Homeschooling-WAHM Blog

The Homeschooling-WAHM Blog is a journal about homeschooling and working from home.

The goal of this blog is to inform you when new information is added to the website, to help you in your homeschooling or working from home journey.

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Have You Taken Your Daily Dose of ABCs

Have-You-Taken-Your-Daily-Dose-of-ABCs report will help you through the process of making your dreams come true. Follow these motivational steps everyday and see your life change before your eyes!

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Happy New Year!

May the new year be filled with blessings, prosperity and love for you and your loved ones.

Whatever is going on in your life, remember, there are others in much more difficult situations.

Although it’s easier to complain about what you don’t have, reflect on what you have and the blessings you are given on a daily basis - BE GRATEFUL.

The Forgotten Birthday

Isn’t it great when people acknowledge your birthday, give you gifts, or even have a party for you? It makes you feel very special, doesn’t it?

It’s Christmas times, and for Christians everywhere, Jesus’ birthday is the reason for the season. How do you think Jesus feels every year when His birthday comes and goes and is only acknowledged through commercialism?

What are you concentrating on this time of year? Are you concentrating on the “true meaning of Christmas or Hanukkah”, or are you focused on the festivities, the lights that you still have to buy and hang up, or on that particular person you have no idea what to buy?

Let me tell you about a dream Mary, the mother of Jesus shared with Joseph. Mary said to him, “Joseph, I had a very strange dream, it was about a birthday party for our son, Jesus.

People had been preparing for it for about six weeks. They decorated the house and bought new clothes. They went shopping many times. They wrapped the gifts in beautiful paper and decorated them with lovely bows and stacked them under a tree. The tree was decorated with glowing, dancing lights and with sparkling ornaments. There was a figure on top of the tree, it looked like an angel. Everyone was happy and laughing. They were all excited about the gifts they gave to each other, but there were none for our son. They never even mentioned His name.

Joseph, it seemed so odd for people to celebrate the birthday of someone they did not know. I had a strange feeling that if Jesus had gone to the celebration He would have been intruding. Everyone was so full of cheer, yet I felt sad that Jesus was not invited or wanted at His own birthday celebration…I’m glad it was just a dream”.

Sounds familiar? Unfortunately, it was not a dream, it’s reality.

It’s not too late to find the perfect gift for the birthday boy. Today, search deep into your heart and you will find the perfect gift for Jesus.

That gift might be to make an effort to help a co-worker you do not get along with, volunteer some of your time feeding the hungry, helping a neighbor, or spend some time with your family. When you accomplish it, just say, “Happy Birthday Jesus!” I assure you that the birthday Boy will be very happy with that special gift.

Whatever your holiday tradition is, remember to focus on its true meaning.

Christmas is a season of love and joy. Hanukkah is a season of light and miracles.

Today, go out and spread love or create miracles, it will not only make you feel better, but will make your season more meaningful.

Homeschooling-wahm wishes you and your family a healthy, joyful, and prosperous holiday.

May the peace and love of God be you throughout the whole year... and beyond!

Merry Christmas!

Build a Website!

Site Build It! (SBI!) is the perfect "do-it-yourself", website building product with an all-in-one process, tools, and guidance to help you build a successful on-line business.

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Socialization: Homeschooling vs. Schools

From CBN.com By Michael F. Haverluck

Many homeschoolers share this sentiment when it comes to public schools, believing that the moral relativism, violence, peer pressure, drugs and promiscuity found inside their gates provide an inadequate setting to properly socialize their children.

Yet 92 percent of superintendents believe that home learners are emotionally unstable, deprived of proper social development and too judgmental of the world around them, according to a California study by researcher Dr. Brian Ray.

What makes homeschool socialization such a hot topic?

With approximately 4 million children currently being homeschooled in the U.S., along with a 15- to 20-percent yearly growth rate, many professional educators and school boards are concerned that this exodus will keep funds from entering the public education system.

Many teachers also believe that successful home instruction by uncredentialed parents undermines their expertise and jeopardizes their jobs.

Questions about inadequate socialization are often brought up as a means to disqualify homeschooling as a viable alternative form of education, but are the arguments valid?

A look at the research on this socialization debate shines further light on the issue.

There's no place like home

Why is there such a dichotomy in the socialization experienced between homeschoolers and conventional students? It all has to do with the learning environment.

The National Home Education Research Institute disclosed that the 36 to 54 hours that students spend in school-related weekly activities make peers and adults outside of the home the primary influences in children's lives - not the parents.

Realizing the harm that this constant exposure can produce, especially if it's not countered by involved parenting, most homeschoolers are well aware of their children's need for close one-to-one contact throughout the education process.

Jesus understood the importance of continual intimate contact with His students, as He ate, slept and fellowshipped with His disciples 24 hours a day. It is unlikely that Jesus would have entrusted their training to strangers.

So how do these different settings affect children? Dr. Thomas Smedley believes that homeschoolers have superior socialization skills, and his research supports this claim. He conducted a study in which he administered the Vineyard Adaptive Behavior Scales test to identify mature and well-adapted behaviors in children. Home learners ranked in the 84th percentile, compared to publicly schooled students, who were drastically lower in the 23rd.

Include Your Toddler in School Time?

...from the booklet, Home Educating with Babies and Toddlers and Loving it. By Marilyn Boyer

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Usually toddlers want to do school like the older kids are doing, so start young, when they have that desire

It´s such a temptation to send the little ones away so you can concentrate on the other kid’s you´re teaching math to, but as much as possible, let them be present.

You will be so surprised by what they will learn simply by being there while you teach the older ones.

I remember three-year-old Matt joining us while I was teaching his brothers and sisters anatomy. I got him an anatomy coloring book, and while I was working with them he was coloring in his "uh-atomy book!" And he just thought he was a big guy! He would even color the pictures to try to gross out his sister at lunchtime!

Another time I was teaching math facts. "Nine times four is thirty-six," and I did it in a sing-songy way.

While Josh tried to remember what it was, Carrie, the three-year-old, popped up and said, "Thirty-six!" as if she was finishing the song. They will pick up so much just from being present.

We do train them to have school-time voices. Otherwise, what happens is pure chaos! (Though if you came to our house you would see that it´s never truly quiet).

The older kids have to learn to put up with a little bit of distraction from the younger kids, and the younger kids have to learn to use their school-time voices, for which we reward them.

In our home it takes us about two and a half hours to do school-this last year that meant seven children.

I spend special time with my preschoolers about halfway through while the older kids have snack-my little guys look forward to that time with mom in between.

I also spend time with them as soon as Ifinish with the older kids. Another thing we´ve done is to allow the older children to teach the younger children as a reward for finishing their schoolwork in a timely way.

For instance, Laura loves doing art projects with the little ones. So she will do her math diligently (she does not like math), then be rewarded by doing art projects with the little guys, which is really good for both of them.

You can also include the little ones in things like nature walks, science experiments, anything you´re teaching the older ones that is hands-on.

Let your little ones listen to you as you read history stories or biographies to the older kids.

Our two- and three-year-olds love to listen to history books, biographies, and nature stories.

I´ve found that it´s my little ones who require most of my time-my preschoolers, toddlers, and the ones who are learning to read. The other kids pretty much just need help when they get stuck on something.

Dyscalculia

Dyscalculia or math disability is a specific learning disability involving innate difficulty in learning or comprehending mathematics (often called Calculexia).

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Homeschooling Humor

With this Homeschooling Humor page I hope to fill your day with laughter, joy and peace. As parents, we are allowed to laugh and have fun. A little humor helps us get through those busy days.

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