You want to home school your teen but are unsure. The decision although a tough one, has been made you will need help. It is not as scary as it sounds. I will try to ease your fears. I have 2 teens that I have been schooling along with 3 younger children, so I am getting lots of practice.

If you have just begun to home school you may fear that you are not qualified to teach your teen, but that is not true. You are qualified and have actually been homeschooling your child without knowing it. Have you ever helped your teen with their homework? Do you ever read with your teen? Discuss current events? Take trips to museums, zoo, and parks, if you have, then you have been homeschooling your child.

It is normal to fear the unknown path of homeschooling but it is not a difficult path. The most important asset to obtain in helping your teen is patience. When I first began schooling, I asked a lot of questions of experienced homeschooling parents. Those are the parents I learned from and now I am in that position to help you. It is possible to home school your teen, be successful, and have fun all at the same time.

As a homeschooler you have the freedom to teach the subjects you desire and can set your own schedule as well. You can incorporate schooling into your daily activities and the teen will learn daily lessons that they would normally not learn in a traditional school environment. The best part is that there will not be needless homework assignments and late nights of working on projects. The assignments and projects will now be done during the day leaving your evenings available to enjoy your family.

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Cutting with scissors is a learned activity. By three years old your child should have no problem holding a pair of child-sized scissors. It takes them awhile to master this new skill, however, so be patient with them while they begin to show an interest in learning how to do it.

Purchase your child a pair of his own scissors. If your child is left-handed, make sure the scissors can be used by left- or right-handed children. Many scissors can be used by both.

Let your child try to cut with the scissors, and encourage him to cut the best he can. It may take awhile for him to get the hang of it. My boys were four years old before they could hold a pair of scissors correctly and cut with them.

After your child has learned to cut with his scissors, it’s time to practice cutting shapes and lines. This activity helps your preschooler master his cutting skills so he can move on to cutting out shapes for his own craft projects.

Have your child start cutting lines. Simply use a ruler to draw several lines on a piece of paper, and then have your child try to cut on the line. It will probably take awhile for your child to get the hang of it, but after he catches on he will be so proud of his new accomplishment. After lines, he is ready to move on to wavy lines, then ovals, and, finally, circles.

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Preschool-aged children love to play with worms (at least my boys do!). You can turn their curiosity with worms into a science project with just a few items from your house and garden. Here is what you’ll need:

Empty two-liter pop bottle
Exacto knife
Dirt
Small shovel
Sand
Grass clippings
Kitchen compost (apple peelings, etc.)
Worms

Before you let your child loose in the garden, you will need to use the exacto knife to cut off the entire top of the pop bottle.

Help your child create a label for the container that has the child’s name and “worm farm” printed on it. You can make it by hand or on the computer. Tape the label to the front of the container.

Go out to the garden with your child and let he or she shovel a couple of inches of dirt into the plastic container. Pat the dirt down so the next layer of sand won’t filter through. Explain to your child that they need to be careful not to shake or jar the bottle or the sand and dirt will become mixed up.

Add a thin layer of sand, and then continue with a couple of inches of dirt and another thin layer of sand. The top layer should be dirt. Leave an inch or two of space at the top of the bottle.

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Every homeschooling parent knows that a well stocked library is one of their greatest assets. In addition to great pieces of literature and reference books, however, there are also wonderful books on the topic of homeschooling itself that are must have additions to the family library. Here are four that I consider to be must reads.

100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum by Cathy Duffy

One of the most important decisions you’ll make as a homeschooling parent is finding the right curriculum. You want one that matches your educational philosophy and that also works with your child’s learning style. The trouble is the dizzying array of curriculums available. This book makes this process of picking one among the many available choices so much easier. It’s a must read for parents at the start of their homeschool journey or for any homeschooling parent who wants to make a change in their home education.

Susan Wise Bauer’s Story of The World

Susan Wise Bauer is the author of several books on classical homeschooling. Her Story of the World series are well loved by home educators. They help parents create a living history experience for children and I enjoy them too, which is no small thing considering history was my least favorite subject in school! The Story of the World books also have companion workbooks for those who wish to employ them alongside the volumes. These would be especially helpful for older children and teens.

John Holt’s Teach Your Own

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These hand print turkeys are an easy craft for your kids to make for Thanksgiving. They are easy enough for toddlers and preschoolers to help make, but even older children will enjoy tracing around their hands to make this fun turkey craft.

Supplies needed:

Brown felt
Colorful craft feathers
Google eye
Red pipe cleaner
Scissors
Black permanent marker
Rubber cement or craft glue

We chose to make our turkeys out of brown felt. This is just one of many options, you could also use brown craft foam or brown construction paper.

First, use the black permanent marker to trace around your child’s hand on the brown felt. Next cut out the hand tracing. For younger children, you will have to do these steps for them.

Next turn over the piece of the felt so any permanent marker markings are on the backside of the felt.

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Preschool-aged children love lacing cards. Lacing cards allow children to practice “sewing” by threading a string in and out of holes in a piece of cardboard. This is a great activity to help develop your child’s fine motor skills.

Lacing cards can be found most anywhere preschool supplies are sold. The pictures on the cards can be anything from farm animals to construction equipment. They are enjoyed by both boys and girls.

If you want to be really creative, you can make your own lacing cards. All you need is a picture, a laminating machine ($20 at Walmart), scissors, a hole punch, and some yarn or a shoestring.

First select a picture. You can find many children’s pictures online. Just search for pictures or drawings of things that your child likes. If your child likes dinosaurs, then you could make a set of dinosaur lacing cards.

After you find a picture, print it out and use the laminator to laminate it. Next use the scissors to cut around the outline of the picture, leaving about an inch of space around the picture.

Using the hole punch, punch holes about an inch apart in the white space around the picture.

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Have you been thinking about homeschooling your children? Are you wondering how they would really benefit from learning at home?

Homeschooling is not the right choice for everyone. But if you’re ready to commit the time and the energy to teaching your own children, here are some of the advantages you can experience.

1. You know your children better than any teacher ever will. When you homeschool, you choose how, when and what to teach your children. This means you can tailor your children’s education to suit their unique skills, interests, and learning styles.

2. Homeschooling creates more family time. Strong family relationships are created over time, and teaching your children at home creates opportunities for these relationships to develop. Time together also helps you teach your children your values.

All of our family relationships have been changed since we began homeschooling, but the biggest difference I’ve seen is in the relationship between my son and daughter. When they attended a public school, they didn’t get along at all. When we began homeschooling they had to learn to get along, even when they disagree, because they’re together all day, everyday.

3. Learning at home takes less time than learning at school. In a classroom setting, it takes extra minutes to make sure everyone has their books out, everyone is on the right page, and everyone understands the instructions.

When you regain that time by educating your children at home, your child can learn more, and also have time to pursue their personal interests.

4. There is less stress in a homeschool environment. Some children find it stressful to be in a traditional classroom. They might experience recurring tummy aches, headaches, or general anxiety. These can all disappear in peaceful home environment.

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If you find that, your lockers are overcrowded and everything falls on the floor when you open the door it is probably because they do not know how to organize everything.

If you find that you have stacks and stacks of papers shoved under your beds, it is because you don’t know how to organize everything.

If you find that your folders are bulging and breaking the seams of your binders and accordion folders, it is because you don’t know how to organize everything.

The problem with this cycle is that it will extend into adult life. Your files and receipts will be in the same mess because you have not learned how to organize your priorities. While we are at it, have mom and dad check their files and see if they are organized and that important documents and receipts can be found in 2 minutes or less. If not—you come by disorganization naturally; you take after your parents. Children live what they learn and that goes for disorganization too! If mom and dad are disorganized, maybe all of you can work on this project together.

What you will need:
2 Accordion Files
Labels for each section of your folders
1 folder with pockets
1 garbage bag

Accordion File #1:
This is your new folder for at school. It will hold every piece of paper that you will need in order to complete your daily homework assignments. As you are given the homework assignment for each class, you will take all of your papers and add them to the correct section of your accordion file.
At the end of the day, you can grab your folder along with whatever book you need to complete your assignment and take it home with you.

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Deciding to homeschool is a difficult decision for many families. Deciding when to stop homeschooling can be even tougher.

Homeschool parents have so many options for their children’s education. They can homeschool all through high school if they choose to. Or they can homeschool just for a year or two, to get their child over a rough spot.

Our family began homeschooling the year our son started grade four. His dislike of school was affecting his learning and I hoped that being home with me would improve his grades and help him develop a genuine love of learning.

I fully intended to homeschool him as long as necessary, and six years later, I’ve realized I’ve achieved that goal, and my son is ready to go back to school. While many homeschooled students return to a traditional school for their high school years, my son will be attending a virtual school from home.

No matter how long you’ve been homeschooling, if you’re wondering if it’s time to stop, here are some things to consider.

Why did you start homeschooling in the first place? My very specific goal was to instill a love of learning into my son. When I realized we had achieved that goal, I had to reconsider my reasons for continuing to homeschool. If you’ve achieved your homeschooling goals, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you should send your kids back to a classroom. It’s just one of the aspects to consider.

Are you prepared to continue homeschooling? Homeschooling is a fulltime job all by itself, never mind everything else you have to do in a day. If you’re feeling like you need a break, and you’re running out of energy, it might be time to consider going back. I wasn’t prepared to facilitate high school level courses for my son. I felt more comfortable giving someone else that responsibility.

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Are you thinking of homeschooling your children, but you don’t know where to find reliable information about homeschooling in your area?

One of the best ways to find answers to your homeschooling questions is to connect with other homeschoolers in your community. They’ve already “been there, done that,” and can tell you how to do it too. As an experienced homeschooling mom, I love to talk about homeschooling with other interested parents.

You can find a lot of good homeschooling information online, and almost every forum for moms has a few ongoing threads about homeschooling. Online forums can be a helpful place to find basic homeschooling information, but since homeschool laws and resources vary from state to state, and province to province, it’s important to connect with homeschoolers in your area too.

Homeschooling has increased in popularity over the past few years, so there’s a good chance there are homeschoolers living in your community, maybe even in your neighborhood.

If you still prefer to find your homeschooling information online, instead of searching for general homeschooling information, limit your search to only homeschool groups in your community. Search for “homeschool group” and your city or province or state.

A good place to meet some homeschoolers face-to-face is your local church. Not all homeschoolers are religious (and it is certainly not a prerequisite) but many are. If you don’t attend a service yourself, consider phoning a few churches in your area to ask if any homeschooling families attend. Many churches with homeschoolers also offer homeschool support groups or other resources.

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