This can be a difficult decision for the parent to make. But, so many parents have not done this so far for nothing. Home Schooling is one of the new concepts that has caught on in the west of late. It actually is a fun for the mother to see her child learn in front of her eyes.

But there is still some hesistation in making this decision because parents feel that attending a school gives a real life experience to the child and co-curricular activities like debates and games help the child grow holistically and home schooling will deprive their child of that.

But the exponents of home schooling also have equally valid points. Home Schooling can impart values to the child in a secure environment, an environment where the child is much more ready to learn new things. Home Schooling does not necessarily mean that the child would miss out on social behavior. In fact, with less time to finish off with studies, a home schooled child will be able to dedicate much more time to play in the neighborhood. Unlike the real school, in home schooling, the class moves at the pace that the child requires it to. The home schooled child no longer needs to constantly skip over what he has missed to keep in pace with the rest of the class.

A home schooled child can be showered with much more personal care, which is so essential at the early years of childhood. But, all said and done, this is not an experiment that can be done to see if it works or not as this is about the life of the child which as a parent, you would want to make very sure that this is the best.

In order to achieve this, the parent must talk to the parents of other home schooled children. They will be able to give a good review of how the child progress is. There are today a lot of message boards and blogs in the internet that caters to the needs of the parent looking for a good home school for his child. Make the best use of it. Plan and execute. You will then relish every moment of your child’s learning curve thanks to Home Schooling!

Anand Srinivasan is the author of http://XooXonline.info; a website of varied themes and topics for the internet surfer who wants to surf but does not know what to!

Accredited homeschool diplomas can give homeschooled children the benefits of both a high school diploma and a home school education. Even though many parents believe that they can implement a good education for their child without being in an accredited home school, in order for a child to have a recognized diploma in most states, they will need to use and graduate from an accredited homeschool program.

The accredited homeschool program will provide the child the opportunity to learn a similar curriculum as public school students. All children need to learn certain things in order to become productive members in society. Therefore, homeschooled children need to learn specific curriculum that everyone else is learning as well.

An accredited home school provides a curriculum to the child that fits with the state’s standards. It should be recognized that homeschooled children that are in an accredited home school will have more opportunities available to them in the future. An accredited homeschool diploma is a recognized diploma. It is proof of a suitable, credible, and sufficient education. An accredited home school diploma may be necessary in order to be accepted into some colleges or to be chosen for a job. This diploma may also be used to be granted financial aid and/or scholarships.

While most accredited homeschooling programs are not difficult for most children, the homeschooling program can be made into whatever the parent would like it to be. They can add to the program as they deem is necessary to improve upon it.

The accredited homeschool program is created by certified teachers who provide the insight of a public school curriculum while leaving the actual teaching up to the parent. The program is put together in such a way as to allow a child to succeed. The program is designed to hold the child to completing the necessary coursework in order to graduate. Unless the child can learn what he or she needs to, the homeschooled child won’t receive an accredited diploma for advancement.

An accredited homeschool diploma is necessary for homeschooled children. The homeschool program offers the curriculum similar to public schools but, yet, provides the freedom of homeschooling. It is an asset that is needed if a child wants to take his/her education and career further in life.

Diane Rose is a retired educator in the public school system, but forever teaching her grandchild and nephews and nieces at home. For more information about homeschooling please visit my website at http://homeschooling.rose-rose.com.

Keeping records for each school year is important for different reasons. They’ll help you to monitor your child’s progress, keep track of lesson plans and become part of a portfolio for college entry. Record keeping will help you to meet short and long-term goals for your school year. They will help in planning your lessons and help keep you on track during the school year.

Write a list of all the books and materials you use in school and keep with your records. You might want to include a list of books and materials you find interesting to research for later use in school.

Lesson plan books come in many styles. The most popular have the weekdays listed across the top and places along the sides for the subjects. You can easily create your own lesson plan book using a ruler and paper then inserting it in a three ring binder. Your local teacher supply store should also carry simple lesson planning books. This type of record keeping helps to plan out your curriculum on a weekly basis.

A daily logbook is like keeping a diary or journal for school days. It is used for writing ideas or activities that your children participated in each day. You can buy a logbook for homeschoolers or just use notebook paper and place in a binder. Write brief descriptions of the school day events and also include the date. If a school day doesn’t go as planned, then a daily log will help you to keep track of exactly what was accomplished that day. Have your children keep their own daily log if they are old enough to write down the day’s projects and activities. This will help them to retain what they learned and will help them with their writing skills.

Some states require a list of the books, curriculum and materials used by each child, every school year. Simply record each item used in that week in either your weekly lesson plan book or on the back of your daily logbook. Include the book title, author or publisher and you may want to give a brief description of how the book was used.

A home school portfolio may be required by your state but even if it’s not, it is useful when applying for colleges and for an annual evaluation of your child’s progress. The portfolio can include anything related to your child’s education. This may include lesson plans, logbooks, worksheets, test results, writing assignments and book reports. Field trips taken, special events, experiments, scrapbooks of projects and artwork should also be a part of the portfolio. Although most homeschoolers do not keep grades, you may find them beneficial. After grading your children’s papers, record their score in a grade book, available at a teacher supply store. Every six weeks, use a handheld grader, such as E-Z Grader to determine the average grade of each subject. By knowing their grades, you can determine any weakness your children may have in a particular subject and can now help them to improve their grade average.

Most children like receiving certificates for good grades or just a good job done well. They are available for almost every situation such as preschool, reading, science, honor roll and more. Certificates help build your child’s self-esteem by giving them a feeling of accomplishment and pride in their work. It also shows them the progress they’ve made in the school year.

Keep all your records in one binder for easy access, using tabs to separate by topic, subject or by child. Be sure to check with your states regulations for record keeping before you home school to make sure you follow their requirements.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Home School

What makes homeschooling better than traditional schooling? Lately, there is a rising trend in families choosing to homeschool their child than send their child to a traditional educational institution.

Let’s look at some of the benefits of homeschooling over traditional schooling:

1. Flexible Schedule

Homeschooling enables a flexible schedule. For example, the child does not need to wake up at 7 every morning. With homeschooling, your child can start homeschooling at 9am or later depending on your preferred schedule. You can schedule your child’s homeschooling education as you see fit with materials or subjects that may be not available in a traditional school.

You can tailor the homeschool curriculum to suit the needs and interest of your child.

2. Individual attention

In a traditional school setting, thirty to forty students are assigned to a teacher in class. Therefore usually, the teacher cannot devote 100 percent attention to any child since it will not be fair to the other children. Plus, it is quite impossible to provide individual attention to all students.

With homeschooling, your child gets all the individual attention he/she needs. For example, if your child is weak in mathematics, you could devote more time and energy into teaching mathematics.

Your child’s homeschooling schedule can be adjusted to crater for that. For example, if your child is better at science than at mathematics, simple devote more homeschooling hours to mathematics and cut back on science. With homeschooling, the choice is yours. Traditional schools can’t do that.

3. Family Activity

The schooling of the child can become an extended family activity. Examples are field trips and experiments. Plus, the child also receives more quality time with his/her parents. There is more time for family bonding. The child is also free of any negative peer pressure or influences.

4. No peer pressure

With homeschooling, the child does not need to prove his/her abilities to other children. Parents are able to deeply understand their child better with homeschooling and therefore are able to plan the learning program according to his strengths and weakness.

Parents can also change the curriculum to suit the learning style of the child. For example, some children learn better from reading while others need to write. Some children even learn better from experiencing or seeing things in action.

5. Religion Learning

Religious learning is a sensitive issue hence most traditional schools shunned it. However, with homeschooling, parents can take control over the moral and religious learning of the child. Parents can impart their ideologies and deep beliefs into the child rather than let the school dictate what moral and religious education the child will be receiving.

Homeschooling is the best way to educate a child as you can see from the advantages listed below. If you have the time, the interest and the ability, why not give it a try?

Ricky Lim is the founder of http://www.homeschooling-guide.info where he regularly write homeschooling articles to help educators and parents. Visit his site for more Homeschooling Resources, Tips and Information

Making the decision to homeschool your children should not be taken lightly as it will have a definite impact on everyone in the family. The good news though is that families from all walks of life, all sorts of different backgrounds, and from every kind of income level are successfully homeschooling their children. So here are the top five steps for homeschooling success.

1. First and foremost, you’ll need to have the willing support of everyone in the family including your children and your spouse if you are going to make this whole new educational adventure work. If you have a lot of emotional and behavioral issues with your children, than most likely homeschooling will not be a good choice for you at this time. Likewise if your mate is not ready to completely support you in this endeavor, you can expect some very rough patches ahead. So try to get everyone in the family to commit to giving homeschooling their best support if you want long term success.

2. Before you begin homeschooling honestly appraise your daily schedule and make sure that you are going to have enough time to be able to handle not only all of the school related activities that you will be involved in such as teaching, preparing for the next lessons, grading papers, overseeing class projects and so on, but also be able to handle the normal household and daily chores as well. When you make the decision to homeschool your children, you’ll need to bring a good measure of organizational skills in order to get everything done each day. You also have to realize that some of your own personal time will have to be sacrificed more often than you would sometimes like.

3. Another important consideration that needs to be made before you begin homeschooling is whether or your family can survive financially on only one income or not. Because of the demands that homeschooling places on the time and efforts of the parent that is teaching, its very difficult for both parents to be able to work and bring in income. So it would be very wise for you to go over the family finances in advance and make sure that whatever income can be generated by the parent who is working will be sufficient to handle the monthly bills.

4. Consideration should also be given to how you plan on providing social interaction for your children with others of varying age levels. It’s important for them to get to know people outside of the family, so well supervised social events can be important to their emotional development. Very often, homeschool support groups in many areas are able to provide this kind of socialization for all of the families who take part in the group.

5. Finally, get to know others in your area who are already homeschooling their children successfully. Try to find out as much as you can about the whole process before you even begin, and then stay in touch with these families for support as you start this new educational adventure. No one can understand the challenges that homeschooling brings as well as those who have actually lived it themselves, so make good use of the friends and contacts that you make in the homeschooling community.

Homeschooling is a challenge to be sure, but it can also be richly rewarding and satisfying. Hopefully, the suggestions given above will help you be able to be more confident and successful in homeschooling your children.

Steadman Issenburg writes on many consumer related topics including education. You can find home school materials and homeschool programs and more by visiting our education website.

Although almost 2 million families homeschool their children, there continues to be many misconceptions about the entire process. As always, it’s best to help illuminate the facts instead of feeding the misunderstandings, and so here are the answers to the most common misconceptions about homeschooling.

1. A homeschool education simply cannot compare to a more traditional one.

Actually, test scores seem to indicate that homeschooled children in general test well above average across the country regardless of income, race or the level of education of the parent.

2. Homeschooled children will not be able to get into college.

This is also a misconception as more and more colleges and universities are admitting homeschoolers into their program including such well recognized institutions as Harvard and Yale. In order to qualify for these schools, homeschooled children will most likely have to submit samples of their work, along with letters of recommendation, and CLEP and SAT test results in order to verify the quality of their education.

3. Homeschooled children are not able to develop social skills.

Many people seem to feel that if a child does not attend a public or private school, they will not be able to develop the social skills needed to function well in the adult world. However, the negative behavior problems associated with many children in the school system has been well documented in recent years, and there is no firm evidence that simply attending school helps children develop social skills that will be valuable later on in life.

Most homeschooling parents realize the need for their children to interact with others of their own age as well as adults too, and so they often arrange for well supervised activities where their children can socialize with others of many different age levels. Quite often, there are even homeschool support groups in various areas that help supply social experiences for the families that take part in their group.

4. Homeschooling is only for the wealthy as it is very expensive.

The truth is that homeschooling can be as expensive as you wish to make it. There are expensive homeschooling materials and curriculums that are available complete with video instruction. However there is no evidence that such educational materials are any more effective overall than more simple and inexpensive ones. Many families who homeschool can find excellent used books and materials online, or even make use of those that are found at the local library. At any rate, the evidence seems to suggest that homeschooled children even from the poorest families often seem to be getting a quality education and scoring well on their test scores.

5. Homeschooling is not legal.

Actually, homeschooling is legal in every state in the United States, although there are different governing requirements set out by the individual states. Some states seem to be more homeschool friendly than others, but there are successful homeschoolers in every state in the country.

If you’re considering homeschooling your children, do not be surprised if you meet with opposition and resistance from family or friends who may bring up some of the misconceptions that are covered in this particular article. Hopefully the information provided here can help you better answer these misunderstandings when they arise.

Steadman Issenburg writes on many consumer related topics including education. You can find home school materials and homeschool programs and more by visiting our education website.

Although homeschooling has become increasingly popular in recent years, there’s still a lot of confusion and misunderstanding that surround it. As a result, many parents have questions about exactly what homeschooling is and how it is conducted, and this article will help answer some of the most common questions that are asked about homeschooling.

1. What is homeschooling?

Homeschooling is a process where parents take charge of the education of their own children, completely substituting the educational curriculum used by public and private schools. The reasons for choosing homeschooling as a substitute can be many including having better control over the content of their children’s education, being able to better match the speed and pace of learning to each child’s ability, better promotion of the parent-child bond as their children grow older, and concerns over their children’s safety in the public school system.

2. What kind of people homeschool their children?

The answer to that question is that people from all walks of life with varied abilities, backgrounds, and circumstances all have been successful in homeschooling their children. This means that it doesn’t matter whether you live in a city or on a farm, whether you only have one child or ten, whether it’s a single or two-parent family, whether you are religious or not, there are those who have similar circumstances that are successfully homeschooling their children.

3. Is homeschooling legal?

Yes, homeschooling is legal in every state in the US, although there are laws regulating homeschooling that can vary significantly from one state to the next, so before you decide to homeschool your children, be sure to check on the requirements for homeschooling in the state where you live first.

4. What educational requirements are there for parents to homeschool their children?

In most cases, all that is required is that you be able to read, write, and perform basic math functions such as addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication. You can always upgrade your own education as you go if more is needed. But be sure to check on the particular requirements of the state where you live before you begin.

5. Where can we find homeschooling books and curriculums?

There are actually lots of places to get the home school materials that you will need including books, worksheets, and so forth. The internet is a great place to find the materials you will need at the lowest cost possible. You can even find used homeschool books and materials online at eBay and Amazon. You also may be able to find some of these materials locally at small bookstores and garage sales.

Whether or not to homeschool your children is a decision that is not to be taken lightly, and hopefully some of the answers we have provided here in this article to the most commonly asked homeschooling questions will help you be able to determine if homeschooling is right for you and your children.

Steadman Issenburg writes on many consumer related topics including education. You can find homeschool worksheets and used homeschool books and more by visiting our education website.

Homeschooling has become very popular in recent years, but it is not for everyone. Some parents and children do extremely well in a homeschooling environment, while others seem to struggle. So what characteristics are needed for parents to be able to successfully homeschool their children? Here are some of the most important steps that lead to homeschooling success.

1. First of all, you’ll want to make sure that you have a good relationship with your children and enjoy being around them quite a bit of the time. If you have lots of emotional and behavioral difficulties in interacting with your children, homeschooling may not be the best choice for you.

2. As far as academic requirements are concerned, just be sure that you know how to read, write, and handle basic math such as addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication.

3. Having good communication skills is also vital to being a good parent teacher, so try to develop your listening and speaking skills as much as possible.

4. One important quality to cultivate in order to be successful in homeschooling your children is patience. Unless you are an extremely impatient person, you should be able to develop this quality to the point where you can successfully teach.

5. Developing observational skills is important to successful homeschooling as well. You need to be able to determine when a child needs extra help and attention in certain areas by simple observation.

6. Of all the qualities needed for homeschooling, perhaps the one that has more of a bearing on your success is developing a sense of humor. You need to be able to keep the daily lessons as fun as you can, and be willing to laugh at yourself, not taking yourself and the children too seriously.

7. Being persistent in the face of opposition can be very important to homeschooling success as well, as many families face resistance from family or friends that can sometimes be very discouraging. However, perseverance in the face of this opposition can oftentimes cause them to accept your decision later on.

8. Having the ability to organize and prioritize your daily schedule and activities is a very big ingredient for success in homeschooling. It will often seem as if there is not enough time in the day to get both your schoolwork and housework taken care of. The better your organization skills in this area, the better results you’ll usually get.

9. Having both parents united in the desire to homeschool their children is an incredibly important step for success. If one is not sure about the process or is openly opposed, it can easily turn into a recipe for failure.

10. As your children grow you’ll need to be able to be flexible enough to adjust your teaching methods and styles to be able to be most effective with each new lesson.

Of course, there are no perfect parent teachers, but if you continue to develop the traits listed above, they can help lead you along the pathway to homeschooling success.

Steadman Issenburg writes on many consumer related topics including education. You can find homeschool worksheets and used homeschool books and more by visiting our education website.

Deciding to homeschool your children is a big step for the entire family, and it should be weighed very carefully in advance. There are both benefits and disadvantages that should be considered honestly and without bias, and so here are the top 10 pros and cons of homeschooling.

Pros

1. Perhaps the biggest advantage to homeschooling your children is that you know exactly what they are learning and have complete control over when and how they learn it.

2. Another big advantage is being able to allow each child to learn at their own pace without either having to keep up with an entire classroom of faster learners, or be bored because they are way ahead of everyone else in class.

3. You are also able to impart instruction not only on academic matters but also help transfer the values and beliefs of your family to your children without interference.

4. Another great benefit of homeschooling your children is being able to protect them from negative influences that they may become exposed to in the public school or private school system. This could include intense peer pressure, bullies, drugs, and so forth.

5. Homeschooling also allows you to become more familiar with your children’s natural talents and abilities so you can help steer their education toward a career that they would enjoy.

Cons

1. Perhaps one of the biggest disadvantages of homeschooling that is commonly expressed by some parents is the feeling that you never have any time to yourself, or just a break from the children.

2. Of course, the cost factor is also somewhat of a disadvantage, as you will most likely spend more money on homeschooling your children than you would on sending them to public school.

3. It’s also a challenge, but not impossible, to help arrange socializing for your children with others that are their own age.

4. You may also encounter unexpected opposition and resistance from family and friends who do not understand your decision to homeschool your children.

5. You’ll need to be exceptionally organized as both a parent and teacher in order to get housework and homeschooling accomplished in the same day.

As you can see, there are plenty of both pros and cons to homeschooling your children. And there is no right or wrong answer for every parent when it comes to making this kind of decision. So take your time, consider the information in this article, and make your decision based on what will be best for you and your children.

Steadman Issenburg writes on many consumer related topics including education. You can find accredited home schools and homeschool curriculums and more by visiting our education website.

So you think you can’t do math in your head, huh? Well, it all depends on how you do such math. After all, if given the right tools to do a job, then the job comes out right often enough. So why fret over the small stuff? Too often mathematics is made out to be some mysterious subject, only to be mastered by an esoteric group of like-minded nerds who co-habitate in some forsaken land. Well, that’s not the case and one of the things I’m fond of doing is debunking this oft-held yet misguided notion.

Number theory is a branch of mathematics which treats of numbers and the various properties that come out of working with these most interesting mathematical entities. All mathematics has its roots in numbers, for without a start in the domain of these “creatures,” mathematics would never build and ramify into its many distinct branches. Indeed just the knowledge and in-depth understanding of those curious numbers we call primes form the linchpin of internet security and moreover internet commerce. Yes, that’s right. Without a knowledge of prime numbers (the primes, by the way, are numbers which are only divisible by the number 1 and the number itself; thus 3 and 5 are primes because they can only be divided evenly by 1 and themselves), secure internet transactions would not be possible.

Thus understanding numbers and how to work with them via arithmetical operations form the foundations for all of mathematics. In this article, I want to give you a tool that you can pass to your children. This tool will give them the ability to multiply what I call any two “teenage numbers.” Teenage numbers are simply the numbers from 13-19—teenagers. (The method also works if we include 11 and 12, but for these poor souls the name of the method doesn’t apply as they are “pre-teens.” The method I present here is actually a default case of the 2 by 2 Cross Multiplication Technique which I teach in my Wiz Kid series. For more information on this go to my website and contact me directly.)

At any rate, the way to obtain the product from multiplying any two “teenage numbers” is as follows, in which we use 13 x 15 as the model:

Add the two digits in the ones columns of the numbers. Thus 3 + 5 = 8. Add this to 10 and add a 0 to the result. Thus 10 + 8 = 18, and 18 with a 0 added to the end of it is 180. Multiply the digits in the ones column from the two numbers and add the result to the previous step. You now have your answer. Thus 3 x 5 = 15 and 180 + 15 = 195. That’s it. With a little practice you can beat the calculator every time. Guaranteed.

Let’s try one more and you be the judge. Take 14 x 18. Now 4 + 8 = 12; 12 + 10 = 22 and 22 with a 0 at the end is 220; 8 x 4 = 32 and 220 + 32 = 252. Presto! Imagine how your children’s teachers will react when your eight and nine year olds are doing this in math class. I think the method speaks for itself. Till next time, happy multiplying.

Joe is a prolific writer of self-help and educational material and an award-winning former teacher of both college and high school mathematics. Under the penname, JC Page, Joe authored Arithmetic Magic, the little classic on the ABC’s of arithmetic. Joe is also author of the charming self-help ebook, Making a Good Impression Every Time: The Secret to Instant Popularity, the original collection of poetry, Poems for the Mathematically Insecure, and the short but highly effective fraction troubleshooter Fractions for the Faint of Heart. The diverse genre of his writings (novel, short story, essay, script, and poetry)?particularly in regard to its educcational flavor? continues to captivate readers and to earn him recognition.&

Joe propagates his teaching philosophy through his articles and books and is dedicated to helping educate children living in impoverished countries. Toward this end, he donates a portion of the proceeds from the sale of every ebook. For more information go to www.mathbyjoe.com.