In last month’s article, we explored whether homeschool was right for you. Now, let’s look at whether homeschool is right for your child.
Top Factors To Determine Whether Homeschool Is Right For Your Child
There are 4 factors to consider when answering this question:
One-on-One Lessons. The first factor is to determine how much your child will benefit from one-on-one lessons. If you think your child will benefit most from learning one-on-one vs. 10-to-1 in private schools or 20-to-1 in public schools, then homeschooling may be a good fit for your child. Now, you may ask, “Isn’t it obvious that all kids will most likely do better one-on-one?” True, and maybe I’m starting off with a loaded one here. But I want to especially note the importance of the one-on-one factor as it relates to children who would benefit the most from one-on-one lessons. I’m talking about children with special needs and/or especially gifted kids. You can see how these children, if placed in a typical 10-to-1 or 20-to-1 classroom setting, will have the greatest potential to slip through the cracks of the education system and end up in a program that would be suboptimal at best and wholly destructive at worst. ...read more
This past month I took a trip to Cambodia and had the treasured opportunity to present at children’s centers. Cambodia is on very few “must see” travel lists. An almost forgotten country to the east of Thailand, and west of Vietnam, Cambodia is famous for one of the 8 wonders of the world, the vast religious temples of Angkor Wat. A peculiar combination of circumstances motivated my trip. Through a humanitarian friend, who has worked with foundations to set up clinics, schools and orphanages in Cambodia, there was the opportunity to share my health literacy programs directly with children there. A friend of mine from graduate school days had relocated to Cambodia and was teaching law and business at an English speaking university. One of my daughters had been studying (and freezing) in Berlin for four months and longed to meet me someplace “hot” for her Spring break. We chose Cambodia....read more
The Perfect Campus Visit - Start to Finish
by Elizabeth Hartley
Campus visits are an essential part of the college selection process.Students should not rely on slick marketing material or a good college website to tell them all they need to know about how well that school would fit a particular student’s needs.Some people assume that only high school seniors need to tour colleges but it is perfectly appropriate to tour colleges throughout 9th-12th grades.If you are considering touring colleges in the near future, there are some things you can do to make the most of the trip.
Call or E-mail ahead of time - Most schools have group tours available a few times a day.To get the most from your visit, plan ahead and ask to be scheduled for a tour. Make sure to arrive on time.Don't just drop in.You will be much more pleasantly received when you show respect for the Admission staff's time.Following the tour, there is often an opportunity for students and parents to have a private meeting with a member of the admission’s staff to answer specific questions....read more
Can a Child Learn without a Hammer?
by Daniel Yordy
Tools are central to raising our standard of living. They are central to how we accomplish good things in the world. Consider all physical work in the real world. What is accomplished without the use of tools? Almost nothing.
Yet tools are amazingly absent from the modern classroom, both public and private. In most of the work a student does in school, the tools he or she uses consist almost entirely of a pen or pencil. Yes, there are more tools used in art and drafting or shop and homemaking classes, but these are becoming more and more peripheral.
Project-led learning puts the use of tools back into the center of a child’s education where they belong. There is a critical connection between the brain, the eye, the hand, the tool, and the accomplishment of work that cannot be absent if we hope to raise children who know how to think for themselves and how to prosper in their lives in this world....read more
Springtime is here and what better way to celebrate than with a visit to a local farmer’s market. With the buzz about healthy eating, let’s not forget that eating good food can be fun. Visiting farmer’s markets is a great way to get the whole family involved in the cooking process and to sample new foods. Local farmers can recommend cooking tips and recipes for your family to try.
Why farmer’s markets are great:
- You can usually find one close to your home.
- It tastes better: the produce is mostly organic (without spray or pesticides) and has a fresher and more delicious flavor.
- It’s cheaper: the fruits and vegetables are generally less expensive than supermarkets since the farmers sell direct to the customer....read more
“Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.”
- Albert Einstein
Q: Our daughter is four and a very curious and social child. Even though we are planning to home school and I am at home with the baby (her brother), we signed her up for a wonderful small alternative pre-school so she can have social experience and learning opportunity. They are very respectful and provide free play and group activities.
After a short adjustment period in which she cried when I left, our daughter became comfortable and happy there. Yet, after Christmas break she refused to go back and it has become a struggle every morning. I know she enjoys herself once she is at school but she doesn’t want to leave me. I don’t want to deprive her of a learning and social opportunity, but, I also want to listen to her choice. What would you suggest? ..read more
The Art of Homeschooling Multiple Children at Once by Sarah Major, M.Ed
I vividly remember the schoolroom we had when I was a child growing up in Honduras. The room was full of light; the table was set against a wall with two wide windows and adjacent to another wall that had windows opening onto an enticing view of the yard. The table and bench were painted a soft green and accommodated three of us, each with our own drawer for supplies.
The walls were lined with low bookcases filled with all our favorite books. There was a rocking chair where Mom sat and an easel with a little blackboard on it. I remember it being a very cozy room that was perfect to work in.
In addition to creating a lovely place to do school work, my mom had selected a really solid and comprehensive curriculum to use for teaching her five children. When the boxes arrived from the States, we couldn’t wait to open them.....read more
Teens usually learn more from real life learning projects than from projects out of books. A bonus is that the teen doing the assignment sometimes also helps out the family by performing a useful service.
Here’s a project you can assign your teen that will be helpful to you. Maybe you haven’t noticed, but for the past year or so, at the end of each week the FDIC closes one or more U.S. banks. These closings aren’t widely publicized, but they’re happening. No one wants to find out their bank is one of the failed banks, especially once it’s too late to do anything about it...read more
Launched in 2007 by Jamie Gleich Bryant—a Cincinnati-based editor and educator— and mother of two daughters—Kiki provides tween and teen girls an intelligent and engaging alternative to the often too-mature content found in many fashion and pop-culture magazines. Instead, Kiki presents fashion as a lens through which readers can explore their own creativity and develop a sense of self-confidence. In Kiki, creativity and design are front and center.
Award winning
Since its first issue in 2007, Kiki has received multiple nationally-acclaimed awards for content and design:
Mom’s Choice Awards® Gold 2009
Mom’s Choice Awards® Magazine of the Year, 2009
iParenting Media Best Products 2008 and 2009
Parent’s Choice Gold Awards 2008 and 2009
Association of Educational Publishers Golden Lamp finalist, 2009
NAPPA Gold Award, 2008
NAPPA Honors Award, 2009
Design
Each issue features seven departments: From the Studio showcases design, fashion history, designers, textiles, and shoes;
Art Bin offers tips for using art tools, sewing techniques and how-to projects;
World Beat profiles cultural trends and international destinations with design traditions;
Biz Buzz covers the fashion industry, finance, and managing money;
Kiki Care addresses grooming, health, and exercise;
Your Style focuses on everyday life, such as recommended reading, imagination, confidence, and friends; and
Kiki Fun is full of games, puzzles, and quizzes.
Kiki readers encounter fashion as a college design student would and explore how fashion relates to their lives—how they use it, how they make it, how they change it, and how they feel about it.
Interactivity is a critical part of the magazine. Readers can transform each issue into a personal creativity journal by writing and drawing directly on the pages.
Editorial Mission
Kiki’s editorial mission is to help each reader develop a sense of style that reflects her own personality; and to nurture in her the sense of confidence that comes from being comfortable in her own skin, whatever her style. Learning is fun!
Here at Kiki, we are committed to providing an educational experience for our readers. Each issue is not only visually appealing, it's also packed full of rich educational content that is just as edifying as it is fun.
Kiki is published by B-books, Ltd., a company that specializes in working with academic materials - everything from research and content creation to design, layout, and pre-press publishing services for subjects across the curriculum. So, a conscious decision is made with every issue of Kiki to enrich readers' knowledge of everything from world culture to illustration to books to money to business, and everything in between!
To heighten the educational experience, Kiki offers teaching supplements with select issues.
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Little Passports is an award-winning global adventure for children aged 6 to 10 years old. Follow our globetrotting characters, Sam and Sofia, as they travel to a new country every month on their magical scooter. Children will delight in receiving monthly packages in the mail from Sam and Sofia containing letters, souvenirs, stickers, activities and access to online games via a “boarding pass” code. Read what parents are saying about Little Passports. iParenting and Parents’ Choice Winner.
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