“Oh, you’re just a teacher.”  Those words sting.  Whether you teach at home, in public school, private school, or virtual school – those words come from a person who probably just doesn’t understand what you put into it.  Because the misconceptions about public school teachers (done at 3:00 every day is one of our favorites) […]

A sure-fire way to produce a look of panic on a student’s face is to tell them to get out their writing journal and write about whatever they want. Sure, there are a random few that are willing to take on this task, but more often than not, the kids will just freeze in place. […]

Whether you school year round, or follow a traditional school calendar, it’s important to take breaks in your homeschooling. Even in the traditional school week (whatever that is for you), it’s important to let your child’s mind take a rest when studying. Have a snack. Go for a quick walk. Some families will take an […]

This weekend, Tom Friedman of the New York Times wrote about parent involvement in American education. Friedman lauded Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s recent speech to the National Assessment Governing Board Education Summit for Parent Leaders. Although Secretary Duncan’s focus was on traditional public schools, we think most successful Calvert homeschoolers — as well as our […]

Boy did I touch a nerve in this month’s family seminar when talking about boys and writing assignments – not the creativity, but simply the mechanics of the process. SO MANY wrote to me about this particular issue, that I had to provide you all with my thoughts and some feedback. The emails typically went […]

Staging a Good Paragraph Tips by Martha Cole, Education Counselor What can you do with colored index cards? No, not cover one eye for a vision test. They‘re not for writing recipes. Nope, not for an art project either. Colored index cards can be used to create a great hands-on resource for staging an academic […]

When I wake up in the morning, there is a palpable excitement. Today is the day when I get to work with my second graders on types of sentences. I remember teaching the first graders complete and incomplete sentences yesterday. Lucas asked me if ‘Sit down’ was a complete sentence. I may actually keep the […]

Today’s teachers know that it is important to use a multi-sensory approach to teaching since different students learn best using different modalities. Some students are visual learners while others are auditory or tactile learners. This article will look at ways that a parent can support their child if they learn best visually. Interesting Fact A […]