“What is the point of a homeschool magazine, when there are so many blogs and articles on the web?”

That’s a valid question. And here is the answer.

All information is not of equal accuracy or importance.

All information is not timely.

All information is not equally easy to find, or understandable once you find it.

All information is not just what would be most helpful and uplifting to homeschool families right then.

And finally, information that is REALLY helpful usually has a lot of experience and research behind it.

That’s why we at Practical Homeschooling put in endless hours every day reviewing, testing, sorting, and tracing the latest in educational research back to the original studies.

We keep on top of what’s trending in academia, news, and social media as it relates to education in general and homeschooling in particular.

We also have our own decades of experience homeschooling children with wildly different personalities, needs, and abilities.

Armed with all that, we relentlessly search for what our readers will find the most helpful, practical, and encouraging.

We also run our very time-consuming annual Awards, where thousands of homeschoolers rank curriculum in dozens of categories and age levels.

And don’t forget our contests, where you might win a prize many times more valuable than the cost of your subscription!

We want you to get the most out of the time you spend with our magazine.

We appreciate every one of our readers, and hope you will join us!

The last 365 days have been a huge shock to many parents of children in school.

Overnight, you had to get each of your kids set up with a wide variety of mandatory distance learning classes and sites. And supervise it all.

For most, this did not go smoothly, to say the least!

We invite you not to confuse this surreal experience with real homeschooling . . . where YOU pick the curriculum (print or online, mix ‘n’ match), when work is to be done (& when you all can take a day off!), how it will be graded, what great OUTSIDE experiences & resources you want to include, and so much more.

Practical Homeschooling magazine offers so many ways to make homeschooling a joy, whether you are a veteran or a “newbie.” Try the real thing!

We invite you to subscribe to our magazine. While you’re at it, find & join your state & local homeschool groups and follow our Facebook page (the most popular homeschool Facebook page in the world – come and ask your questions).

Let us show you a better way!

If you’ve been “on the fence” about homeschooling, this is your time!

Think of how great it will be to have control of your schedule again. To do enjoyable projects together. To fill in any learning “holes” left by the school, without the shame and stress of struggling to meet the school’s timetable. If your child is advanced, he or she now will no longer have to suffer the boredom of repeating material he or she already knows and moving at what feels like a snail’s pace.

No more packing lunches – instead, you can teach your child to cook! No more rushing to catch the bus or pick him or her up after school. No more tears over bullying or being excluded by cliques. No more struggling to counteract school lessons you find inaccurate or offensive.

There’s a whole homeschool world waiting to welcome and help you. This is your year – dive in!

Kids often get the feeling that their “schooling” years will last forever.

That’s why it’s so important to celebrate the milestones!

If you haven’t already done this, now is a great time for a “We Made It Through Another School Year!” party.

Some ideas:

1. Invite friends & family. Have the children get out their best work from the past year and display it. Maybe have them recite some poems or Bible verses they have learned. They could even write and put on a short play!

2. For a “just the family” party, invite the kids to come up with a party theme that summarizes what they think of the past year. It’s OK if it’s more funny than complimentary! Make a cake or cupcakes that matches the theme – let them help with that part! Everyone gets to pick one of their favorite foods, and have a feast.

3. Make a papier-mache pinata and stuff it with small, unbreakable items like tiny cans of Play-Doh, a set of jacks (the children’s game also known as “knucklebones,” with a ball and small items to pick up), Silly Putty, etc. Let them swing away to reveal some summer fun!

4. Decorate the front walk or patio out back (any concrete area that isn’t public grounds) with “End of Term” messages in sidewalk chalk.

5. Make a “Our Family School Year 2017-18” scrapbook, with everyone pitching in art, photos, small memory items, sayings, and memories.

If you have more ideas, please submit them via our main site’s Contact form.

Even better, take some great pictures, write up what you did, and submit it as a “Day At Our House” article! Use the same Contact form, but this time select “Day At Our House” from the pull-down menu.

We’d love to hear from you!

After many weary days and sleepless nights, we are delighted to announce that Practical Homeschooling magazine has finally added a digital edition!

You’ve been asking us to do this for several years now.

Of course, we are continuing to publish our print magazine as well.

So now you have a choice:

• Print magazine – so easy to use, no need to find your phone or sit in front of a computer. And, you can keep the issues around forever!
• Digital edition – also easy to use in a different way. No need to store magazines, easy to click on links in articles & ads, same low price for US and overseas.

Let us know what you think of this new addition to the Practical Homeschooling lineup!

Two of our grandchildren are visiting today. They are so sweet, cuddly, and full of ENERGY!

Seeing the “next generation” has made me think more about how homeschooling has changed . . . and will change.

Right now homeschooling is both classical and futuristic, at the same time.

Some parents are teaching their children Latin and Greek, studying ancient texts, and concentrating on polished handwriting, diction, deportment, and rhetoric.

Some parents are going online with smartphones and tablets for lessons from math and science to English grammar and world history.

Often, they are the same parents!

Of course, quite a few families are sticking with “tried and true” textbooks, workbooks, and “living books” that kids can hold in their hands and flip through the pages.

Hands-on activities are also popular: science experiments, art projects, music lessons, real-world skills such as knitting and woodworking . . .

And then there is the entire real world of museums, zoos, farmer’s markets, community theatre, and so many other ways that homeschooled children are involved in community life, including clubs and sports activities of all kinds as well.

With such a rich menu of ways to homeschool, what can the future bring?

I’m excited to find out – and to tell you all about it BEFORE it happens, in the pages of your favorite magazine!

—Mary Pride, Publisher of Practical Homeschooling® magazine

This is an exciting time to homeschool. There is more help, more support, more resources, and more opportunities for homeschoolers than ever before!

Today’s topic is “who you know” – in other words, where to get in touch with reliable help from veteran homeschoolers, as well as meeting others who have similar questions and needs.

MEET THE POSSE
Your state homeschool group not only defends your ongoing right to homeschool (very important!), but also typically offers a website with great “how to get started” resources and one or more large conferences yearly, where you can see new curriculum in person and meet the “movers and shakers” of homeschooling.

Local homeschool groups now include both traditional homeschool support groups and co-ops, as well as (often) local homeschool sports teams!

To find your state or local homeschool group, click here.

In addition, you can ask your questions online at the world’s most popular Facebook page for homeschoolers here (yes, it’s ours!) or our online forum. In our forum, you can also find neatly organized previous discussions on many helpful topics.

Glad to meet you, and I’ll be seeing you online!
—Mary Pride, Publisher of Practical Homeschooling® magazine

Is your child “behind”? By which I mean, “Is there still curriculum you haven’t covered yet for the current school year?”

If this is your situation, take a breath. You’re not alone! I’m going to explain how to handle this common problem.

Life hands us all kinds of interruptions, from family medical emergencies to beautiful days too nice to stay inside. However, we have the whole summer before us. Here are some things to consider:

• Schools often don’t finish the entire book. If you cast your mind back to your own school experience, often the year ended with some chapters undone. This wasn’t the end of the world, because the next school year always started with a month of review.
• Homeschool doesn’t have to be completed during the “school” year. You have 90 days of summer (more, if you count Saturdays). The kids can still get lots of afternoon outdoors play even if you spend the mornings catching up.
• You’re in it for the long haul. Will your child be able to read and write well by the end of 12th grade? If so, he or she will surpass a large percentage of “schooled” children right there.
• If you’re really behind, ruthlessly prune any time-wasting (even if “fun”) activities. Also cut back on the number of math problems, if necessary. Try doing only odd-numbered problems. This way you can often do 2 or 3 days of work in one.
• Though I hesitate to endorse products, and nobody is paying me for this, the Summer Bridges workbook series is a quick way to catch up on the basics over the summer. These inexpensive workbooks are available at discount through various publishers, and provide a way to review an entire school years’ work in the summer months. You can also use them to focus on what hasn’t been taught yet.

There still will be time to catch fireflies and go swimming. That’s educational, too!

Often parents whose children are facing serious trouble at school – bullying, meltdowns, physical illnesses, for example – ask us if it’s “too late” to take their child out, or if they should wait until the semester is over.

We’ve posted this question several times on our Facebook page, and those who reply all agree – rescuing a child from a bad situation is a good idea. And there’s no benefit to waiting.

To find out your state’s rules on how to withdraw, find your state homeschool group here: http://www.home-school.com/groups. On each state page, the state groups are ABOVE the line, while local homeschool groups are BELOW the line.

Most state groups have a “Getting Started” page that explains any steps needed in order to withdraw your child and start homeschooling legally. And you can always ask additional questions on our Facebook page.