In America, there was a time when the idea of homeschooling raised eyebrows of concern and could result in a visit from social services. A lack of trust by the government and public in general in a parent’s ability to educate their own children made homeschooling a bit of a stigma.

Even today in some circles, there are still many “old school” thinkers that go so far as to say that homeschooling is tantamount to deliberate child abuse. As ridiculous as that sounds to most of us, overcoming such ignorance has been a problem for some parents looking into homeschooling.

Overseas, it can be much worse. Homeschooling is illegal in Germany, a law instituted under Hitler and still enforced today. German families who choose to home school must do so in secret and run the risk of arrest; or worse, having the state take their children away.

Performance of home schools versus public and private schools

It doesn’t take much effort or investigation to discover that homeschoolers excel above their public school counter parts in nearly every category. According to a study conducted by Dr. Lawrence Rudner:

• The average home schooled 8th grade student performs four grade levels above the national average.

• One in four home school students are enrolled in a grade level that is above their age level.

• In every grade and in every subject, home schooled students outperform both public and private school students.

Other studies confirm these findings, showing that home schooled students have a much higher college entry rate, score higher on SAT’s and ACT’s, have a higher rate of college graduation, and earn higher incomes in the workforce.

These numbers come despite the fact that about 25% of parents in America who choose to home school either never attended college, or attended but never received a degree. An additional 7-10% have only an Associate degree.

Why do homeschooled children perform so well?

The advantages to homeschooling are many, and are quite revealing as to why homeschooled children do so well.

One on one attention – Whenever a child needs assistance, the parent is there to give him or her full attention, whereas in public schools a teacher must divide their attention between dozens of children.

Ability to focus more time where needed – If a student excels in math, but flounders in science, then a parent can very easily devote as much time as is needed to teaching science. Public schools are regimented, with each subject receiving equal time regardless as to the performance of the student.

Homeschooled students move at their own pace – If a student excels in math then they can advance much quicker than students in a public school, where all students are required to move at the same pace.

Diminished distractions – The parents control the environment, and there is no peer pressure from other students trying to talk a homeschooled student into doing things other than school work or study.

Do parents need some kind of special training or certification?

Some states highly regulate home schools, requiring training and certification in some instances. However, studies show that there is virtually no difference in performance between homeschooled students in highly regulated states versus homeschooled students in states with little or no regulation.

The truth is that homeschooling is gaining in popularity and as such, more and more information and help materials are becoming available. The modern homeschooling parent can now effectively teach their children, regardless of the parent’s own education level, thanks to pre-developed curriculums such as those provided by Heritage Home School Academy.

Parents today can use these curriculums to guide their children. Some curriculums are so effective that parents can study ahead of their children in any subject for which they are lacking and effectively teach the same subject to their children. Furthermore, many children often “learn to learn,” reaching a point where they are able to teach themselves and follow a curriculum with little interaction required from the parent.

Each year more families choose to start homeschooling, spreading knowledge about its benefits, and erasing old stigmas along the way. For more information about homeschooling and home school curriculums, visit Heritage Home School Academy.



Thanks to Heritage homeschool for contributing this article to our Homeschooling blog:

Homeschooling Math Curriculum

Homeschooling is an alternative form of education that is fast growing. There are approximately two million people in the country today that undergo homeschooling. It completely fills up the role of institutional learning. In homeschooling, both parents and their children determine the extent of their learning.

Everybody can avail of homeschooling. All fifty states legally approve the practice of homeschooling. What differs from state to state are the laws governing the homeschooling program. Homeschooling can be very convenient for single parents who run a home business. They can have their kids to help them as well. Children of disabled parents can be tapped to take on a medical profession or one that involves social services.

Homeschooling should not be confused with home study or other forms of home-based education. In the latter, the parents and children do not have a say on the content of the curriculum. Examples of these are independent school programs. Home study is usually offered to those kids who for some valid reason could not attend school, say injury.

There is not much requirement for one to administer homeschooling. Some states do not even require a highschool diploma from the parents. There is however, one state which requires some training program for homeschooling before allowing a person to conduct it at home.

Homeschooling is preferred over institutional learning for various reasons. Some find the school curriculum questionable. Some parents think that schools cannot provide enough training to optimize the skills and talents of their children. Some are simply concerned with the issues regarding the safety and security within their local schools. Some children just do not fit in school so parents resort to homeschooling for their kids.

Not much is needed to enable one to administer homeschooling. Even simple household stuff or even pets can be used to demonstrate scientific concepts. One can also borrow tools from friends and neighbors. Books at home can also be great learning materials. If they are not sufficient, the bookstore and the public library are the best sources of knowledge as well as the internet.

If still clueless about the concept, there are many organizations, websites and publications which can help enlighten about homeschooling and offer great help along the process. The library is also one of the best resources for wealth of knowledge as well as the local museums.

Homeschooling can be a very rewarding experience for the family. It provides for more precious time for bonding. It is not necessary for parents to be geniuses to become homeschooling teachers. All they need to have is resourcefulness to find ways to answer their children’s questions.



Thanks to Christopher Byrnes for contributing this article to our Homeschooling blog:

Homeschool Science Supplies

An Innovative and Fun Way of Teaching Math

 

Frank Ho

 

Teacher and founder of Ho Math and Chess

 

www.mathandchess.com

 

I have observed that one of the main reasons that children hate math is they have not mastered the foundation of math, surprisingly the root of problems can be traced to the basics they learned in the elementary grades such as addition, subtraction, multiplication or division. When elementary students are asked why do we have math? Lots of these children can relate math to our daily life such as shopping, cooking, measuring, driving, time, shapes etc. and most of the time they think math is important because it has something to do with counting and numbers.

 

It is very good these youngsters realize that math has relations to our daily life but does the traditional way of doing of math worksheets such as 2 + 3 reflect the environment today our youth lives? It certainly does not. Math is not just about counting numbers. Apart from teaching the basics of addition, subtraction, multiplication or division, math is supposed to teach our next generation on how to solve problems and be creative. Part of the problems why some children hate math worksheets is simply because these traditional worksheets do not represent the world they are living now.

 

Many “things” or “toys” our generation play already start to reflect what the society would be like in the future, things such as internet searching and browsing, image viewing, cell phones, roaming, instant messages, downloading and uploading information, compressed files, file formats etc. all of these will simply become part of their life and basic living skills. How do math worksheets reflect the way children are living now or will be in the future? Most school math textbooks still use the same style of worksheets to teach children basic math that is basically number crunches in straight top to down or left to right fashion. There is very little convergence of numbers, images, patterns, comparisons, searching, matching, sorting, classifying between one numbers is operated with another number. This “old” way of manipulating numbers does not represent what our children are doing in today’s society. This may have explained why most young children still only think math as counting numbers, but not related to the way on how they process a variety of information in their daily living.

 

Ho Math and Chess simply uses international chess as a tool to converge the information of images, patterns, sorting, comparison, matching, tables, etc. all together with numbers to better reflect what children are facing or already doing today. We have achieved this learning in a fun way.  

 

Is there such a thing that math worksheets can be created so they will be fun-oriented that children can play with numbers and be rewarded with satisfying and with great fun? How can the dreaded drill style of math worksheets be improved such that they encourage whole-brain learning? How can math basics computations such as addition, subtraction multiplication or division be incorporated with fun gamed-based approach? Is it possible that children can improve their memory and problem solving skill in a gamed-based learning environment? Ho Math and Chess has created a math and chess integrated worksheets to give positive answers to all the above questions. So how does Ho Math and Chess put math, fun, thinking, creativity, and memory improvement all together?

 

Chess is a strategy game and it invigorates the thinking ability and has been around for thousands of years. Many organizations and schools have set up chess lessons and often math and chess are taught under the same roof but with no real integrated math and chess curriculum. The reason of why math and chess have traditionally been taught separately is there is really no existing connection mechanism between math and chess teaching. However, this has since changed after Frank Ho, founder of Ho Math and Chess invented the patent applied Symbolic Chess Language (SCL). Ho Math and Chess has successfully created the world’s first math and chess integrated workbook by using its proprietary intellectual product (SCL).

 

The future belongs to a generation who understands how to process information and the information might include digits, bytes, numbers, graphics, images, languages, symbols, equations etc.  How

these different nature of information processing can be taught to kindergartners or primary students when they are learning arithmetic? It is not an easy task that is why there are so many different types of stand alone worksheets, namely logic, patterns, mazes, or crosswords.  These worksheets are created without interrelations to each other. This kind of isolated information processing is no longer reflecting the real world the young generation is facing today or they will be living in the future.

 

The computing world children are facing today is a much like a rich tapestry, where a diversified fabrics and colours are integrated. Children today are absorbing not just numbers but an array of information like images, sound, music, symbols, spatial information, or even abstract ideas all bundled together and delivered through many types of media. Children today are not happy just working on pure number drill without any other stimulus or motivator.  Realizing the importance of having fun while learning, Ho Math and Chess has been embarked on an important teaching philosophy that is to integrate chess into math worksheets so that children can learn math while having fun.

 

Ho Math and Chess created a special synergetic effect by integrating arithmetic basics, chess, mazes, and information processing all on one worksheet. This is accomplished through its own proprietary technologies (patents pending) such as SCL, Frankho Chess Mazes, and an innovative Ho Math and Chess Teaching Set.

 

With the new invention of Ho Math and Chess worksheets, a child is acting as a data warehouse manager and sorts data through a variety of tools namely chess, symbols, spatial relation, logic, comparison, tables, patterns, mazes, computing etc. by networking all kinds of information together. Only when children have successfully followed through instructions (SCL) and, as a result, created a question themselves, can a solution be found at last.

 

In Ho Math and Chess worksheets, the questions are not written out for children but must be mined (after children observing how data is moving) through data warehouse (mazes), and answers must be computed after conducting a series of logic thinking process which might include spatial relations, sorting, comparing, matching, classifying, tabling look-ups etc.

 

Ho Math and Chess trains children not only their basic computing ability but also train them to be an astute data warehouse manager or an excellent data miner by developing their problem solving ability and critical thinking skills.

 

Ho Math and Chess provides education and also entertainment value to get young children involved in the future world they will be facing.

At Ho Math and Chess, math learning is fun.

  



Thanks to mathandchess for contributing this article to our Homeschooling blog:

How To Homeschool

Numerous parents, for several different reasons, make the decision to homeschool their children. Homeschooling allows for a particular educational experience intended to fit your child’s specific needs and, in numerous cases, goes above and beyond what can be achieved in a public or private school system. If you make the decision to homeschool your family, it is important that you do so legally, and recognize the laws in your area. It is absolutely crucial that you do this, because if you fail to meet statutory standards when homeschooling your children you will inadvertently rob your children of postsecondary educational opportunities.

Homeschooling laws vary from situation to situation, so you have to look up the precise laws in your home state. The foundation of state laws on homeschooling is the result of truancy laws that order children to be present in a day-school. The fundamental idea is that these laws prevail to tell apart a homeschooled child from a child that is merely not going to school, which is of course against the law. Ordinarily, states will require that you submit a “notice of intent” to homeschool your children before the upcoming academic year. The state will then respond with the proper paperwork for you to fill out.

Besides familiarizing yourself with the particular laws of your state you should also consult a homeschooling organization for advice. In various cases parents will be dealing with school officials who want to dishearten them from homeschooling, and in these situations it is important that you understand your rights. In the state of New York, for instance, parents are not required to meet with school officials. School officials may request a meeting with the parents in order to consult on homeschooling, but the state may not revoke the right to homeschool if the parents refuse this meeting.

It is also required that your child take standardized tests. This is so the state can legally allocate your child to a given grade level. The laws vary from state to state but in most cases you will have a certain amount of leeway in non-standardized tests. New York allows for non-standard tests every alternate year between grades 4 and 8, for example.

Though it may seem intimidating at first, homeschooling your children legally is, in the end, not that complex. You just have to make certain that you follow every step, and don’t neglect any paperwork. While several state restrictions or protocol may seem unnecessary or cumbersome, in the long run you’ll save yourself a ton of headaches if you fill everything in properly and on time.

The first thing you can do when you start to homeschool your children is to consult different homeschooling parents and advocacy groups. Looking up legal vernacular online can be confusing, but any homeschooling group will supply you solid, plain-English advice on how to properly and legally set up homeschooling for your children. Remember: it’s impossible to overestimate the importance of studying your state laws in regards to homeschooling - if you overlook or disregard any of them, you could lose your right to homeschool altogether.



Thanks to David Dunlap for contributing this article to our Homeschooling blog:

Get a Money-making Website

Many students struggle a little bit in math class, just as many people struggle in any endeavor that requires abstract, rigorous thinking. A certain level of struggle is a normal, natural part of education and does not necessarily indicate a need for tutoring. After all, one of the most valuable things students can learn in school is how to overcome difficulty by relying on themselves. However, in certain situations, tutoring can make a tremendous positive difference in a student’s education.

In my opinion, the most clear-cut situation in which a student ought to have tutoring is when that student becomes so frustrated that learning math feels like a hopeless, impossible task. Some symptoms of this situation are regular tears shed during math homework, serious avoidance of anything having to with mathematics, or an ordinarily open, honest child or teen lying about math class or refusing to discuss it. If any of these symptoms are present, the student is clearly in a place where he or she will simply not be able to pull themselves out of their difficulty on their own. A patient, understanding, non-judgmental professional tutor can make all the difference. Of course, math tutoring is not math therapy- when I am working with this type of student, we talk about fractions and variables, not emotions. Nevertheless, a sensitive and thorough tutor can effectively remove the emotional blocks that sometimes prevent success in mathematical success.

Of course, in an ideal world, no one would get to the point where they are utterly petrified by math. There is always a period of time when a student is beginning to flounder but has not yet become chronically discouraged. As I said earlier, I believe strongly that a certain amount of struggle is a valuable part of education. It builds resilience and self-reliance. The trick for parents is to see when their child is crossing the line from wrestling with a subject in a healthy way to losing the match. If a student appears to be putting a good amount of effort into his or her studies, but is nevertheless bringing home anemic test scores and the essential concepts don’t seem to be sticking, tutoring may nip the problem in the bud and prevent the student from beginning a downward spiral.

One situation in which tutoring can be counterproductive is when a bright student is floundering in math class strictly because he or she is not putting in any effort. Has your child’s teacher called you to complain that your child is spending his or her class time launching spitballs? On the one hand, tutoring might actually help with behavior problems if the root cause is that the child is trying to hide a lack of knowledge. On the other hand, if the behavioral difficulties have any other root cause, tutoring can just give the child a further excuse to not pay attention in class. (”I don’t need to listen to the teacher. I’ll just learn this stuff later with my tutor.)

Sometimes tutoring is necessary because finding good math teachers is a difficult task for schools, and they don’t always succeed. On more than one occasion, I’ve had parents call me because, although their child was doing fine in terms of school grades, there was clearly a major problem with the math class. Maybe your child reports that his or her teacher often becomes confused when trying to explain material. Maybe your child has observed that his or her math teacher isn’t fully fluent in English. Maybe you have noticed that math problems your child has copied as part of his or her class notes are often solved incorrectly. You can’t always rescue your child from a bad class, but you can make sure that he or she doesn’t fall behind by hiring a tutor to make up the difference.

The final situation that I will discuss is enrichment for the gifted or simply curious student. It’s wonderful to have a child who wants more math! However, it is important to think enrichment through carefully. Often, the first impulse is just to teach the student more advanced material. That might be fun (and it’s relatively easy for the teacher or tutor) but it’s not a tactic that I endorse. The problem is, if your student gets ahead of his or her class, when the class catches up, he or she is going to be quite bored while the rest of the class learns something that he or she has already mastered. A much better approach is to teach students math that doesn’t normally make it into school curriculums. After all, math is an enormous domain, and standard school curriculums only cover a small portion of the possibilities. By teaching unusual math, it’s possible to keep a child highly challenged without causing future problems. Better yet, that student will then have a wider and deeper range of mathematical experience to draw from than they would otherwise have had. Of course, because this approach to math tutoring is relatively difficult, it is most likely to work with an experienced, professional tutor.

Math tutoring is not a panacea, but it is nevertheless a very useful tool for a wide range of students. There are many more situations in which a parent may consider math tutoring than I have mentioned here. If you are trying to figure out if math tutoring is right for your family, I would recommend thinking about what the root cause of your difficulty is. Would highly individualized attention from an educational professional get to the root of the problem? If so, your student is a good candidate for math tutoring.



Thanks to Jessie Mathisen for contributing this article to our Homeschooling blog:

Homeschool Laws By State