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.