A homeschooling how-to is almost impossible to write. There are as many ways to homeschool as there are homeschooling families, because different families have different needs and goals, and different parents have different beliefs about education.

Some parents believe children should follow the same curriculum as their peers in the local school. Others say, teach your kids to read and then let them loose on whatever they are interested in, regardless of what skills they might miss.

I – a former schoolteacher – believe in a happy medium. In the future I will be writing articles that address the most common homeschooling methods and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Here, I am just going to lay out a simple formula that I believe can work for every family. Of course, this is just my opinion based on my own experience with children and how they best learn, intermingled with the various homeschooling methods I have read about. Take it for what you think it’s worth, but if you’ve been on the fence about how to do homeschooling I believe what follows will help you take the next steps on the journey.

1. Immerse your children in a foreign language as soon as possible

If you are fluent in another language – including sign language – the ideal is to begin communicating with your children in that language from birth. If you haven’t, today is the first day of the rest of your bilingual child’s life.

If you aren’t fluent in another language, begin playing audio and DVDs of the language you want them to learn, preferably specifically geared toward children. Have them spend about thirty minutes per day listening, and do your best to learn along with them so they have someone to converse with in that language.

Don’t force anything; understand that just by hearing the language will go a long way in helping their brains develop an affinity for multiple languages.

2. Youngsters play

Until your child is about eight years old, read to them often, sing and dance with them, and let them play all they want. If they are obviously bent toward reading or working with numbers, let them run with it. Otherwise, you are not doing them a disservice by letting them be children.

On the contrary, Dr. Raymond Moore, who has a Ph.D. in education and homeschooled his children back in the 1950′s, often cites Ivy League university studies that show most children are not ready for formal academics until somewhere between the age of eight to twelve years.

3. Seven-year-olds help with chores

Most seven-year-old children are mature enough to begin seriously helping with housework. Train them each chore one at a time, and a couple times a week give them a choice as to which chore they are going to do.

Yes, this means they can even turn the dials on the washing machine and dryer, and if you use vinegar to clean your toilets, they can do that, too! No, they won’t do everything perfectly. But they are learning valuable skills, and the more patience and praise you have for them in this area, the more willing they will be to help out.

4. Age eight = project time

When children are around eight years old, have them begin working on projects based on personal interests. You may need to guide your children to choose a topic, but once they do keep your hands off, unless and until your help is requested.

They may work on the project for an entire day, and then not touch it for the next few days. Or they may work on it for a few minutes every day.

They may simply read several books on the topic. Or they might choose to write a story. Or draw some pictures. Or simply tell you what they are learning.

The project may last two days or twenty.

In other words, don’t turn this into a curriculum, and let the children express their learning in a way that suits them best.

5. Start academics when your child is ready.

This may be at age six, or not until they are twelve. They may be ready for both math and reading, or they may be ready for one before they are ready for the other. When they obviously express interest or possess the right skills, have them work on such skills as reading, grammar, arithmetic and writing for thirty minutes to no more than an hour a day (the younger they are, the less time they spend on it).

As they get older, they will spend up to three or four hours on formal academics. The rest of the day should be spent in pursuing personal interests and improving their natural talents.

Do these time periods shock you? What will shock you even more is to learn that children who do not begin formal academics until much later than their school-going peers, catch up with their peers within two years.

Let me rephrase that: a child who is allowed to begin academics when they are truly ready can learn everything in two years that their school-going peers have taken six or more years to “learn.”

Yes, this is a different homeschooling how-to than you’ve probably ever seen before. But it brings structure to the homeschooling family while reducing stress and power struggles because it respects the child’s readiness and need to work on their own talents and interests.

In the United States, homeschooling is becoming more and more popular with every passing year. As its popularity grows, so does the list of questions about it:

• How do you get started?
• When do you start (time of year and age of children)?
• What do you use for curriculum?
• What are the various methods?
• What are the laws about it?
• Is it for every family?
• What are the pros and cons?
• Can you homeschool children with special needs?
• What if both parents work?

The definition of homeschooling

Homeschooling happens when a child receives the bulk of his or her education at home and the community at large, rather than sitting in a classroom all day, every day. While there are homeschool co-ops that provide once-a-week group classes, such organizations serve mainly to supplement what the child is learning away from the group setting.

It may involve a formal curriculum, or it may not. It may cost a lot of money, or end up being a totally free education. It may occur during the traditional school year, on weekends only, or year-round. There are a variety of ways homeschooling can happen; what it all boils down to is the environment the child spends most of his or her waking hours.

Some advantages

• No bullies or bullets
• Freedom to use the toilet, drink or water, or eat when necessary
• Flexible schedule
• Easily tailored to the child’s needs
• Less time spent on academic tasks
• Freedom to explore personal interests
• No forced learning of values that contradict those which the parents are trying to teach

Who should homeschool, or be homeschooled

What kind of parents or caregivers should homeschool their children? Parents with a lot of money? Who are self-employed? Who are college educated or have a teaching degree themselves?

Really, it’s much simpler than that. As a caregiver of children, you are qualified to homeschool if:

• you love your children,
• you aren’t in prison,
• you are not insane, and
• you can read.

If you’re a parent, you know how stressful the job can be. Especially if you have what they call a “strong-willed” child. It’s even more difficult when siblings come along.

But as you will hear in today’s episode of “Weird Is Great,” your whole family – including you – can experience a lot less stress and a lot more happiness, and therefore a lot better health, when you choose the Positive Discipline route.

I’ve decided to participate in the Green Mom’s Weekly Blog Carnival, and this week the question is, “What are some fun, simple and interactive activities that you engage your children with?”

1. The Calendar

After breakfast we sit on the floor in front of a pocket calender with patterned date cards that I purchased with my own money back when I was teaching Kindergarten. Each month, the cards have a different pattern – one month the pattern is A-B, the next, A-A-B-B, another month A-B-C, etc. – with pictures that go along with the particular month.

For example, the October pattern is A-A-B-B, and the pictures of scarecrows and pumpkins. So the pattern for the first four days of the month goes like this: scarecrow, scarecrow, pumpkin, pumpkin.

We start out singing a “Days of the Week” song I made up a LO-ONG time ago, set to the tune of “Since Jesus Came Into My Heart.” I ask what day is it today (Benjamin usually needs help with that), and then we count to see what the date is. I hide the front of the card from him as I ask him to figure out what picture will come next in the pattern today (he’s doing a lot better with that now at five than he did at four).

We conclude the activity by saying the entire date: “Today is Monday, October tenth, 2011.”

2. Simple food prep

We don’t do this as much as we used to, but before B insisted on being with J every  moment before J went to work, he would help me make the breakfast green smoothies. I would put the kefir in the Vita-Mix container and cut up the ingredients; B would put in the ingredients and run the blender as I instructed. He also likes to help with the yogurt I recently started making.

3. Sowing seeds

B loves to help me smoosh together moist dirt into balls and then put seeds on top of them. In fact, I am happy to say he is generally enthusiastic about growing things.

Which reminds me, I promised him a pot of dirt for him to grow some fall veggies…

4. Building “castles”

Basically, whatever non-airplane structure B makes out of wooden blocks is a castle. Sometimes, we will sit down together to build.

This is one activity I don’t get bored with. I think there is something cathartic and relaxing about creating something.

5. Washing dishes

I reallly should ask B to help me with this chore more often, as it is one I plan to hand over to him one day.

While him handling so much glass in the sink makes me a bit nervous, he so far has been very careful and is getting better at actually cleaning and rinsing things.

6. Tickle Chase

I think we’ve been playing this game since B was about three years old, and it’s still a winner.

And as simple as you can get. B will announce, “Tickle chase!”, thereupon Mommy or Daddy is expected to chase him around the house and try to catch him to tickle him. If i have  a lot on my mind and/or to-do list, it’s hard for me to enjoy this game, but I usually find it quite fun and it brings me that vital medicine so many adults are lacking: laughter.

These are the main ways I connect with my son with interactive activities. How do you connect with your children? Share yours in the comments below, or write your own blog post for this blog carnival!

Traveling with children can be either a joy or a nightmare. As decreased stress results in a decreased risk for cancer, we parents much prefer the “joy” result.

Today’s technology – bringing us mini-DVD players, hand-held video games, and the like -  has been a blessing to parents who take long road trips or fly on airplanes with their kids. Still, some of us, for various reasons, don’t like the idea of using such devices to keep our children entertained.

In that case, how are such weirdos as we are, to travel with children and still have our sanity at the end of the trip? Traveling with children doesn’t have to a be a miserable experience in the absence of electronic gadgets. The point is to give the kids something to do. Following are seven ideas of how to occupy children while you are traveling without using a single kilowatt.

1. Crayons and paper.

If your kids need guidance, ask younger ones to draw their favorite animal and challenge older ones to create geometric patterns, for example. Make sure they have a hard surface to put their paper on, or provide each one with a tablet.

2. Puzzle books.

Word finds, age-appropriate number puzzles, pencil games that can be played with two – all can keep your older children busy for an extended period of time.

3. Together car games.

The old-fashioned games led by Mom and Dad are still in vogue! “I Spy” or counting how many red/blue/out-of-state/etc. cars keep the intellect going and helps the time go faster.

4. Sing.

Do I have to describe this time-honored way of traveling with children?

5. Etch-A-Sketch.

This is a great non-electric way to develop eye-hand coordination and is likely to hold any age children’s attention longer than crayons and paper.

6. The quiet game.

If you haven’t played this one yet, you either don’t travel much or only have one child! The game is simple: offer a reward to the child who can be quiet for a specified period of time. If anyone provokes their siblings to make noise in a any way, or acts obnoxiously at any other time for the rest of the trip, they will forfeit the reward.

Make it clear that it is possible for everyone to win, and make it easier by playing music or listening to talk radio during the time the children are competing for quietness.

7. Flash cards.

There are tons of flashcards available, from simple numbers and the alphabet to multiplication and division facts. You can even create your own before you leave on the trip, basing them on what your children are currently needing or interested in.

Traveling with children can be fun without the help of technology! Try all seven, and your kids may never even ask once how long until they get there. (Hey, a mama can dream…)

As The Crunchy Coach, I lean toward the principles of natural parenting. As a natural parent who used to teach, I was appalled by an article my husband recently came across online. Here it is, in full:

$500 Million Obama Administration Program Will Help Kids ‘Sit Still’ in Kindergarten

Wednesday, May 25, 2011
By James Zilenziger(CNSNews.com) – Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told CNSNews.com on Wednesday that the administration’s new $500 million early learning initiative is designed to deal with children from birth onward to prevent such problems as 5-year olds who “can’t sit still” in a kindergarten classroom.

“You really need to look at the range of issues, because if a 5-year-old can’t sit still, it is unlikely that they can do well in a kindergarten class, and it has to be the whole range of issues that go into healthy child development,” Sebelius said during a telephone news conference on Wednesday to announce the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge.

Sebelius and Education Secretary Arne Duncan jointly announced the $500-million program, which will provide competitive grants to states to address issues affecting educational outcomes for children from birth to age 5.

On the conference call, CNSNews.com asked: “What were the current problems that were found with the health, social and emotional development for children ages birth to 5?”

Sebelius, adding on to comments from Asst. Education Secretary Joan Lombardi, pointed to studies done in her home state of Kansas, where she served as governor. “When we looked at 5-year olds–and we tested about half the 5-year-olds in a relatively homogeneous state like Kansas — and found that about half of them were not ready for kindergarten at age 5,” Sebelius said.

“And some of those skills were missing: readiness for their math or reading,” she said. ”A number of children were missing the social and developmental skills which would allow them to sit in a classroom or play with others or listen to a teacher for any period of time. So I think it was an indicator that you couldn’t just test curriculum readiness.”

According to the U.S. Department of Education, awards in Race to the Top will go to “states that are leading the way with ambitious yet achievable plans for implementing coherent, compelling, and comprehensive early learning education reform.”

Since I try to steer clear of politics on this blog, just ignore the fact that the current U.S. President’s name appears. I doubt this was his idea, anyway.

But as someone who taught Kindergarten for nine years, I must say this:

OH, MY GOD!

So now there’s something wrong with a five-year-old who can’t sit still? There’s something wrong with a five-year-old – who has just got out of the baby stage, by the way – who is not ready to read or do math?

WHAT IS THIS FREAKING WORLD COMING TO?

Did you know that Ivy League university studies concluded, years ago, that most kids aren’t ready for formal learning until somewhere around age ten? Did you know that in several European countries kids don’t start attending school until age seven because Europeans have a clue and realize the futility of trying to force academics down children’s throats who are younger than that?

I’ve lost count of the number of kids in my classes who were completely clueless the entire year when it came to either math or reading – some never even figured out the number one or the letter “o” – but who by second or third grade were performing at grade level.

And those who weren’t? Well, they probably got their brains messed up by having a well-meaning teacher and well-meaning parents try to make them “learn” before they were ready. And they probably struggled with school until graduation – if they made it that long.

As I write this post, my son Benjamin is four and half years old. He knows the letters “B” and “P” – uppercase only – and as far as I can tell still doesn’t recognize any numbers. He can sit still if he is either eating or really tired and being read to. Otherwise, forget it.

So, would Sebelius think my son is retarded? Or that I am a lousy mother?

When in actuality he is a typical boy who couldn’t care less about academics until his later childhood years? Who couldn’t care less because his brain doesn’t develop the right wiring until later in childhood?

And it’s not just boys. While girls’ brains do develop certain parts sooner, they are still better off being allowed to play until they’re older than six or seven, when they are so ready that it takes them hardly any time at all to go from the ABCs to reading fluently.

Sebelius needs to stick to politics and stay out of a realm about which she obviously knows nothing: child development and brain development.

And I thought George Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” thing sucked.

Shees.

This is just one of the many reasons Benjamin will be homeschooled.

And I sure feel sorry for any of the toddlers who will be sent to prison – I mean public school – in a couple of years.

Healthy living is essential to living a full, happy life. But what exactly does it mean? Many people think of it in terms of right diet and enough exercise.

But even that is vague and a source of great controversy. Is eating meat essential to health, or is it a sure path to cancer and heart disease, as proponents of an animal-free diet claim? And what is “enough” exercise? A power walk fifteen minutes a day? Thirty minutes of aerobic exercise in a gym four times a week? Weight lifting several times a week?

Other facets of healthy living

And once you begin sorting through the cloud of confusion regarding diet and exercise, you discover that living healthy has to do with much more. Your stress level, exposure to toxicity, and mental health all affect how healthy you are and how long you will live. Even things such as how you manage money, what you believe about God and how fulfilled you are by your career, all play a part in your level of health.

The search for vibrant health will make you weird

Once you decide to start making changes for the better, people will call you “weird.” “Strange.” “Different.” And if you have enough money, “eccentric.”

This is a good thing.

You see, one healthy change leads to another. Before you know it, you are turning down desserts at potluck dinners, starting a vegetable garden, exercising daily, turning off the television in favor of an uplifting book and getting out of debt.

You are, in effect, living a counter-cultural lifestyle. And people who do that are seen by the rest of the culture as, well, weird.

In other words, if you are doing what “everybody else” is doing, you are polluting your mind, your body and the planet. If you are serious about healthy living, you will look at what everybody else is doing and – in most cases – do the opposite.

Steps toward a healthier life

In order to become as healthy as possible, you need to do four main things:

• Eat the food your body was designed to process.
• Keep active.
• Avoid as much toxicity as possible.
• Reduce stress.

Enter the Weird Is Great podcast, where you can learn how to keep your body as healthy as can be, from the inside out. You should download the podcast from iTunes, or subscribe to the blog’s RSS feed so that you don’t miss a single episode.

Get ready, get set…

GET WEIRD.

Because you are worth it. 

“Almost four.”

That’s my response these days when someone asks me how old my son is. As I write this, Benjamin is about ten weeks away from making the transition from a three-year-old to a four-year-old.

And I couldn’t be more relieved.

See, I’ve never been a baby/little kid person. Never wanted to hold other people’s babies (still don’t). Never babysat when I was a teenager.

The day my principal told me I would be teaching PreKindergarten I flipped. That never actually happened – thank God! – but when I was subsequently moved from second grade to Kindergarten I detested it for about five years.

Really.

So these past three-and-some years have been a challenge.

A HUGE challenge. Made even larger by the fact that my son never stops and is often into some sort of mischief. In short, he is about as far from being an “easy” child as they get. I have experienced major struggles during the past few years.

But now…

Benjamin responds much better to requests and commands.

He can make himself understood.

He can play by himself, pretending to be a cat, or the neighbor’s lawn maintenance man.

He can and will truly help with with basic chores.

Love And Logic is starting to work with him.

He “reads” story to himself, and can use crayons and scissors without destroying the house.

Benjamin is not a perfect child, and he is still the neighborhood Energizer Bunny. He still gets into trouble. Sometimes.

But he is older.

Almost four. And I think that this mothering thing may not be so bad, after all.

I love being a stay-at-home mom. Even if it weren’t coming back into style, I have discovered many advantages for being a stay-at-home mom versus working.

If you’re a mom-to-be, or hope to be one someday, consider these reasons for forgoing a career – at least for a few years – and raising your child.

1. You can breastfeed as long as you want.

So you can keep providing your child with the antibodies and great nutrition your milk gives as long as you want to, without any outside pressure to wean by a certain age.

2. You save money.

Most couples find that after daycare expenses, it’s hardly worth Mommy going back to work as far as adding to the family income.

3. You develop stronger bonds.

There is a much better chance of bonding with your baby and strengthening that bond with your toddler and preschooler if you are her primary caregiver.

4. You understand your child better.

The person who is around your child the most will understand him best – and be able to respond to him more appropriately in various situations.

5. You have less stress.

All mothers have “those days”, but in general, a working mom will experience much more stress than one who stays at home.

6. You have more flexibility in your schedule.

Of course, this depends on the age of your child and whether she is still napping. However, you have more hours in your day than if you were working, even if you are having to prepare several meals and snacks a day.

7. You get to meet new people.

When you are confined to a job all day long, your circle of friends is largely limited. A resourceful SAHM, though, can meet other SAHMs at parks as well as join local Moms clubs.

8. You have the chance to develop a business from home…if you want.

When your child is old enough to spend an hour or two a day entertaining herself – even if not all at once – you can consider writing the Great American novel, starting a blog, or joining the army of network marketers. (You can make money doing both, if you follow the simple steps outlined in my e-book, Residual Wealth Dreams.)

9. You have more energy for your husband.

Don’t underestimate this one! I, of all mothers, know how draining and exhausting running after an active toddler can be. Still, I would be that much more drained and exhausted if I had to work all day then deal with a tired kid until his bedtime. And then do housework. As a SAHM, I have much more energy to be -shall we say - flirtatious with my husband at the end of the day.

10. You have more time and energy to develop a hobby.

A stay-at-home mom has more time to plunk on the piano, knit, or bake healthy goodies than one who works.

Surely I have not exhausted the list of advantages of choosing stay at home versus going to work. Feel free to add any in the comments!

Every family has its rules. Some families do a better job of articulating and enforcing them than others, but every family has both implicit and explicit guidelines.

Since my son is not yet four years old, our family rules mostly consist of how to continue on our path of living more simply and sustainably in an increasingly fast-paced society.

Rules like:

• Use the car as little as necessary.
• No T.V. (including DVD’s).
• Don’t waste water.

But recently, I came to a place where I realized that I was going to have to start making some exceptions to the rules, sometimes, or go insane.

I decided that it would be okay to budget fifty or seventy dollars a month to take Benjamin to fun places so that he doesn’t tear the house apart in boredom.

I decided that it would be okay to let Benjamin watch thirty minutes or so of videos to help calm him down at the end of the day when he’s bouncing off the ceiling and driving Jerry and I up a wall.

I decided that if Benjamin runs water in the sink for five minutes, the oceans won’t dry up.

I decided, in essence, that as long we live in house with a teeny backyard that does not provide the exploration space an active little boy needs, I am allowed to take advantage of modern conveniences.

What are some family or personal rules you have had to back away from because they didn’t quit fit with the current needs of your household? (I hope it wasn’t away from healthy eating!)