Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Honest. Quirky. Real. Practical tips, candid reviews, and stereotype-smashing humor for homeschooling families.

Honest. Quirky. Real. Practical tips, candid reviews, and stereotype-smashing humor for homeschooling families.

Exciting Homeschool Science Curriculum That Makes Teaching Science Easy

By Kris Bales

If you’re looking for thorough, easy-to-understand, biblical homeschool science curriculum for elementary, middle, and high school, check out Science Shepherd.

Homeschool science options are plentiful for the lower grades but dwindle quickly by the time high school rolls around. The choices decline even more for families who want a thorough, easy-to-understand science curriculum featuring a Christian worldview.

If that describes what you’re seeking for your teen, let me introduce you to Science Shepherd.

(Psst…They offer science for elementary and middle school, too.)

Exciting Homeschool Science Curriculum That Makes Teaching Science Easy

Science Shepherd Homeschool Science Curriculum

Science Shepherd curriculum was developed for homeschoolers by a homeschool dad who also happens to be a medical doctor with a Bachelor of Science degree. We got the chance to review the high school biology text. Dr. Hardin achieved his goal of creating an excellent upper-level, student-directed science course that even science-phobic homeschool parents can teach with confidence. [Read more…]

4 Surprising Ways Playing an Instrument Makes Kids Smarter

By Kris Bales

There are many benefits of playing a musical instrument, but the academic benefits may surprise you. Learn why your child should play an instrument in this article sponsored by Musiah.

Some people cringe when they hear kids practicing musical instruments – especially the recorder when it rewards off notes with its ear-piercing squeal. When you’ve got a kid who can play, though, music practice is a treat for the ears – even on a recorder.

Josh’s teacher liked to challenge her oldest students, the 4th-graders. Every few weeks, she’d play a new piece for them once or twice before they left class. Their mission was to learn to play the song by ear. The teacher usually gave them a couple of weeks to figure it out.

Josh never needed that long. Most weeks, he was playing it by the time we got to lunch at – where else? – the Chick-fil-A located about five minutes from the church where music lessons took place.

Benefits of Playing a Musical Instrument

Benefits of Playing a Musical Instrument

I loved taking the kids to music class because of the many benefits of playing a musical instrument. Playing an instrument:

  • builds confidence
  • reduces stress
  • improves blood flow to the brain
  • strengthens motor skills
  • improves concentration

However, one of the most interesting benefits of playing a musical instrument may be its effect on academic performance. [Read more…]

Typesy: Fun & Engaging Typing Lessons for Kids (of All Ages!)

By Kris Bales

If you’re a homeschool parent looking for quality, user-friendly typing lessons for kids, you’ve got to check out Typesy!

I took typing class in high school. Way back in the dark ages. On an actual typewriter, y’all. I’m talking Stone Age. I didn’t care for the teacher too much. She was kind of grumpy and was always harping on us not to look at the keys when we typed.

Okay, okay. I know you’re not supposed to look at the keys, but it was so hard not to. I guess that’s why I only got up to 30-35 wpm while my best friend, who didn’t look at the keys, won an award for fastest typing skills. She typed 60+ wpm. Show off.

Typesy: Fun & Engaging Typing Lessons for Kids (of All Ages!)

Fast forward a decade or three and guess what I do for a living? I’m a blogger and a writer.

That means I’m on the keyboard every day. And, guess what. I’m still a painfully slow, moderately accurate typist. Although my skills have improved since high school, typing more quickly and accurately would help me accomplish more each day.

What Is Typesy?

That’s why I was excited to discover Typesy, a fun, easy-to-use, online typing program. Typesy is engaging and colorful enough for kids but not too childish for people of any age who need to learn to type or want to improve their typing skills. [Read more…]

How to Save Time and Money with CLEP and DSST Exams

By Kris Bales

Credit by exam allows homeschoolers to earn college credit in high school. Learn how to prepare with CLEP practice tests and DSST practice tests.

When researching online, Study.com frequently tops my search results. I love their concise, easy-to-understand articles, but I never realized that those search engine results were just the tip of the iceberg.

Study.com offers thousands of self-paced video courses to help students improve their grades and earn college credit online. It’s also ideal for adult learners like me who want to broaden their knowledge base.

One of the hidden gems on Study.com is their credit by exam test prep selection. They offer both CLEP study guides and DSST study guides included with site membership.

(They even have a complete homeschool program for grades 3-12!)

How to Save Time and Money with CLEP and DSST Exams

What Is Credit by Exam?

Credit by exam options were created to allow adult learners and military personnel to earn college credit based on life and work experience. A passing test score demonstrated college-level understanding and earned credit for that subject. Now, anyone can take a CLEP or DSST exam to earn college credit, including homeschooled students. [Read more…]

How to Rock Your World: Fun Homeschool Geography Curriculum

By Kris Bales

Trail Guide to World Geography makes learning geography fun! Kids in grades 3-12 can learn together with this multi-level homeschool geography curriculum.

Most of my favorite Friends episodes involve Joey. His lovable, goofy cluelessness cracks me up. I may or may not quote Joey when talking to my kids about school stuff. {ahem} “Good job, little buddy.”

Did you ever see the episode where Chandler attempted to break up with Janice? In desperation, he finally told her he was moving to Yemen. When he learns what’s going on, Joey compliments Chandler on his cleverness, saying, “And, Yemen? That actually sounds like a real country.”

Trail Guide to World Geography Homeschool Geography Curriculum

It’s funny when it’s Joey, but not so much when it’s real, live people. Especially not when the real, live people are your homeschooled kids. Hoping to avoid any Joey-Yemen moments, I decided to cover world geography in-depth this year. Because, you know, it’s important for kids – and adults – to know about the countries that make up the world in which we live.

So, how do you rock your world? With fun homeschool geography curriculum! (See what I did there?)

Choosing Homeschool Geography Curriculum

We opted to use Trail Guide to World Geography to cover high school geography. I ordered the High School World Geography GeoPack so we’d have everything we needed to jump into world geography. The GeoPack includes:

  • Trail Guide to World Geography
  • 3-Level World Geography Student Notebook digital download
  • Eat Your Way Around the World – a resource that includes recipes for complete meals for 30 different countries of the world
  • Around the World in 80 Days
  • Geography Through Art
  • Grade-level appropriate student atlas

I also got The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide, an optional, but vital resource used with Trail Guide to World Geography.

One of my favorite things about Trail Guide to World Geography is that it’s designed to be used by students in grades 3-12, so the whole family can study geography together. Yeah, I know I’m only using it with my high school junior right now, but I know how useful multi-level teaching can be.

The guide is broken down into three grade/ability levels: primary, intermediate, and secondary. All the activities in the book are clearly marked with a symbol indicating which level they’re for.

You can purchase a World GeoPack for whichever level you need. The only difference is the atlas that the student will use, so for different levels, you could just get one GeoPack and order the appropriate atlas for each level you’re teaching. [Read more…]