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Your Child Should Be Doing This By Now
Barbara Frank
Got your attention, didn’t I? We moms are certainly susceptible to fearing that our children might be behind in something.
It starts when we’re pregnant. Your book for expectant moms says you should feel kicking by 20 weeks. If you don’t feel kicking yet, you need an ultrasound to see what’s going on.
Taking Your Homeschool Classroom to Africa
Connie Jeske Crane
“You’re going to do what?!”
Parents who homeschool their children are used to provoking reactions, whether spoken aloud or not. They field others’ bewilderment, flat-out disapproval, or at the other end, seemingly boundless curiosity. Kathryn Gray, a mom who homeschools her two kids—Anna seven, and Joseph, five—in Toronto, ON, Canada, has heard it all. But even she was surprised at the pushback she got when she announced a field trip a while back when her children were five and three.
Who Am I?
Dr. Renée Fuller
“I don’t lie. I don’t steal. I try to be kind. I am Pamela.” That’s how five-year-old Pamela, with her solid little legs planted firmly on the ground, introduced herself.
Pamela’s Mom and I looked at each other, trying hard not to laugh. After we had managed to straighten our faces the mother proceeded to explain. “We’ve been trying to teach her responsibility; that she’s in charge of her own actions. She really took to the idea.
Can You Afford Not To Homeschool?
Larry Arnold
How much is a homeschool mom worth? Granted, we men could never pay somebody to do what our wives do. They are tutors, home-keepers, child-taxi drivers, tear-wipers, and friends. They also put up with us, and the fact that they do it all because they love their families makes them priceless. Suppose our business sides wanted to calculate their value in real dollars? How much is your home-schooling wife worth? Would you believe over $40,000 a year?
View From My Window: Media Distractions
Max E. Anderson (Books for Boys)
I’d like to address the subjects of books for boys, along with the distractions of media that kids face today. I have to admit that I’m glad our children grew up just ahead of a time when there was a TV and computer in every bedroom, a phone in every pocket, and all the other electronic distractions that pull them away from each other, and from reading good books.
Home Schooling: How We Do It
Andrew O’Hehir
One morning last week, before my kids Desmond and Nini had begun their home-school kindergarten day, they were playing on the floor with a random assemblage of building blocks, figurines and toy vehicles, like a zillion other 5-year-olds around the world. Since I was theoretically in charge while their mother got ready for the day, I surfaced from my cup of coffee and the New York Times sports section to listen in for a few seconds. It turned out they were building a temple for Ganesh, the elephant-headed god who removes obstacles from the lives of observant Hindus. Their construction materials were the columns and blocks from a Greco-Roman architecture play set.
It’s Not What We Teach; It’s What They Learn
Alfie Kohn
I never understood all the fuss about that old riddle – “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear, does it still make a sound?” Isn’t it just a question of how we choose to define the word sound? If we mean “vibrations of a certain frequency transmitted through the air,” then the answer is yes. If we mean “vibrations that stimulate an organism’s auditory system,” then the answer is no.
Delight Directed Learning
Lee Binz
Some people just aren’t textbook people! What do you do if your homeschooler learns by living, instead of studying textbooks? What if your child soaks up knowledge like a sponge, without being directed in any way? Can you still create a serious-looking high school transcript?
How and Why To Instill Gratitude in Your Kids
David and Andrea Reiser
Venture out to the mall, and you’ll doubtless see multiple examples of what’s fast becoming the “typical” kid: selfish, entitled, impolite, ungrateful, and constantly plugged in to video games, computers, cell phones, etc. You’ve encountered kids like this often—and perhaps, despite your best intentions, you’re afraid the previous description might apply to your own children as well. Overall, it seems that parents across the country have thrown up their hands in frustration and defeat—but David and Andrea Reiser say that we don’t have to settle for an America full of kids who take everything they have for granted.
Preparing for College: Writing Essays
Dave Marks, National Writing Institute
When students are in high school, they should begin to think about Even if they don’t plan on attending at that point, this is a good idea, because they might later change their minds and it might be too late to catch up on that missed preparation. This exercise is for this group of students.
Editor's Note - On Reluctant Readers
Jane Boswell
Do you know a child who might be considered a reluctant reader? Young and older boys alike often fall into this category but I’ve met quite a few girls as well who would rather be doing anything but reading. This certainly can be developmental but sometimes it’s due to today’s distractions by other forms of media.
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