Month: March 2021

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A Few Facts To Help You Decide If Homeschool Is For You

Let’s talk pros and cons of homeschool to help other parents out there make the best decision of whether or not homeschool is the right answer for them. For this list, I will not be writing them out in a pro/con list necessarily, but rather in just a list. Because some points may be a pro for one family, but a con for another. So here are the facts! 

  • Homeschool your kids are home and around you 24/7, whereas a school where they leave for the day, you aren’t around them as much. 
  • Traditional schools are a built-in social atmosphere where kids learn how to interact with peers. In a homeschool scene, it takes more deliberate effort to create those social interactions with your kids. 
  • True homeschool comes with more flexibility in the curriculum. Online homeschool will have their set curriculum, but if you are solely your child’s teacher, you get to teach when, how, and where you want! 
  • There is a lot of flexibility in your day and your life when you homeschool. Many families take advantage of this by traveling more often. Worldschooling is also something worth looking into. 
  • Homeschool can be 100% tailored around the student, which is nearly impossible in any school with more students than just a few. That means if they are falling behind in reading, but excelling in math, their whole day can be planned around their needs. 
  • If it’s online homeschool, it’s not necessary to do as much planning for curriculum/day-to-day learning because the program takes care of that. 
  • If you are 100% homeschooling without an online platform, you choose the curriculum, plan everything out, and execute it. 

There are a lot of pros and cons when it comes to homeschool, and some of these points can be a very big deciding factor on whether or not a family chooses to homeschool. If you homeschool, how did you decide that it was the best journey for you and your family? Share below to hopefully help someone else make this decision! 

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Choosing A College: Some Tips For Seniors

Choosing a higher education school can be so daunting sometimes! First you have to decide on a trade school vs a university. And then once you’ve decided that, a whole list of options come up. It’s overwhelming. But here are some tips for you! 

  • Narrow it down to an area if you can. Decide if it’s important for you to stay close to home or choose a school far away. 
  • Look at schools based on what majors they offer/ what majors they are known for. For example- I graduated with my undergrad from Utah State University because I wanted a degree in Elementary Education. In Utah, USU is very prestigious and well-known for their education program, which was ultimately a big swaying factor in my decision. 
  • Dive into the social aspect/ campus life and decide how important it is for you to attend events, sports, etc. College is about the experience AND the education! And not all college campuses are created equal when it comes to social gatherings. 
  • Talk with current students or past grads about schools you are interested in. Hearing about their experience or opinions can help you make a final decision. 
  • Keep a list of potential options. You may find one school that is everything you want! But the reality is, you still have to apply and become accepted into the school before you can go, in most cases. If you don’t get into your dream school, keep a few others in mind for back up. 
  • Remember that you’re not making a decision based on good vs. bad. You’re deciding between good, better, and best. Whichever school you choose is a great option and can hopefully have you leaving with a great experience and a college degree. It’s hard to make a bad decision when choosing a college! 

Pros and cons lists of schools can also be helpful to make a decision. Let us know what school you are choosing to go to in the comments below! 

Cover photo from pexels.com

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Is Cursive Writing Dead?

The history of cursive writing dates back to Ancient Rome. Through time it continued on, and even our founding fathers used it to write the important documents that started our country. 

Cursive writing became a big part of our school systems, with entire classes devoted to learning the art. It was such a huge part of our society for so long, but now it’s almost non-existent. Why is this? 

Because typewriting classes pushed their way into schools, taking time away from handwriting classes. Everyone could see that the future of businesses and schools was in the typing, not the writing, and they seemed to be incredibly correct! 

The handwriting classes continued, but became less and less over time. Fast forward to today- handwriting classes are the bare minimum, not even covering cursive writing in most schools, and have been completely replaced with typing and computer work. 

It’s no lie that we are in the middle of a technological revolution. The technology we had five years ago is irrelevant to the technology we have today, which will someday be irrelevant to the technology we have in five years from now. It only makes sense that the time and energy we are putting into education is based around this. 

But is cursive writing dead? Even though there is something else that has taken the front seat in learning, does that mean it should be non-existent? Maybe in a sense cursive writing has changed subjects. Instead of being taught during Language Arts, it needs to be taught during History? 

My opinion is that cursive writing defines history and our country in many ways and should still be a part of our education system. We don’t need it to be at the forefront of our children’s day in school, but we should at least add it in where we can. 

What are your thoughts and opinions on teaching cursive writing in school?