Homeschool Coffee Break Reading List - June 2023

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you!

A long time ago I did an occasional round-up of articles, resources, and just fun things around the web and called it the Coffee Break Reading List, because this blog is the Homeschool Coffee Break, so of course! It included things unrelated to homeschooling too, as it was essentially a collection of the different things I was reading. As I finished the journey through homeschooling my own kids, I did continue tutoring and mentoring homeschool families, and was involved in the homeschool community, but I did this round-up less often, until eventually I left off doing it altogether. After a recent move, I started a new blog which is now the home of the Coffee Break Reading List, but because I still care deeply about homeschooling, I'm still going to try to do a homeschool related reading list here. Here are just a few things I've found during recent coffee breaks that you may find interesting as well.

The homeschool reading corner:

• The Week recently reported about The changing face of home schooling in the US. Overall the home education movement is becoming more diverse, and it's growing. No matter what other reasons are given for choosing to homeschool, the basis appears to be that parents believe it's their right to determine how their kids are educated. Home schooling is legal in all 50 states, but there are varying levels of regulation in the states. One change that's notable is the proliferation of resources to help parents who are homeschooling. These include co-ops, information outlets and groups online, legal representation like HSLDA, and lots of curriculum choices from traditional workbooks to online classes.
• Co-ops and tutorial groups are one way the homeschool families are working together to help each other meet social and education needs. The HSLDA website featured one of these co-ops in this article: 'We're Intended to Rely on Each Other': Urban Homeschoolers Band Together. This story is about a co-op group in Chicago, where homeschooling is a growing trend, that serves a multi-ethnic group of families. The group saw a need for sharing practical information about homeschooling all the way through high school to families who had concerns such as providing education when English is a second language, how to prepare students for college, and how to keep the cost of education affordable. 
• Young people have great ideas for new ways to meet needs address challenges, and home education is one good way to encourage students to really focus on and explore their ideas. The young entrepreneur featured in this Good News Network story is not homeschooled as far as I know, but I share it here because it's good news when this kind of ingenuity and commitment are being used to better the world. This 23-Year-Old Founder is 3D Printing Schools in Madagascar Aiming to be a 'Stepping Stone for the Community'
• Speaking of talented young people, this kid featured in an Upworthy article . . . wow. Again, not a homeschooled kid, but just goes to show that there's so much raw talent out there, and that there are kids who take it upon themselves to learn stuff that they're interested in. 'Spider-verse filmmakers were so wowed by a 14-year-old's trailer remake, they hired him. 
• Last homeschool note to add here is a reminder to visit the HSLDA campaigns page to check on legislation affecting homeschooling in your state and the HSLDA recommendations on those bills.

Yes, I share this every month, I think!

I prefer to make those [educational] choices myself. Not because I think I know 'better' than all those professional educators, but I do think I know my own children best, and consequently which programs and methods would benefit them. Homeschooling is not about rejecting other people and things; it's about making personal and positive choices for your own family. ~Mariette Ulrich

Homeschooled children benefit the community because they are not shaped by peers but by parents. ~Mary Kay Clark

Resource Spotlight:

For most of us, the school year recently wrapped up, but I remember when I was homeschooling, I could hardly wait to get the final report cards done so I could jump into planning for the next year! Even now, I'm itching to work on my lesson plans because I'm tentatively planning on teaching a high school writing class again next school year. If you're looking for planning tools, one source for a great homeschool planner is SchoolhouseTeachers.com. The 2023-2024 Schoolhouse SmartMama Planner is now available free to members. Check it out!

From the archives here at Homeschool Coffee Break: 

With the beginning of July just a few days away, the obvious choice from my archives is this history lesson post that focuses on Canada Day and Independence Day, since both Canada and the United States will be celebrating birthdays. What do you have planned for the celebrations this year?

Celebrating National Birthdays

My personal coffee break reading:

A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber

Composition As Conversation by Heather M. Hoover

   

Find out more at my book blog Just A Second.

Found anything interesting on the web lately? Read any good books? Leave a comment and let me know!

Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to HS Coffee Break by email 

 ©2006-2023 HS Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Homeschool Coffee Break Reading List - May 2023

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you!

A long time ago I did an occasional round-up of articles, resources, and just fun things around the web and called it the Coffee Break Reading List, because this blog is the Homeschool Coffee Break, so of course! It included things unrelated to homeschooling too, as it was essentially a collection of the different things I was reading. As I finished the journey through homeschooling my own kids, I did continue tutoring and mentoring homeschool families, and was involved in the homeschool community, but I did this round-up less often, until eventually I left off doing it altogether. After a recent move, I started a new blog which is now the home of the Coffee Break Reading List, but because I still care deeply about homeschooling, I'm still going to try to do a homeschool related reading list here. Here are just a few things I've found during recent coffee breaks that you may find interesting as well.

The homeschool reading corner:

• Enrollment in U.S. government schools dropped by over one million students from 2019 to 2021, and while some of that shift was certainly due to Covid lockdowns, the trend is continuing. Many parents are finding that public schools are unwilling or unable to provide help for students that are struggling, sometimes stating that scores aren't 'low enough' to warrant intervention. It begs the question, how far behind does a student need to be to prompt a public school to help? As public schools fail to address students' needs, more parents turn to alternatives (from The Lion) explains.
• Since my son was a member of Civil Air Patrol, I found this article very interesting. A Virginia student who had been in Civil Air Patrol applied to an Air Force JROTC program but was told he was ineligible because he was homeschooled. Ryan Carbonel had plans to get into the US Air Force Academy, so this was a setback. Thanks to assistance from the HSLDA, the public school was informed that Carbonel did have the right to join the JROTC and he is back on track. Read more: Never Give Up: How a Teen, His Mom, and HSLDA Cleared the Runway to JROTC.
• Congratulations to these homeschool students and to the Richmond Mall for this colorful art showcase, "Art Around the World", featuring artwork from homeschooled students at a local co-op. See: Homeschool Art Showcase Adds Color to Mall (from the Richmond Register)
• I'm not sure about statistics, but it seems like families that homeschool are more likely to eat meals together. Anecdotally, a large majority of the homeschool families I know do eat at least one meal together on most days of the week. I saved this article quite some time ago, but I believe it's still relevant. Anita Ojeda asked Does The Family That Eats Together Have Better Mental Health? and also offered a few tips for making family mealtime work better. And that's news we can all use, even if we're not homeschooling!
• Visit the HSLDA campaigns page to check on legislation affecting homeschooling in your state and the HSLDA recommendations on those bills.

The home is the first and most effective place to learn the lessons of life: truth, honor, virtue, self-control, the value of education, honest work, and the purpose and privilege of life. Nothing can take the place of home in rearing and teaching children, and no other success can compensate for failure in the home. ~David O. McKay

Dear friend, don't let the bustling culture determine the needs of your own children. You get to choose how they grow up. You can protect their time, energy, and imagination. You are the gatekeeper of the garden of their childhood. ~Ainsley Arment

Resource Spotlight:

This free webinar takes place this evening, so very time-sensitive! Learning to Write: Getting the Right Start! is a free 45-minute workshop Q&A provided by HSLDA. This workshop will help you introduce K-6 students to writing and cultivate their love of writing. 

Speaking of writing, one resource we liked a lot, especially for middle grades was Fix It! Grammar from Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW). Their Structure and Style writing method is well-known for teaching composition. Fix It! Grammar is a series of six books that teach grammar skills and knowledge by having students find and correct errors in short daily passages that tell a story. It's an interesting and fun way to practice using grammar skills.

See our full review: Fixing Grammar with IEW

SchoolhouseTeachers.com has a Drivers Ed course! Did you know? I remember that when my kids were teens learning to drive, my state still required new drivers to learn from a driving school, so you will need to check what the laws are where you live. But either way, the Friendly Drivers Ed course will be a big help! It covers how to pass the exams to get the license, basic car science, safety, maintenance, and ownership concerns that every one of us needs to know. 

From the archives here at Homeschool Coffee Break: 

Curious about Civil Air Patrol, which I mentioned in one of the news stories? Here's an article I wrote about the organization in 2016 when my son graduated from high school: From the High School Lesson Book - Civil Air Patrol

Our daughter just graduated from university, and this is the season for graduations! Got me thinking about many of the graduation traditions like the cap and gown, and I remembered mentioning a few of those traditions when I wrote about my son's high school graduation a few years ago. I suppose I should share about my daughter's latest achievement here - watch for that post coming soon! For now, you can check out: From the High School Lesson Book - Graduation

My personal coffee break reading:

Fair As A Star by Mimi Matthews

The Keys to Gramercy Park by Candice Sue Patterson

A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber

American Cozy: Hygge-Inspired Ways to Create Comfort & Happiness by Stephanie Pedersen

   

   

Find out more at my book blog Just A Second.

Found anything interesting on the web lately? Read any good books? Leave a comment and let me know!

Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to HS Coffee Break by email 

 ©2006-2023 HS Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Homeschool Coffee Break Reading List - April 2023

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you!

A long time ago I did an occasional round-up of articles, resources, and just fun things around the web and called it the Coffee Break Reading List, because this blog is the Homeschool Coffee Break, so of course! It included things unrelated to homeschooling too, as it was essentially a collection of the different things I was reading. As I finished the journey through homeschooling my own kids, I did continue tutoring and mentoring homeschool families, and was involved in the homeschool community, but I did this round-up less often, until eventually I left off doing it altogether. After a recent move, I started a new blog which is now the home of the Coffee Break Reading List, but because I still care deeply about homeschooling, I'm still going to try to do a homeschool related reading list here. Here are just a few things I've found during recent coffee breaks that you may find interesting as well.

The homeschool reading corner:

• One of the enduring misconceptions about homeschooling is that kids are missing out on socialization. Personally, I don't think people know exactly what they mean by the word when they ask that stereotypical question: What about socialization? The article Examining the Socialization Myth at the Homeschool Review Crew website addresses the question and some possible answers. 
• Apparently, we're starting to see a shift in what young people pursue after high school and apprenticeship type programs are gaining in popularity while college enrollment is not. Not The Bee summarizes in Great News: More and more young people are foregoing college and taking up apprenticeships instead. As their article concludes, certainly a college education is needed for some career choices, but unless it's a necessity for what your high schooler wants to pursue, check out other options. My recommendation is to find the most efficient way to get to the job or career you're after, and you might be surprised how often it's possible and beneficial to bypass college to get there.
• Speaking of alternatives to college, here's a homeschooled student in Australia that's on a fast track to learning sales, marketing, and business, and basically apprenticing in his father's business. 'Why wait till I'm 18?': Teen makes 30k a year while finishing school (from news.com.au)
• HB 127 has been introduced in Ohio, which would lift some of the paperwork and approval burden from parents wishing to homeschool. Ohio bill loosens home schooling requirements, as reported by NBC. Follow what the HSLDA legal team is recommending regarding Ohio legislation, and visit the HSLDA campaigns page to check on legislation affecting homeschooling in your state and the HSLDA recommendations on those bills.

Don't waste a lot of time and money pushing kids in a direction they don't want to go. Instead, find out what weirdness they excel at and encourage them to do that. Then get out of the way. ~Seth Godin

The best education does not happen at a desk, but rather engaged in everyday living - hands-on, exploring, in active relationship with life. ~Vince Gowman

Resource Spotlight:

If you have a high school student that will graduate this year, you're probably making plans to celebrate their achievement―and yours! Some homeschool groups get together for graduation ceremonies, present diplomas, and all of that, but not all do. If you're looking to do any part of it yourself, you might want to check out this How-to post of mine: Transcripts? Diplomas? How do you do those? You'll find links there to some companies that provide tools to help you with the transcript and the diploma.

That includes a link to my 2018 (and 2016) review of  Homeschool Diploma - Celebrating Homeschool Graduations.

 SchoolhouseTeachers.com will be honoring seniors during the 2023 Senior Recognition. If you have a graduate in the house, send in a photo of your senior and a favorite quote, Scripture, or plans for the future (280-character limit). Seniors will be showcased in the SchoolhouseTeachers.com Facebook group, Instagram, and Twitter pages, beginning May 29th. Visit the Activity Calendar section of your Member Dashboard to find full details. 

From the archives here at Homeschool Coffee Break: 

Homeschool convention season is also beginning, so here's a guide to getting the most out of one if you go: Do You Attend Homeschool Conventions?

Links to help you find conventions near you:

2023 List of Christian Homeschool Conventions, Conferences, and Retreats (The Homeschool Compass)

Great Homeschool Conventions

Teach Them Diligently 2023 Convention Locations

My personal coffee break reading:

Women Talking by Miriam Toews (just finished!)

After the Boxes Are Unpacked: Moving On After Moving In by Susan Miller (also just finished!)

When Tomorrow Came by Hannah Linder

A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber 

   

   

Find out more at my book blog Just A Second.

Found anything interesting on the web lately? Read any good books? Leave a comment and let me know!

Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to HS Coffee Break by email 

 ©2006-2023 HS Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Homeschool Coffee Break Reading List - March 2023

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from HS Coffee Break helps fuel this blog. 

A long time ago I did an occasional round-up of articles, resources, and just fun things around the web and called it the Coffee Break Reading List, because this blog is the Homeschool Coffee Break, so of course! It included things unrelated to homeschooling too, as it was essentially a collection of the different things I was reading. As I finished the journey through homeschooling my own kids, I did continue tutoring and mentoring homeschool families, and was involved in the homeschool community, but I did this round-up less often, until eventually I left off doing it altogether. After a recent move, I started a new blog and it's now the home of the Coffee Break Reading List, but I thought I should still do something similar here occasionally because I still care deeply about homeschooling. I think it needs a new name though. I'll have to think about that. For now, here are just a few things I've found during recent coffee breaks that you may find interesting as well.

The homeschool reading corner:

• This article at Intellectual Takeout was published in 2021, when the vast majority of American schools were closed or limited because of the pandemic, and American schoolchildren were at home and doing some kind of virtual school. In Homeschooling Just Crossed the Tipping Point, Annie Holmquist looks at the statistics showing that home education grew to just over 11% of families at that time in light of a study showing that when just 10% of a population holds an unshakeable belief, that belief will be adopted by the rest of society. Do you think homeschooling became more mainstream after the school closures? 
• Lockdowns in other parts of the world sent students to virtual and home education as well. My life as Exeter home-schooled teen and why I'll never go back to class is about a student in UK that excelled when allowed to learn at home, at her own pace.
• School vouchers are often a topic of debate among homeschoolers. That would promote school choice, wouldn't it? There's more to the topic than meets the eye. Nicki Truesdell explains in Understanding School Choice.
• Florida and Ohio are among states considering changes to school funding, including school vouchers. Arkansas just enacted a new education bill that may impact homeschooling. Visit the HSLDA campaigns page to check on legislation affecting homeschooling in your state and the HSLDA recommendations on those bills.

Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence. ~Abigail Adams

Resource Spotlight:

One of the resources we often used is one I still promote and recommend―SchoolhouseTeachers.com. They happen to be focusing on Science this month, so I will highlight some science resources as well. This article― From the High School Lesson Book - A Resource Collection for Science―showcases the resources we used along with some info about each of them, so it's a good place to start if you're thinking about science curriculum for next year.

If you're a member of SchoolhouseTeachers.com, I hope you already know about the Hey, Mama! Bright Spot Chat series. Each month there's a members only Hey Mama! Bright Spot Chat designed to encourage you and equip you with fresh, practical ideas your homeschool. Let's Talk Science is the next chat, so plan to join in at 4 p.m. (Eastern) on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. You can register from the Events tab of your Member Dashboard.

Do you homeschool and wish your kid could participate in a Science Fair? A lot of co-ops and homeschool groups do these, but if you are still looking, SchoolhouseTeachers.com has got you covered with their Virtual Science Fair. Homeschool science can be so much fun because you can study whatever branch of science your kids are interested in! From biology to anatomy to botany and astronomy, the ski is the limit. Your students can share what they've learned this year and see what other homeschoolers have learned as well. SchoolhouseTeachers.com is now accepting entries for the PreK―12 Virtual Science Fair. Submit photos and videos of your child's science projects or exhibits. Award certificates will be presented for first, second, and third places in each category. Find all the details in the Activity Calendar section of the Member Dashboard. You have until the end of the day April 7th to submit your entries.

There are lots of Science courses for all grade levels offered at SchoolhouseTeachers.com. Here are just a few of the high school level courses:

My personal coffee break reading: 

In The Shelter Of Hollythorne House by Sarah E. Ladd

A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber

This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin

After the Boxes Are Unpacked: Moving On After Moving In by Susan Miller

   

   

Find out more at my book blog Just A Second.

Found anything interesting on the web lately? Read any good books? Leave a comment and let me know!

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to HS Coffee Break by email 

 ©2006-2023 HS Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.