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My daughter grabs her BookShark binder and the Science book she’s currently reading. I grab my Instructor’s Guide and tell her which pages and questions we’ll be doing. She flips to the pages we’ll be reading today; immediately her questions and comments begin flowing.

Beautifully illustrated or photographed, all of the books capture her attention. “Let’s read and find out more,” I say. She doesn’t hesitate and either hands the book my way or begins to read herself. We take turns reading to each other.

I’m the goat that has tried the grass on both sides of the fence, so to speak. A very attractive goat, of course, with a very hard head, naturally. But, nevertheless, we were once public schoolers. And now we are not.

I have tasted life on both sides of the schooling fence and therefore get to claim some bit of expertise when I tell you that some of what seems important enough to worry about on one side is absolutely laughable from the other.

There’s no getting around it, reading is a skill we all need to in order to be active, knowledgeable, and educated citizens of the world. We can try any number of strategies for teaching reading, but none of those beats curling up with our children and reading, reading, and reading—showing them firsthand how enjoyable it can be to read a book.

Read to them when they are babies and can’t understand a word you are saying. Read with them as they grow up. Continue to read with them and in their presence throughout their entire lives.

When your homeschool reading program isn’t working, it is easy to get into a rut. Soon you are convinced that you need to switch reading programs. Instead of making that drastic switch, sometimes you just need to make a few changes. Look at these five things to try when your homeschool reading program is bombing.

It can happen to any of us. We think we have to do everything suggested in our reading program because more means better. Step back, look over your program, and decide which part you truly don’t need to cover now.

Six kids sat down at the table, excited to follow along with the easy drawing lesson on YouTube. By the end, four were upset with themselves and two were in tears. Disappointment is normal, but we needed to have a discussion about negative self-talk.

Nothing can derail a homeschool lesson faster than a child who's frustrated that he's not able to perform at the level he had hoped. This is especially true with skills like handwriting, playing music, and creative expression. Learning how to correct negative self-talk is a habit with life-long value.

This year in our homeschool we will be studying Central America. Although we have a great collection of books to read about the topic, I also wanted to find age appropriate videos that show us more about the different countries we’ll be visiting. As much as we adore a literature-based homeschool curriculum, we still love adding on the visual component with online streaming.

I turned to YouTube and found many good picks that I know will enhance our learning.

Getting started is the hardest part of writing. What if I don’t know what to say? What if no one likes what I’m saying? What if I’m saying it wrong? These fears can paralyze reluctant writers.

That’s pretty much the case in my homeschool: while my daughter loves to read and tell stories, writing anything down tends to throw her into panic mode.

What’s a homeschool parent to do, then, when a child struggles to write?

It’s one of the most common questions asked of people who plan to—or already do—homeschool their kids: What about socialization?

Next time you find yourself on the business end of the infamous socialization question, try countering with a question of your own—asked with kindness and grace, of course! Here are five ideas to get you started. To the person concerned about socialization, reply with one of these rejoinders.