First Day of School

Two weeks ago school began in our area. While their neighborhood friends sat in classrooms writing essays on what they did over the summer, my two oldest children sat in small sailboats on the Bay, practicing their newly acquired sailing skills. It was a glorious morning. The sun was shining, the air was warm and the wind was perfect for a morning of sailing. As my daughter and son maneuvered their boats so far out that I needed binoculars to see them, I smiled. The experience reinforced my decision to homeschool. Learning to write an essay is important, but how much more important is it to instill self-confidence into your child? To actually feel the forces of nature as opposed to reading about them? Homeschooling. It's not for everyone but for our family it was the right choice.

10 Home School Tips from Kathleen

I don’t claim to be an expert on home schooling or parenting, but there are certain things that I’ve learned in the course of home schooling. I’d like to share some of them with you and invite your thoughts as well.
1. Get clear on your educational philosophy and goals first, and then implement a plan to meet those goals. This is especially true when selecting curriculum.

2. Join a local home school group. They usually have fun activities for kids and they expect that you’ll be taking siblings along as well.

3. Get the kids OUT of the house. Children learn more outside of a classroom environment than inside. Our favorite outings are to construction sites.

4. When blessed with a gorgeous day, ditch the books and grab your bikes! PE (physical education) is important, too!

5. Animal Planet is a great way to great way to introduce your children to sex education (and a whole lot less embarrassing, as well!).

6. Cash Flow For Kids is an excellent tool for incorporating math in your curriculum, plus you don’t have to fight with your kids to do it!

7. A lemonade stand is still the best way to teach entrepreneurship to children. Read Rich Dad’s Escape From The Rat Race first and they’ll get a whole lot more from the experience.

8. Take advantage of the ability to travel during the off seasons. Rates are lower and attractions are not as crowded.

9. Take your kids to the office as much as practical. It’s great exposure to the “real” world.

10. Stick with it! Even the worst day of home schooling is better than a good day at public schools.

“Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire” - William Butler Yeats

10 Home School Tips from Anita

My kids are now young adults, but here are some ideas that I used---or that I wished I had used!

1. Start a home business and let the kids become your employees (tax benefit) or let them be creative and run their own business. They’ll learn accounting, legal matters, customer relations, and more in a real-world setting.

2. Teach your kids to “read” by creating a small “storybook”--complete with family pictures and short captions under each photo. My little ones memorized their books quickly and loved to “read” their story to Grandma and Grandpa. MyAlbumMaker.com is a great way to create a scrapbook online!

3. Allow your children to develop at their own pace. My oldest boy started reading at 5 years old. My youngest didn’t start until he was almost 8. In the end, it made little difference. Both graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy.

4. Help them set goals in all areas of life, and work together to plan strategies to achieve their goals. Encourage them to dream and think beyond today. MyGoalManager.com is a simple and easy way to create and keep track of your goals.

5. Don’t feel like they have to do every page of the workbook, textbook, etc. If they already know and remember the material, skip it (or quickly review) and move on to something new. Don’t waste time and energy rehashing old stuff.

6. Make your home school unique. You don’t have to offer a “home version” of the public school. Give your kids what you wished you would have had in school.

7. Give your children small rewards for achieving short-term goals. A special outing when they finish a project will help keep them motivated.

8. Create memories--and make sure you take lots of pictures. Remember the snowball fights, train rides, rodeos, bike rides... Take off-season vacations while other kids are in school. My adult children are still best friends, in part, because they share so many memories.

9. Take your kids with you as you volunteer in different settings (shelters, inner city rescue missions, Habitat for Humanity, etc.) It broadens their context to move outside their comfort zone and teaches them important values.

10. Financial education is a vital subject that is rarely taught in any curriculum. Teach CASHFLOW principles so they can create wealth to provide for themselves and to serve others.

Naval Academy Graduate Takes Kids Out Of School

“Traditional schools can not deliver the quality of education I demand for my kids”

As a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, I was fortunate enough to receive the best education that the United States has to offer. The Class of 1984 had roughly 12,000 applicants, accepted 1,100 and only 100 of those were women. It was sheer determination that enabled me to endure the rigors of Annapolis and graduate as one of 64 women in our class.

As a mother of four children, I wanted the same standard of education for my own family. Unfortunately, the public schools can not deliver the quality of education that I demand for my kids. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2005 only 23% of high school seniors performed at or above “proficient” at mathematics.

I spent 20 years in the naval service, circumnavigating the world on five different ships. I have seen first hand that the world is rapidly changing and that traditional schools are not preparing our children for these changes.

Instead of driving a multi-million dollar war ship loaded with cruise missiles through the Straits of Hormuz, I now drive a mini-van loaded with car seats through American suburbia. My new mission is to provide my children with an education that is relevant and one that will enable them to compete in this ever changing world.

To accomplish this mission I had to home school. Homeschooling allowed my husband and I to pack up the four kids, four dogs, and three guinea pigs and move here to Scottsdale where I have been privileged to work with the Rich Dad company and expose my children to the "real world" of business. My work here has also enabled me to share the message of financial literacy and freedom to thousands of other home schoolers around the world.

Colorado School Administrator Teaches Her Kids at Home

“Schools can cripple kids if it’s not preparing them for the real world.”

Even though I worked thirteen years in the public school system as administrator, counselor, and teacher, I decided to quit my job to teach my kids at home. I saw how the government school system was not preparing many kids well for the real world and wanted something better for my own children. I wanted them to have the freedom to develop their own unique genius.

Apparently, I have a lot of company. According to a Washington Times national survey,
up to 41% of public school teachers pull their own children out of government schools.

My children are now young adults and close friends as a result of their time together at home. My two sons were accepted to all the United States military academies and both graduated from the Air Force Academy. My daughter received a Master’s degree in Quantitative Analysis while her younger sister graduated from law school at age 22.

The drop-out rate in our schools continues to skyrocket. Many kids don’t see how school relates to the real world and “check out.” Financial literacy is one critical element that schools rarely touch but that kids desperately need. Without it, many children are crippled as they enter the real world of business and money.

Last year I left my position as high school administrator and moved from the mountains of Colorado to the desert of Arizona to join a progressive company called Rich Dad. Together we empower home schoolers and people around the world with the truths of how they can become financially free.