Thrift Schooling

   Whether your child is heading off to public school, private school or even if they are homeschooled, getting ready to become a high school student can be a huge adjustment for a teen. Parents can do a lot to ensure their teenagers feel comfortable with the academic and social challenges that come with this new phase of education. As your teen gets ready to make the big step into high school, there are several things you can do to help him make the transition. Being successful in high school requires preparation from an academic standpoint. The confidence that comes from academic success can also help your teen to excel mentally and socially. High school can be a very fun time, and your teen is likely to make friends that will last a lifetime. Here are Seven Ways you can assist your child in getting ready for high school.                      ...

I determined early on in my parenting years not to compare my children to each other. Everyone grows and develops at different rates and it's not fair to one child to compare them to another.  Honestly, it can stress a parent out. One child may have begun to walk before they reach their first birthday while the second one takes their grand old time! Maybe your daughter had no problem being potty trained by the age of two but your son still wets the bed into his school-aged years.  These comparisons are normal and quite common but once we begin to look for the milestones in educationally-based skills, the stress levels tend to skyrocket! Many parents are so eager to have their child reading immediately (like I was with my first!) that we might begin to push a little too hard too young. Then, when number two or three come along it's so easy to compare and expect the same developmental milestones to happen at the same time for each child! Again, every child is diff...

The Berenstain Bears: God Bless Our Country by Mike Berenstain is another wonderful faith-based Berenstain Bears book to add to our collection. I appreciate this series because the reading level is higher than a basic Easy Reader but the content is simple enough for even my preschooler. My eight year old could read this book easily but was still able to learn greatly from it. For the younger grades in our homeschool, half of my curriculum is Abeka based. If you know anything about the Abeka history program for the young ones, then you know that it is strongly patriotic. It focuses primarily on placing a love, understanding and appreciation for our country.  This book could easily be used as a supplemental resource for American history. My oldest son was was excited to review the Redcoats and my first grader recognized the Statue of Liberty. I enjoyed how the focus of the book was about the celebration of the Independence Day both historically and presently. In our area of the...