The BookShark Homeschool Blog

Navigating the Homeschool Landscape in a Standardized World As education evolves, homeschooling is becoming a popular choice for families who want a more personalized learning experience. However, this freedom also comes with the challenge of navigating various educational standards that influence homeschooling. In our blog post, “Exploring the Effects of Educational Standards on Homeschool Families:

I admit it, verbal sparring is my knee-jerk reaction when I’m asked about homeschool socialization. Even as a seasoned homeschool mom, this topic still puts my emotions into overdrive. To prevent knee-jerk sarcasm or snarky one-liners, I have prepared 10 quick-witted comebacks. Maybe you can use one or two when you get the dreaded socialization question. 1. “Though my

Ever since my oldest decided to go back to school, I’ve mourned the days when our schedule was our own and we traveled off-season whenever we wanted. I loved the lack of crowds, the discounted pricing, and how spontaneous we could be. I also loved how we could take our learning with us wherever we went.

Visual aids work. It’s the reason companies spend thousands of dollars on an icon to represent their brand. The same principle works for us homeschool moms. When we can connect homeschool lessons to an interactive, visual learning aid, children will understand and remember more readily. If your children are crafty and enjoy cutting, coloring, writing, and

My kids consume books like air, and there are entire homeschool days when we get so lost in a story that we forget to do math. If you’re considering buying any of BookShark’s literature-based programs, then I’m sure you can relate. There is just nothing that beats the feeling of being swept up in words,

I admit it: I’m a pretty techie girl. If there’s an app for something I do regularly, I’m on it. However, even after trying numerous approaches to I decided it wasn’t for me. For one thing, it created extra work when the kids had trouble accessing or viewing the online checklists I created for them.

When we first started homeschooling, we picked a classical curriculum that required five days of schoolwork. Since I had just pulled my son out of a parochial school, I took the the five-day school model as an assumed standard. My son must do five full days of schoolwork to learn just as he had in school.

My son is in fifth grade this year. He’s at that age where he’s growing up fast but he still loves to snuggle on the couch with his mom occasionally. One of the things he loves the most is reading together. We have a long-standing tradition of reading a book together each night, usually one

In homeschooling circles, boxed curriculum is also known as an all-in-one educational program. One company provides the materials you need for all core subjects for an entire school year, often in one large box. When you purchase a package like this, you receive the necessary student books, an in-depth teacher’s guide and schedule and, frequently, any

When I was in graduate school, one of my literature professors assigned a text called The Elements (and Pleasures) of Difficulty (2004). It arrived from Amazon in a tiny box, a thin volume with an 80s-inspired cover. Irritated, I flipped through the pages and tossed it aside. I had weighty selections from the Victorian canon awaiting my time