Building More Specific Images in Compositions | Since it takes a number of skills to write an interesting, cohesive composition, daily writing … | 2012-02-25 15:30:43 |
The Power of Patience | How we teach influences our children as much, or more, than what we teach. If … | 2012-02-25 15:28:51 |
Teaching Children to Take a Stand | Several skills are involved in processing information. Unfortunately, two of the foundational skills, memorization and … | 2012-02-25 15:28:04 |
Try a Project Approach | Well, we’ve all been back to homeschooling for a month now, and many are probably … | 2012-02-25 14:51:15 |
Why Bother with Physical Education? | Often considered just one more thing that has to be completed, physical education is frequently … | 2012-02-25 14:50:10 |
Minor Adjustments for Major Benefits: Using English to Teach Teens to Think | As I mentioned last month, teenagers need plenty of opportunities to think critically. We can … | 2012-02-25 14:49:11 |
How Do I Know if My Child ‘Gets It’ | It’s easy to believe a child “gets it” when he answers a question using the … | 2012-02-25 14:48:00 |
The Gifted May Not Seem A Gift, But They Are | My husband Richard has few fond memories of public school. After being a model student … | 2012-02-25 14:47:00 |
Casual Conversations Can Build Thinking Skills | Here’s an easy way to help your children get more out of the fiction they … | 2012-02-25 14:06:13 |
Learning & Real Experiences | Don’t let the routine of the school day lull you into a false sense of … | 2012-02-25 14:04:57 |
Reading Critically | Two concerns that every home-school parent should address in the area of literature are that … | 2012-02-25 14:04:04 |
Motivating Our Teens | We all have to do things we don’t really want to do. So why do … | 2012-02-25 14:03:03 |
Motivating Your Teenager | Frequently, students are willing to complete academic assignments without too much protest until becoming teenagers. … | 2012-02-25 14:02:14 |
Minor Adjustments for Major Benefits: Using History to Teach Teens to Think | The high school years should include plenty of opportunities for teens to practice thinking critically. … | 2012-02-25 14:00:33 |
A View From the Homeschooled | Originally published: September 2002 by Clea Stout Fennemore As I’m sure most readers know, this … | 2012-02-25 13:58:22 |
More Ideas to Help the Developing Reader | When a child has difficulty learning to read, the teacher’s challenge is to add practice … | 2012-02-25 13:56:42 |
Motivating Young Readers | Children want to imitate their parents and, so, are eager to read. At least until … | 2012-02-25 13:55:30 |
Opportunities for Discussions | August is a month of vacations—a chance to relax before starting a new school year. … | 2012-02-25 13:53:33 |
Training Our Children In the Way They Should Go | My children are grown, so my homeschooling days are behind me. At least until I … | 2012-02-25 13:49:07 |
Is It Easy? | Greetings! Welcome to my very first column on the Internet. I admit I avoided the … | 2012-02-25 13:44:55 |
The “Foreign” Language of Math | Note: The content of this newsletter requires a visual that cannot be included in the … | 2012-02-25 13:33:34 |
What Do I Do With Those Test Scores? | Originally Published: July 2001 You may have been thrilled—or dismayed—by your child’s standardized achievement test … | 2012-01-22 14:51:38 |
The Pauses That Refresh | Originally Published: July 2000 Burn out is a common complaint among homeschooling parents, even among … | 2012-01-22 14:45:44 |
Machiavelli Was Right—Sort Of | Originally Published: June 2002 Does the end ever justify the means? I realize this question … | 2012-01-22 14:41:29 |
Add Benefits to Summer Fun | Originally Published: June 2001 A great deal of learning can take place during the summer … | 2012-01-22 14:40:19 |
Is It Possible To Enjoy Social Studies? | Originally Published: May 1998 This is the subject most abused in the public school system. … | 2012-01-22 14:33:16 |
Healthy-Hearted Juggling | Originally Published: May 2004 This isn’t one of those articles on organization that reminds you … | 2012-01-22 14:08:22 |
Little Things Do Mean A Lot | Originally Published: May 2002 Coloring with my four-year-old niece, I adjusted her grip on the … | 2012-01-22 14:07:13 |
Helping Children Learn to Read | Originally Published: May 2001 There are a variety of good reading programs available, yet many … | 2012-01-22 14:00:28 |
The Play’s the Thing | Originally Published: May 2000 When I was young, it was common for kids to gather … | 2012-01-22 13:58:47 |
What Do I Need to Know About Learning Styles? | Originally Published: April 1999 Anything we find confusing or complicated is best learned when we … | 2012-01-22 13:34:30 |
Playing to Learn | Originally Published: April 1998 Long before official “school” begins, children’s play can provide opportunities for … | 2012-01-22 13:29:44 |
The Power of Purpose | Originally Published: April 2003 A man crouches next to his children’s bed in the middle … | 2012-01-22 13:27:02 |
The Perfect Homeschool—Yours! | Originally Published: April 2002 Discouraged by trying and getting nowhere in her public school classes, … | 2012-01-22 13:23:58 |
Time to Talk | Originally Published: April 2001 Are your children comfortable speaking in front of others? Oral presentations, … | 2012-01-21 21:47:00 |
Adjusting Attitude | Originally Published: April 2000 Even when teaching methods are effective in helping a student understand … | 2012-01-21 21:21:49 |
Teaching Children Who Have Difficulty Learning | Originally Published: March 1999 Each child is unique, and his learning disability specific. However, there … | 2012-01-21 21:20:12 |
What to do with the Hands-On Learner | Originally Published: March 1998 Last month I discussed the auditory learner. This month, let’s take … | 2012-01-21 21:14:50 |
Unit Study Tip | Originally Published: March/April 1996 Students often fill their writing assignments with vague generalities or merely … | 2012-01-21 21:10:45 |
I Can’t, I Won’t | Originally Published: March/April 2005 Most of us are familiar with the child that wants to … | 2012-01-21 20:55:34 |
More About How Kids Learn | Originally Published: March 2003 Much is now available about learning styles. Some of us learn … | 2012-01-21 20:08:59 |
Handling Homeschool Stress | My days were already more than full, so when I thought about taking on homeschooling … | 2012-01-21 20:05:54 |
Teaching With Toddlers | Originally Published: March 2001 Little ones demand attention, making it a challenge to give older … | 2012-01-21 19:41:16 |
Gaining Literary Experience | Originally Published: March 2000 Literature in junior and senior high school has, too often, been … | 2012-01-21 19:39:24 |
Getting More Out of Writing Assignments | Originally Published: January/February 2007 Composition often finds itself at the bottom of the teacher’s “To … | 2012-01-21 19:37:19 |
Finding Success | Originally Published: January/February 2006 The one-size-fits-all approach to education emphasizes method. For a student to … | 2012-01-21 19:34:56 |
Kids Who Have Trouble Paying Atten… | Originally Published: February 1999 When lessons don’t seem to stick, a short attention span could … | 2012-01-21 15:31:15 |
Beat the Blahs | Originally Published: February 1998 This is a good time of year to take stock of … | 2012-01-21 15:28:43 |
Getting More Out of Movies – Part II | Originally Published: February 2001 Because movies must develop a story in two to three hours, … | 2012-01-21 15:18:47 |
Fostering Creativity – A Balancing Act | Originally Published: February 2000 An environment that encourages creativity is one that includes opportunities for … | 2012-01-21 15:17:01 |
Developing a Writer — Part II | Originally Published: February 2003 Writing and thinking are intricately connected. Therefore, any activities that help … | 2011-12-19 19:56:19 |
Confidence Builders | Originally Published: January 2000 How we interact with our children can make or break their … | 2011-12-19 19:50:05 |
Help for the Anxious Child | Originally Published: January 2002 Is your child a perfectionist? Is he easily frustrated? Frequently worried? … | 2011-12-19 19:42:46 |
Developing a Writer — Part I | Originally Published: January 2003 Parents and teachers hoping to develop both interest and skill in … | 2011-12-19 19:37:54 |
Is It Time For A Change? | Originally Published: January 2004 Frequently, homeschooling moms find themselves looking for relief from a case … | 2011-12-19 19:35:30 |
Fun With Money | Originally Published: January 1999 The holidays are over and its time to get back to … | 2011-12-19 16:22:39 |
Independent Activities for Middle School Science | Originally Published: March/April 2007 Whether homeschooling one child or several, we all tend to look … | 2007-03-01 00:00:19 |
Is It Bribery? | What do we do when kids don’t want to learn what we’ve set before them? … | 2006-11-01 00:00:50 |
Keeping Unit Studies Simple | I often talk with homeschooling families struggling with their transition from a packaged textbook program … | 2006-07-01 00:00:29 |
Baby-Steps Toward Independence | Originally Published: May/June 2006 Are you eager for your children to be able to work … | 2006-05-01 00:00:14 |
Personalizing Science | Originally Published: March/April 2006 Children begin with a curiosity about the world around them. If … | 2006-03-01 00:00:07 |
Home Schooling Basics Part II: The Pace | Planning lessons begins with targeting specific objectives (the concept or skill we want learned). Then … | 2005-07-01 00:00:28 |
Homeschooling Basics Part I: Balance | How do we decide what to teach and at what pace? Having opted out of … | 2005-05-01 00:00:46 |
Strategies for Teaching Kids with Special Needs | Although every child is unique and specific needs vary, there are a number of recommendations … | 2004-11-01 00:00:02 |
From Avoidance to Confidence | Is there something your student finds too hard? If so, he probably tries to avoid … | 2004-07-01 00:00:07 |
Why Your Child May Have Trouble Staying Focused | Ahh, spring is in the air…and thoughts wander. Maybe that’s all that’s behind your child’s … | 2004-04-01 00:00:41 |
How Do Homeschooled Kids Become Responsible? | Not long ago, a parent told me that during his Internet search into homeschooling he … | 2004-03-01 00:00:26 |
More Tips for Teaching Handwriting | Handwriting questions continue to fill my mailbox, so here are a few tips that I … | 2003-08-01 00:00:53 |
The Quest for the Perfect Curriculum | The hunt for that perfect curriculum is once again in progress. Surely there is one … | 2003-05-01 00:00:08 |
Making an Alphabet Book | Making an alphabet book is a simple activity that helps develop reading readiness in young … | 2002-11-01 00:00:44 |
Tips for Tutoring Middle School Math | As a math tutor, I frequently work with kids having difficulty staying focused. Even when … | 2002-08-01 00:00:58 |
Time for a Change? | Originally Published: February 2002 This is a good time of year to step back and … | 2002-02-01 00:00:46 |
Music Makes a Difference | The merits of music education are no secret. Articles and books have pointed out the … | 2001-12-01 00:00:33 |
Getting More Out of Movies — Part I | Originally Published: January 2001 For teenagers trying to avoid reading fiction, movies can be used … | 2001-01-01 00:00:06 |
Breaking Down the Barriers | When children struggle repeatedly without success, their natural reaction is to avoid that challenge in … | 2000-12-01 00:00:05 |
Developing Classification Skills in Young Children | Busy schedules make it easy to overlook suggested reading or math readiness activities simply because … | 2000-10-01 00:00:25 |
A Simple Approach to an Essential Tool: Vocabulary | If a child is able to retell the basic plot of a story just heard … | 2000-08-01 00:00:49 |
I Think, Therefore I…Fill in the Blanks? | Students generally try to complete an assignment with as little effort as possible. Therefore, even … | 2000-06-01 00:00:46 |
Toys That Teach | Young children can learn a great deal as they play. Following are just a few … | 1999-12-01 00:00:44 |
What’s in a Game? | While students require practice in order to master any skill, that practice does not have … | 1999-09-01 00:00:38 |
Introducing Word Problems | Why do kids that have no difficulty with computation suddenly become totally confused when given … | 1999-08-01 00:00:26 |
Getting Ready to Handwrite | Enjoyable activities that develop hand-eye coordination pay off later when young children learn to write. … | 1999-07-01 00:00:03 |
Exploring the Sense of Touch | Let your children explore and make discoveries about their senses. Not only will they develop … | 1999-06-01 00:00:23 |
One Stop Shopping, or Eclectic Education? | The homeschool shopping season has begun. Here are a few tips to keep in mind … | 1999-05-01 00:00:56 |
Easy Ways to Put Spark into Your Home School | There is nothing more exhausting than trying to get kids to do what they don’t … | 1998-12-01 00:00:49 |
How to Teach Handwriting | There are three components to handwriting, whether a child is learning to print or write … | 1998-11-01 00:00:15 |
Tips for Multi-Level Planning | Here’s one approach to developing a working outline that is easily adapted to multi-level teaching. … | 1998-10-01 00:00:56 |
Help! My Child Can’t Spell | Spelling is a regular part of the language arts curriculum through eighth grade. So why … | 1998-07-01 00:00:44 |
Fringe Benefits of the IEP: Individualized Educational Program | Special education teachers have had to specify objectives by writing IEPs for students for years. … | 1998-06-01 00:00:05 |
Simple Techniques To Encourage Thinking Skills in the Young | Here are a few simple ways to encourage the development of problem solving skills in … | 1998-01-01 00:00:58 |
Exceptions To Our Established Homeschool Routines | December has arrived, and with it all the extra responsibilities holidays bring. It is a … | 1997-12-01 00:00:30 |
Help Your Children Write Well | “Has composition been a priority in your home school, or have you felt intimidated by … | 1997-11-01 00:00:09 |
Instilling a Love of Learning | When I was fresh out of college and bursting with ideas for helping children discover, … | 1995-01-01 00:00:31 |
About Design-A-Study | Design-A-Study was founded in 1988 by Kathryn Stout. After eight years of teaching in public … | 1988-01-01 00:00:56 |