When my mom decided to start homeschooling in 1988, I was just two years away from finishing high school. We had moved too far from my public high school for me to continue attending, so she included me in this sweeping decision, despite my initial resistance. From my questioning teenage […]
Category: Homeschool How-To
Homeschooling “how to” posts, tips, tools, resources, and more!
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Am I Preparing My Teen for Success After High School?
Whether you are new to homeschooling teens, a few years into your journey with high school on the horizon, or still considering whether to homeschool through the high school years, you are probably struggling with concerns like: What if I’m not qualified to equip my teen for academic success? If […]
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Looking for homeschool community? Start a simple homeschool co-op!
The foundational idea of a homeschool co-op is to “cooperate” with one or more families to share any part of the home education process. Co-ops can be as simple as two families meeting regularly to cover one subject or as complex as a large, organized, fee-based program covering a myriad […]
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Homeschooling With the End in Mind
If you’ve been homeschooling for any amount of time, I’m sure you’ve encountered at least one person who has questioned your decision to do so. I remember when we began homeschooling in 2010, every time I met someone new and introduced myself as a homeschooling mom, the response would be, […]
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Why a Daily Homeschool Routine Works for Us
As a former editorial manager who juggled a team of writers, editors, and various project deadlines on a wall-sized whiteboard and spreadsheet, I didn’t expect to encounter challenges managing our daily homeschool schedule. However, our first two years of homeschooling, it seemed that no matter what fabulous recommended scheduling system […]
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Take the Complexity out of Homeschool Co-Ops
Today we wrapped up a semester of Botany with our informal homeschool co-op by taking a scavenger hunt hike with three families who have children close in age to ours. This concept of sharing educational experiences with a few friends is the essential definition of an educational “co-op” — or at least it should be. However, as homeschooling […]
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Give Your Homeschool New Life: Take it Outside!
Today, while my eldest daughter was at the park with me, she noticed a picnic table in a secluded area with trees around it and said, “Look, Mom — that would be a nice place for us to do school one day.” This was a simple reminder that one of […]
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Being Frugal Without Being a Cheapskate
Are homeschoolers cheap? Hopefully, we are frugal, not cheapskates! There’s a difference between being a good financial steward and avoiding paying a fair share of costs or expenses. As homeschoolers, I think we should strive to be frugal, but not at the expense of supporting those businesses that make our lives […]
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Spring Dilemma: Must We Finish Curriculum?
With the joy and sunshine of spring comes this very familiar reader question each year: “I feel like the end of this school year is coming much faster that I want it to, and I’m worried that I need to finish every textbook and lesson from the curriculum that we’re using […]
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Homeschool Veterans: Pay it Forward!
It is time — past time, really — for me to pay it forward in the homeschool community. I have always liked to help people, but I mostly do it on a one-on-one basis — quietly. However, the past couple of years, I have been challenged as a homeschool veteran […]
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31 Days of Homeschool How-To: Find Support
Welcome to our October “31 Days” series at NextGen Homeschool: 31 Days of Homeschool How-To Tips! As NextGen Homeschoolers, we remember what it was like to be homeschooled ourselves, and our experiences as students have helped shape many of our best systems and strategies today. In the next 31 days, we’ll be […]
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31 Days of Homeschool How-To: With Toddlers
Welcome to our October “31 Days” series at NextGen Homeschool: 31 Days of Homeschool How-To Tips! As NextGen Homeschoolers, we remember what it was like to be homeschooled ourselves, and our experiences as students have helped shape many of our best systems and strategies today. In the next 31 days, we’ll be […]