Motivating Your Homeschooled Child

In a traditional classroom, the teacher follows a pre-determined curriculum.

Motivating Your Homeschooled Child

Having trouble motivating your kids? When it's time to do "school stuff," are your kids less than enthusiastic? Join the club! I've never met a homeschooling parent who has not faced this challenging situation. How do parents get past this difficult phase? Is it possible to turn your family's learning time into a cooperative experience? To answer these questions, we first must examine some basic assumptions about learning.

In a traditional classroom, the teacher follows a pre-determined curriculum.

Mini Messages

What you need:
Paper
Pencils or crayons

Scribble Drawing

Materials

• Paper
• Crayons

Directions

1. Show your child how to scribble on a piece of white paper with a crayon, using big circular motions to form loops.
2. Then have your child color in each loop with a different color, creating a very pretty and unique design every time.

Childhood is all about adjustments and transitions. As adults, we know that there will be many times we need to teach children how to adjust their expectations and behavior, or how to be resilient when something changes.

Editor's Note: We know raising kids can be hard. That's why we're dedicated to making your life easier with the latest and greatest parenting advice and products. We wanted to let you know that if you chose to purchase one of the items featured in this post, we may receive a small commission for it.

Women who experience a pregnancy loss quickly learn that our society doesn't understand the pain of this loss. Well-meaning friends might say, "It was probably defective in some way so this is actually a blessing." Or, "You'll get pregnant again." Or even, "Lots of women miscarry; it's really not a big deal." Of course, any woman who has had a failed pregnancy knows that it is a big deal. Even if the fetus was malformed and even if she can get pregnant again, she still experiences the very deep pain of a shattered dream.

Toy Safety Tips for Holiday Shoppers

WASHINGTON, D.C. - As the holiday season approaches, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urges gift-givers to keep safety in mind when choosing toys for young children. The CPSC estimates that more than 120,000 children are treated in hospital emergency rooms for toy-related injuries each year.

Many parents today are just as concerned with the amount of time that their kids spend using screens as they are with how difficult it often is to pry them away from a screen. Though many experts in the field are split as to whether or not digital and media consumption can be defined as an addiction, many parents have no problem using the terminology as a way to describe what their child’s behavior is similar to.

It’s more common than you might think to have your tween or teen going through a phase where they are avoiding the shower. This conversation can be a difficult one to have with your child, as it may be awkward for each party, but luckily there are ways to discuss this without anyone getting hurt or upset. 

More: How Parents Can Help Teens Destress

Encouraging Your Teen's Musical Talents

Brought to you by MENC: The National Association for Music Education.

Is your teen a music buff? Encourage his interests and talents with the following tips.

1. Expose your teen to all kinds of music.
Try listening to music that's outside your usual range: classical (opera, symphonic, chamber music), pop, country, folk, ethnic music of other cultures, jazz -- you name it!

The time has come to bid farewell to summer and get back into the swing of things with a brand new school year. A mix of emotions surrounding the start of the new year are sure to surface, and as a parent, checking in with your child is imperative. 

Here is a list of five questions parents should ask their kids during the first week to get a sense of how it’s going and any issues that might arise.