Dec

30

Getting a Jump on College

Posted by Homeschool_Dad

December 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment

If you’ve been reading this blog during the past couple of months, then you know that I mostly focus on the younger years of homeschooling — specifically from 1st through 6th grade, since that’s the range my daughters are currently involved in.
However, as a college professor, I have the opportunity to work with homeschool students.  [...]

Dec

28

Educational Resoultions for the New Year

Posted by Homeschool_Dad

December 28, 2008 | 1 Comment

I love making New Year’s resolutions.  Ever since I was a little kid. I’d write down my goals for the next twelve months.  I learned pretty early on that the more goals I listed, the more I fell short of satisfying my ambitions.  So, now instead of listing two dozen resolutions, I stick with three [...]

Dec

28

Falling in Love with Ms. Frizzle

Posted by Homeschool_Dad

December 28, 2008 | 1 Comment

The Magic School Bus books were first published in 1986.  By that time I was a teen-ager with my first summer job and my first unrequited crush on a girl.  I wouldn’t notice the eccentric teacher Ms. Frizzle until PBS began airing a cartoon version of it in the 90s.  Even then, it wasn’t something [...]

Dec

23

The Wonder and Science of Snowflakes

Posted by Homeschool_Dad

December 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Yesterday, the girls built their very first snow fort.  Then they pelted me with snowballs.  Kids can be so cruel.
But they can also be curious.  We been wondering about the beautiful snowflake patterns that can observed with a microscope.  I never get tired of looking at these highly magnified images of winter:
 

Isn’t the beuaty and [...]

Dec

21

Snow Day!

Posted by Homeschool_Dad

December 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment

How strange… Just a few days ago I was blogging about rainy day activities.  I was lamenting the fact that — since my family and I live in Southern California — we don’t get to experience days of being snowed in.
Well, a couple days after that post, we drove up to Washington state.  And as [...]

Dec

15

Rainy Day Activities

Posted by Homeschool_Dad

December 15, 2008 | 1 Comment

I wish I could be writing about Snowy Day activities… But since I live in southern California, we just get the occasional rainstorm and a few gusts of cold wind.  None of the white stuff.  Still, when it’s a rainy day in California, it feels like a Snow Day!
Right now, the kids are having a [...]

Dec

12

Work-Related Field Trips

Posted by Homeschool_Dad

December 12, 2008 | 1 Comment

Several of my friends make their living on the go.  They travel everywhere.  Some are salespeople, flying back and forth to each district.  Others are computer specialists who travel to the East Coast one week and to Europe the next.  In most of these cases, the Dad is the breadwinner, and he wins enough bread [...]

Dec

10

What is Unschooling?

Posted by Homeschool_Dad

December 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment

If “schooling” means to use traditional grading methods, standardized curriculum, and structured lessons, then “unschooling” is the rejection of those methods.
Instead of giving the student regimented tasks, tests, and lessons, Unschool Parents allow children to spend their day socially interacting, playing games, and experiencing educational freedom.  They are encouraged to learn if they are in [...]

Dec

8

Setting Weekly / Monthly Goals

Posted by Homeschool_Dad

December 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Because my wife and I meet with an Education Specialist each month (with work with a charter school), it is important for us to keep tabs of all the school work we do.  Lots of homeschoolers don’t need to worry about this, and therefore, they don’t bother.  I bet there are a lot of Unschoolers [...]

Dec

3

Homeschool / Teacher Discounts at Barnes and Noble, Borders, and Other Bookstores

Posted by Homeschool_Dad

December 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Ugh… It’s the Christmas season.  Don’t get me wrong.  I like putting up the Christmas lights.  I love listening to my kids play Jingle Bells on the piano and the guitar — not at the same time; those girls have two very different tempos.   I like the whole chestnuts roasting on an open fire, [...]