Educate Yourself on the Pros and Cons of Home Schooling

What does Thomas Edison, one of the country's greatest and most prolific inventors, have in common with 1.1 million U.S. children today? Edison was home schooled, the process by which children are educated at home rather than at a public or private school. While all states have compulsory education laws which demand children attend school for a set minimum number of hours and days per year, the reasons why parents would choose to home school their child are as varied as Edison's inventions.

Kids' Brains Need Back-to-School Warm-Up

Parents helping a child prepare for that first post-summer-vacation reading quiz often find themselves wondering if he has forgotten everything he learned the year before. Research shows that the "summer brain-drain" phenomenon is no figment of the imagination. Over summer vacation, children can forget more than two months worth of school instruction.

Back to School: School Supplies-What to Consider

It is an annual tradition for students and their parents to head to the school supply stores each September just before school starts up for the fall semester. About this time, stores and papers publish slews of coupons that are intended to help alleviate the costly burden of school supplies.

Focus is Key to Success in School

For many kids, staying focused and paying attention in school is a challenge. Trying to keep kids on task and engaged can be a never-ending quest for teachers and parents as well. Changing habits or behaviors is difficult; wanting to change and being able to change are two different things, especially for children, who have good intentions but short attention spans.

Homeschool Curriculum Choices

When your family is new to home schooling the decisions and choices you'll need to make can seem overwhelming. For many families the first struggle was the choice to home school in the first place. Once a family has made this commitment, it is on to how to choose a curriculum. Most families want to make sure that all the fundamentals are covered while allowing their children to advance where needed and spend more time on difficult areas when necessary.

The Top Five Qualities a Parent Should Look For When Hiring a Tutor

Hiring a tutor can be an overwhelming experience, especially if you have never done it before. The following five qualities are the most important ones that our company looks for when matching a tutor with a child. If you choose to hire a tutor on your own without the help of a service, keep these guidelines in mind.

It's Dr. Seuss Month!

To those of us who cut our teeth on Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss will always be near and dear to our hearts. Share the joy of reading these silly but oh, so fun stories with your children this month!

They’re Here! - Report Card Time

Ah, February….. Valentine’s Day, a long President’s Day weekend, spring is just around the corner, the days are getting longer… and REPORT CARDS! The wonderful relationship you think you have with your child can go right down the drain if the report card comes home and it’s not good news, or worse, you are not prepared to open the envelope and read comments like, ‘homework assignments missing’, ‘poor class participation’, ‘missed class too many times’. How could this be your kid, the one who definitely leaves every morning for school with back pack in tow, the kid who you know is in his room doing homework for two hours, the kid who lovingly smiles at you and kisses you goodbye on a Friday night on her way out the door to hang out at the mall with her friends? It all seems so normal and then the REPORT CARD arrives. What could have possibly happened to be staring at grades something like - four C’s, two D’s and a big fat F in P.E, or, in the case of an elementary student - a comment like ‘may be retained, please call the teacher’.

Homeschooling and the Socially Integrated Child

As a parent of a homeschooled child, or as someone considering homeschooling, you may well face the mild concern or incredulity of well meaning individuals who question your choice to keep your child outside of the traditional school environment.

Using Educational Software in the Homeschool Curriculum

If you have chosen to homeschool your child you may be curious about the possible benefits of incorporating educational software into your child's curriculum. Is it really beneficial? How do you know which programs to use? Do educational software programs replace teaching?