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African Americans are the fastest growing demographic group of home schoolers in the United States. Because this is a new development in home schooling, there is a great deal of interest in the world of epidemiological research concerning the details of the African American home schooling experience.

The focus, specifically, is on African American experience when newly home schooling, as well as the experience of African American parents of home school graduates.

Resources for African American home schoolers are becoming more and more available. A group focused solely on African American families who home school is called African American Unschooling. It is a network with members throughout the country, all of whom are black families who home school.

A magazine is also available for those who would like to know more about the experience of African American home schoolers and perhaps pick up a few tips. The magazine is called FUNgasa: Free Oneself! The Magazine for African-American Home Educators.

Another resource in the making combines the efforts of African American Unschooling and FUNgasa. African American Unschooling steadily works to gather data from various African American home schooling families in the form of surveys. With the data they collect, the editors of FUNgasa will create a new series of guidebooks aimed specifically at African American home schooling parents.

By finding out the issues of black home schoolers and their parents, these guidebooks will attempt to help families better handle the pitfalls with the information they need to make their experience run smoother. What will make these guidebooks different from the other home schooling guides currently on the shelves is their Afro-centric focus.

African American culture is often one of the fundamental reasons that African American families choose to home school. By incorporating black culture into home school curricula, African American families have the opportunity to impart a rich history and proud tradition that gets lost in the predominantly white-favored public and private school systems.

The opportunity to network with other black home schooling families and learn from articles written from an African American perspective, with the black American experience in mind, is a major victory in the world of home schooling. What heretofore has been a predominantly white movement is now opening up to embrace the cultural experience of all races and ethnicities, making the home schooling a truly inclusive one.

.About the Author:

Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling mother, writer, children’s rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of home education company Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of 28 years reside with their 8 children right outside Philadelphia, PA.

Rothschild launched Learning By Grace, Inc. because she believed that our nation’s public school system has failed parents and students. Learning By Grace, Inc. offers online education through a multimedia-rich curriculum to PreK-12 children across the country and throughout the world.

An accomplished author, Rothschild has written books regarding education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Daily Education News Feed consists of articles and essays dealing with alternative learning methods.

The Home-school Legal Defense Association released some statistics that were not very surprising recently. These statistics show families that if they are looking for an alternative to the plummeting test scores and academic mediocrity of the public school system, they should look elsewhere when presented with offers from public virtual schools.

“Overall, in 2005, virtual school students scored comparably to traditional public school students. In 2006 the ISAT scores for virtual charter schools in reading, language, and mathematics showed a consistent drop in grades 3-10. The overall performance of students in these government home-schools fell significantly short of the performance of students in traditional Idaho schools.”

This proves that public charter schools are only serving to perpetuate the intellectual ills that the public school system has so infamously brought upon our children. These programs like to suck in home-school parents with promises of free computers, internet access, and several other perks. Fortunately, we now have statistics that will allow home-schoolers to recognize that these cyber schools are not the answer. Home-schooling may be a more expensive and time-intensive undertaking, but it is worth it for the moral and intellectual security of our children.

Parents who are interested in an online alternative to public school education should seriously consider enrolling in The Grace Academy. It’s a wonderful way for families to provide their children with a fantastic, Godly education at an affordable price. We use a cutting edge online curriculum that will leave you feeling relieved that you didn’t entangle your children’s minds in a public cyber school program

Read more at the HSLDA.

.About the Author:

Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling mother, writer, children’s rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of home education company Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of 28 years reside with their 8 children right outside Philadelphia, PA.

Rothschild launched Learning By Grace, Inc. because she believed that our nation’s public school system has failed parents and students. Learning By Grace, Inc. offers online education through a multimedia-rich curriculum to PreK-12 children across the country and throughout the world.

An accomplished author, Rothschild has written books regarding education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Daily Education News Feed consists of articles and essays dealing with alternative learning methods.

As each person that God has created is unique, there is a certain uniqueness associated with how a person learns. There are three types of learning styles: visual, auditory, and tactile/kinesthetic.

Some students need to be shown what to do (working best with pictures and diagrams) while other students may learn best by hearing material (such as hearing the story of the Underground Railroad). Another group of students may not learn something until they can manipulate it with their own hands (putting together a model airplane to understand its architecture). Do you have any idea what type of learning style suits you best?

It is important to know what kind learner you are so that you can help your homeschooler when s/he has questions. This information is valuable when it is compared to the type of learner that your student is. You can be of best service to your child when you understand how he/she understands information. Always keep in mind that the way you explain information may not be the best way to reach your child. You want to make every effort to understand the way your child processes information and what you can do to make sure it is expressed in that way.

The Southern Baptist Academy is conducive to any learning style because it gives you and your student the freedom to take the provided curriculum in any direction that you need it to go. If your homeschooler needs to see information, s/he will find it convenient that we incorporate these elements in our curriculum. In addition, you can take it upon yourself to use supplemental materials to make his/her learning experience as full as it can be. Working with your student will be the key to finding the most appropriate delivery style.

We incorporate all learning styles into our delivery of content to your homeschooler. We allow you the opportunity to tailor it to fit your unique student’s needs. There should never be a time that your student doesn’t understand material because it is not being presented correctly. Always know that The Southern Baptist Academy staff is here to assist you as you make our special online curriculum yours!

.About the Author:

Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling mother of eight, accomplished author, and Founder and C.E.O. of The Southern Baptist Academy. www.TheSouthernBaptistAcademy.org.

Rothschild launched the home educating academy because she saw a need for an affordable alternative to the public school specifically for families answering the call to Exodus coming from Southern Baptist Convention Leaders. It is her sincere prayer that Southern Baptists will be able to use the K-12 program in order to achieve academic excellence and moral soundness. The Southern Baptist Academy is an online private homeschool that offers students a world-class Kingdom education alternative.

You can read more from Rothschild at The Southern Baptist Academy Blog. www.TheSouthernBaptistAcademy.org/blog

As “sparkle season” and “happy holidays” surround us on all sides, teaching our homeschoolers the true meaning of Christmas can be especially challenging.

After all, advertisements for shiny new dolls and videogames bombard them for weeks before the big morning. Overspending abounds during the holiday season. How can we break this cycle of poor financial management, selfishness, and guilt?

The most effective way to instill a full understanding of the meaning of Christmas is to approach them from a young age with things that they understand. Some Christian homeschool families have “Happy Birthday Jesus” cakes to celebrate Christ’s birth during the Christmas season. Reading the first two chapters of Luke are a great way to introduce your children to the Christmas story. Our family reads this each year on Christmas morning before we open presents.

Always make sure to focus on the act of giving in tandem with the act of receiving. Encouraging your homeschoolers to make family members gifts, paying special attention to the individual creative abilities of your children, can give them an understanding of giving. Make sure to always react gratefully with plenty of “thank-you’s” in front of your children.

When your homeschoolers are giving and receiving gifts, remind them that Baby Jesus grew into a man that would eventually give us the greatest gift of all, the opportunity to live eternally in heaven with Him. You can touch on this again during the Easter season, recalling back to your Christmas lesson.

It’s important not to go overboard with gifts I have heard from so many parents who cannot think of what to give their children. It is often because their kids already have so much stuff! How can we possibly hope to surprise them with something new and exciting? Focusing too much on buying and receiving will cause your homeschoolers to forget what exactly we are celebrating. A few thoughtful gifts should be sufficient. You can also set spending limits to ensure that your children realize that it’s not the price tag that counts.

I try to encourage my children to take part in some good old-fashioned Christmastime charity. Have your kids volunteer at a soup-kitchen on Christmas Eve. You could also consider participating in Operation Christmas Child or an Angel Tree program. Allow your children to have an active role. Then, reinforce the idea that such goodwill should not be limited to Christmas, but should continue throughout the year.

Lastly, remind your Christian homeschoolers each Christmas that the “real” gift of salvation, that of redemption, was not gained by us being “good for goodness sake.” Rather, we received the gift despite our sinful nature. It is the one gift we never could deserve, but in God’s grace and mercy, He bestowed it upon us lovingly.

.About the Author:

Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, children’s rights activist, author, and Founder and C.E.O. of online education company Learning by Grace, Inc. Rothschild and her husband of twenty-eight years reside in suburban Philadelphia with their eight children.

Feeling that “our current system of education has broken its promise,” Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. to provide families with Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children all over the world.

In addition to her twenty years of experience as a homeschool mother, Rothschild has written a number of books dealing with education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Daily Education News Articles consist of feature stories on online homeschooling and alternative education.

The Christmas season is a time for Christians to share the love of Christ through charity. Charity organizations have things in full swing to make it easy for home-schooling families to take part in the giving.

Your home-schoolers should learn that charity is an integral element of the Christian faith. Make Christmas charity a home-school lesson. Your kids can spend a day or longer period of time coming up with ways to give this Christmas. I know some home-schoolers who have even forsaken gifts altogether in exchange for the opportunity to give to others. Check out these great websites below for simple ways to get involved.

My Two Front Teeth

At My Two Front Teeth, home-schoolers can grant the Christmas wishes of thousands of needy children. Needy kids provide MTFT with the one toy that they really want that year. Then, sponsors can log into the website and donate money to specific children. Then, MTFT ships the child a shiny new toy! They work alongside community organizations to fulfill thousands of wishes each Christmas season!

Toys for Tots

The Toys for Tots was founded in 1947 by Major Bill Hendricks, USMCR and several other Marines delivered 5,000 toys to needy LA children. They desire to offer children a message of hope during Christmas in the form of a new toy. Obviously, a child’s hope should be in the Lord, but sometimes a gift from a friend can do a lot to reinforce an unloved child’s sense of self-worth. Last year, they delivered 18.5 million toys to children around the country.

Angel Tree

The Angel Tree is sponsored by the awesome Christian ministry, Prison Fellowship. This particular program is dedicated meeting the emotional needs of the children of prisoners. Christian home-schoolers can participate in this wonderful program through their church. They can pick up an “angel” from their church’s angel tree and pick out a gift especially for that child. Then, they send the gift, complete with a note of encouragement or tract to the child. Click on the link to find out how you can start an Angel Tree program.

Salvation Army

The Salvation Army Santa Clause’s are a famous image during the Christmas season. The famous red kettle used by the Salvation Army is relatively emblematic as well. These Santa’s, gaily ringing bells on street corners and storefronts collect millions of dollars each Christmas. This money is then used throughout the year to assist the unemployed, physically and mentally disabled, and other unfortunate souls. They are truly continuing the mission of Christ.

Operation Christmas Child

Operation Christmas Child is a way for Christian home-school families to spread the Gospel and Christmas giving across the globe. OCC encourages families to fill shoeboxes with goodies, toys, school supplies, and letters of encouragement or tracts to impoverished children in a variety of countries throughout the world. This makes for a great home-school project. Each of your home-schoolers can fill their own shoebox.

.About the Author:

Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling mother, writer, children’s rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of home education company Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of 28 years reside with their 8 children right outside Philadelphia, PA.

Rothschild launched Learning By Grace, Inc. because she believed that our nation’s public school system has failed parents and students. Learning By Grace, Inc. offers online education through a multimedia-rich curriculum to PreK-12 children across the country and throughout the world.

An accomplished author, Rothschild has written books regarding education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Daily Education News Feed consists of articles and essays dealing with alternative learning methods.

It’s no secret that home schooling is the fastest growing forms of education in the world. But what about online homeschooling? On the forefront of educational progression, this subgroup is making serious waves in the education world and the public school is struggling to jump on the bandwagon.

There are many benefits to online learning that I will now describe:

The reduced cost of e-learning is probably the most important factor. Homeschool students can access their courses at a mere fraction of the cost that it takes to enroll in a full-time program. There is no need to staff maintenance workers for upkeep, administrators for organization, or teachers for academic needs. Another advantage of online homeschooling is that it allows students to work at home. This reduces the cost of employing bus drivers and other transportation costs.

Free from distractions, students are able to focus on their school work alone. There are no extraneous interstitial periods or boring study halls. There’s no bullying or peer pressure. The child is left to do his/her homeschooling assignments and that’s all. Homeschoolers can also spend much more time with their families. The delivery of online homeschooling information is consistent, free of snow days or sick days. Online homeschoolers can take a few weeks off for vacation, log in from a computer in another country, and more.

The flexibility of online homeschooling allows it to stand out from the rest. Online learning is asynchronous. Students are able to learn at different levels. No one has to be left behind or drug along without fully comprehending the material.

.About the Author:

Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling mother, writer, children’s rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of home education company Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of 28 years reside with their 8 children right outside Philadelphia, PA.

Rothschild launched Learning By Grace, Inc. because she believed that our nation’s public school system has failed parents and students. Learning By Grace, Inc. offers online education through a multimedia-rich curriculum to PreK-12 children across the country and throughout the world.

An accomplished author, Rothschild has written books regarding education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Homeschooling News Café Blog consists of the most current and relevant education news.

Homeschooling parents often wonder what the significance of their homeschooler’s IQ score really means. In order for homeschooling parents to understand what an IQ score really means in terms of intelligence, they must first understand how an IQ score is determined.

After learning how it is determined, homeschooling parents can then understanding the true meaning of their homeschooler’s IQ score.

Homeschooling parents need to first realize that a test that measures a student’s intelligence quotient focuses on a student’s verbal and mathematical skills. It is a standardized test that has frequently been used to “label” students in the public school setting. Unfortunately, the intelligence quotient tests are often extremely biased and they do not accurately determine an individual’s intelligence.

An IQ test does not accurately define how smart a homeschooler is. Just because a homeschooler may not perform well on an IQ test, it doesn’t mean that they are doomed to a poor existence! The IQ test does not factor in important skills and talents that an individual has and therefore gives a score that is erroneous and incapable of defining ones intelligence. What about a student’s musical abilities or artistic talents? What about a student’s socialization skills and the ability to understand themselves as they interact with the world? Such tests fail miserably to measure a student’s real intelligence because they do not account for a student’s emotional intelligence, nor do such standardized tests account for a homeschooler’s creative abilities. Finally, an IQ test does not factor in a student’s own determination and will to succeed.

Many psychologists lean toward Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences and they also argue that intelligence can not be defined by a single test. Howard Gardner argued the theory that people have several levels of intelligence including Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence, Mathematical-Logical Intelligence, Musical Intelligence, Visual-Spatial Intelligence, Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence, Interpersonal Intelligence, Intrapersonal Intelligence, Naturalist Intelligence, and Existential Intelligence. Further, since the average intelligence test only focuses on the verbal, visual, and mathematical skills of the student, it can hardly be considered an accurate interpretation of a student’s real intelligence level.

Ultimately, the homeschooler’s intelligence quotient is an irrelevant quotient-it means absolutely nothing as far as the student’s overall potential. Parents shouldn’t be overly concerned if their children don’t ace an intelligence exam. After all, even Einstein failed seventh math and was labeled nothing more than an average student.

.About the Author:

Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling mother, writer, children’s rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of home education company Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of 28 years reside with their 8 children right outside Philadelphia, PA.

Rothschild launched Learning By Grace, Inc. because she believed that our nation’s public school system has failed parents and students. Learning By Grace, Inc. offers online education through a multimedia-rich curriculum to PreK-12 children across the country and throughout the world.

An accomplished author, Rothschild has written books regarding education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Daily Education News Feed consists of articles and essays dealing with alternative learning methods.

Punxsutawney Phil is a groundhog of epic celebrity. A groundhog is a rodent of the family Sciuridae. Also known as a marmot, whistlepig, or woodchuck, the groundhog eats wild greens and infuriates farmers by digging up or eating their crops.

More than any other woodland creature, Phil inspires delight in the hearts of children and adults. He has been doing this each February 2 for over 120 years! This groundhog has an interesting story. Phil is no ordinary groundhog.

The Delaware Indians named a small town in Pennsylvania after the copious population of sandflies. The Indian word for sandfly is Punxsutawney. About 150 years later, the Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper dubbed a groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary”. This was in keeping with the Candlemas tradition during which members of the society would look to forest creatures to determine the coming weather.

Every year since then, Punxsutawney Phil (there have most certainly been dozens of groundhogs given this name) is celebrated and observed on Gobbler’s Knob to report the next six weeks of weather. Obviously, everyone understands that the groundhog’s prediction is not scientifically accurate. Today’s Groundhog Day is just for fun.

Phil isn’t the only famous prognosticating groundhog. There’s also Wiarton Willie, Brandon Bob, Grundoon, Muldoon, and Sand Dune, Balzac Billie, Staten Island Chuck, Gary the Groundhog, Shubenacadie Sam, and several other North American Groundhog Day mascots. In 1956, Mac McKenzie became the first human weather predictor on Groundhog Day in Canada. Punxsutawney’s tourism board insists that the other groundhogs are just jealous imposters. According to them, Phil is the only groundhog whose prognostication can be trusted.

.About the Author:

Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling mother, writer, children’s rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of home education company Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of 28 years reside with their 8 children right outside Philadelphia, PA.

Rothschild launched Learning By Grace, Inc. because she believed that our nation’s public school system has failed parents and students. Learning By Grace, Inc. offers online education through a multimedia-rich curriculum to PreK-12 children across the country and throughout the world.

An accomplished author, Rothschild has written books regarding education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Daily Education News Feed consists of articles and essays dealing with alternative learning methods.

Will your child believe in Jesus when he or she graduates from high school? Most parents would respond with an emphatic “yes”. These parents might want to reconsider their answer after a recent study by Dr.

Brian Ray. Eighty-eight percent of public schooled children from Christian homes reject their faith by the time they graduate high school. On the other hand, Christian homeschoolers are 94% likely to retain a belief in Christ upon graduating a 12-year program.

This shocking statistic should not come as any surprise as public school curricula is designed to teach children ideas that are entirely antithetical to a Christian worldview. To think that students can endure twelve long years of systematic attack on their beliefs is somewhat naïve. Influences on all sides, from the teachers to the administration to the other students prevent students from maintaining a strong faith.

Some parents are under the mistaken belief that their children should be salt and light in the public schools. They feel that pulling them out would be equivalent to hiding their light under a bushel. However, they are taking these verses out of context. The Lord does not expect us to place our children in a dangerous position until they have developed a strong Christian worldview that is able to withstand moral and intellectual attacks.

Jesus said: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.” - Luke 6:39, 40

.About the Author:

Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling mother of eight, accomplished author, and Founder and C.E.O. of The Southern Baptist Academy. www.TheSouthernBaptistAcademy.org.

She launched the home educating academy because she saw a need for an affordable alternative to the public school specifically for families answering the call to Exodus coming from Southern Baptist Convention Leaders. It is her sincere prayer that Southern Baptists will be able to use the K-12 program in order to achieve academic excellence and moral soundness. The Southern Baptist Academy is an online private homeschool that offers students a world-class Kingdom education alternative.

You can read more from Rothschild at The Southern Baptist Academy Blog. www.TheSouthernBaptistAcademy.org/blog.

Virtual learning is a growing trend in the United States today. Home schoolers are adopting virtual learning as a supplement to the home school curriculum, and some are even embracing an entire virtual learning experience.

Virtual learning involves “classrooms” that are entirely online, with interaction between students and instructors taking place through e-mails, Internet message boards and online chat rooms. Home schoolers are quickly discovering the benefits of virtual learning, and many home schooling parents incorporate this method into their daily home school routine.

The process of virtual learning is a powerful and exciting alternative for home schoolers and public educators alike. Virtual classrooms can combine home schoolers and public school students in an environment that nurtures learning and facilitates a love for education. Online classes meet the challenge of social interaction many home schooling families face by allowing for connectivity with other students. This exposes home schoolers to new instructors with different ideas. Can virtual learning be considered the wave of the future for home schooling?

Signs point to yes. Virtual learning is becoming more acceptable by the public at large as well as the home schooling community. Parents are quick to realize that a virtual learning environment is well suited to the goals of the home school setting. In order to succeed in an online class, students must be self-directed, self-disciplined learners who are able to stay on target and do the necessary work for the class: all thing home schooling parents attempt to instill in their children. Therefore, virtual learning becomes a natural extension of the home schooling principles. Many parents who home school have already overcome their initial worry and find that online classes do not prove more distracting than enriching, and therefore are embracing this new teaching method.

Educators who use virtual learning in public settings point to parental involvement as one of the deciding factors in the success of an online student. Again, home schooling has a natural advantage: parents who home school are automatically involved in their children’s education. Virtual learning can open up possibilities to home schooled students that their parents might not have otherwise been able to offer. There are online classes on just about every subject imaginable, and home school students can take advantage of this wealth of resources available on the Internet to enhance the quality of education they receive. The barriers previously presented through the challenges of home schooling are being knocked down one by one, and virtual learning goes a long way toward this goal. Home schooling parents should not neglect the possibilities presented by online classes.

.About the Author:

Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, children’s rights activist, author, and Founder and C.E.O. of online education company Learning by Grace, Inc. Rothschild and her husband of twenty-eight years reside in suburban Philadelphia with their eight children.

Feeling that “our current system of education has broken its promise,” Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. to provide families with Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children all over the world.

In addition to her twenty years of experience as a homeschool mother, Rothschild has written a number of books dealing with education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Daily Education News Articles consist of feature stories on online homeschooling and alternative education.