The BookShark Homeschool Blog

This might sound crazy, but one of my biggest fears as a new mom was that my children wouldn’t like to read. You see, I’m a bookworm of the highest order. I’m always reading something, actually several somethings. I have my upstairs book, my downstairs book, and my car book. I am a bibliophile. I’m also

With history’s constant expansion, it’s easy to understand why homeschooling the subject may feel a bit daunting. How can children begin to grasp how it all fits together? There are so many people, cultures, continents, and events! One answer is a history timeline. Timelines come in a variety of formats, but one thing is consistent. Whether

If you’ve ever doubted yourself as a homeschooler, you’re not alone. No matter how many years we homeschool, doubt can get loud. Seeds of doubt plant germinate and sprout when our kids struggle, when we’re tired, when our kids say they are bored, or when learning stagnates. When worry rears its head, our inclination might be

We all suffer from information overload at times. When there is too much detail or too much to digest, we tend to shut down and not assimilate any of it in a meaningful way. The same is true for students. Some learning tools are overwhelming. For example, traditional maps and atlases that have hundreds of labels can

Have you ever had a conversation like this in your home?  Parent: How’s your book? Child: It’s good.  Parent: Why is it good? Child: I don’t know. I just like it.  Talking with our kids about a book they are reading can peter out before the conversation even starts. Why? The questions we ask, what we know

Are you in a season of on-the-go-schooling? Are you out exploring the world more than you’re at home? I know I am! Museum visits, sports practices, dentist appointments, weekend trips, co-op classes, piano lessons and countless hours in the car blanket our week. This constant motion means that our homeschooling has to be flexible. Sometimes reading assignments are

Have you ever heard the myth that homeschool parents need to be extremely organized to successfully homeschool? Maybe you tell someone you homeschool and their reaction is, “Oh! You must be so organized!” Or you attend a homeschool convention and hear speaker after speaker talking about planners, schedules, calendars, and organizational systems as if those are more

When you think homeschool learning spaces, the first thing that typically comes to mind is a nature center or a reading nook, or perhaps even an art center. But what about kids’ electronic devices? How do devices such as tablets and computers fit into your plan for a homeschool room? Our homeschool is not exclusively

No matter what style of homeschooling you follow, reading is probably a very strong part of your homeschooling journey because reading is one of the best ways to learn about the world, all from the comfort of your own home. Since reading is a natural part of homeschooling, it’s only natural that you want your

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