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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.

E-learning is a fantastic technology that allows The Jubilee Academy to provide home-schooling curriculum to thousands of families across the globe.

But how did we get to the point where technology gave us this capability? Let’s take a look at the history of e-learning.

The PLATO System was the first e-learning system developed for use in a higher learning setting. Since then, e-learning has been used in every level of education, from elementary schools all the way up through graduate programs and even in corporate training. Online home-schooling technology has only been around for the last few years. The Jubilee Academy was one of the first schools offering this type of learning.

By 2003, over a million students were using e-learning technologies in colleges and universities. At the time, almost all public institutes of higher learning utilized online learning software while only half of private colleges offered similar programs.

Today, more than just colleges use e-learning. The Jubilee Academy, for instance, offers K-12 home-schooling curriculum that is accessed online. The advent of streaming video and other high-level technologies allow us to offer a rich variety of multimedia presentations through our curriculum. This way, students in even the most remote locations are able to receive a quality K-12 home-school education.

What will be the future of e-learning? What can we say about e-learning vs traditional public schooling or home-schooling? This nascent technology appears to have some major advantages over the classroom environment. Only time will tell if e-learning will replace the classroom entirely.

.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

Home Education Websites Blog consists of helpful online content and activities for Christian homeschooling families

Home school students, like all children, have a natural inclination to go out and spend lots of money on designer valentines with their favorite cartoons or toys featured prominently on the box.

Why spend all the money when you can make a neat personalized home-made card that can be cherished forever? Encourage your home school students to use their imagination when creating their own cards. Each child can develop their own sense of creative style in their valentines. Also, make sure they understand that Valentines Day isn’t about secret crushes or flirting. Home schoolers need to understand that the holiday should be more about spreading the love of Christ and reflecting his sacrificial love with brotherly and sisterly love for our fellow man. Agape love is the name of the game here.

Now, let’s start making our Valentines. The simplest way to go about this is to take red, white, or pink construction paper and fold it in half. You can go the extra mile by cutting your card into the shape of an animal, flower, heart, or other design. Then, grab some crayons, glitter, construction paper, string, sequins, glitter, and other craft supplies and go to town adding some personality to your card.

You can add more personality by using different fabric patterns and magazine clippings. Encourage your home school students to create collage art by finding images and words that evoke the spirit of Valentine’s Day. You can even make a little pocket for small gifts like a Hershey’s Kiss or homemade jewelry. Throw in some stamps, stenciled writing, and clip art to finish off the package.

Top it all off with a Bible verses about love. This will ensure that the recipient understand the true message of Valentine’s Day.

Once your cards are made, have your home school students make mailboxes out of shoeboxes to collect their valentines. If you belong to a home school co-op, this will make for a fun activity.

.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.

Groundhog Day is held on the second of February each month. This day is considered a cross-quarter day, falling between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox.

It is said that if the groundhog emerges from its burrow on the second of February and sees its shadow, the groundhog will be frightened and retreat back into its den. Then, America will receive six more weeks of winter. If the groundhog does not see its shadow, we can expect an early spring.

German and French, and Celtic beliefs have influenced this notion. The superstition has its roots in the pagan belief that animals can be communed with to obtain secrets about the future. This practice was Christianized and turned into Candlemas, a European holiday during which people would look to the weather pattern on the cross-quarter day to determine future weather patterns. The following Scottish poem tells us about how people viewed Candlemas:

As the light grows longer

The cold grows stronger

If Candlemas be fair and bright

Winter will have another flight

If Candlemas be cloud and rain

Winter will be gone and not come again

A farmer should on Candlemas day

Have half his corn and half his hay

On Candlemas day if thorns hang a drop

You can be sure of a good pea crop

Today, we understand that this is nothing but superstition. No one believes that the actions of the groundhog actually have any bearing on weather patterns. It’s just an old tradition that we still celebrate as a fun family activity.

.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 the home school movement gains momentum across the country, more home school students and their parents are turning to a new supplement for home school curriculum: e-learning.

There are hundreds of schools and universities offering online classes on hundreds of subjects at dozens of grade levels. Home school families are discovering that the format of e-learning is especially conducive to a home learning environment. Online students are encouraged to work at their own pace, and the learning is largely self-directed; a concept with which many home school students are already familiar.

Detractors of both home school and e-learning cite the perceived difficulties of learning outside the time and space confines of the traditional classroom. However, some educators and many home school parents assert that these constraints are the problem with public education. Individual children learn with different styles and at different rates. The enforcement of blocks of time and dedicated spaces for learning can be an impediment for many, which is one of the strongest reasons parents turn to home school in the first place. The nature of e-learning lends itself well to the objectives of the home school environment: to encourage children to learn independently, and enable them to make informed, responsible decisions, or “think outside the box.”

Though some believe e-learning suffers from a lack of face-to-face interaction, home school families often find online classes superior to the traditional school setting. Quality online courses offer plenty of opportunities for students to interact with each other and with their teachers or professors through e-mail, live chat and class message boards. Additionally, home school students who are already used to self-learning often find themselves excelling in a self-directed e-class environment, and become eager to help others learn as well.

For home school parents who are looking for e-learning classes to supplement their children’s home school education, there are several factors that will help decide which online classes will be beneficial. A good e-course will have extensive instruction posted for students at the outset of the class, and easy access to knowledgeable instructors. Home school parents themselves are usually not professional educators, and are therefore more able to recognize competence in e-instructors who are not necessarily formally trained. Also, a good e-course should feature ways to interact with peers and get feedback from other students on posted work. E-learning can be a powerful addition to any home school curriculum, and should not be overlooked by the home school community at large.

.About the Author:

Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, author, children’s rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of almost 3 decades reside with their 8 children in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. because “our current system of education has broken its promise…” Learning By Grace, Inc. delivers Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children in the United States and throughout the world.

Rothschild has authored a number of books about education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Home Education News Blog contains feature stories on alternatives in education.

The Washington Post states that 900,000 teenage girls become pregnant each year. According to another study, one in four American teenagers contract an STD each year.

These statistics naturally strike fear into the heart of every parent, especially considering that more teens are engaging in secular activity at younger ages.

What’s more disturbing is that the public schools are no longer discouraging this kind of activity but encouraging teen sex by providing free condoms and other “safeguards” against STD’s. Abstinence is often taught as an outmoded footnote in sex education programs that encourage students to be safe while having sex with multiple partners. Teen rape is also at an all-time high.

Christian parents should be aware of the sexual climate that exists within public schools. Consider the game “Snap” played by young schoolgirls. The girls wear bracelets of various colors, each color representing some kind of sexual act. The boys try to yank the bracelets off of the girls’ arms. If successful, the boy is guaranteed a sexual liaison featuring that particular act with the girl. If the nature of this game shocks you, consider that the girls playing the game are as young as eleven years old.

Parents need to do something about this. From the moment that students walk out of their homes they are confronted with attitudes toward sex that are completely antithetical to a Christian worldview. Parents should seriously rethink exposing their children to this kind of environment. There is really only one solution, as cultural and social factors are working against teens and preteens 24 hours a day. Only homeschooling offers an environment in which students can learn free from these negative influences. Homeschooling allows your kids to be kids.

.About the Author:

Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, author, children’s rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of almost 3 decades reside with their 8 children in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. because “our current system of education has broken its promise…” Learning By Grace, Inc. delivers Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children in the United States and throughout the world.

Rothschild has authored a number of books about education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Daily Education News Blog contains feature stories on alternatives in education. www.TheMorningStarAcademy.org/daily_education_newswww.TheMorningStarAcademy.org

Online homeschooling is sweeping the nation. There are several reasons why this is the case.

Perhaps the single most important factor to consider is the reduced cost of e-learning.

Homeschool students are able to access courses at a fraction of the cost that it takes to staff teachers, administrators, maintenance workers, and more in the public school system.

Another benefit of homeschooling with e-learning is that it allows students to work in the comfort of their own homes. This has far-reaching implications. For one, students can focus on learning with no distractions. There is no need to spend money transporting children from the home to school. Homeschooling allows children to spend more time with their families. Delivery of information is consistent. There are no snow days in online homeschooling! Students are free to move to a new city, take a few weeks off for vacation, and more.

Online learning is incredibly flexible. It can be tailored for the unique learning needs of each homeschooler. Online learning is asynchronous, meaning that students at different levels of ability can both achieve success using the same software. Fast learners are not forced to learn along with the rest of the class and similarly, less advanced students are able to take as much time as is needed to complete the course material. No one is left behind or barely keeping up with online homeschooling.

Online homeschooling allows for multimedia and interactive presentations that make learning a more active process. Online homeschool students are engaged with video, audio, and interactive hands-on projects rather than passively listening to a lecture. Students of a variety of learning styles are thus served simultaneously.

.About the Author:

Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, author, children’s rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of almost 3 decades reside with their 8 children in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. because “our current system of education has broken its promise…” Learning By Grace, Inc. delivers Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children in the United States and throughout the world.

Rothschild has authored a number of books about education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Home Education News Blog contains feature stories on alternatives in education.

Only four hours after studying you will forget over 40% of what you learn. Over 40%. As the worlds fastest reader, I have learned the importance of accelerated memory skills for retaining information.

The same memory skills that enable me to retain details at even 80 pages per minute, will also help you retain essential school information. Let us see what makes things more memorable.

Centuries ago the Greeks discovered one of the major secrets of memory. They found that powerful emotions glue information into the permanent memory. Just how do powerful emotions glue information into permanent memory? Information already stored in your permanent memory is similar to hangers in a closet. In the same way that hangers enable the storage of clothing in a closet, mental hangers in your permanent memory empower your brain to store new information. An emotional glue instantly links your new information with stored information already in your brain. Your ability to remember is directly proportional to the powerful emotional responses the image elicits. In short, effective linking requires you to create a unique image that produces extremely powerful emotions. Let us see exactly how this works with the following simple drill.

Using your traditional memory technique, memorize the following 5 items in less than one minute: (1) screw, (2) two by four, (3) sneakers, (4) tomato soup, and (5) window cleaner. In less than a minute, using your traditional memory tool this list can be difficult to permanently remember. Using the emotional anchors discovered by the Greeks you will remember this list in a flash. Furthermore, you will be able to remember it backwards, forwards, or perfectly in any other sequence. Additionally, you will effortlessly be able to accomplish this more difficult task. Hard to believe? Let us do it together.

The first step is to use a list of objects already familiar to you. Objects previously stored in your permanent memory. These objects will become your memory hangers. The parts of your body meet all the necessary criteria. Your body parts are highly familiar to you, and are already stored in your permanent memory. Let us use the feet, shin, knees, thighs, and stomach which are in a convenient order for remembering new information.

Our next step is to create a highly emotional image that links the objects in your list to your familiar body parts. The first object is a screw, and the first body part is your feet. Imagine a sharp, rusty screw, going through your feet and out the top. Ouch! This is certainly a powerful emotional image. When you think of your feet what object immediately is recalled? The screw. Congratulations, you have just memorized the first object on your list.

A two by four is the second object on your list, and it must be linked to your shins. Picture your shins being shattered by a two by four. Thinking about your shins, instantly makes you remember the two by four.

Next you need to link sneakers to your knees. To create this emotional image requires a bit of imagination. Picture Dirty Harry wearing a pair of sneakers, kicking and shattering your knees. Imagining your knees instantly helps you remember a pair of sneakers.

The fourth object in your list is tomato soup, and your next familiar object is your lap. This is an easy image. Think about a boiling pot of tomato soup spilling onto your lap. Contemplating your lap you instantly remember tomato soup.

Your last object is window cleaner, and it must be linked to your stomach. Think about drinking a bottle of window cleaner and having it drain into your stomach. Pondering your stomach immediately makes you think about window cleaner.

Now you are ready to instantly remember the five objects on your list by recalling the emotional images linking them to your five body parts. I will give you the name of a body part and you picture the object linked to it. Ready? Begin: (1) feet, (2) shins, (3) knees, (4) lap, and (5) stomach. See how easy it is to remember items when using emotional anchors. You can use this same technique for memorizing information for school. Incidentally I used painful images because every agrees on what is painful, while our concept of pleasure can vary. Nevertheless strong positive emotions are also effective in anchoring information into memory.

.About the Author:

Howard Berg is known as the “World’s Fastest Reader” as documented in

the 1990 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records. He has taught

thousands of people all over the world not only speed reading but

advanced learning techniques to help them succeed. Get a free lesson

directly from his website here: www.HowardBerg.com

One of the greatest obstacles facing parents who wish to take their children out of the public school system for home schooling is fear – especially fear about their abilities to teach.

No parent wants to be responsible for their child missing out on any important educational elements but, in most states, parents don’t have to be certified teachers in order to instruct their children at home.

When it comes to home schooling, parents have to be prepared for the fact that they’re going to be doing some learning of their own. You can’t automatically be an expert in every topic that you’ll need to help your child with, and each parent will find their own strengths and weaknesses. The key is to avoid passing those weaknesses onto your child. Angela MacArthur, editor of homeschoolingplus.com, reminds parents that “The trick is to be ready to be flexible and creative. The fact is, parents can teach – and they might actually prove to be the best teachers for their children!”

Really, the great thing about home schooling is the flexibility – you decide what’s going to be taught and how. This means, if there’s something that you don’t feel comfortable with you can always find alternate ways to teach it to your child. This is where you really get the chance to give your child an education they’ll never find in a traditional school. Many home schoolers take advantage of video and internet sources (as do many teachers and professors in campus school settings). Some also decide to learn with the student so that a sense of exploration and discovery shape the lesson. Instead of providing straight answers and direct guidance, parents join the child in solving problems and researching the topic.

There are a number of different resources and paths to take when you’re teaching your child. Why take the ‘traditional’ route when you’ve already decided that it’s not right for your child? When it comes to subjects you’re unfamiliar with you could:

• sign your child up for an individual class (either in school, online or at a community center)

• arrange for your child to sit in on college lectures

• attend a speech or other community event

• attend a tour guided by an expert

• consult an author or other type of expert for tips, or even invite them to your home to speak with your child

• canvas other home schoolers and see if there are lessons that you could ‘pool’: you teach several children in your area of expertise and your children attend ‘classes’ at another home schooler’s place for any topic that you need help with

If none of these options appeal to you, then it’s your responsibility to educate yourself in the subject area so that you can pass that knowledge on to your child. Make sure you do your homework and be prepared for questions!

Don’t let fear or uncertainties stop you from home schooling your children. Remember, teachers don’t know everything! Most public school teachers specialize their learning throughout their post secondary education and have to refresh their memories – or even learn something new – when they’re preparing to step into the classroom. Things will be no different for a home school teacher.

.About the Author:

Kim Yonkers is a mom of three who has been home schooling for several years. In her free time, she works as a freelance writer for http://www.homeschoolingplus.com - a site that offers various information for home schooling parents and families featuring information on home schooling, home school material, home schooling online and more.

There are as many reasons for home schooling a child as there are families. Some of the most prominent reasons are…

Absolute control over the child’s education.

More and more public schools are letting our children down and they are not getting a quality education. Homeschooling your child puts you in control. If your child needs help in a particular area you can give him the one on one attention he needs to master that area. This will give him more confidence in life as he realizes that he can master the things that are hard for him. This usually cannot be accomplished in a public school. On the other hand, if they excel in a particular area and have an interest in it, they have the opportunity to reach their full potential in that particular area.

The ability to tailor your child’s education to him. Again, this falls into the absolute control category. People have different learning styles, and there are many. Some learn by seeing, some by hearing, some by actually doing, some by just reading about something, and most by a combination of all these things. Learning styles can even vary depending on which subject they are studying. In a public school it would be impossible for a teacher to tailor their lessons for every child. In the home school this is very possible. A parent can use different lessons and curriculum for each subject and can take the time to try different methods if a child is having a hard time grasping a particular concept. In a public school if a child cannot grasp something the teacher must move on as they are up against a time table of what they must cover for that particular year. If this problem is encountered in the home school, you can slow down and take all the time needed, it can even be postponed until another time if the child just isn’t ready to grasp a concept.

Religious convictions. Some choose to home school their child for religious reasons. Religion is left out of public schools. A religious private school can be expensive and out of the question for some families. Even if a family can manage to send their child to a private school it still may not be a good option. Homeschooling your child can give you the opportunity to make the religion you believe in a part of your homeschool days.

Moral convictions. When my son attended public school for kindergarten I was absolutely shocked at some of the things he came home and told me. We even lived in a small town and my son went to one of the best schools in the district. I then realized he was spending his days with others that I would prefer he did not and there was really nothing I could do about it as long as he remained in public school. The town has since grown by leaps and bounds and that particular school as well as most in the area are overcrowded and riddled with problems. Other parents as well are shocked at the moral environment that our children are thrown into at public schools. Sending a child to public school often results in our children being exposed to people and morals we would prefer them not to be around. We have very little control over who our child spends their time with at a public school. With homeschooling it is possible for our children to be very well socialized and the parent to have more control and influence over the quality of people with which they spend their time.

A closer family relationship. In today’s busy world most families live in the same house but barely have time to spend together or know each other. This can make the family dynamic suffer and ultimately the children. With homeschooling you have more time to just hang out with your children, get to know them and influence and direct who they become as adults. As the child grows older this closer relationship with his parents will give him the confidence he needs to succeed in life and they will be more likely to follow their parents direction and value their opinion.

In summary, whatever the reason for homeschooling a child. The failure of our public school system and the failure of the family unit in today’s world can make homeschooling your children a very attractive option and in some situations, a very necessary option. The rise in homeschool’s popularity and the success that families are having show that, for many families, it has become a very viable option. And, for many who have taken the road into home schooling, it has become one of the most rewarding journeys of their lives.

.About the Author:

About The Author:

Kimberly has been a homeschool mom for 7 years and is the owner/author of http://www.theschoolplace.com. A resource website for the homeschool community that provides information on where to get free and cheap lesson plans, articles, advice and more.