Homeschool Solutions eNews Archive

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Homeschool Solutions is a monthly enewsletter that features news, tips, resources, and articles to meet the needs of your homeschooling family. You’ll also find out about special money-saving offers and new releases from BJU Press.

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Homeschool Solutions Articles

	2012 Newbery Award Winner Book Review: Dead End in Norvelt Nancy Lohr unpacks the plot and themes of the Newbery Award-winning novel Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos.		A Mother Remembers I will never forget the day that I became a mom. I will never forget holding my tiny, 5 lb., 2 oz. daughter for the first time, seeing her slate blue eyes gazing up at me and seeing her tiny mouth open wide for a big yawn. And I will never forget that first night.
	Keeping School Year Smarts During the Summer We’ve all heard that the brain is like a muscle, and that means that it has to be challenged and exercised regularly to stay in shape. The hard work students put into their studies during the school year is almost wasted if they don’t spend at least some time during the summer months keeping the material fresh in their minds.		All Things Work It had been a hectic morning, and I felt like I was losing my mind. Even when I turned to my Bible, I couldn’t remember the reference to one of the most beloved verses of encouragement—“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God…” Where was it? Where was it? Pulling up my electronic Bible, I did a search with the words “all things work.”
	Choosing a College Major 101 Woohoo … you're going to college! Graduating from high school and getting ready to head off to college can be an exciting time. But there may be a few things that have you concerned—like choosing a college major. The great news is that you don't have to worry. There are some things that you can do that will help you as you make this important decision. Welcome to Choosing a College Major 101.		Taking Responsibility for Your College Finances Deciding what you should major in and where to study it is hard enough, but when you throw in the question of how to finance this great adventure, everything gets a lot trickier! Thankfully, figuring out your financial process is a lot simpler if you lay all the pieces out so that you can see them and know what to look for.
	Hannah: A Remarkable Change, A Remarkable Trust Sometimes, often before we parents feel "ready," we're required to relinquish control over our offspring's lives and futures. For me, revisiting the story of Hannah and Samuel stirs me to wonder at God's faithfulness and at a mother's trust when faced with letting go.		A Different Kind of Thanksgiving We all fantasize at some point about finding our "niche" in life—that one thing that we can do better than almost anyone around us because it just "comes naturally." Unfortunately, most of us discover when we're young that we aren't as prodigiously talented as we had hoped. We are—the dreaded word—average.
	A Letter from College Ever wondered if homeschooling your children will prepare them adequately for college? How will your child handle the academic, emotional, and peer pressures of the formal education environment? There's nothing like a letter home to get a glimpse of a real student's experiences!		Ten Years Later, the Truth Still Stands Memories and lessons from 9/11.
	Fresh Notebooks Freshly sharpened pencils and new notebooks. That was what I always loved best about getting ready for the first day of school.		Crossing on Dry Ground Joshua pulled his cloak closer and gazed out into the night. Cooking fires smoldered in the darkness. The sentries continued their rounds. Livestock crunched their feed, undisturbed by the multitude of sounds and smells drifting on the breeze. Hundreds of thousands of people were camped before him, their tents stretched out in the moonlight. And beyond it all lay the Jordan.
	A Little Lift Our coffeemaker one morning produced considerably more than was expected. With no big demands screaming at me from either the calendar or the clock, I was enjoying a rare, rather easy-going morning.		Chasing Away the Vacation Blues All right. We admit it. Not all summer vacations are created equal. Perhaps you remember learning this lesson as a child when the neighbor kid returned from a mega theme park.
	One More Step The race is on. You can see it in the frantic pace at which people rush through stores, barrel down the roads, dash to appointments, and "eat and run."		Laboring in Hope "You have to welcome the pain," my mother said to the young mother in labor. "Each contraction brings you that much closer to holding your baby." I was home from my sophomore year in college and helping with a homebirth had not been on my "must-do" list of things for the summer.
	Happy 25th Birthday, JourneyForth! The candles are lit, all twenty-five of them! JourneyForth is celebrating its silver anniversary.		Restocking Our Shelves Ever gone to the grocery store when snow is predicted? Not sure how it is in your neighborhood, but in the South you'll likely find empty shelves—especially in the dairy aisle.
	The Best Harvest All right, we admit it. For most of us, the bounty of the harvest we celebrate in November comes from the grocery store. The Pilgrims would never recognize our "harvest"--canned, prepackaged, pasteurized, and processed--as bearing any resemblance to theirs.		Living Christmas It wasn't too difficult of an assignment, really: to speak for 15 minutes at a homeschool mothers Christmas luncheon on what it means to be a homeschool mom. Pretty straightforward, right? Yet despite my best efforts I was once again down to the wire and facing a blank page.
	Grace for Every Season Autumn has returned--with its brightly woven cornucopia of holidays, harvest fruits, bittersweet memories, and beautiful trees. This year finds you, perhaps, a little sadder, hopefully wiser; maybe you are entering a new phase as you begin homeschooling for the first time or your oldest child leaves for college.		A Month Full of Thankfuls Have you ever noticed that we often forget to be thankful for something until it's too late? Thanksgiving is less than a month away and yet there's so much to be thankful for between now and then. Don't wait until the official holiday to start counting your blessings. Get the whole family involved by making the time leading up to Thanksgiving a month of "thankfuls."
	New Year's Resolutions New Year’s resolutions—they come in as many varieties as colors in a new crayon box. But it’s only September! Why are we talking about New Year’s resolutions now? Because it’s the new school year, and whether we admit it or not, we all start the school year with secret resolutions that “this year things will be different!”		10 Tips for Making the Most of Your Homeschool Year Try these tips to help make the most of your year homeschooling.
	Homeschool Hiking—A Learning Experience Sunny summer months are a great time to take your family for a hike through God’s beautiful creation. The kids may have a break from school, but that doesn’t mean your next family hike can’t be a learning experience. Here are just a few tips to encourage your child to explore and learn by combining his or her natural curiosity with outdoor fun.		God's Blueprint for Friendships A father of five explains how Jesus' example can teach homeschooled children how to get along with each other and have meaningful friendships.
	Meet the Author: Kim Stegall As a child, BJU Press textbook author Kim Stegall was not interested in following her parents’ English teaching careers, but love for the English language ran in her blood. Distinctive phrases, unusual vocabulary words, and “listen to this!” created a daily atmosphere in which English linguistics were a beloved part of everyday life.		Meet the Author: Dennis Bollinger “Helping students fall in love with history should be the goal of every history teacher,” says Dennis Bollinger—and he would know! Thanks to two history teachers passionate about their subject and God’s role in it, Dennis developed a love for history that would influence his studies and his life.
	The Art of Asking Questions Asking good questions is not natural for most teachers. Even experienced home educators can often become more effective by evaluating whether their questions are exercising students' critical thinking skills.		Comprehending Comprehension Most publishers claim their textbooks promote comprehension of the subject matter. Homeschool parents must critically evaluate these claims based on their goals for their homeschool curriculum.
	Evaluating Literature Part 1 \| Part 2 Both strict censorship and total exposure in a homeschool literature curriculum can harm a child's worldview. The biblical perspective is to teach discernment of objectionable elements and themes through the lens of Scripture.		A Great Gift! Reading to your children not only gives you and your child memorable moments together, but also increases their listening comprehension, language skills, and cognitive development.