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Hi, my name is Charisse Van Horn, the Home School Guru at LifeTips.
Enjoy these 440 Home School tips. More added weekly! Home School Guru: Charisse Van Horn
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Using the Sonlight Curriculum® To Build Family Unity In One Another & GodAs you contemplate the benefits of homeschooling your child with the Sonlight Curriculum®, a little research is all you will need to discover why this curriculum is the most popular Christian homeschool curriculum on the market. As you preview their Website, it is easy to understand why so many families use this literacy rich program to education their children both religiously and academically. Parents appreciate the enhanced family unity that naturally occurs as the doors of communication open up between parent and child through the literary discussions that take place between teacher and student. Children that are treated with love and respect feel comfortable sharing their ideas, concerns and dreams openly with those that they trust. The structure of the one-on-one homescooling environment and the quality literary readers used in the Christian homeschooling curriculum enhance the quality of conversation. As both student and teacher progress within the curriculum, the conversation becomes natural and comfortable for everyone involved. The Sonlight Curriculum® is highly respected for bringing families together and creating an academic environment that is rich in conversation. More benefits of the Sonlight Curriculum® are many valuable tools designed to increase family unity, faith in the family unit and lessons for each member of the family unit to rely upon another and work together to build a strong foundation in their faith in God. The strong, easily comprehended religious curriculum strengthens the faith of the family. Sonlight Curriculum® doesn’t just want to educate children, they want to inspire children to change the world in a positive way, leaving the earth a better place for future generations.
Family Love Provide Greatest Benefit In Homeschool ClassroomThe benefits of homeschooling your child are undeniable. In the homeschool classroom both the teacher and the child have a personal and vested interest in the success of the learning program. Many families view the homeschool classroom as an opportunity to spend quality time together, learning and growing toward a common goal. In the homeschool classroom, parents and children actively interact with one another. The parent assumes the teacher role, training and influencing their children through education, spiritual values, morals and religious beliefs that are held strongly within the family unit. While the majority of families that choose to homeschool do so in order to uphold their strong religious convictions, this is not necessarily the case for every homeschool family. While religious beliefs can be a great motivator for many families, it is the strong belief in the family unit that supports the success of any homeschool decision. Within the environment of a homeschool classroom, the parent as teacher is able to guide and instruct their children at a personalized level, focusing the learning environment to the learning style of the student. This type of learning environment is impossible within the public classroom, as it would be unrealistic to expect any one teacher to offer 36 different learning style lessons, one specifically designed for each student. While it is true that many classrooms are learning to accommodate different learning types and to offer different learning opportunities within one classroom, it can never compare to the one-on-one instruction that takes place within the homeschool classroom. When you evaluate a homeschool classroom to a public school classroom, a very important element is left out of the equations; the homeschool classroom is filled with an intimate bond shared by parent and child, a bond that cannot be matched in the public school sector. Homeschooling May Be The Start Of A New RevolutionHomeschooling has been called many different things since it experienced its rebirth in the 1970’s. Originally homeschool was done by the pioneers and settlers as they relocated into isolated areas of the new world. In 2004 it was estimated, conservatively, that there were over 2 million children being educated in a homeschool environment. For anyone who thinks about, attempts or succeeds at homeschooling their children, the first and foremost reason that they do so is to provide the best possible education for their children. While it is true that there is no one stereotypical homeschool family; there are those that are more committed to the cause than others. Statistics currently identify Christians as the largest classification of homeschooling families but the numbers do not stop there nor should they; families seeking a better future, no matter what their religious, cultural or social affiliation are the future of homeschooling and by working toward a common goal the negative connotations about homeschooling will give way to recognition for the academic success that comes from parents and child working together in a positive learning environment. In a society that continues to draw battle lines, promote violence and racism and work against one another, the homeschool movement seems like a peace rally. Families gather together to welcome one another, sharing ideas, exploring new curriculum and working in peaceful cooperation to reach a common goal. For the children, raised watching their parents model this peaceful and kind behavior, the future holds hope of peace and kindness reaching from one side of the globe to the other. For children raised in a homeschool environment, the benefits of homeschooling often include learning to value volunteerism, generosity, kindness of character, the power of prayer and thoughtfulness; homeschooled children learn to identify a person by their character and keep agreements “sealed with a handshake”. Here, your word is all you need. Through the Eyes of the Young, the World Is New AgainWhen a family initially begins to homeschool, they should fill the classroom with homeschool books and materials designed to inspire a young mind. While the nature of the homeschool classroom allows for the teacher to seek out learning opportunities in everyday situations and questions, there must be appropriate homeschool supplies to support such curiosity. For the young learner at preschool and kindergarten age, children have so many questions about the things that happen in each day and the world around them but don’t realize that all things are connected. Having the liberty to create and teach an individualized curriculum allows the parent to focus the learning to the child’s growing interests is the first way to inspire a young mind to want to learn more everyday. Approaching education as an exciting learning activity transforms the drudgery of workbook pages done in the public classroom into the excitement of personalized exploration in the homeschool classroom. Using life moments as educational opportunities opens the eyes of the student to the wonderful world around us, showing through exciting and educational exploration that everyday life is filled with opportunities to learn more about ourselves and the world around us. As Public Schools Lower Their Standards, Homeschool Programs Keep Raising TheirsThe beauty of a homeschool classroom is that children are raised in an environment that celebrates their own religious beliefs, moral structure, personal values and lifestyle. The children benefit from a homeschool lifestyle in that they do not have to defend their beliefs or customs, they can grow and strengthen themselves in their own environment. If you are looking for a quality Christian homeschool program, Sonlight Curriculum® provides invaluable religious and academic curriculum for all age levels. Playing with Science Sheds Light on Complicated ConceptsScience museums provide a wonderful environment for children to explore and integrate what is learned in their home school curriculum. Many science museums offer age-appropriate exploration centers incorporating exciting learning opportunities with hands-on interaction. For a home-schooled child, a day at a science museum can be a day spent in heaven. Suddenly, in-depth science concepts transform into an afternoon of fun exploration and problem-solving in an environment far removed from an actual science lab. Children can experiment with the theory of gravity, the power and force of water, mudslides, electrical currents and other complex science concepts through the fun and excitement of specially designed water tables, air games and sandboxes. If your family loves science museums, inquire about specialty group rates, home school rates and science museum passes. The Association of Science Technology (ASTC) offers a science pass at their website that can be used at over 250 different science museums across the United States. This is an affordable way to visit multiple science museums at a reasonable price. Homeschool Flexibility Promotes Academic Growth & AccomplishmentFlexibility is a curious word when discussing family dynamics, social and educational goals for our children. It is in discussing the issue of schedule flexibility that one can clearly see the benefits of homeschool. For the public school child, there is little flexibility; rather life is more often a rigid schedule that must be adhered to at all costs. The day begins with a rush to dress, eat and prepare for school, and then it is off to catch the bus, followed by the classroom daily schedule, which leads to the end of the school day. As the school day winds down, it is then time for the extra-curricular events such as athletics, music lessons, dance lessons, Boy Scouts, 4-H and other social groups or programs designed to enrich the child's life. That is if they have enough time to enjoy them. In the homeschool classroom, there is flexibility in scheduling and in learning. The parent has the ability to shape the learning opportunities to fit the students learning style, enhancing how the homeschool information is presented, studied and evaluated. This allows for the student to become totally submerged into the subject matter for however long it takes for comprehension to occur. When the basic curriculum is personalized to the interests and academic strengths and weaknesses of the learner, it will enhance the overall impression that child feels when involved in academics. When the parent is given the opportunity to teach to the child rather than a test, test anxiety is never an issue for the child. With a personalized curriculum, the parent can research and provide supplemental educational resources that enhance the overall success of the entire educational process. Searching for an Elementary School CurriculumFinding the appropriate educational resources for homeschooling your elementary- or middle school-age child is not always an easy task. While there are many different programs available, both free and for a charge, you often get exactly what you pay for. Sonlight Curriculum® is a carefully selected collection of educational material, readers and textbooks designed to provide you and your child with a quality learning program. Sonlight Curriculum has K-8 elementary homeschool programs designed so that each age or grade level segment builds on the skills taught in the previous Core™ program. Additional curriculums are available to continue the learning through high school graduation. One amazing aspect of Sonlight Curriculum is the extensive and colorful resources that are used within the educational Core programs. Their literature-rich curriculum is filled with quality children’s and young adult literature chosen to complement other areas of study. Each core package includes an instructor’s guide to help the homeschool parent facilitate learning objectives, ensuring the money, effort and time spent instructing and guiding your child’s learning will be done in the most effective manner. Sonlight Curriculum®, A Christian Homeschool Program Builds Family Strenth Through Quality AcademicsSonlight Curriculum® homeschool program promotes family unity and educational discovery that is shared between parent and child along the path of daily life. The Christian curriculum teaches parents how to effectively model for their students that life is an ongoing educational opportunity. In the one-on-one educational format of the Sonlight Curriculum® homeschool curriculum, benefits of academic growth and comprehension can be accomplished in less time by following their quality program teacher guidelines. Through the benefits of the homeschool program, r eal life extends into the homeschool classroom curriculum, further modeling for the student that life and education is continually entwined with one another. With this knowledge, students learn self-reliance, leaderships skills, experience a growing strength within their confidence as a self-starter, learning to observe the world around them and continually adjusting and growing as a part of it. Students are given the freedom to experiment with special interests, learning as they go along, carefully scaffolded by their parent as a teacher. In an environment such as this, the child/parent relationship is enhanced and takes on a whole new level into the realm of educator/pupil, each growing and learning new ways of appreciation for one another. As the child accomplishes new tasks and received positive and sincere support, encouragement and praise from their parent, the self-esteem of the child continues to grow, enriched the character of the child. As with any living thing in nature, the more positive the surrounding area, the more enhanced the growth of the organism; a child raised and educated in love will blossom into a wonderful adult In A Homeschool Classroom Your Child Won't Have To Struggle To Keep UpAn advantage of the homeschool curriculum allows for considerable freedom when instructing your own child as the sole student. One of the most valuable teaching points within homeschool classrooms is the ability to slow the curriculum down when the student becomes bogged down in a concept and cannot get past it. The homeschool classroom is able to progress at the rate of the learner unlike the public and private schools that move according to adopted curriculum rather than the student. For obvious reasons, the public or private school teacher cannot, simply by the number of students within the classroom, move at the comprehension rate of each individual student. However, a homeschool classroom can proceed at a personalized pace, providing support, guided teaching as needed by the student until the concept is completely comprehended. Additionally, the teacher can reorganize and redirect the initial subject and present it in an entirely different manner to enhance the introduction and rebuild the foundation of initial knowledge. It is especially true in mathematics, students require complete comprehension of concepts in order to build and comprehend additional facts. For a student that has fallen behind in a public school, a missed concept is a lost lesson that most likely will negatively affect their further comprehension at a later point in their mathematical studies. In a homeschool classroom, the feedback is immediate and the parent, as teacher, can revisit the lesson, re-teach the subject matter and continue to work with the concept until the student is comfortable and comprehension has been successful. |
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