Summer is a time for fun and a break from the rigors of the school year. However, as Laura pointed out in the previous blog post (check it out, it’s really sweet), summer can also be an opportunity to continue growing! She encouraged parents to guide their children’s reading through the vacation months, but parents can also guide their children’s writing during the summer. “Excuse me, Athena. That sounds like a school activity, and the point of summer …

With Memorial Day come and gone, summer vacation is officially upon us! And for some homeschool families out there, that means… absolutely nothing. “What is summer vacation? We homeschool. We don’t do that here.” Personally, I remember three or four years growing up where my homeschooled sister and I didn’t take summer vacation at all. I finished seventh grade on Friday and started eighth grade on Monday. We weren’t a super competitive homeschool family or anything. It was …

Hello, EIW World! My name is Laura, and I recently began working on the Essentials in Literature Curriculum Team. Soon, I’ll also be starting as a Scorer for student compositions. I am excited to begin writing on this blog to share thoughts about reading and writing. I believe writing is one of the most important skills a homeschool student can develop during their childhood and teenage years. Why? Because it’s the student’s chance to leave an imprint upon …

Although this blog is titled with a question, I will not definitively answer it. This is an opinion piece based on my personal mindset and experience, but it may be helpful to some homeschool educators who wonder how they should incorporate the computer into their student’s writing program. The fact is that kids born after 2000 are tech-innate. They don’t have to be taught how to use a smartphone or Google or a touch screen. They grow up …

When you ask your student to compose a writing assignment, does your student: A.   groan as loud and long as their lungs allow B.   slump in their chair, slide off to the floor, and lie there face down like a slug C.   pick up a pencil and start eating it while vacantly staring at anything except the paper in front of them D.   pick up a pencil—then pick up another pencil and start practicing for their …