly controlled,
even militaristic fashion, and offering reinforcement when children produce the
correct responses – appeared to produce the best results.  Proponents of this
kind of teaching have trumpeted this finding ever since as a vindication of
their model. Read Article ...
http://www.homeeducator.com/familytimes/2013/february2013/Kohn-early.html

Homeschooling and the All Important Family
by Rachel Gathercole

The homeschooling movement is absolutely exploding with growth. Since 2000, the homeschooling population has been growing at the astounding rate of at least 10 to 20 percent per year. Literally millions of families are homeschooling in the United States alone. What is it that draws so many people to this trend? Through all the talking and listening I have done with hundreds of diverse homeschoolers across the country, one common theme has emerged as the most important advantage to homeschoolers: family unity. This element of homeschooling is of the utmost importance to homeschoolers, who consider it the cornerstone of (and the greatest boon to) their children’s social development. Read article...