A Simple Homeschool Thanksgiving

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Barbara Frank

Hard to believe Thanksgiving is next week already! Here’s how I used to do Thanksgiving when I was homeschooling all four children:

If you’re one of those lucky people who are having Thanksgiving at their house this year, I’ve got some advice for you. Don’t do school that week!

I realize this isn’t an issue for you unschoolers out there. But there are others who are emotionally attached to our lesson plans, whether we have written them out to the tiniest detail, or just have a few goals we like to keep in mind. Ever the optimists, we think we can get plenty of school done on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, leaving Wednesday night to get our dinner cooked in advance. That’s called dreaming.

Here’s a Thanksgiving plan for the homeschool mom that I developed after many years of running myself ragged trying to do school Thanksgiving week while planning, shopping for and cooking a Thanksgiving dinner. It’s the result of years of fine-tuning, careful consideration and a few mommy meltdowns. These days, my goal is to keep things as simple as possible. Continue reading →

Thomas Edison, Homeschooled Innovator

Posted on November 3, 2010 by Barbara Frank

I just read an article called “Thomas Edison: Poster Child for the Home Schooled.” The author shares some interesting information about Edison, for whom school did not work at all. His mother’s love and concern are what helped Edison become an inventor and scientist instead of the failure his teacher predicted.

Edison led quite a life: a millionaire before he turned 40, he earned (and lost) several fortunes in different areas of business, including electric lighting, phonographs and motion picture production. It was Edison who famously said, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”

I read a wonderful book about Edison while doing research for my upcoming book, Thriving in the 21^st Century. I highly recommend it to adults and to young people who are interested in business and innovation. It’s called At Work with Thomas Edison: 10 Business Lessons from America’s Greatest Innovator by Blaine McCormick.

Homeschool Parents Running in Tomorrow’s Election

Posted on November 1, 2010 by Barbara Frank

Two closely watched political races that come to a vote tomorrow include candidates who have been homeschooling parents.

Sharron Angle of Nevada, who’s put Harry Reid in danger of losing his Senate seat, homeschooled her children for many years. And Dr. Art Robinson, the scientist and homeschool dad who created the Robinson Curriculum, is giving longtime rep Peter DeFazio a run for his money in Oregon’s 4^th district of the House of Representatives.

I often talk about homeschooled kids doing well, but it’s also exciting to see homeschooling parents who want to serve their country in high-profile political races. I guess it just goes to show there is life after homeschooling (hear that, all you veteran homeschool moms?) 🙂

How iPads are Helping Kids with Special Needs

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Barbara Frank

Years ago, we were acquainted with a boy who couldn’t speak due to birth defects. Thanks to a piece of equipment called a Dynavox, he was able to touch a screen so a computerized voice could tell us what he wanted to say.

It was a very expensive piece of equipment that many families couldn’t afford. Another young man we knew used a wooden board with pictures of faces; he’d point to the sketch of a face expressing the emotion he was feeling.

Times sure have changed. Now there are apps for the iPad that fill the same purpose as a Dynavox for youngsters with special needs. Wish we’d had something like that for our son when he was young.

The advantages of an iPad for kids with special needs go beyond supplying them with a voice. In a recent discussion here about the iPad, read Karen’s comment that explains all the ways she uses an iPad to educate her daughter with Down syndrome.

We do live in interesting times, don’t we?