Homeschool Notebooking

One of the latest trends in homeschooling is that of notebooking.  Notebooking is the creation of special notebooks on any subject and making them into a scrapbook, of sorts.  This appeals to the throngs of teachers that have gotten the scrapbook bug.

Notebooking can be helpful for students who are compiling information on a subject.  It gives them a place to store information such as news clippings, Internet information, drawings and photographs.

Personally, I like the idea of keeping notebooks, but am not sure about the scrapbooking aspect of it.  Organization of the material doesn’t seem to be a central theme in this type of project, rather just collect things as you go along and stick them in the book.

However, this may appeal to the student who is more artsy than organized.  If it gets kids interested in a subject, perhaps that is more important than the end result.  Perhaps somewhere along the way the information can be organized so that it can be retrieved easily later for reports or demonstrations.

If you’re interested in this latest craze, the following websites have lots of information on the topic:

Notebooking Pages

Homeschool Notebooking Pages

Homeschool Helper Online

Visit Homeschools4You.com for more ideas!

Are Home School Diplomas Valid?

If you home school your children, odds are you’ve heard this question before.  Since parents issue the home school diplomas, does that make them any less credible?  The answer is no.  They are just as credible as those issued by your local public high school and here’s why:

1.  High school diplomas are not issued by the state, they are issued by the individual school.  The head of the school approves the applications for a diploma or makes sure that each student has met the criteria set forth by the school.

2.  Non-accredited schools, which includes private and home schools, have the authority to issue diplomas.

Why then are there so many controversies involving home schools?  It all goes back to the belief that parents are not trained to teach their children, even though they have raised their children.  Presenting information to a room full of 25-30 children does take some skill, as well as being able to try and teach children with different abilities.  Parents who home school teach to a select few children, of which they already have intimate knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses.  Parents also have the luxury of teaching at a pace that works best for their child- things don’t have to be compressed into a 7-hour day and in 1-hour increments.

When you attend college you look for the best teacher-student ratio because you know you will get more one-on-one time with the professor.  The same benefit is true when it comes to home schooling.  It could be said that for many children, the quality of their home school education is superior to that of a child lost between the cracks in a public school.

So, home schooling parents, carry on!  Continuing issuing diplomas, sending your kids to college and ignoring the nay-sayers.  Issue those diplomas (even if they have been needle-pointed, like Dharma on the Dharma and Greg television show), knowing that your children received the best education possible.

Charlotte

Editor, Homeschools4you.com