BookShark

You probably have friends who send their kids to school. You might even envy them sometimes: They get seven whole hours of peace and quiet every day. They actually get to finish things. Their house is clean most of the time! While there are a lot of pros to homeschooling, this lifestyle can be stressful, too, right? It could be that being solely responsible for your child’s education weighs heavy on your shoulders, that trying to stretch one income across all those bills is becoming nearly impossible, or that being with little people all day long drains you. Whatever the source of your stress, admitting homeschooling is stressful doesn’t mean we love homeschooling any less (or that sending our kids to school would be any less stressful). It’s just being honest.Read More

Roald Dahl said, “By the time I am nearing the end of a story, the first part will have been reread and altered and corrected at least one hundred and fifty times. I am suspicious of both facility and speed. Good writing is essentially rewriting. I am positive of this.” While I believe Dahl is right, if my children thought they needed to revise a story one hundred and fifty times to produce good writing, they’d never pick up a pencil again. But if not one hundred and fifty times, then how many? How many times should our child retake a test, re-do an assignment, rework math problems, or revise their writing? Should they do their best the first time or be given as many times as it takes to get it right?Read More

There are a lot of different reasons that people choose to homeschool. At the core of them all is that we feel it is the best thing for our child. No one chooses this path to torture their kids! Most homeschooled kids love learning at home and realize how awesome it is to be homeschooled. But what if your child asks to go to public school? Maybe they went to school before and want to go back, or maybe they just want to see what it is like since they’ve heard other kids talk about it. What do you do when you want to homeschool but your child wants to attend school?Read More

I want to develop my child’s natural love of learning. But some days it seems he’s more interested in smashing through the next level of a favorite video game than doing his homeschool assignments. Yes, kids can lose steam with their school work even with the most engaging of curriculum. Encouraging a child’s accountability for their assignments is a challenge, but it is a worthwhile endeavor. When you can motivate your child, you curb their dawdling, you teach them time management, and—in the long run, you raise a young person who can self-regulate. So, what can a parent do to help a child who seems to be slacking? How can a homeschool parent provide the accountability a child needs without micromanaging?Read More

We are a travel-loving family, so it is no surprise that we love maps. When we begin preparing for an adventure, we like to see how far our destination is from home. That means we pull out our Markable Map, one of the required resources for any BookShark Reading with History curriculum.

Of course, talking about an upcoming trip leads to discussions of past journeys as we remember fun family travels we've already taken. Before you know it, the kids are reviewing geography as they relive precious families memories.

The decision to homeschool your children is a big one. You take on not only the parenting duties you already have but also the responsibility of their education. I’ve never known anyone who has decided to homeschool on a whim. Most people weigh the benefits, the concerns, and all the factors they can think of to make the best decision for their family. But even after you’ve made the choice to homeschool, fears can creep in. One big fear that many new (and even seasoned) homeschoolers face is the fear of judgment from others. Maybe your family isn’t supportive of your homeschool journey. Maybe your friends think you’re crazy. Maybe you excitedly shared your decision to homeschool on social media and felt a negative backlash. Possibly none of that has happened yet, but you are paralyzed with the worry that it might occur.Read More

Can you believe it’s almost time to start school again? Fortunately, back to school excitement isn’t reserved for traditional students. As homeschoolers, we can make the first days of school just as special for our children with these ten ideas.

Remember how it exciting it was to shop for new school supplies? Even though you’re homeschooling, it doesn’t mean you can’t let your kids get a few new things for school.

Hit the stores for back to school sales or check out the dollar store for some goodies.

No doubt, habits play an essential role in homeschooling, and there are good and lousy homeschool habits. However, consistency has never been my strong suit.

Some homeschool moms seem to have endless energy, organization, and efficient time management. For my part, sometimes it's lunchtime before I realize we haven't read aloud and no one has done math.

So I’m going to try something new to keep moving forward and build good habits. 

It can be a troubling thought, but all moms know we set the tone for the house. Our habits become our family's habits.

Back to school is here, and with it comes our annual homeschool preparations. As the homeschool mom, you really do set the tone for your homeschool! That's not to say that your kids don't get infected with crankiness or apathy from time to time, but your enthusiasm is contagious. If you are excited to break into that new curriculum package, your children will sense it and likely mirror it. If you approach learning with a curious, light-hearted attitude, they will probably do the same. On the other hand, if you are resentful of the time homeschooling takes or approach it in an overly formal way, your children will model after your darker tone. Here are the three ways that I set the tone positive for a fresh homeschool year.Read More

If your family takes a break from homeschooling over the summer, then you probably relish the chance to put all thoughts of school on the shelf and have a more flexible schedule. This is a good thing! It’s beneficial for mom and for the kids to have time to invest in other pursuits. However, there are some truly useful things that you can do now to smooth the way for the new school year. And you don’t have to give up the relaxed feel of summer break! 1. Setting Routines In the summer, I let my little people sleep in later, and they have a lot more free time and flexibility during the day. However, we still keep a few pegs in the routine.Read More