Nurturing Social Skills in Homeschooled Children Written By Thalia Schertzer – 11 years old As a homeschooler parent, you probably know that socialization is an important aspect of development. There are many ways to increase socialization for your chi

Homeschoolers have the unique opportunity to start building their children’s portfolios early on, giving their children the advantage of being well-prepared when they embark on their journey after homeschooling. A portfolio allows you to demonstrate your skills, abilities, and achievements to potential employers, clients, or collaborators. It provides evidence of your capabilities and helps you stand out from other candidates. It enables you to highlight your accomplishments and display the impact you have made in your field.

You may not have been to Telluride in Colorado, named for the gold telluride mineral found in the region, but you can mine for the golden treasure of knowing how to spell. Even better than gold, knowing how to spell lets the student concentrate on forming ideas on paper. Spelling should be effortless and become second nature while writing.

Each child is unique in their preferred learning style(s) and the way they learn best: visual, auditory, verbal, physical (or hands-on), logical, social, and solitary. Some children may have more than one way in which they learn best, and one way of learning may be better for one or two subjects while other learning styles might be more suited for other subjects.

When we started homeschooling, it was not math that I was scared of teaching. I figured teaching arithmetic to a child (at least in the early years) would be as easy as 1-2-3. We will figure out trigonometry and calculus in the future. I was actually worried about teaching writing, which was weird because I honestly can’t remember how I learned to write. But I do remember joining the essay writing contest at our school when I was in fourth grade. It was not a long and fancy essay; it was just a two-paragraph piece on what grace means to me.

One of the many questions out there about Christianity is “How do you know there is a God?” While there are different answers to this question, one of them is something seen all around us with our eyes. Even God’s Word in the Bible tells us in Luke 19:40 that the rocks will cry out in praise to God and “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). Everyone can experience this awe of God and the wonderment at His creation in different places and circumstances. You never know where you or your child will experience that certainty that “this must have been purposefully created.”

Growing up, travelling was at the forefront of my mind. Any opportunity to do so I would jump on, often to the dismay of my mother. At the age of 14, my friends and I dreamed of buying a van and going on a long road trip to anywhere. Fast forward to my early 20’s; the road trip never came to fruition. However, my husband and I backpacked around Australia for a month and later travelled to French Polynesia.

I did not enjoy music class in school. It was full of theory and no application and no appreciation at all…until I reached my senior year in high school when we had the most amazing music teacher, Mr. A. For the entire duration of our music class, he would just play the piano with finesse, and we would sing songs from our school hymnal.