What can a child learn in 70 minutes? How about vowels, short vowel sounds, beginning consonants, ending blends, sound out words, digraphs, trigraphs, long vowel sounds, silent e, and a foundation for phonics and reading. Sounds impossible? It does to me! That is why the makers of Rock N Learn did not enlist my help when developing their DVD; Phonics Volume 1. Giving a child a base for phonics and reading in 70 minutes is an ambitious goal. Perhaps too ambitious even for Rock N Learn? I’m not sure “too ambitious” are words used together in the Rock N Learn … Continue reading →

As a writer (emits a guffaw) I have an appreciation for the written word. Believing rules are meant to be broken and personal style is delectable; I push the limits of grammar and sentence structure. Yet, at the core writing is a form of communication. It must follow an agreed upon set of rules in order to be effective. Therefore proper sentence etiquette and grammar with pinkies held high is imperative before the exploration of personal style. Hence, we see students diligently diagramming sentences and repeating in their heads “never end a sentence with a preposition, never end a sentence … Continue reading →

It is important to develop a good taste in books from an early age. What preschooler does not enjoy sitting on a caretaker’s lap with a good book. At this age this love of books is formed by the relationship associated by the preschooler with the caretaker. A natural curiosity about the world is nurtured by opening up a world of books. Just like we teach good eating habits at an early age, we need to teach good reading habits. Below is a list of “twaddle” free books to enjoy with your preschooler. Lyle, Lyle Crocodile (all Lyle books), by … Continue reading →

LEE & LOW BOOKS are creative books for children that focus on and celebrate ethnic diversity. You will find story books from all ethnic perspectives such as African American, Asian, Latino and other ethnicities. These are award winning books, some of which have been written by new and emerging authors and illustrators getting their first break into the world of publishing. LEE & LOW BOOKS “takes pride in nurturing new talent”. While LEE & LOW books focus on diversity and not specifically on homeschooling, they have realized the value of providing resources to homeschooling. They have created a homeschool section … Continue reading →

There are several reasons why you may want to either estimate your child’s reading level or estimate the reading level of the book you’re giving to your child. For us, it makes a nifty addition to our annual assessment to be able to say that so and so is reading at such and such a grade level. Other times parents want to know either to identify a problem or strength. And of course, it’s always nice to know when you’re picking books out so that even if you haven’t read the content, you have a good idea of whether or … Continue reading →

Have you ever had your child sit down to read something that wasn’t fiction and find that he walked away not remembering anything? Truth be told, I don’t really have this problem with my own kids. I think this might be one of the benefits of having home schooled from the beginning. . .or maybe they just like what they’re reading. But I have run across more than a few people who say that when they sit their child down to read something, or even when they read to their kids, when they ask them comprehension questions–the kids are still … Continue reading →

As I was creating the exhausting but complete and current homeschool curriculum glossary, it dawned on me that, people might want to search by subject matter, and might be interested in what I recommend. Having spent all of that time researching curriculums, I also wanted more mileage out of that well spent time and knowledge gained. Therefore, I will spend some time presenting my top curriculum picks in each subject. From reading my picks, you may notice that I am partial to phonics instructions. Headsprout Reading: I used this program to teach my child to read after she had been … Continue reading →