Best of HSL: Our Favorite Advice for Homeschooling High School
Expensive doesn’t mean better, but some things are worth paying more for. Do your research before you commit your resources.
Take lots of pictures. You may not run into as many obvious photo opps as you did during the early years, but you will treasures photos of your high schooler at work.
Don’t feel like a failure if your teenager decides to try traditional school. Giving him the freedom to come to that decision on his own totally counts as success.
Keep quarterly records of classes and reading lists.
Let her stay up late. Let her sleep in.
Travel as much as you can, as many places as you can.
You will realize sometime during your child’s senior year that you left a hole somewhere in his education. Let it go. Everyone’s education has some holes.
Take your time. The worst thing that can happen is that your child graduates later than his public school peers. That’s not so bad.
Sign up for a community college class, just to get a feel for what it’s like.
Stick to what has worked. Don’t feel like you have to break out hardcore curricula or make your daily work time serious business just because your child hits high school.
Give your teen freedom to set his own goals and schedules. Let him mess up.
Make everyday activities, like budgeting for groceries or doing laundry, part of your curriculum. Your teen will thank you later.
Plan like your teen will be going to college. Expect that he might decide to do something else. You’ll cover your bases and minimize senior year stress.
Do not stop taking field trips and baking cookies together.
Give lots of feedback. Your high schooler needs to know how her work measures up.
Don’t panic. Yes, suddenly it seems like there is so much to do and so little time. There will be even less time in six months when you realize you just spend the last half-year freaking out.
Take a few SAT prep tests. Don’t take an SAT prep class unless your teen is applying to a super-competitive school.
Invest in what your child cares about most. If that means scavenging free math curricula and grammar lessons to pay for drama lessons, that’s okay.
Do not get so caught up in the this-should-be-on-your-transcript checklist that you suck all the fun out of homeschool.
Keep quarterly records of classes and reading lists.
Find a way for your child to do real labs. Even if she’s not a science person.
Visit lots of colleges.
See as many concerts, plays, ballets, poetry readings, films, and other performances as you can.
Plan ahead for timing-matters issues, like college applications and driver’s license testing.
Make plenty of one-on-one dates with your teen. These years fly by so quickly, and you’ll be glad you made the time when she’s not living at home anymore.
Help your child define what a successful high school experience for her would be. Then help her find ways to achieve it.
Talk seriously about technology and social media. Give your teen freedom to find her way and information to guide her.
Bask in your own glory. You did it. And you did great.
This list is adapted from a feature in the summer 2015 issue of HSL.
Related Posts
HSL Book Deal of the Day 5.30.17: Brideshead Revisited
Waugh's surprisingly tender novel explores English life between the two World Wars through the eyes of a young man captivated by an aristocratic family. Waugh muses on privilege and ambition, class and religion, politics and faith in this classic book.
(Hey, are you a fan of the daily book deal? Leave a comment—we've been doing them for a couple of weeks and want to be sure we're not cluttering up the blog with stuff you don't want to see!)
We're highlighting our picks for best book deal of the day on the blog, but you can always find our favorite Kindle book deals here.
Book Nerd: Library Chicken Weekly Scoreboard (5.30.17)
Welcome to the weekly round-up of what the BookNerd is reading and how many points I scored (or lost) in Library Chicken. To recap, you get a point for returning a library book that you’ve read, you lose a point for returning a book unread, and while returning a book past the due date is technically legal, you do lose half a point. If you want to play along, leave your score in the comments!
Hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend and are getting ready for some summer reading! We’re done with homeschooling for the school year so now I can get serious about checking things off the TBR list. It’s the most wonderful tiiiiime of the year… (Except for the miserable Georgia heat and humidity of course, but I solve that problem by never leaving the air-conditioned house except to go in the air-conditioned car to the air-conditioned library.)
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu
I was a science fiction junkie growing up. And the first sf I fell in love with was hard sf, from the likes of Asimov, Heinlein, Niven, and Clarke. In hard sf, science is the star—the pleasure is in exploring scientific and technological problems, imagining what it would be like to live on this sort of planet, or how to build that sort of spaceship. Characters often exist primarily as tour guides to show you around, with a plot to move them from one piece of the carefully-constructed, scientifically-accurate set to the next. This novel, first in a trilogy by Chinese science fiction master Liu, is firmly in that tradition, exploring the repercussions of a first contact situation with a fascinatingly original alien race. All the while, the narrative voice remains calm and detached from the action—I’m not sure if that’s Cixin Liu’s individual style, or if it has more to do with Chinese literary tradition (being as I’m pretty much entirely ignorant of Chinese fiction). These days, I generally ask a bit more from the plot and characterization in a novel (and I may have less patience for pages of scientific explanation), but a novel like this hits all my nostalgia buttons and of course I’ll have to find out what happens next. The aliens are coming, after all.
(Bonus modern-day hard sf suggestion: Andy Weir’s The Martian.)
(LC Score: +1)
Paper Girls Vol. 2 written by Brian K. Vaughn, art by Cliff Chiang
Lumberjanes Vol. 3 written by Noelle Stevenson & Shannon Waters, art by Carolyn Nowak
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 1 written by Ryan North, art by Erica Henderson
This Week In Comics: Last week I was excited about Paper Girls and Lumberjanes, so this week I want to rave about The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. <deep breath> OMG SQUIRREL GIRL IS SO AWESOME! Buddies with Iron Man, victor over Marvel’s biggest-baddies including Doctor Doom and M.O.D.O.K, friends with the crush-worthy Chipmunk Hunk, she is the BEST and the MOST PERFECT and y’all should run out and buy her (on-going!!!) series right now. Seriously, this is funniest comic I have read in years (my husband kept coming over to see what I was giggling about) and it’s appropriate for ALL AGES, so send your favorite 5-year-old an issue or three to get their comics habit going. I know I’m using a lot of all-caps here, but check out her adventures with sidekick squirrel Tippy-Toes and tell me I’m wrong. The only problem I’m having with all these wonderful comics collections is that I read them too fast—I go through ‘em like a bag of chips and ending up craving MORE immediately.
(Bonus cheer-you-up-if-you’re-having-a-bad-day suggestion: google ‘Squirrel Girl cosplay’. You’re welcome.)
(LC Score: +2, Lumberjanes borrowed from daughter)
Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood
Atwood is such a Giant of Modern Literature that it feels slightly blasphemous to critique her work in any way, but I have to admit that I don’t often enjoy her writing. I find her work compelling, important, fascinating - but a fun read? Not so much. This retelling of The Tempest, though, was a very pleasant surprise. Shorter than usual for an Atwood novel, her Tempest involves a prison production of Shakespeare’s Tempest, created by an unfairly ousted theater director as a vehicle to get vengeance on those who wronged him. It’s a satisfying, enjoyable, and occasionally very moving read.
(Bonus homeschool suggestion: This would make a great side-by-side read for anyone studying The Tempest. HOMESCHOOL RECOMMENDED.)
(LC Score: +1)
The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead
I haven’t yet read Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Underground Railroad—I know it’s going to be difficult so I’m working my way up to it—but I was excited to pick up this novel, his debut. Set in an alternate recent past, where the highly respected calling of Elevator Inspector is divided into opposing camps known as Empiricists and Intuitionists, we follow the career of the first black female inspector as she navigates a professional and personal crisis. Yeah, I know, it sounds weird when I say it, but you should go read it anyway. Whitehead is exploring issues of race and gender (and elevators, I guess?) and I would never have guessed it was a first novel - clearly the man knew what he was doing.
(Bonus zombie-novel-authored-by-Pulitzer-Prize-winner suggestion: Whitehead’s Zone One. And if you know of any other zombie novels authored by Pulitzer Prize winners, please let me know ASAP because I will read the heck out of ‘em.)
(LC Score: +1)
Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
This book, which came out in 2016, is important and perspective-changing and everyone should read it. In clear and readable prose, Kendi untangles the confusing and contradictory ideas fueling/created by American racism, from the early colonial days through the Obama presidency. It’s not a short book, and the material is emotionally challenging, but it’s an absolutely necessary read for those of us who missed out on ‘the history of racism’ in school (meaning pretty much all of us) and want to understand what’s happening today.
(Bonus suggestion: PLEASE READ IT, I MEAN IT. Which I guess isn’t much of a bonus, but I feel strongly about this.)
(LC Score: +1)
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
Still catching up—y’know, I can’t think of one book, nonfiction or fiction, that was required reading in my high school lit classes that was written by a person of color or had a person of color as the protagonist. I’d say 'oh, look how embarrassingly backward things were 30 years ago,' but my daughter, who just finished her sophomore year at the local high school, not only has never had a person of color for required reading, but she’s yet to read ANY female authors. And the only female protagonist(ish) was Lady Macbeth. (When they can pick a book from a list, the authors are fairly diverse, but in terms of required reading that every single student has to get through before graduating? So far, ALL white guys. BURN IT ALL DOWN, PEOPLE.) ... Anyway, sorry, got distracted. This slim volume is a classic for good reason—I’m glad I had a better idea of the context from Kendi’s work.
(Bonus side-by-side reading suggestion: one of the essays here is a letter from Baldwin to his nephew that would be really interesting to read side-by-side with Ta-Nehisi Coates’s letter to his son, Between the World and Me. HOMESCHOOL RECOMMENDED, of course.)
(LC Score: +1)
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
Are you looking for something to fill the Harry-Potter-sized hole in your reading heart? Do you want to provide your middle school/YA readers with a more diverse bookshelf so that they don’t end up exclusively reading books by white guys about white guys for their entire educational career? (Not that I’m BITTER over here or anything.) I’ve got the book for you! This fantasy novel is about 12-year-old Sunny, born in America to Nigerian parents who have since moved Sunny and family back to Nigeria, where she discovers that she’s a Leopard Person, heir to certain magical abilities. Like Rowling, but in a completely different setting, Okorafor creates a magical world existing next to and within our own, and we get to see Sunny explore this world, making friends, finding teachers, and shopping for magical items. (Is it weird that I LOVE the magical-shopping parts in fantasy novels?) It’s a great read - highly recommended.
(Bonus long-awaited-sequel suggestion: Akata Warrior comes out this October!)
(LC Score: +1)
The Way It Was in the South: The Black Experience in Georgia by Donald L. Grant
Looks fascinating but it’s due back and I really do need to take a break from Georgia for a minute. RETURNED UNREAD.
(LC Score: -1)
- Library Chicken Score for 5/30/17: 7
- Running Score: 39
On the to-read/still-reading stack for next week:
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood (since I enjoyed Hag-Seed so much, thought I’d check out Atwood’s version of The Odyssey)
Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee (more SPACE OPERA for my summer reading)
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (and some fantasy so that my sf/fantasy pile doesn’t get too unbalanced)
The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race edited by Jesmyn Ward (follow-up from Baldwin)
HSL Book Deal of the Day 5.29.17: His Dark Materials Trilogy
Today's a triple deal: All three books of the books in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy are $1.99 (each) today. Dark, subversive, and feminist, Pullman's world-hopping reimagining of Paradise Lost is (in my humble opinion) pure storytelling genius.
We're highlighting our picks for best book deal of the day on the blog, but you can always find our favorite Kindle book deals here.
52 Weeks of Happier Homeschooling Week 34: Be a Sky Gazer
Who knew that blue skies could actually make you happier? People who spent time exposed to the color blue reported higher confidence, reduced stress, and greater overall happiness than those who didn’t soak up the blues in a University of Sussex study. It’s not clear why blue hues are such a mood booster for people—some researchers have theorized that it harks back to humanity’s early days when evening meant food, rest, and a little peace—but it’s clear that the literal blues can be a good way to shake off the figurative blues.
A sky-gazing project is the perfect way to incorporate a little everyday blue time into your homeschool routine this summer: Keep a cloud chart to record the different kinds of clouds or sky colors you see each day, do sky square paintings, knit a sky scarf, make a point of tracking the cycles of the moon, or just look for interesting cloud shapes while you’re nature journaling. Choose a simple activity that will be easy to do whatever else you have going on this summer, and embrace the happiness-boosting power of the color blue.
Your challenge this week: Choose a way to incorporate some sky-gazing into your daily routine.
HSL Book Deal of the Day 5.28.17: Heart of a Samurai
Japan in 1841 is completely isolated from the rest of the world—so when 14-year-old Manjiro finds himself making a connection with the United States after an unexpected shipwreck, he's thrilled to have the opportunity to visit a whole new world as the adopted son of the captain who rescued him. Life in the United States is full of adventure and kindness, adversity and racism for its (allegedly) first Japanese resident, but Manjiro still dreams of someday going back to his native land. A great story that brings a piece of Asian history to life.
We're highlighting our picks for best book deal of the day on the blog, but you can always find our favorite Kindle book deals here.
Readaloud of the Week: The Secret Language
In brief: Victoria is shy and lonely as she begins her first year at boarding school, but when she meets Martha, she discovers that friendship can make school a magical place.
What makes it a great readaloud? Nordstrom—who's probably best known as the editor of legendary authors including Maurice Sendak and Louise Fitzhugh—puts her own literary chops to work in this gentle boarding school tale about two lonely girls who bond over their shared circumstances. It's full of lovely details—pistachio ice cream Halloween costumes! a secret language! dollhouse drawers—and the wistful acknowledgement that everyone on an adventure longs for home.
But be aware: This is a quiet little book full of quiet little moments—there's not a lot of drama and no big villain to defeat, so you might want to skip it if that's a readaloud requirement.
HSL Book Deal of the Day 5.27.17: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl
Suzanne was raving about this series at lunch this week (and I don't want to spoil anything, but it might feature in her next Library Chicken update), so I can't not share that Volume 1 is bargain-priced for the Kindle right now. Squirrel Girl is a smart, feminist, awesome superhero who adventures are pure, hilarious fun. Can't wait to read it myself!
(Hey, are you a fan of the daily book deal? Leave a comment—we've been doing them for a couple of weeks and want to be sure we're not cluttering up the blog with stuff you don't want to see!)
We're highlighting our picks for best book deal of the day on the blog, but you can always find our favorite Kindle book deals here.
Not-So-New Books: The Homeward Bounders
Jamie is a curious kid. And one day, his curiosity gets him in the worst kind of trouble when he stumbles on a group of shadowy, cloaked figures playing a secret game and gets expelled from his world by them: “You are now a discard. We have no further use for you in play. You are free to walk the Bounds, but it will be against the rules for you to enter play in any world. If you succeed in returning Home, then you may enter play again in the normal manner.”
As Jamie stumbles through his new circumstances, figuring out the rules of the game as he’s pulled from fantastic world to fantastic world (Diana Wynne Jones is a genius when it comes to creating worlds) at irregular intervals by Them, he dreams of finding his way home. What he finds instead are two friends in the same position he is: Helen, a priestess with a magic arms, and Joris, an assistant to a famous demon-hunter. Together, they decide that it’s time to put an end to Their manipulative gaming and to get back to their own worlds for good. They end up in up in a contemporary version of England, where they team up with two regular people and Joris’s demon-hunter owner who’s crossed world barriers to find his assistant. But defeating Them is no easy task, and the price for victory may be greater than they anticipated.
I love Diana Wynne Jones for many reasons, but one of them is that her books are always surprising—even though she often plays with the same ideas, the same worlds, and even the same characters, you can never predict what’s going to happen next in her books. Homeward Bounders was the first of her books I read as a kid, and it stuck with me—it’s so weird and compelling, and it has one of the best and saddest last lines of any story ever. I love the way her books blend the mythology and history we know with her own made-up history and mythology, so that you’re constantly realizing connections right along with the characters in the story. There’s always an undercurrent of darkness in her books, and it’s definitely strong in this one, but I like that her happy endings are never simple. Reading level-wise, this is a middle grades book, but like so many of Diana Wynne Jones’s books, it’s hard to pigeonhole. Older or younger readers could definitely love it.
- one year ago: Stuff We Like :: 5.27.16
HSL Book Deal of the Day 5.26.17: Henry Huggins
You really can't go wrong with Beverly Cleary when you need a fun, soul-soothing readaloud, and Henry Huggins is a classic. Henry's life feels pretty unexciting until he meets a stray dog named Ribsy. Expect plenty of kid-fired adventure, nostalgic prices, and warm family moments.
(Hey, are you a fan of the daily book deal? Leave a comment—we've been doing them for a couple of weeks and want to be sure we're not cluttering up the blog with stuff you don't want to see!)
We're highlighting our picks for best book deal of the day on the blog, but you can always find our favorite Kindle book deals here.
Stuff We Like :: 5.26.15
Suzanne and I are working on getting the podcast back into something resembling regular rotation. This has been a busy year!
around the web
Ooh, they are making a TV adaptation of The City and the City, which could be amazing because that book is so wonderfully weird.
I may be the last person to read this lovely piece about the Metropolitan Museum of Art and From the Mixed of Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, but it’s delightful.
This is what shopping is like right now! Ugh.
Oh, and speaking of fashion, this piece on appreciating the physics of fashion was fascinating.
Relevant to my interests: The fierce, forgotten library wars of the ancient world
at home/school/life
on the blog: Two great ways to spend your homeschool budget: Oak Meadow’s spring sale (20% off, guys!) and the SEA Conference (a totally secular homeschool conference)
one year ago: Rebecca’s got the scoop on a hands-on curriculum for studying nature with children
two years ago: What’s so special about homeschooling?
reading list
I totally lost at Library Chicken this week, so I am planning a virtuous weekend of actually reading my library books, starting with Worth a Dozen Men: Women and Nursing in the Civil War South and All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation.
I got to reread East of Eden twice this year (once with my daughter and now again with one of my favorite students — though, who am I kidding, I only teach people I like so they are all my favorites), and it has just cemented my opinion that this book is the Great American Novel. (If you haven’t read it, I’m so jealous because you get to read it for the first time, but also you should put it on your holds list now.)
We took a week off, so we’re easing back into our regular routine with The Magic of Reality: How We Know What’s Really True. I’m pretty sure there’s scientific research to support the idea that all summer readalouds are better when you read them at the pool.
at home
I am hooked on the new Twin Peaks. (Which is no surprise to anyone who knew me in high school, when I would camp out in front of the television at parties, hissing at people to keep it down.) It’s so utterly weird, and I love that it’s unpredictable and difficult and resistant to passive viewing—obviously many people do NOT like those qualities in a television show, but I really, really do.
Cookie of the week: lemon sugar cookies (these are lovely!)
HSL Book Deal of the Day 5.25.17: The Fairy-Tale Detectives
All of my favorite writing students have something in common, and that something is the Sisters Grimm, a series that they cite fondly and reference frequently when we're talking about what makes good fiction. It's easy to understand why: In this series, sisters Daphne and Sabrina discover that not only are fairy tales real but they they are the latest in a long line of fairy tale detectives—which may explain the mysterious disappearance of their parents that left them orphaned. This first book is a great taste of what you'll get in the series: strong female protagonists, witty fairy tale allusions, lots of action, and a story that you don't want to end.
We're highlighting our picks for best book deal of the day on the blog, but you can always find our favorite Kindle book deals here.
Sponsored Post: The SEA Conference Is Coming Up, and That’s a Good Thing!
My problem with homeschool conferences is a lot like my problem with homeschool magazines: They’re out there, but they seldom feel like they’re really for me. That’s why I’m so excited about SEA’s homeschool conference, a totally secular homeschool conference that has the potential for real staying power—as long as we secular homeschoolers give it some support! Toward that end, I’ve asked Blair Lee, SEA’s founder and HSL’s high school science columnist, and two of her cohorts—Kat Hutcheson, vendor coordinator, and Tina Harden, conference organizer—to give us some details on the upcoming conference, which we at HSL are THRILLED to support.
Most of us have been to a lot of homeschool conferences. What specifically makes the SEA conference special?
There is real value to the camaraderie one can experience when gathered with others who share similar objectives, standards, and purpose. The SEA Homeschoolers conference is that gathering for those who seek to provide their children with a secular, academic, innovative home learning experience. As secular homeschoolers, especially in certain parts of the country, the challenges are unique in the homeschooling world as we seek to immerse our children in an education that doesn’t use religion as a focus or a foundation of their educational experience. The encouragement one can feel empowered by after attending such a gathering is immeasurable; having the opportunity to learn that you are not alone, that the challenges one faces are being faced by others, and solutions are available. This conference will help give participants the energy, motivation, and confidence we all need and seek for our homeschooling journey.
Blair Lee: The SEA Homeschool Conference is a secular, academic conference, which is pretty special. It isn’t all about academics though. We have worked hard to make this a fun and exciting event for conference attendees of all ages. There are also three service projects going on during the conference: Teens can receive community service credit by volunteering for the conference; we have a blood drive on Saturday, June 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and we have partnered with non-profit group Bringing Food Forests to NE Florida to raise money for a permaculture project on the Lakota Reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. We have a raffle during the conference to raise funds for this.
What are some of the talks you’re most excited about?
Tina Harden: The college offerings: The college fair, how to write a college essay, questions for college physics
BL: I hate to pick favorites. I am honestly excited by the breadth of talks at this conference. I will have to admit, though, I cannot wait to hear Michael Clay Thompson speak. My son is excited by the college essay workshop, Sytil Murphy’s physics talks, Ian Guch’s workshops, and wilderness training.
Kat Hutcheson: Blair’s Project-Based Learning talk is definitely something I can’t miss. Homeschooling 101 and Homeschooling High School with Beverly Burgess should be great, too—Bev is even giving her new webinar package free to everyone who attends her Homeschooling 101 talk. Mari Buckroth of NASH and The Inappropriate Homeschooler is on my list, as well as talks by Zinn Education Project and workshops with the National Parks Service. Amanda McClure of Groovy Kids Online is giving talks on Transitioning to Independent Learning and Creating a Culture of Learning in Your Home, both of which I’m looking forward to, along with Lauren Connolly’s talk on using comic books and graphic novels in education and a talk on Permaculture, Biodynamic Soil, and Compost from Bringing Food Forest to NE Florida.
What opportunities will attendees have to connect with other homeschoolers?
TH: Games for children and teens, blood drive, vendor hall, bookstore social
BL: We have worked to include several activities to connect, but honestly, this happens naturally at homeschool conferences. My favorite way to connect at conferences is to sit down and just talk to people. I have made some great friends that way.
KH: Community is a big part of SEA Homeschoolers and a big part of this conference. There will be lots of opportunities for homeschooling families to socialize with new friends and familiar faces. From the meet-and-greet at the local bookstore to the parents mixer to just grabbing lunch in the dining hall, we hope everyone makes lasting connections within the community.
Would this be a fun event for families to attend together?
TH: My family is joining me, and this will be a great rejuvenative endeavor for our whole family.
BL: Absolutely. We have worked hard to make this weekend a highlight of the summer for conference attendees.
KH: Absolutely. Conference organizers have worked really hard to make this a fun event for the whole family. There are tons of kids and teens programming, a Magic the Gathering tournament, Smash Brothers contest, children’s book readings with author JR Becker, teen formal, art show, talent show, and some really wonderful opportunities for those starting to plan a path to college.
What else will be happening at the conference that people should be sure to check out?
TH: The talent show, blood drive, Smash Brothers tournament, game room, magic tournament, the college fair, and the raffle.
KH: Book signings by JR Becker, Beverly Burgess, and Blair Lee. Blair will have the prototype of her new book to check out. You definitely won’t want to miss the raffle. We have so many cool books and products donated from our vendors and sponsors, plus Blair’s new book and a SEA swag bag.
BL: Wilderness training and the history of fire.
Who do you have lined up for the vendor hall? I’m assuming they are all secular homeschool resources?
KH: We have 27 secular vendors and sponsors. For a new homeschooling conference that is a big number. It means a lot to those of us planning the conference to have the secular vendors and sponsors in our community support our group. We have trusted favorites like Royal Fireworks Press, Pandia Press, Build Your Library, Teaching Textbooks, Shiller Math, and more, as well as some new and lesser known companies that we are excited introduce to the homeschool community.
What do you hope people will be saying on their way home from the conference?
TH: Let’s do it again next year! I got to spend time with my friends, and we all made great new ones too!
BL: About two hours into the drive home from a homeschool conference we had just attended, my son said, “You know my favorite thing about homeschooling?”
“What’s that?” I replied.
“The homeschool conferences,” he told me.
That is what I hope the kids and teens are saying. I hope parents are talking about the new strategies and materials they discovered and the new friends they made.
I know conferences depend on people power to keep going, and this is a conference that we’d really like to see keep going! If people just can’t attend this year, is there anything they can do to support the conference from afar?
There are two great ways to support this conference. Please share about the event on your social media platforms and on any homeschool groups you belong to on Facebook. That sort of grassroots messaging is important to any fledgling endeavor. The second way to support us is to support our vendors. We will be sharing about our vendors into the group, and purchasing through them using the conference links ensures that it is worth it to those vendors to come back again next year.
And nuts-and-bolts: Where can people sign up, how much does admission cost, and what else should attendees know about the conference?
You can buy tickets (Adults $100, Teens $65, Kids $50), one-day passes (Adults $45, Teens $30, Kids $25) and vendor hall passes ($25), rent dorm rooms for on campus accommodations, and purchase meal cards to save money in the dining hall at seahomeschoolers.com
While you’re there be sure to check out our updated conference schedule. Also, our college fair, starting at 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 1, is free to all who would like to attend. If you come to the college fair and decide you would like to see more of the conference, you will receive $5 off the purchase of a one-day or vendor hall pass.
HSL Book Deal of the Day 5.24.17: El Deafo
Being different isn't always easy. When Cece Bell loses her hearing, she has to learn how to navigate the world in all new ways, including wearing a cutting-edge 1970s hearing aid and figuring out how to make friends when she can't always hear what people are saying—or when she hears too much. Cece is a likable, friendly character, and her story—part memoir, part graphic novel—is one that almost every middle schooler can relate to. This is one of the graphic novels designed specifically for the Kindle, so you don't have to worry about weird formatting issues.
We're highlighting our picks for best book deal of the day on the blog, but you can always find our favorite Kindle book deals here.
The Power of Now: Or Why Maybe This Is the Summer to Start that Homeschool Co-Op
[We are so happy to introduce you to the lovely Maggie Martin, who officially joins the HSL blogging team with this post! —Amy]
This time last year, my family was part of a great co-op. It was well-established, the enrichment classes were wonderful, and there were countless social opportunities for the kids. There was a prom, a graduation, a yearbook, a variety of clubs, and field trips.
I knew that we couldn't stay.
What?
The thing is that we lived an hour away. Devoting two hours of driving to and from classes one day a week was (almost) okay, but driving two hours so that my kids could do scouts or playdates with kids from their classes just wasn't practical. Every week I'd watch other families' kids falling deeper into real, lasting friendships, and it was a constant reminder that those friendships were the one thing that I wasn't providing my children in our homeschool experience.
I knew that a co-op move would have to happen to give my kids those deep-rooted childhood friendships, but moving in that direction seemed hopeless. I'd pored over the list of local co-ops for options that would be a good fit for secular members only to find a disappointing lack thereof. I'd even gotten a babysitter to attend an interest meeting for a new co-op forming at a local church in hopes that somehow that might work out for us. It didn't. Maybe one day I'd be brave enough to start a co-op in my little town that would be friendly to secular homeschoolers, but of course that time wasn't then. I was in the middle of building a new house, doing much of the work with my own two hands when I wasn't forging my way through lessons with my six-year-old twins.
Then when the 2016 summer issue of home/school/life downloaded its way into my life, I stumbled upon this highlighted passage from Gretchen Rubin's book Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives:
“I had to realize that there would always be excuses not to do the thing that is hard, probably really good excuses.”
"The desire to start something at the "right" time is usually just a justification for delay. In almost every case, the best time to start is now."
Those words crawled into my system and wouldn't stop swirling around my brain until I'd metabolized them.
I had to realize that there would always be excuses not to do the thing that is hard, probably really good excuses. And I had to realize that that saying about "The days are long, but the years are short," is no joke. It already felt like I'd put my babies down for naps only to turn around and find them starting the first grade. By the next time I turned around, those first graders would be perfecting their college admissions essays, and my chance to construct the homeschool experience I'd dreamed of for them would be gone forever.
So I decided to start that co-op. I made a To Do list that was about a mile long, and tackled every item one by one when I could steal a few minutes to do so. I communicated with the homeschool acquaintances I'd made in our community and shared my vision, I turned to our gem of a library when finding a meeting space was turning into a deal-breaker, and, most importantly, I focused on my devotion to my kids when the job seemed overwhelming.
By the end of the summer, I had accomplished what had before seemed impossible, and a year later, I'm boundlessly grateful that Gretchen Rubin's words found me in that home/school/life issue just when I needed them. The friendships my children have made this year are all the reward I need for the hard work I invested in our co-op's startup.
There will always, always be a reason not to do what is unfamiliar. Make those positive changes anyway. Graduation day will be here sooner than we wish.
HSL Book Deal of the Day 5.23.17: My Lady Jane
Come to this wild and weird YA historical fantasy expected a rollicking tale and lots of laughs, not historical accuracy, and you’re pretty much guaranteed an enjoyable read. Almost everyone knows the sad story of England’s nine-day queen, but this book gives her a shot an actual happy ending—if Monty Python decided to write an alternate Tudor history, this might just be the result. Fun and frothy in all the best ways.
We're highlighting our picks for best book deal of the day on the blog, but you can always find our favorite Kindle book deals here.
Book Nerd: Library Chicken Weekly Scoreboard (5.23.17)
Welcome to the weekly round-up of what the BookNerd is reading and how many points I scored (or lost) in Library Chicken. To recap, you get a point for returning a library book that you’ve read, you lose a point for returning a book unread, and while returning a book past the due date is technically legal, you do lose half a point. If you want to play along, leave your score in the comments!
NOT BOOK RELATED: Is anyone else listening to The Black Tapes podcast? I saw it described in a BookRiot post as Serial crossed with The X-Files and that’s pretty much exactly right. I’m only a few episodes in, but it’s my new favorite thing to do while not reading. (Or sleeping. I’m a big fan of sleeping.)
This One is Mine by Maria Semple
So I loved Semple’s Where’d You Go, Bernadette, but sadly I did not love this novel. Semple is an engaging and entertaining writer, but these characters were so incredibly vicious—shallow, self-absorbed, mean-spirited, and spiteful—that I read most of it wincing and holding the book as far away as possible. The character I ended up liking the most (or disliking the least) is the husband who was hateful to his stay-at-home-mom wife because she didn’t do a good enough job of taking care of him, so that should tell you something. At the end, after they’ve done a whole bunch of utterly unforgivable things, the three main characters come together for a little bit of hope and redemption, but I don’t know. I’m worried they’ll just end up carving a swath of horribleness through the innocent bystanders in their vicinity.
(LC Score: +1)
On Turpentine Lane by Elinor Lipman
After a disappointment like that, I was delighted to find Elinor Lipman’s latest novel on the new release shelf. Lipman writes warmly affectionate stories about screwed-up but still loving families, both those we are born into and those we create along the way. In this one, our heroine moves into a new home and soon gets caught up with (1) a decades-old possible murder mystery, and (2) a handsome new housemate. Lipman’s characters are funny and actually try to be nice to each other and she’s never let me down—highly recommended for comfort reads (and getting over any mean-spirited and spiteful novels you may have accidentally read).
(LC Score: +1)
Among Others by Jo Walton
This Hugo and Nebula award-winning novel has been on my to-read list for years and I’m so glad I finally got to it. (It’s Amy’s fault because she read it so I immediately had to.) It’s a girls’ boarding school story told in diary entries (two of my reading sweet spots, right there) by Mori, who ran away from her abusive mother after the death of her identical twin sister. Plus there are fairies (not quite like fairies I’ve encountered elsewhere) and magic (maybe?) and most of all, BOOKS. 15-year-old Mori is a science fiction fan and watching her discover various authors and series is like jumping back in time and visiting with 15-year-old me. (Mori is writing in 1979; I was about 5 years behind her, but there’s quite a bit of overlap in our reading lists.) This is a quiet book, a love letter to science fiction fandom (which we don’t often get to see from a girl’s perspective), and most of all an appreciation of what we can find in books.
(LC Score: +1)
Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge by Paul Krueger
I love the concept here: it turns out that bartenders are secretly alchemists, whipping up magic (alcoholic) potions that give them special powers to defeat demons (called tremens) that would otherwise infest the human world. And the most secret, most magic potion of all? The Long Island Iced Tea. It’s a very fun idea, but lacked something in the execution.
(LC Score: +1)
The Dream of Perpetual Motion by Dexter Palmer
This speculative fiction novel is set in a steampunky alternate-present with zeppelins and mechanical men built by a technological genius called Prospero. Our narrator, Harold, gets mixed up with Prospero’s daughter (who’s named Miranda, naturally). There’s a lot here about machinery vs. humanity, knowledge vs. mystery, and science vs. miracles. It’s beautifully written and even though I’m not quite sure I ever really figured out what was going on I certainly enjoyed the ride.
(LC Score: +1)
The Chimes by Anna Smaill
Lots of sf/fantasy this week! Smaill’s novel is set in a dystopian future England where some past catastrophic event has destroyed buildings, killed all the birds, and left people without the ability to read. Music has become the main way to communicate and pass on knowledge. Daily ‘Chimes’ rung throughout the land bring communities together—and may also have the sinister effect of destroying people’s long-term memories. It’s an... interesting choice to write about a world where all the characters have trouble remembering what happens from day to day, but fortunately it turns out that our hero (for reasons never explained) has special memory powers. The writing is smooth and lyrical and Smaill creates a hazy, impressionistic sort of world where the plot is less important than the vision she is trying to convey. I’m glad I read it and I appreciate the originality of Smaill’s creation, but I’m a plot-girl—I always feel like the author is cheating when too many details are glossed over or have clearly not been thought through, and I’m easily distracted by all the questions raised when a fictional world is not fully realized.
(LC Score: +1)
Georgia: A Brief History by Christopher C. Meyers and David Williams
I may be ready to take a break from Georgia history. This is a good one to go out on—a nice complement to Cobb’s Georgia Odyssey—and it does an especially good job of explaining the economic consequences of slavery, King Cotton, etc. Recommended for all you Georgia scholars out there! (It’s only me, right? I’m the only one reading these books, aren’t I? <sigh>)
(LC Score: +1)
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
Okay, everyone settle in because I have some thoughts. (Warning: rant approaching.) After careful consideration, I’ve come to the inescapable conclusion that it’s time to BURN IT ALL DOWN. I mean, maybe that’s a slight overreaction, but right now it’s hard to believe that women aren’t being forced to take a giant step backward, fighting all over again for the basic rights and protections we thought we’d achieved decades ago. This certainly wasn’t the world I thought I’d be living in. I am extremely grateful to my parents (and a series of really wonderful teachers) who helped me grow up believing that my gender was no obstacle to anything I might want to accomplish, believing that the fight for women’s rights was over and we WON—woo-hoo!—and it’s nothing that sensible people need ever worry about again, but I wish someone had made me read this when I was 16 or so. Certainly, growing up in the 80s I felt no need to revisit the dry and dusty tomes of of the 60s women’s movement, and so I missed out on Friedan’s engaging narrative voice and her straightforward analysis of how the 50s and early 60s were a complete horror show for women—particularly any woman who might not be emotionally and intellectually and sexually fulfilled by scrubbing the kitchen floor. (Of course, we know that the idealized American 1950s beloved of so many politicians and social commentators were a nightmare for anyone who wasn’t white, straight, and male, but still.) Maybe it wouldn’t have done me any good to get angry at 16, but at least I would have had a better understanding of where we were coming from, how hard we had to fight to escape the narrow confines of “femininity," and the cycles of progress and stagnation/backlash that seem to come in regular waves. Now, when I see that picture of old white men deciding what healthcare (for example) should look like with nary a woman or a person of color in the room, when I see them trying desperately to drag us back to the 50s—yep, I’m thinking it’s time to BURN IT ALL DOWN. Friedan’s 1963 book shows its age—in particular, her discussion of “the male homosexual” goes beyond ridiculous all the way to offensive—and, as many others have noted, it’s limited by exclusively addressing the problems of straight white middle-to-upper-class women. Friedan follows the outdated thinking of her time in blaming nearly all psychological problems in children on incompetent mothering, which in her thesis is due to lack of maternal self-fulfillment, plus she, like everyone else in the 60s, seems to be utterly obsessed with the female orgasm. (What did the Kinsey Report do to these people? When did the female orgasm become the sole measure of personal fulfillment? How even--? ...On second thought, never mind. Forget that I asked. Some things should probably be left alone.) We also learn that some things never change: Friedan expresses concern about the early sexualization of young girls through revealing clothing, describes the 1963 version of “helicopter parents," and has a whole chapter on how “kids today” are unmotivated, entitled, and allergic to hard work. Despite the issues, I found The Feminine Mystique a very readable introduction to the “a woman’s place is in the home” thinking of post-WWII America, a philosophy that lives on through many of the politicians and social commentators who grew up in that era. I’ve ordered a copy to give to my 16-year-old. (End of rant.)
(LC Score: +1)
Paper Girls Vol. 1 written by Brian K. Vaughn and illustrated by Cliff Chiang
I am still a newbie to the world of graphic novels and comics, but I LOVE Brian Vaughn’s Saga and so I was very excited to read this series about a pack of pre-teen newspaper delivery girls in 1988 who get caught up fighting a scary and mysterious invasion from the future. In fact, I bought a copy for my 14-year-old graphic-novel-loving daughter (who hasn’t read Saga yet because it’s extra-hard-R-rated, seriously not for kids I mean it). I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to Vol. 2, but the 14-year-old preferred the next entry...
(LC Score: 0, borrowed from my daughter)
Lumberjanes Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy
Lumberjanes Vol. 2: Friendship to the Max
written by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis and illustrated by Brooke Allan
More pre-teen girls kicking butt! Stevenson (of Nimona fame) co-writes this comic about a group of best friends who fight monsters (and the occasional Greek god) while earning merit badges at Lumberjane Camp. Sillier and more cartoony than Paper Girls (which gets violent and may be too much for younger readers), it’s diverse and funny and a complete delight and my daughter is zooming through the collections as fast as she can get them. Me too.
(LC Score: 0, borrowed from my daughter)
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
A modern-day retelling of Pride and Prejudice. I know better, I really do—these things never go well. I nope’d out early on, once it was revealed that Liz (a New York City magazine editor/writer in this version) was having an affair with her married ‘best friend’ (the Wickham character), who she’d mooned over for years, never quite able to give up on him even as he dates girl after girl, keeping her on the side. THIS IS NOT THE ELIZABETH BENNET I KNOW AND LOVE. It goes rapidly downhill from there. For those of you in the market for an actually quite good update of P&P, I recommend The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, the funny and clever YouTube series. Also, the 14-year-old is having a great time with Pride and Prejudice: Manga Classics (adapted by Stacy King). She’s reading it on the side during our current mother-daughter read-aloud of P&P and aside from being entertainingly ridiculous in all the ways you’d expect a manga version of P&P to be ridiculous, she says it’s helping her keep track of all the characters and understand what’s happening a bit better.
(LC Score: +1)
Pandemonium by Daryl Gregory
Gregory is one of those why-haven’t-more-people-heard-of-this-guy? novelists. He writes sf/fantasy (with the occasional dash of horror) and I’ve read and enjoyed two of his novels: Afterparty and We’re All Completely Fine. I’m looking forward to reading the rest, including Spoonbenders (due to come out later this year), but I couldn’t get to this one in time. EXPIRED HOLD.
(LC Score: -1)
The Age Altertron by Mark Dunn
Hey, the guy who wrote Ella Minnow Pea also wrote a middle-grades kids’ novel! I should put that on hold and read it! But maybe not this week when I’m busy with the 60’s women’s movement and bad Austen fanfic and entirely too much sf/fantasy! EXPIRED HOLD.
(LC Score: -1)
Library Chicken Score for 5/23/17: 7 (it helps that I was finished with Eligible in about 20 min)
Running Score: 32
On the to-read/still-reading stack for next week:
Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood (Atwood does The Tempest)
The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead (the debut novel from the recent Pulitzer Prize-winner)
Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi (just started this one but so far it’s excellent)
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin (yep, still catching up on books I should have read in school)
- one year ago: Monday Pep Talk No. 37
HSL Book Deal of the Day 5.22.17: Dark Lord of Derkholm
You can't blame people for wanting to visit the magical world next door, but it's not exactly easy on that magical world's inhabitants—especially when the holiday organizer, Mr. Chesney, requires everyone to put their lives on hold and enact fantastic scenarios for his Pilgrim Parties. The natives are restless, and they're determined to get their freedom back—starting with appointing a terrifically inept Dark Lord for the latest season of tourists. You can't go wrong with DWJ, and this often-hilarious novel is an ideal summer (or anytime) readaloud.
We're highlighting our picks for best book deal of the day on the blog, but you can always find our favorite Kindle book deals here.
52 Weeks of Happier Homeschooling Week 33: Log Off of Social Media
I love Facebook as much as the next mom—my friend Stephanie’s feed makes me smile pretty much every time I look at it—but if you’re feeling burned out, incompetent, or unhappy in your homeschool life, logging off social media may be just what you need.
The sunny selfies and highlights reels of other people’s lives can make us feel worse about own lives, especially when we’re in a bumpy patch. According to a study in the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, spending just one hour on social media sites like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter correlates to lower life satisfaction. It’s not hard to see why: When your kitchen’s a mess, your kid has spent a whole year studying multiplication without managing to learn a single fact, and you’re just plain exhausted, those beautifully staged pictures of clean and happy children reading in clean and sun-drenched rooms can make you feel like a complete failure.
The solution: Take a social media break. Sure, it’s hard to cut the connection when you’ve gotten into the habit of logging on every day, so start by checking in once a day and giving yourself a time limit—say, 20 minutes. Spend that 20 minutes catching up with people you care about, leaving a quick comment instead of just clicking “like,” and speed scrolling through your feed. Gradually reduce the time you’re spending on social media until you’re on a full social media break—ideally, one that lasts at least three weeks. As you detox from social media, focus on finding joy in the moments of your everyday life without the pressure to capture them on camera or with the perfect quippy caption. Be in the moment with yourself and with your kids.
After your social media break, ease back into online life with the knowledge that you’ve gained. Most of us aren’t going to want to cut the cord completely, and that’s fine—but maybe there are people whose posts we probably shouldn’t follow so closely or limits it makes sense to make on how much we’re consuming other people’s lives. The idea is to make social media something that boosts your happiness—that connects you meaningfully to the people and things you care about—and not something that makes you feel less than.
Your mission this week: Pay attention to how much time you spend on social media and how it makes you feel to be on different sites—and how you feel afterward. (It may help to keep a log—most of us spend more time on social media than we realize.) Set a specific goal to spend less time on social media in the next week—you might want to limit the number of visits or give yourself a time limit. Be sure to set a goal you can live with—there’s no “right amount” of social media consumption, just an amount that’s right for you.
HSL Book Deal of the Day 5.21.17: Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars
The original computers weren't machines, they were people—specifically women who, armed with slide rules and sharpened pencils, performed the complex calculations needed to get the space program (literally) off the ground. This book shines a long overdue spotlight on the women scientists and mathematicians who contributed to the early work of the space program, and it's a great read on its own or as part of a larger study with The Glass Universe and Hidden Figures.
We're highlighting our picks for best book deal of the day on the blog, but you can always find our favorite Kindle book deals here.
SUZANNE REZELMAN is home | school | life magazine’s Book Nerd. Subscribe to home/school/life to read her brilliant book recommendations and literary musings every issue. Your library list will thank you.