If you are considering the dive into homeschooling or if you’ve been at it for awhile invariably, inevitably in casual conversation the red herring issue of socialization pops up. Today, going into our 17th year of homeschooling the concerns and objections seem lamer than ever. Why? Two reasons.
The first is why would anyone consider […]

I took the Alaska Home Educators Alliance (AHEA) online survey. As surveys go it isn’t written to gauge opinion but rather to lead the survey-taker to the answer AHEA wants. So, I’ll go through the six questions one by one.

Do you agree that the compulsory school attendance age should remain the same and should not […]

As I’ve written before, Alaska has the best homeschooling choices in the nation. But it does not mean we are content with the status quo. There is a pretty heated controversy perking between some homeschoolers and Governor Sarah Palin’s administration that hit local talk radio this week.
Here are the pertinents. Alaska Home Educators Alliance […]

One of the many assessments in the Frontier Learning Profile is the Swassing-Barbe Modality Index. It’s the classic tool to determine cognitive input. It answers the question of how a person takes in information, visually, auditorially or kinesthetically and is an important element of the cognitive input portion of the Profile.
Tim Scott recommends a secondary […]

Last spring a required course for our daughter’s graduation was U.S. Government. Political discussion is standard fare at our house and we didn’t want a typical course that would be a dull review of what she already knew. At the time the Alaska Legislature was discussing a constitutional amendment that would require the Attorney General […]

Writing my own lesson plans is something I try to avoid and I’ve been pretty successful at that. I know several moms who write their own stuff and relish it. They do a great job! If I had to design a course for an upper-grade student it’s a helpful skill to have. Here’s an article […]

I’ve read a few articles and posts recently about the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and their recommendations for how state governments should govern homeschoolers. It took me a while to find the original statement online; it’s in a 52-page document that details the current platform of the NAESP. Here is the complete […]

First, a definition. For the purposes of this article, and this blog for that matter, this is what homeschooling means:
Primary responsibility for education lies with the parent who designs a learning plan or curriculum that fits their child. The parent is free to pick and choose materials, schedules or even services for the child whose […]

Judy Aron has sage advice at Consent of the Governed on how to approach homeschooling a teen for the first time. These are great tips on how to make a successful transition from a conventional high school classroom to homeschool.

Over at I Have to Say… it’s Back to Homeschool Week. Here’s the curriculum we are using this year for our 8th grade son. He’s our youngest and his two older siblings are graduated. After trying lots and lots of stuff I’ve found what works best for us. I can agree with her when she […]