by Barbara Frank
(excerpted from Thriving in the 21st Century: Preparing Our Children for the New Economic Reality)
 
Ultimately, schools have enough on their plates teaching children the three R’s; adding a requirement for insuring that children become computer-literate can often overwhelm even the best schools. So if children don’t learn to use computers in school, where can they learn this vital skill?

by Pennie Sempell

Back to School means all sorts of organizational challenges that can lead to stress and tension in communications in the family. Most people function better in a more organized environment.

Here are 5 tips I have done to reduce school year stress and family conflicts:


The Power of the FEC!

by Oliver and Rachel DeMille

Some of the most important parts of Thomas Jefferson Education include:

1) the three kinds of education (conveyor-belt education, professional training, and leadership education)

2) the 4 Phases of Learning

3) the 7 Keys of Great Teaching
4) the Five Environments of Learning

5) the genius within every student
6) the Key of Keys, which is families reading together


by Dr. Jeremy Fritz

Are you aware that the current generation of children in America may have shorter life expectancies than their parents? A 2005 report, noted the rapid rise in childhood obesity, if left unchecked, could shorten life spans by as much as five years. This current trend is so alarming, revealing the first decrease in life expectancy within the last 2 centuries. 


by Oliver DeMille

Allan Bloom wrote in The Closing of the American Mind that, “People sup together, play together, travel together, but they do not think together. Hardly any homes have any intellectual life whatsoever, let alone one that informs the vital interests of life. Educational TV marks the high tide for family intellectual life.”

by Rachel DeMille

So much has been said about the importance of reading to our kids; and those of us who do can attest that it’s a formative experience–on so many levels:

•    Bonding
•    Laughing
•    Making memories
•    A shared language
•    Gratitude
•    Reliving the past
•    Pity and compassion
•    Empathy for others

by Dr. Jeremy Fritz

Current statistics are revealing significant increases in childhood behavioral and learning disabilities. As of 2007, Autism was impacting somewhere around 1 in 38 boys born in the United States. This is compared to an estimated 1 in 10,000 just two decades earlier. In Florida, learning disorders have jumped from less than 1% in 1971 to as high 20% today.

by Suzanne Wielgos

Have you read Amy Chua’s bestselling novel, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother?

It’s a fascinating read, especially from the point of view of a homeschooling parent.

by Rachel DeMille

It’s hard being little. I remember keenly wanting to fit in with all the older people around me. I was the youngest of six kids—and quite a bit younger, at that. The closest in age was four years older, and they went up from there to about 11 years older. No matter how old I was, I was still the baby. (Still am!)

by Suzanne Wielgos
 

Pop quiz: do you think your homeschooled children show respect for non-homeschooled kids?