Parents Resources

When parents decide to homeschool, the first aspects they generally think about are curriculum and schedules. While these are a significant part of a successful homeschool experience, there are other factors that will make a much bigger difference. Here are three key elements your homeschool absolutely needs to function well. #1 – Love With Like Many parents make the decision ...

Homeschoolers are generally optimistic and enthusiastic parents who are willing to take on the responsibility and challenge of homeschooling their children. But even with that “can do” attitude, little habits can creep in that undermine those efforts if they aren’t careful. If homeschooling isn’t going quite right, consider if one of these three habits might be hurting your homeschool. #1 ...

When was the last time you or your children gathered at the side of an older family member to learn from their stories? Our busy lifestyles and lack of cultural respect for our elders have begun to erase this tradition within our families. Additionally, it has become all too easy to rely on technology to store our family histories in ...

“Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” -Proverbs 16:3 For many people, January is a time for setting goals for personal health, fitness and self-improvement. “Lose 50 pounds before summer! Work out every day! Only speak kind words to my family!” Unfortunately, we tend to abandon these lofty and often unobtainable goals before the calendar ...

History is full of rulers who are called, by themselves or others, “great.” Men like Alexander the Great, whose huge empire of conquered nations dissolved a few years after his death, or women like Catherine the Great, who built fabulous palaces and art galleries at tremendous cost to her poor serfs. Usually a ruler’s greatness is limited to one small ...

Geography is the study of places and the people who live there. Since people and places are varied and fascinating, the study of geography should be one of the most interesting subjects we can study! We do a great disservice to students when geography is reduced to learning the state capitals and filling in locations on a blank map. So ...

When humans sought to pass down their traditions and collective wisdom to future generations, did they do so through a dry government document entitled “20 Essentials of Sumerian Culture” or through a government-mandated curriculum written by a committee? No, they accomplished the transmission of their culture through stories. Stories were told by village elders, painted on walls, engraved on clay ...

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time each year when we pause to reflect on the blessings we have received. We take time to thank our Creator for gifts such as family, friends, food, home, and health. Too often, Thanksgiving becomes merely a rushed-through precursor to the Christmas holidays. So how can we make it more meaningful, especially if we have children ...

Children are naturally wired to be playful and imaginative. Unfortunately, the busyness of daily life can also steal away their opportunities to continue enjoying these gifts. What can parents do to further encourage imagination in their children? 1) Give Them Time Unstructured time is vitally important if you are going to encourage imagination. Sometimes it takes a bit of time ...

When most adults think back to their history classes in school, they remember boring lectures and dry textbooks full of endless facts to be memorized for a test (and later forgotten). But history doesn’t have to be boring and it doesn’t have to depend on a textbook. There are many ways to teach history that will fully engage students and ...