Don't Homeschool If Your Children Have This One Bad Habit!→

The most frequent complaint I get from homeschooling moms is that their children don't listen to them. It's more than just a complaint  because  for a homeschooling mom, not listening is a serious issue.

Children who don't listen, won't obey and children who don't obey, won't get their work done. Which means that you, the homeschooling parent, will struggle  to do your job well. 

“The essence of successful discipline is not technique; rather, it is self-confidence.”

— John Rosemond, author, A Family of Value

However, I am not suggesting that you put your children into school; but only to train them to listen before you continue homeschooling. After all, the skill of listening is a vital skill and one children must be taught.

An Effective Approach

The most effective approach would be to stop homeschooling for a short period until you get your relationship back on course with your children. 

The reason for this is because the frustration everyone is feeling from the tug of war around studying is probably causing a lot of tension, and your children may develop a negative association with homeschooling if it continues. 

Once your children decide that homeschooling is no fun, instead of one problem, you’ve now got two. So a break is the best strategy for this situation.

But rather than announce you are putting homeschooling on hold until they learn to obey,  announce that next week will be a homeschool break week. You don't need to offer any reason other than, "Because I said so!". 

The Crux of the Matter

Now, you can focus on the issue which, at the core, is a problem of disrespect. Like most parents in the West, your children are not showing you the respect you deserve. 

It's a societal problem for various reasons including, but not limited to, the negative influences on children via multi-media and technology, as well as the push for modern parenting practices that sound great in theory but haven’t worked. 

While there are multiple strategies that should be employed in your efforts to correct your relationship with your children, we'll focus on the primary tactic of assuming the role of leadership.

As two captains will sink a ship, you and your spouse will have to show up as one. In other words, you have one voice. What one says, the other supports, at least in front of the children. Any disagreements you have regarding your children, must be discussed privately.

Successful Parenting Traits

It's critical to understand the traits of successful parents, so you can learn to imitate them until they become your traits, too.

Successful parenting leadership…

• They are decisive

• They communicate clear expectations

• They hold their children accountable

• They assume authority (not to be confused with "authoritarian")

• They set clear boundaries

• They give their children age-appropriate responsibilities

• They do not bend down to their children's level; they let their children look up to them

If this list sounds too authoritarian, it may be in comparison to the modern advice you've probably been given. 

The question to ask yourself is, how's that working?

Your children need to see you as the authority, someone worthy of respect, someone they can trust to keep their word, and a role model they can emulate.

You want to be a good influence for your children, so you can guide them towards developing good character and excelling in your homeschool. Like us, they won't emulate someone they do not respect. 

“The more attention you pay to your child, the less attention he will pay to you.”

— John Rosemond

Once you have successfully established your boundaries by assuming the role of leader, your children will listen and obey you and homeschooling will be more fun and fruitful. 

Effective parenting leadership must include unconditional  love, but I know you have that part covered. 

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework, so you can raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of good character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated; as she guides you to train your children’s minds and nurture their characters.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

The Six Purposes of Schooling by John Taylor Gatto→

When people ask me why I homeschooled, I tell them I had no choice. If they knew what I knew about public education, they would homeschool too.

John Taylor Gatto was the man who opened my eyes to the nefarious agenda behind institutionalized schooling. What follows is a transcription of the key section from John’s classic speech and opus, The Underground History of American Education.

John was a brilliant and well-researched man. I have read what is below in Ingles’ book myself; it is all true.   

Transcription of John’s Talk

“I have something here.  I have the six purposes of schooling [from the book Principles of Secondary Education by Alexander James Inglis] as laid down in 1917 by the man whom Harvard named their Honor Lecture in Education for. 

So far from being a fringe individual, this guy is the reason the Harvard Honor Lecture in Education is named as it is:  The Inglis Lecture.  I would like to read you the six purposes of schooling.  I moved heaven and earth as it took years to find this book [Principles of Secondary Education]--just like trying to find in past years a copy of the Carol Quigley [book] Tragedy and Hope.  

I learned about Inglis from a twenty year President of Harvard [1933-1953], James Bryant Conant, who was a poison gas specialist in World War I--and was in the very inner circle of the Atomic Bomb Project in World War II--was High Commissioner of Occupied Germany after the War. 

So he [James Bryant Conant] wrote--there must be 20 books about the institution of schooling--of which he was completely a proponent.  And he is a very, very bad writer.  I forced myself to read most of these books, and one of them he says that if you really want to know what school is about, you need to pick up the book that I’m referring to Principles of Secondary Education. 

Two years it took me to find a copy of the book [Principles of Secondary Education by Alexander James Inglis]--750 pages, tiny print and as dull as your imagination can be.  And furthermore, it is not till you get to the very middle of the book--in an unlabelled section--that he spills the beans.  Let me spill them for you.  

 There are six purposes, or functions, as he calls them.  The first he [Alexander Inglis] calls the Adjustive Function: Schools are to establish fixed habits of reaction to authority.  That’s their main purpose--habits and reactions to authority. 

That is why school authorities don’t tear their hair out when somebody exposes that the Atomic Bomb wasn’t dropped on Korea, as a history book in the 1990s printed by Scott Foresman [did], and why each of these books has hundreds of substantive errors.  Learning isn’t the reason the texts are distributed.  

The Adjustive Function

So, first is the Adjustive Function--fixed habits.  Now here comes the wonderful insight that being able to analyze the detail will give you.  How can you establish whether someone has successfully developed this Automatic Reaction because people have a proclivity when they are given sensible orders to follow. 

That is not what they want to teach.  The only way you can measure this is to give stupid orders and people automatically follow those.  Now you have achieved Function #1.  

The Integrating Function

Have you ever ever wondered why some of the foolish things that schools do or allow to continue?  [Function] #2, he [Inglis] calls it the Integrating Function, but it is easier to understand if you call it the Conformity Function. 

It’s to make children alike as possible--the gifted children and the stupid--alike as possible because market research uses statistical sampling, and it only works if people react generally the same way.  

The Directive Function

The Third Function he calls the Directive Function: School is to diagnose your proper social role and then log the evidence that here is where you are on the Great Pyramid, so that future people won’t allow you to escape that compartment.  

The Differentiating Function

 The Fourth Function is the Differentiating Function.  Because once you have diagnosed the kids in this layer, you do not want them to learn anything that the higher layers are learning.  So you teach just as far as the requirement of that layer.  

The Selective Function

 Number five and six are the creepiest of all!  Number 5 is the Selective Function.  What that means is what Darwin meant by natural selection: You are assessing the breeding quality of each individual kid.  You’re doing it structurally because school teachers don’t know this is happening. 

And you’re trying to use ways to prevent the poor stuff from breeding.  And those ways are hanging labels--humiliating labels--around their neck, encouraging the shallowness of thinking.

 I often wondered, because I came from a very very strict Scotish-Irish culture that never allowed you to leer at a girl.  But when I got to NYC, the boys were pawing the girls openly and there was no redress for the girls at all, except not showing up in the classroom--high absentee rates. 

Well, you are supposed to teach structurally that sexual pleasure is what you withdraw from a relationship and everything else is a waste of time and expensive.  

 So, the Selective Function is what Darwin meant by the favored races.  The idea is to consciously improve the breeding stock.  Schools are meant to tag the unfit with their inferiority by poor grades, remedial placement, and humiliation, so that their peers will accept them as inferior.  And the good breeding stock among the females will reject them as possible partners.  

The Propaedeutic Function

 And the Sixth is the creepiest of all! And I think it is partly what Tragedy and Hope is about--a fancy Roman name, the Propaedeutic Function.  Because as early as Roman bigtime thinkers, it was understood that to continue a social form required that some people be trained that they were the custodians of this.  So, some small fraction of the kids are being ready to take over the project. 

That’s the guy--the honor lecturer [Inglis], and it will not surprise you that his ancestors include the major-general of the siege of the Luknow of India--famous for tying the mutineers’ on the muzzle of the cannons and blowing them apart, or somebody who was forced to flee NYC, a churchman at the beginning of the American Revolution, because he wrote a refutation of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense. 

They were going to tar and feather him.  He fled and was rewarded by the British by making him the Bishop of Nova Scotia.  Those are Inglis’ ancestors!  

 So, Al Inglis is certainly--when I learned of this and wrote to Harvard, asking for access to the Inglis Lecture.  Strike me dead, Lord, if I’m exaggerating at all.  I was told “We have no Inglis Lecture--hasn’t been for years, and we have no records. 

It was the same that happened when I discovered that Elwood B. Cubberly, the most influential schoolman of the 20th century and the bionomics genius had been the elementary school editor of Houghton Mifflin, and I wrote Houghton Mifflin--Is there any record? And they said, “We have no record of anyone named Elwood P. Cubberly. 

Now Harvard is telling me, “There is no Inglis Lecture.  A week passed and I got a call from Harvard, from some obscure office at Harvard, saying “What is your interest in the Ingles Lecture?”  I knew that I was on thin ice. 

And I said, “Well, James Conant referred me in his books to the man the Inglis Lecture is named after, and I was just wondering if I could get some background on this fellow, and a list of the lectures.  

 And in due time, I got a list of the lectures and instructions [on] how to access the texts, but not easily. Enough hoops that someone who has to mow the lawn and burp the baby wouldn’t jump through those hoops.  I was able to prove Harper’s [magazine] wouldn’t publish [it in] the cover essay I wrote, which Lew Laflin [?] named Against School, but I had called The Artificial Extension of Childhood because I think that is the key mechanism at work here.  

 So, they wouldn’t print the information about Cubberley because Houghton Mifflin denied it.  It was only months after that I looked through my extensive library of incredibly dull books about schooling, and I opened [one]--and on the facing page said Elwood B. Cubberly, Editor and Chief of Elementary School, publishing arm of Houghton Mifflin. 

By the way, the secondary Editor and Chief was Alexander Ingles.  So you see how this cousinage works.” 

*****

*Video transcribed by Roger Copple. To watch the full 12-minute video: The Six Purposes of Schooling [Video]

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework, so you can raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of good character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated; as she guides you to train your children’s minds and nurture their characters.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

5 Rules of Handling Books for Civilized Children→

When I was younger, I had a friend who was a writer and one day he saw me put a book face down on the table. 

"Oh, horrors!" he exclaimed. "If you knew what went into writing a book, you would never treat it that way." (He was much older and a bit of a Henry Higgins character.)

Will you be surprised if I tell you that in all my years since, I have never once put a book face down on anything. 

“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.”

— Mark Twain

Books contain the workings of an individual's mind, and ideas, as Aristotle taught, have a divine component to them. I was fortunate that, at a relatively young age, I was taught to respect the written word, something our youth are failing to discover. 

Consider for a moment the origin of new ideas, insights, and understandings and you will begin to get a sense of the wonder of the mind.

And when you grasp that sense, and you consider that an intelligently-written book encapsulates that wonder, you will better understand my 5 rules for treating books with respect. 

5 Rules for  Handling a Book

1. Never Eat While Reading

Have you ever bought a used book only to find a blob of someone's ice cream or chocolate  inside the pages? Talk about horrors. Eating while reading is not a good habit for two reasons: 

1. Eating without paying attention to what you are eating can contribute to obesity. It's very easy to lose sight of how much we have eaten, when  we are putting food into your mouth mindlessly. With the obesity epidemic in the West, this is a habit we do not want to inculcate in our children.

2.  Books, like clothes, should be kept clean. I can think of no better reason than when one eats, one should eat, and when one reads, one should read. Furthermore, it was once considered poor manners to eat while reading, and I maintain that it still is. 

2. Always Use a Bookmarker

You will be hard-pressed to find a book in my home without a bookmarker in it. My books are adorned with anything from a scrap of paper (not recommended) to gold-plated bookmarkers (not real gold). 

You should never let your child bend the top of the page to remember where he left off! If you go into a used bookstore, as I often do, you'll notice that older books are devoid of bent pages. This is because people of earlier generations were more civilized and knew how to treat a book. 

“The person, be it a gentleman or lady, who had no pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”

— Jane Austen

3. Never Use a Highlighter

Have you ever come across a difficult-to-find used book only to discover that it had been marked up with yellow highlights? Pages full of yellow highlights in a book tell me only one thing, the previous reader never learned how to extract the main point from a passage. 

Another abominable habit is to mark up a book in messy scribbles with ink. A neatly written note on the margin, or even a checkmark by the noteworthy passage is plenty,and a sharpened pencil is the preferred instrument.

4. Treat the Book Cover with Care

I never leave home without a book, and I would teach your children to do the same. We never know if we will get stuck in a long line, staring at the walls (or worse, some unsightly person with rings in his nose, purple-spiked hair, and trousers down to his knees) while we wait for the time to pass.

Invariably, when I forget to bring a book with me, that's the day I get stuck in the long line. It's as if the Universe is reminding me of the importance of this habit. 

Back to my point, before I put my book in my purse, I wrap it up in a very thin book bag. If your child has a backpack, he’ll want to do the same. This way, neither the cover nor the pages will lose the beauty of their form.

If I can't find my book bag, I might wrap it in a scarf; anything of light material will do as long as it will hold the book in place and not weigh down my purse.

In a child’s case, overloaded backpacks can cause back problems, so you’ll want to make sure his bag is not too heavy either.

5. Travel with Care

When I travel, I wrap my books up before I place them in my suitcase. There is nothing more shattering than arriving at my destination only to find my books have been tossed about like a ship caught in a tempest. 

And that, dear reader, completes my 5 rules for handling a book with respect. 

Now, let me tell you about another writer friend who I will never understand. His bookshelves are full of well-read books with food stains, bent pages, torn covers, and all the horrors you can possibly imagine.

He's like a gardener  who creates beautiful gardens for others to enjoy, but tramples on his own. 

I realize, like my friend, you may object to my 5 rules for handling a book, but I can only defend myself by saying that obesity and pages spotted with chocolate are aesthetically unpleasing to the eye, and we should always strive to uphold that which is beautiful.

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework, so you can raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of good character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated; as she guides you to train your children’s minds and nurture their characters.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

Replacing Ritalin with Discipline Cures Chemical Imbalances in Children→

You may be worried that your unmanageable child has a chemical imbalance.

Or, maybe a teacher has gone as far as to suggest he should be evaluated for a behavioral disorder, such as ADHD.

What you are not told is that the cure for his difficult behavior may be as easy as a spoonful of discipline.

The Facts

According to John Rosemond, MS and Bose Ravenel, MD, "No studies to date have confirmed beyond a reasonable doubt that impulsivity and short attention span - the two primary symptoms of ADHD - result from physical problems or chemical imbalances in the brain."

“The ADHD Establishment would be hard-pressed to explain how, of all the American cultural groups that share a common European heritage, only the Amish have managed to not become infected with the elusive ADHD gene.”

— Rosemond and Ravenel

Rosemond and Ravenel wrote an entire book on the subject called The Diseasing of America's Children: Exposing the ADHD Fiasco and Empowering Parents to Take Back Control, in which they make a strong case for old-fashioned discipline. 

If you have a child who is suspect for one of the three primary behavior disorder diseases, namely ADHD, ODD, or EOBD*, it would be prudent to grab a copy of their book.

The Why

Have you ever wondered why before the progressive 1960's cultural revolution, we have no records of behavior disorders that weren't quickly eradicated by not sparing the rod?

Then, as if children had suddenly changed, behavior disorders as disease were added to the DSM manual. 

Now, instead of discipline, children are given medication for their behavior.

We are neglecting to treat the real problem, which is that children are failing to grow up because we have lost the art of raising them well. 

The Problem

When little Susie throws a tantrum in the middle of the department store because she wants a toy, instead of grabbing little Susie by the hand, marching her out of the store, and plopping her into the back seat of your car to let her belt it out, what do we do? 

We try to talk some sense into her while shopping as she continues disturbing the peace.

We may even begin to bribe her with ice cream when she gets home if she promises to stop crying. We might even give her what she wants because we don't have the time or energy to deal with her behavior. 

When Johnny fails to focus long enough to follow our homework instructions or do some chores, what do we do? 

We begin to wonder if his lack of focus has a more sinister cause.

When Adam impulsively pushes his little sister or grabs a toy from another child, we begin to wonder, "Why is he so impulsive?

Could it be?"

These kind of children become prime candidates in school for being singled-out for a behavioral disorder diagnosis. The next step is to send the child for further evaluation. The psychiatrist or psychologist then notes in medical shorthand the following symptoms:

• Short attention span

• Lack of self-control; impulsive

• Difficulty staying on task

• Impatient

• Tantrums

• Easily frustrated

• Defiant 

• Irresponsible

The Oversight

What the psychiatrist or psychologist fails to recognize is that these are also the symptoms of a toddler's "terrible two" behavior.

According to Rosemond and Ravenel, the medical expert has failed to recognize the obvious.

As a consequence of the progressive parenting theories that began to surface in the 1960s, children no longer learn the rules of civil behavior lest we harm their self-esteem.

“The postmodern, non-theistic religion of self-esteem has spawned a host of problems for America’s children.”

— Rosemond and Ravenel

Consequently, incompetent parenting is mistaken for a behavior disorder that requires medication.

Proving how inconclusive the studies around behavior disorders are, and the impossibility of diagnosing a "chemical imbalance," Rosemond and Ravenel encourage parents to ignore the pharmaceutical cry that something is wrong with their child and look to improve their parenting skills instead.

The Reality

Prior to the 1960’s, only 1 - 3% of the population were diagnosed with problems outside the range of normal. If your child is displaying terrible two symptoms beyond the age of the terrible two's, save yourself the time and expense by self-diagnosing the problem for what it is: lax parenting. 

Teach your child good manners and the code of civil conduct, and you'll see his behavior disorders miraculously disappear. A good place to start is with “please” and “thank you.”

“Look at me when I speak to you and listen,” is also good.

And, "Go to your room until you can behave," never failed anyone.

*Disclaimer: You are the best judge of your child. If you think there is a medical issue, seek medical help. But if you suspect lax parenting is at the root of your child’s behavior, then learning to lead your child with love and authority is where you want to start.

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework, so you can raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of good character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated; as she guides you to train your children’s minds and nurture their characters.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

Discover One Key to Embrace Your Homeschool With More Joy→

Many people have told me they homeschool because of something to do with fear. While fear of what might happen or not happen in school can be the catalyst for deciding to homeschool, we need to leave the fear behind and embrace a new attitude once we get started.

Bullying and Violence

It's not that there aren't things to fear about public education, or even private schools —absolutely there are. Bullying and violent crimes are a concern, with incidences happening more times than we have days in the year.

Sex and Drugs

Early exposure to sex and drugs is another problem in schools, especially the inappropriate classes in sex education, sexual preferences, and gender issues. 

Weaker Family Bonds

Schoolchildren tend to have weaker bonds with their families, and losing our children's loyalty to peers or values we don't espouse can be devastating and wreak havoc on the entire family. 

Too Much Technology

Excessive use of computers in the classroom, with the subsequent problem of addiction to technology, is another grave issue we face. Addiction centers are popping up more frequently and organizations to de-program our kids are becoming more popular.

Lack of Concern for Character Development

Because schools no longer uphold standards of behavior based on traditional values, good character development is something we must concern ourselves with.

How can we raise children of good character if they are in poor moral environments for a large number of hours per day? 

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

— Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

Substandard Education

And last, but not least, education. Putting a child through 12 years of school to find he doesn't enjoy reading, cannot write a persuasive essay, and is unable to think critically is a reality too many parents face today. 

While all of the above reasons may motivate us to keep our children out of school, we want to climb onto higher ground when we are homeschooling. 

Fear is an emotion that triggers feelings of isolation, disconnectedness, anxiety, apprehension, . and this is exactly how many homeschoolers say they feel. 

Fear, at times, is necessary. In this case, it served its purpose; it motivated us to homeschool. But now it’s time to shift our attitude.

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”

— Joseph Campbell

Another Perspective

Instead of fear, why not embrace the joy of homeschooling?

If we can discover a strong "why" for homeschooling, it will be easier to stay the course, put our hearts into our work, and enjoy teaching our own. 

We want to turn our backs on the "fear" motivator and embrace the "love" motivator. 

To do this, we need to discover a love for why we are homeschooling. Fortunately, there are many “loves” to choose from. They come in the form of your “why,” your primary reason for homeschooling; a reason which keeps you motivated even on days when you feel tired and overwhelmed.

Discovering Your "Why"

Discovering our "why" simply means reflecting on that which is most valuable to us as parents. What is it that we want most for our children and for our family? What is it that we would love the most if we were to see it happen?

Strong Family Bonds

Your "why" does not have to be the same as someone else's "why" either.  Nurturing a strong bond with your children, and therefore, building a stronger family might be what you care most about. 

Training of the Mind

For someone else, it might be the training of the mind and raising children who are not fooled by propaganda or misled by faulty thinking, but they can think critically and develop their own ideas and opinions. 

Nurturing Children’s Hearts

Maybe you want to protect your child's heart from the inappropriate things that are being taught in school today, such as sex-education, gender issues, and sexual preferences. There's also the issue of bullying and violence in schools today, and mass shootings which happen more frequently than we like to think. 

Integrity

Or maybe, like me, you are motivated by the simple desire to raise children who have integrity and are true to themselves. 

Whatever your "why" is, write it down and let it be your homeschooling mantra. On the days when you feel overwhelmed or out of patience with your children, remember your "why" and never look back.

Homeschooling is the best gift you can give your children; it is the gift of your time and the training of their minds and hearts. 

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework, so you can raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of good character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated; as she guides you to train your children’s minds and nurture their characters.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

What I Would Say if These Parents Had Called Me to Chat→

A friend sent me a telling article from the Guardian (UK newspaper) on home-education in the UK. Whether it's the UK, the USA, or Europe, it doesn't matter. Parents are parents and the concerns are similar.

I will say that while reading this article, I felt a little frustrated by what I was reading. With homeschooling, when it is thrust upon us from a lack of other options, it comes down to how we choose to look at it. Do we embrace the challenge or resist it?

So, here's what I'd say to the parents in this article if they had shared their concerns with me.

(The quotes are excerpted from the Guardian article.)

Julie

"My child had been struggling with the school environment from the start,” Julie said. “She’s autistic, has sensory difficulties, finds noise and lights difficult, but is academically clever. She found it so hard to navigate relationships with peers and her anxiety was so intense she was mostly mute at school.” —Julie

“Julie’s daughter, now nine, has been home educated since, an experience Julie describes as “distressing” due to her lack of knowledge about teaching and home learning, and a lack of support.” —Guardian

The Support I Offer Julie

Julie, why do you think you have no knowledge about teaching? You are your child's first teacher; you have been teaching her since the day she was born. All parents are teachers of their children.

While moving into academic teaching may seem daunting at first, there isn't anything during the elementary years that, with a few tools under our belts, we can't tackle. I agree that you need to know what you are doing, but there are resources available in the homeschooling community to give you the understanding and confidence to homeschool successfully.

An academically clever child is a joy to teach. If you have a child who is eager to learn, as you indicated your daughter is, then you are doing better than many parents whose children are plugged in and disengaged. Consider this a huge plus when homeschooling, because it makes your work so much easier.

As for support, if you join local homeschooling social groups for your children, you will also find companionship and support amongst the parents.

Mathew

“After the switch to secondary school he started having anxiety attacks that slowly escalated,” Matthew said. “They were mainly related to tests, homework demands, and managing expectations. The chaotic and uncertain environment of frequent supply teachers, constantly shifting timetables and bullying made it very difficult for him to cope.”

“Our son’s panic attacks have mostly disappeared, he’s gained confidence and has been making better progress academically, because we’ve been able to tailor the topics more closely to his interests and ability. But much of this success is down to the fact that we were both working as qualified teachers in the past. I worry about all the people in a similar situation who aren’t teachers, and don’t have understanding employers – mine has allowed me to work flexibly from home.”

Quelling Mathew’s Concerns

You did the right thing by removing your child from a distressing environment during the years when every experience is magnified and contributes to the formation of his character and personality. And I'm so happy to hear he is doing significantly better, though, I'm not surprised!

Mathew, while it's kind of you to be concerned about homeschooling parents who aren't certified as teachers, I would beg to disagree with you. Your success is not because you and your wife were former teachers; it’s because you are homeschooling.

Studies show that parents—whether professional teachers or not—are just as qualified to teach their children and do a very good job of it, and that children learn better at home. While being a professional teacher may give you a sense of confidence, initially, it really will make no difference in the long run.

Catherine

“Catherine, 50, a teacher from Brighton, who also said that she took her daughter, who has ASC [autism spectrum condition], out of school to avoid fines for poor attendance, is one of many parents who switched to online school.” —Guardian

“She started just on two subjects but now does a full eight and is choosing options for GCSEs. She’s engaged and enjoying her learning, it’s been wonderful.

It is a struggle financially, though. The online school costs £300 a month. I’m a single mum and had to give up working outside the home. I get by on whatever remote work I can find and benefits. I also worry that if my daughter wants to go to university or work in an office environment she will have had no exposure to that kind of thing.” —Catherine

Some Suggestions for Catherine

Catherine, your concerns are valid. Your daughter needs to be engaged in the real world with real people, so she can better develop the social and emotional aspects of her character and personality.

While sitting in front of a computer to learn may seem easier, it is not going to give her the tools she needs to function well in the world, especially if she is already struggling with an autism diagnosis.

It's much easier to homeschool using real books, it costs far less, and your daughter will have time for more social engagements, which will help her develop better social skills. As you said yourself, she needs to be engaged so when she is ready to go out on her own, she can manage.

The 300 sterling you save each month by getting her offline, you can put towards extra-curricular studies for your daughter, such as piano lessons, tennis lessons, or learning French.

Oh, one last thing, you mentioned you worked remotely. When you homeschool using real books, your daughter's homeschooling day is much shorter, too, so you will still have time to work. 

Liza

“While many parents praised the advantages of online schooling, some were less convinced, among them 46-year-old Liza, from Walsall, who said her daughter had struggled with online lessons after she left school at the end of year 10 due to bullying.” —Guardian

“I’ve spent over £2,000 on tutors since September, and £1,000 so she can sit exams. She’s better now, however socially it’s been very hard. She’s very isolated, my husband and I both work full-time.” —Liza

An Idea for Liza

Liza, kudos to you for removing your daughter from the world of screen learning and back into the world of books.

I’m sorry about the tutoring expense, as it is a lot, but one of the things you might consider doing is to hire an undergrad college student instead of paying full price for a professional tutor. Also, can your daughter join any extra-curricular clubs for social interaction?

She does need to socialize, especially at her tender age, as friends are very important for teenagers.

Anonymous

“One parent, who wanted to stay anonymous, said they had taken their child out of year 6 last September because of unmet needs in school, and desperately hoped they would be able to return as soon as possible.” — Guardian

“The experience [of home education] is not great, my child is now struggling to leave the house and is missing out on socializing with peers. She’s too anxious to attend home education meet-ups. We need the correct support so she can attend school. It’s so unfair.” — Anon

My advice to anonymous

(I have to assume the child is in front of the computer all day because of the socialization issue)

Naturally, she will long for her peers because she has already established a relationship with them. This is a good sign because we know she is capable of establishing good social relationships, but she's probably become socially anxious because of the excessive screen-time use and lack of social contact. 

My first plan would be to get her off the screens and get her learning with real books. You might consider starting a book club or some kind of a program in your home with other homeschooled children. 

Instead of having to go out and meet people, your daughter could meet them while feeling safe at home. Once she gets used to socializing again and has a few new friends, she'll be better able to venture into new social situations without panicking or refusing to leave the house.

My Thoughts on This Article

What is concering to me is that as parents, we want what is best for our children, and we will do whatever it takes to provide it; yet, too many parents feel dis-empowered when it comes to their child's education. 

After 22 years of working with parents of school-age children, I know that this mindset is not uncommon. 

We have to remember that our children’s education can make or break them. Not a single government in the entire world is providing a sound education for children. It's up to us to make sure it happens.

Together, we can do it.

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework to raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of better character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated. She also provides you with the tools and support you need to homeschool successfully.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

5 Ways Schools Kill Your Child's Love of Learning→

Children come into this world curious and ready to learn. They have just enough hearing and sight to kickstart the wiring of their brain. 

They are born to know. Literally.

It's a profound characteristic because it begs the question, know what? And in that lies the secret to life. 

If the desire to know is how we tackle the mysteries of life, including who we are, why we are here, and where we are going, then shouldn't we protect our children's desire to know at whatever cost?

Shouldn't it be our #1 priority? I take the position that it should be which begs another question: Well, how do we do that?

One of the ways we do it is by not putting our children into school because, ironically, schools will kill our children's curiosity and love of learning.

John Taylor Gatto, an award-winning teacher and author of the best seller, Dumbing Us Down,  said that schools are dangerous places for kids. That was his conclusion after teaching for 30 years.

And John was right. 

1.  The Confining of the Child's Mind

Children are taken out of the home and put into schools at far too early ages. Even Harvard studies show that children do not benefit from early education. 

Instead of feeling safe and loved while exploring, moving, and exercising their curiosity and desire to know, children are put into organized programs where they are confined to a classroom and told what to do and when to do it. 

The cuter the classroom, the more deceptive are the dangers of school.

What we know through research is that children enter preschool with their curiosity intact (as long as they are coming from the home and not from two or three years spent in daycare). 

Somewhere around kindergarten and first grade, their curiosity begins to wane. That little light in their mind begins to dim. 

The curious child learns that school is a place where you sit still and listen. Too many questions are not encouraged; and he learns to be quiet.

The more he suppresses his desire to know, the more dwarfed his curiosity becomes.

“The children are teach have almost no curiosity, and what little they do have is transitory. ”

— John Taylor Gatto, author of Dumbing Us Down

It's like a Bonsai plant. When you clip the child's curiosity, his mind is hindered from growing. 

As a school teacher has 30 other children to contend with, she can’t handle a lot of questions because  she  needs to stick to her schedule and get on with the day's lessons. 

While it isn’t the teachers’ fault, the child quickly learns that his desire to know is not socially acceptable in the classroom.

2. Failure to Read

Most children are taught to read before they are developmentally ready. While some kids can manage, some can't, and some will even fail.

The children who struggle will begin to think they are not very smart, and their self-esteem will decline and their confidence will grow weak. 

If school is where they go to learn things, then they conclude that they’d rather not learn anything. At least then they will not have to suffer through the frustration and embarrassment of not being able to keep up with the rest of the class. 

3. Textbooks that Kill

Have you ever read a real science or history book, one that wasn't a textbook? It's a totally different experience because science and history are fascinating subjects, and if the author is a good writer, you won't be able to put the book down. 

But we don't teach our children with well-written books in school. We bore them to death by imposing textbook learning on them, replete with the endless list of proscribed questions

I hated science and history in school. Juxtapose that to my  homeschooled children who read quality science and history books for fun, and you'll begin to see the problem. 

“The children I teach are ahistorical; they have no understanding of how the past has predestinated their own present, limits their choices, shapes their values and lives.”

— John Taylor Gatto, author of Dumbing Us Down

Put a child into school, hand him a textbook, and threaten him with a test; and you are about to destroy any interest he had in that subject. 

4. The Tricky Test

And let's not forget the exams. After reading the boring textbook, a child now has to have an exam on something he was completely uninterested in. 

Not only that, but he has to guess what questions the teacher might ask, so he can memorize the answers.

And how much information will a child retain? Probably not as much as he would have if he had been interested in the subject. And he will proceed to forget most of it once the exam is over.

5. The Reward and the Punishment

And then come the grades. It doesn't matter if a child does well or he does poorly because he has studied for an exam, not for the joy of learning.

Whether he is rewarded with an “A” or punished with a “D”, he still loses. 

Schools are dangerous places for kids because they destroy the one quality it takes to get a real education; the desire to know. 

The Crisis in Education

We are in a crisis in education, and we have been for a long time. There is nothing to reform, because the system never worked.

As long as education is in the hands of the government, an education will never be had. 

Children received a real education when the parents were in charge of the schools, prior to the 1850's and before the government introduced mass schooling. 

Before then, America's parents dictated what their children learned, how they learned, and when they learned. They even dictated who they would learn from. 

Fortunately, American’s have retained the right to educate their own and educating our own is exactly what we need to do. 

“That certified teaching experts like me are deemed necessary to make learning happen is a fraud and a scam.”

— John Taylor Gatto, author of Dumbing Us Down

Unless you want the government's dumbed down version of an education for your children, you will need to keep them out of school. 

At home,  you can preserve their love of learning and desire to know about the things that will matter to them in life. 

And, following sound principles and methods, you can give them a stellar education. 

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework to raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of better character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated. She also provides you with the tools and support you need to homeschool successfully.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

Don't Say the "B" Word!→

There's a word that should not be used by children. Instead of forbidding it, adults are indulging the “B” word, too, which is not helping matters.

For example. the other day a kindergarten teacher was boasting about having a  "boredom" hour for her students. It goes something like this: "Ok children, it's "Boredom" time!”

During "Boredom" time, the children need to figure out what to do with themselves. While this is all fine and dandy, it's also counterproductive. 

You see, the point to the use of the word "boredom" is that children should not be allowed to speak, think, or entertain the word under any circumstances. 

“It turns out that bliss — a second-by-second joy and gratitude at the gift of being alive, conscious — lies on the other side of crushing, crushing boredom.”

— David Foster Wallace

How did the boredom epidemic begin in the first place? First, children are being raised in ways that don't allow them the opportunity to self-direct their engagement in life. 

When they are young, instead of playing outdoors, they are put in front of screens. Instead of having a childhood, they start school too early. Instead of exploring their environment, they whine that they are bored and their parents scramble to find things for them to do.

But our job as parents is not to entertain our children or come up with ways to alleviate their perceived boredom. 

People who get easily bored tend to be boring people, at least that’s been my experience. They are people who lack hobbies and interests and need to be entertained much of the time.

In other words, they’re a little empty on the inside.

Waiting for the next Netflix series to hit the screen…

Who amongst us wants to raise boring children? There should be absolutely no room for the "B" word in the life of a child.

The world is too fascinating! To raise children who are engaged in the gift of life and the act of living, one cannot allow a word such as boredom into their vocabulary. 

It's that simple.

There will be transition times from one activity to another, this is normal. But to label this period as "boredom" and allow your child to complain about being bored should be avoided at all times.

“The two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

Finding ways for your child to alleviate his “boredom” is limiting your child's ability to become resourceful in life only adds insult to injury.

Our job is to give our children the freedom to independently engage in their own lives from an early age. 

Children come into the world fascinated by life. It is we who interfere with this fascination by teaching our children to be dependent upon sources other than themselves for entertainment.

We do far too much for our children and the more we do for them, the less children learn to do for themselves.

“I’ve got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom.”

— Thomas Carlyle

Let them be is all we need to do when our children are young. Keep them off of the all-pervasive screens, and let them figure out what to do with their own time.

My children never once complained about being bored. At some point, the word was introduced by one of their friends, at which time I told them they were never to use it again. 

Do not tell your kids it is "Boredom" time now and then tell them to figure out what to do during "Boredom" time. Calling free time "boredom" time puts the thought of boredom in their minds.

Scourge the "B" word from your and your children's vocabularies and instead raise interesting children who are fully engaged in the experience of life.

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework to raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of better character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated. She also provides you with the tools and support you need to homeschool successfully.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

7 Reasons Homeschooling Kids Have More Opportunity→

According to the research on homeschooling, homeschooled children are ahead of their schooled peers intellectually and socially. They learn more and they engage in more social activities, which would presumably put them ahead emotionally too.

If you are homeschooling using sound methods, you know this is true because the proof is in the pudding - you can see it for yourself. 

But if you aren't homeschooling, here's 7 reasons to consider  the fastest growing educational option today.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

— Nelson Mandela

1. Share in the Habits of the Top 1%

People at the top of financial earnings have one thing in common, they read books. They usually write and sell their books too.

Yet, only 14 out of 100 children read for fun. 

Only 14!

By homeschooling, you can raise children who, like the top 1%, also enjoy reading books. Reading is the key to knowledge and regardless of what professional field  your child enters, reading will only improve his understanding. 

2. Personal Development

Homeschooling children have more time to develop skills and hobbies. A child who grows up to become a skilled ice skater,  musician, or writer can turn these hobbies into a profession either by performing or teaching. 

We never know what life might bring us, and raising our children to have a skill they can fall back on monetarily, whether it becomes their main profession or not, is always prudent. 

3. Intellectual Precocity

Children, who are homeschooled independently, surpass their schooled counterparts on exams. 

They also have a better chance of getting into more impressive colleges, if they should choose that route. However, some parents fear their children won't get into good colleges if they homeschool them.

This may be true if you put your kids into virtual schools or a public school homeschooling programs (a bit of an oxymoron, no?), but it isn't true if you homeschool independently using methods that are time-tested.

“You can never be overdressed or overeducated.”

— Oscar Wilde

If you are homeschooling independently, rest assured that your children's chances of getting into a good college should be higher, not lower.

It isn't just SAT scores colleges look for; they want people who are above average in their accomplishments too. It reflects well upon the schools and helps to maintain their prestigious reputations. 

4. More Socially Adept

Homeschooled children score above schoolchildren in social competency, which makes sense. Children who don't spend 8 hours in school will have a lot more time for socializing.

Practice makes perfect.

Eventually, with more practice, homeschoolers will exceed their schooled peers who spend their school days in classrooms. What little social interaction schoolchildren do have is usually with children their own age.

Spending the majority of time with one’s peers is limiting to their social skill development. and personally and professionally, good social skills will always be critical to one’s ability to get a long with others.

5. Makes for More Interesting People

With more time on their hands, homeschooled children are able to develop a stronger sense of self and engage in all sorts of learning adventures from family travel to starting home businesses. 

And this is on top of the hobbies and skills they are engaged in as well. 

People who have more interests and who have had more experiences in life, especially of the unusual sort, tend to be more interesting people. And like attracts like. 

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”

— St. Augustine

The more interesting the people your children engage with, the more unusual the opportunities will be that come their way. 

6. Independent Minds

Homeschooled children, taught at home (not in co-ops or on computers) tend to have more  independent minds. An independent  mind is a quality of leadership, whether of self or others, and people who can think for themselves will always be of more value than those who can't. 

Independent minds are difficult to foster when children are taught in groups and expected to conform to the group thinking. Obviously, this isn't the case in a homeschool, where children are taught independently and encouraged to think more deeply. 

And independent thinkers are not a dime a dozen. Think supply and demand.

7. Creativity is the Seed of Genius

Children who are given wholesome childhoods and allowed to begin academic training when they are developmentally ready, and not a day sooner, will have the time in childhood to develop more creative minds.

Creativity is the seed of genius. All new ideas and inventions are born out of a mind who can think out of the box and imagine new possibilities. 

We suffer from a dearth of creativity today because children are not getting the kind of childhood’s they need to foster their creativity.

“Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.”

— Robert Frost

We want to raise creative children, so their minds are free to roam the heavens for new ideas and inventions. Why limit our children's intellectual capabilities when we can raise them to be and do so much more?

Therefore, if you want your children to live more fulfilling and interesting lives and with more opportunities awaiting them, the solution is to homeschool your children.

It's the fastest growing form of education today because it works. 

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework to raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of better character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated. She also provides you with the tools and support you need to homeschool successfully.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

Is Teaching Penmanship Still Necessary in the Computer Age?→

While some people may argue that good penmanship is no longer a necessary skill in the computer age, this position couldn't be further away from the truth. 

What a disservice we do to our children when we fail to ensure they learn proper penmanship skills! 

While good penmanship skills produce beautiful handwriting, it's benefits far outweigh its aesthetic value. 

Here's 6 reasons why you absolutely must make sure your children learn to write legibly and beautifully:

1. Develops Fine Motor Skills

The more children use their fine motor skills, the better this area of the brain develops, otherwise known as the cerebellum. Penmanship is one way in which children can put their fine motor skills to use.

 Well-developed fine motor skills are critical to a child's ability to become good at many things including, but not limited to,  drawing, painting, sculpting, woodwork, playing a musical instrument, and beading. 

2. Improves the Memory

We need fine motor skills for note-taking. Taking notes by hand helps us remember what we heard better, which, in turn, helps to develop our memories. The more we remember, the stronger our memories become.

“My spelling is Wobbly. It’s good spelling but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places.”

— A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

3. Fires up the Brain

According to Dr. Ryuta Kawashima, a neuroscientist, writing by hand is one of three activities that stimulates the brain more than any others.

The other two are doing simple math calculations and reading out loud. When children are young, they should write everything by hand so they optimize the use and development of their brains. 

4. Teaches Excellence

Learning to do anything well is critical to a child's understanding of excellence. Becoming good at a skill requires perseverance and diligence, two critical qualities that will help us excel at any skill we tackle.

 It's critical that we hold high standards for our children, so they learn to hold high standards for themselves. Having our children develop good penmanship skills is one of the ways we can help them become good at something and learn to hold a high standard for themselves.

5. More "Screen-free" Time

When children write by hand, they are not staring at a screen with all of the side effects that come from screen use, such as health problems, mental health issues, social awkwardness, and delayed brain development.

6. Improves Writing Skills

When we write by hand, we are forced to slow down which gives us time to be more thoughtful, choose more precise words, and better structure our sentences. 

According to a study in the British Journal of Psychology, students who write essays by hand were found to compose essays of better quality all around. Which also means that they'll do better in school.

“...the beauty and nobility, the august mission and destiny, of human handwriting.”

— George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion

Final Thoughts

Failing to teach our children good penmanship skills is negligent of us, as children need to learn penmanship for all of the above mentioned reasons. 

Start them young, so they develop the proper hand muscles and are in the habit of writing by hand before it occurs to them that they could be writing on a computer.

When my children were young, they wrote everything by hand. When they reached their teens, they asked to use my computer, so I bought them their very own electric typewriter! 

They were thrilled. It makes me laugh now to think about it.

But, yes, they still sell electric typewriters, and I recommend you do the same. 

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework to raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of better character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated. She also provides you with the tools and support you need to homeschool successfully.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

A History Lesson For Your Kids on Valentine's Day→

Valentine's Day is a celebration of love, but it wasn’t always that way.

Early History

On the contrary, it began as a holiday to honor the martyred Christian saint, St. Valentine; and the celebration of St. Valentine dates back to the early Roman Empire!

However, there was more than one saint named St. Valentine, so it is unknown which St. Valentine our holiday is named after.

There are various reasons for our unknown St. Valentine's martyrdom, too. There was one St. Valentine, who was martyred under the law of the Roman Emperor Aurelius in 273 a.d. for illegally helping Christians escape persecution.

For centuries there was discord between the early Roman Empire and Christianity and even amongst various sects of Christianity within the Roman Empire.

The Love Connection

The "love" connection to St. Valentine's Day possibly came from the unconditional love for Christ making one willing to die a martyr. The aforementioned St. Valentine would fit into this category.

A tradition existed throughout the Empire of dedicating certain calendar days to the martyred saints, and on their allotted day, each saint would be celebrated and remembered.

But there were so many martyred saints that by the time we reached the Middle Ages, there were enough saint holidays to fill every day of the year!

First Record

St. Valentine's Day, as we know it, is first recorded as occurring on February 14th, as far back as the 8th century.

The supposition is that the influence of the "courtly" love of the Middle Ages, and the early spring mating of lovebirds, eventually morphed into a holiday for lovebirds.

“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”

— William. Shakespeare

England, of All Places

During the 18th century, in England, St. Valentine's Day became designated for people to express their love. You may hear some people say things like, "It's just another Hallmark holiday created to make money."

But the celebration of Valentine's Day for lovebirds precedes Hallmark cards.

(However, the business became successful by introducing Valentine's Day and Christmas cards in the early part of the 20th century.)

Now considered more of a romantic holiday than a day to remember martyred saints, we still can find churches that continue to celebrate St. Valentine's Day as a proper saint's festival, including the Church of England.

Changing Dates Around

But like the Christians would do in the Middle Ages, the churches today have moved the saint's celebration from February 14th to another date for convenience.

A fun question to ask your children is whether or not it was right to change the Saint’s day to another day.

I’m sure they’ll come up with some amusing answers!

The Art Project

Now that your children know the evolution of Valentine's Day, why not encourage them to make Valentine's Day cards for the people they love?

If you have relatives who live out of town, they can even post their cards in the mail, serving as an act of kindness and a grammar lesson, too.

Handmade greeting cards are fun to make and so much more memorable than Hallmark cards.

Homeschool Planning

If you're homeschooling and your kids make Valentine's Day cards, you can check off history, grammar, and art lessons.

Who said learning couldn’t be fun?!

Another thing you could do is to make Valentine’s Day cookies and have your children deliver them to your neighbors as a gesture of goodwill.

Since baking includes math, you have also covered a math lesson too.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Upcoming FREE Webinar! How to Raise a Reader with Liz Hanson

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework to raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of better character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated. She also provides you with the tools and support you need to homeschool successfully.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

One Reading Habit that Will Increase Your Child's Intelligence→

Not just any kind of reading will help develop and strengthen your child's mind.

You want to provide your kids with literature that will challenge their minds and get them into the habit of applying effort when reading.

Because the more your child actively uses his mind when he's young, and the more he continues to use his mind as he matures, the brighter he'll become.

We know that the brain is an ever-changing organ. It can weaken from misuse or neglect, and it can also become stronger from the right kind of use.

“John Taylor Gatto had his sixth-grade class read and discuss Moby Dick by Herman Melville. ”

Parents say things like, "Well, he only reads comic books, but at least he's reading!"

As John Taylor Gatto put it, "Teach your children to grow up to be readers of more than the daily newspaper."

Comic books are fine for comic relief on occasion. Maybe you're on a road trip or flying cross-country; this might be a time to let your child read a comic book or two or three.

☞ It’s probably prudent not to let comic books work their way into your home though.

Comic books will make his mind lazy because they require almost no effort to read. The pictures tell the story, and the dialogues are simple. When it becomes time to read challenging literature, he won't be able to tackle the vocabulary or follow the longer and more complicated sentence patterns.

He'll complain to you that the book is "boring."

It's not boring; he just hasn't learned to read well. Do not let him blame the book!

Great books expand the mind and help us to understand the complexities of life and ourselves. If we replaced the department of psychology with a department of Shakespeare, we'd be off to a good start in improving our colleges and universities.

The inner workings of the mind and heart are there in his plays.

Once you get used to the language, Shakespeare is no more difficult to read than authors such as Tolstoy or Dostoevsky.

The ability to read great literature is what you want for your children. You want them to be exposed to the great ideas of Western thought that take us all the way back to Ancient Greece.

John Taylor Gatto was very in support of reading great books. It's where he got the seeds for many of his ideas. Had he not been a good reader himself, he would not have been able to plow through all of the material he read to uncover the real history of modern education.

☞ It took a competent reader and thinker to accomplish such a great feat.

I said there was one thing you need to do to increase your child's intelligence, but as I was writing this, another occurred to me, so there are now two things.

The second thing is to homeschool your children, so you expose them to great literature. I say homeschool because, sadly, your children won't get the kind of education they need in public school.

☞ And with a lousy education system comes a dumbed-down people. One of the things not taught anymore is poetry.

Let me leave you with one of my favorite poems. It’s a good one for your children to memorize, and it will inspire them to read more.

There is no frigate like a book

To take us lands away,

Nor any coursers like a page

Of prancing poetry.

This traverse may the poorest take

Without oppress of toll;

How frugal is the chariot

That bears a human soul!

Have your children memorize Emily Dickinson's poem, and supply them with the kind of books to travel lands away!

Upcoming FREE Webinar! How to Raise a Reader with Liz Hanson

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework to raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of better character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated. She also provides you with the tools and support you need to homeschool successfully.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

8 Ways to Nurture Your Child's Brain for Peak Performance→

When we consider the importance of brain health on a growing child, and how fast his brain is developing, making sure he gets a healthy diet is critical to his brain's health. 

Not only that but when a child studies, he has to concentrate well so he can keep a train of thought going and retain what he's learned in his memory. 

“You should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body.”

— Roman poet, Juvenal

Since his brain uses 20% of his body's energy, you can see why a child who does not get enough sleep or eats a lot of sugar might not do so well during the day.

Especially when he is expected to sit quietly and work out a grammar or a math problem! 

Knowing what foods are vital to a growing brain will optimize your child's brain power, keep him healthier, and make learning easier.

1. Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 fatty acids build brain cells and as your child's brain is developing, omega-3 fatty acids are critical to good brain development.  

A 2017 study shows that people who have more omega-3 fatty acids in their body also have more oxygen in their brains. Oxygen helps to increase our energy levels as well as improve thinking skills. 

For foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, you want to make sure your children have oily fish in their diet, such as tuna, sardines, and salmon; nuts, such as walnuts, pecans, pistachio, and macadamia; seeds such as flax and chia. 

2. Dark Chocolate

Most children prefer milk chocolate because it's sweeter. But on the occasion when you let your children have sweets, developing a taste for dark chocolate would be better for their brains. 

Chocolate contains flavonoids which appear to be good for the brain in relation to memory and learning. There is evidence that chocolate edibles with at least 70% chocolate supports brain plasticity. With each new thing a child learns, a neural connection is made in the brain allowing the brain to grow and develop. 

A fun fact for your child is that some research suggests that dark chocolate may reverse memory problems in snails!

3. Berries 

Berries are another important food which contain flavonoids and help to nourish the brain. Berries that are particularly helpful are strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, mulberries, and elderberries.

(Check out the recipe for immune-enhancing elderberry syrup here.)

“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.”

— Mahatma Ghandi

4. Nuts and Seeds

Nuts and seeds, in addition to containing Omega-3 fatty acids, also contain vitamin E which is known to protect the brain and keep it healthy. 

Nuts and seeds high in vitamin E include sunflower, almonds, and hazelnuts, and peanuts (technically speaking,  peanuts are a legume).

5. Whole Grains

Whole grains contain high amounts of vitamin E. Some grains with higher amounts include brown rice, barley, oatmeal, bulgur, and quinoa.

6. Dark Green Leafy Vegetables

Dark green leafy vegetables contain amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein, plus they contain lots of vitamins and minerals which are all critical for a healthy brain. 

7. Protein

In part, the brain is made up of protein which makes adequate protein an important factor in maintaining brain health, especially for growing children,

Some good sources of protein are eggs, almonds, chicken breast, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, milk, lentils, fish, quinoa, and pumpkin seeds. 

8. Supplements for the Brain

If you provide a healthy, balanced diet for your children, you should be able to avoid giving them supplements, but one supplement that is helpful to brain health is Cod Liver oil. 

Cod liver oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids as well as vitamin A and D. It may support stronger bones as well as brain health and is an overall tonic to the body. 

It has been used for health purposes since the 18th century, so it is a well-tested supplemental food for the body too!

In conclusion, if you include these foods in your children's diet on a regular basis, you will raise a child who is healthy, has better focus, and is able to maximize the power of his brain. 

Upcoming FREE Webinar! How to Raise a Reader with Liz Hanson

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework to raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of better character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated. She also provides you with the tools and support you need to homeschool successfully.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

How Important Is Having a Strong Vocabulary?→

The Loss of Vocabulary

John Holt, who was an educator and prominent voice in the criticisms of modern education, pointed out that a first-grader's reading book in the 20th century contained 75% less vocabulary than a first-grade reader's book did in the 19th century.

Naturally, we wonder why this is so. But we also have to ask ourselves, "What  effect does a reduced vocabulary have on our minds and the quality of our lives?"

Does it even matter?

You bet it does!

Language Development

Language skills include building a large vocabulary. If you've ever lived in a foreign country and needed to speak a second language, you know how much easier it is to communicate with each new word you learn. 

The sooner children begin to develop their vocabularies, the better positioned they will be to do well academically as well as enjoying the fruits of reading good literature as well as strengthening their minds, which, in turn,  contributes to increasing their intelligence.

“The limits of my language are the limits of my universe.”

— Goethe

Literature

Many people cannot read difficult literature because they don't have the vocabulary that's required to comprehend what is being read.

If they can't comprehend what is being read, then they need to rely on third-hand parties to tell them what opinions and beliefs to hold. Without this skill, they will not be able to think independently. 

As far as school is concerned, children without good vocabularies will be challenged by school assignments that require competent reading skills.

They will also find it difficult to score high on college entrance exams, preventing them from entry into an upper-tiered college which equates with less promising  job opportunities and lower wages. 

Communication

A problem we face today is the inability for people to express themselves clearly and effectively because their language skills are so poor.

While poor language skills are a direct effect of a sub-standard educational system and dumbed-down environments, children need parents who can supplement their learning at home, so they do develop the necessary skills to communicate effectively.

Poor communication skills lead to all sorts of problems in relationships whether they be with parents, siblings, spouses, friends, employers, or employees.

Problems arise from misunderstandings that can lead to disastrous results including divorce, poor job performance, difficult family relationships, etc. 

The more effective communication skills your child can develop, the more successful his interpersonal relationships will be. 

“He was telling an interesting anecdote full of exciting words like “encyclopedia” and “rhododendron”.”

— A.A. Milne

Thinking

Words are the means by which we think. The larger our vocabulary, the deeper our ability to think.

People who have larger vocabularies will read more, and they will think at deeper levels. By thinking at deeper levels, I mean that they will be able to enter into the world of ideas, of original thought, of understanding human nature and the world we live in. 

Warning: Vocabulary workbooks are boring and not the way we help our children build strong vocabularies!

Upcoming FREE Webinar! How to Raise a Reader with Liz Hanson

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework to raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of better character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated. She also provides you with the tools and support you need to homeschool successfully.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

Why Do Children Who Have Less Accomplish More?→

Resourcefulness is a vital skill we want to help our children develop. It is a critical skill that's useful in childhood, in school / homeschool, and in life.

The easiest way to facilitate your children is to give them less stuff because resourcefulness is born out of necessity. 

Most children in the States have a lot of toys and while there's nothing inherently wrong with toys, too many will interfere with their ability to become resourceful people.

Something as simple as too many toys, can obstruct the development of the imagination, independence, creativity, sociability, and a host of other critical qualities and skills.

When you give children less, they have to work with what they have and figure out how to turn it into what they want. Isn't this something we often come up against in life?

The ability to move from a place we don't want to be into a place we long to be. 

Whether it be a physical place, such as a new home or a new country; a professional  place, such as a better job or an increase in income; or an emotional place such as more peace and equanimity in our lives, our ability to be resourceful allows us to move in directions that bring us more fulfillment and contentment.

How to Help Your Child Develop Resourcefulness

To help your children develop this skill, you need to be okay with letting them figure things out for themselves. Of course, this predicates an absence of technology in their lives. If you want to raise resourceful children, keeping them away from technology is a no-brainer. 

By the way, Jonathan Haidt, who is a moral philosopher, has determined in his research that the epidemic of suicide, depression, and anxiety which we are seeing increase amongst our youth is not restricted to America or even the West. 

It is universal and correlates perfectly with the introduction of technology in children's lives. Which means that we take a gamble on the emotional  health and well-being of our children when we hand them a screen to keep them occupied.

Screens are not babysitters; they are mind-dumbing, heart-numbing devices. 

On the contrary, the more you leave your child to use his mind to imagine what he wants from objects around the house such as brooms or boxes, the more resourceful he will become. 

THE CREATIVITY FACTOR

Resourcefulness is predicated upon a strong imagination and a creative spirit which children who grow up in wholesome environments will naturally possess.

For example, if your daughter wants her own kitchen to cook in, refrain from buying her a ready-made toy kitchen. A child who has a strong imagination might ask you for a box or a sheet to create her own kitchen using her imagination. 

Your first thought might be something like, "I don't want her to dirty a sheet!," but a dirty sheet is a small price to pay for the benefit your daughter will derive from it. 

Another thought is that instead of buying a Lego toy with the items and directions to build a space station or what not for your son, give him a box of Legos and let him build his own space station by using his imagination. 

Toy companies don't make new toys because they think it will benefit  your child; they come up with new ideas to stay profitable.

But their profit is at the expense of our children. Children do not need a lot of toys. If you visit an historic home,  you'll see that in the children's room there aren't a lot of toys. Usually what is there mimics real life too. 

Maybe you'll see a horse or a wooden doll or a rocking horse, but you won't see much. 

Children who whine and complain that they have nothing to do are children who have not learned how to take control and figure things out for themselves. 

They fail to learn this because we mistakenly think it's our responsibility to help them find something to do or to help them do things.

Children will find the world a fascinating place and happily discover how to entertain themselves if we leave them to it. 

Not only will this help them to become resourceful, but it also teaches them independence.

Let's not fall for this misguided trend that if we are not involved with our children 24/7, we're somehow a bad parent. On the contrary, you’re a wise parent.

As we want to avoid the "failure-to-launch" syndrome so many parents and grandparents are dealing with, encouraging our children towards independence and resourcefulness is key. 

The more your child is left to figure things out for himself, the more imaginative, independent, and resourceful he will become— all vital qualities for a life well-spent. 

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework to raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of better character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because Liz will empower you to feel confident, calm, and motivated; as well as provide you with the tools and support you need to homeschool successfully.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, she devotes her time to helping parents get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

A New Year's Tradition You Can Share with Your Children→

Around the world, when the New Year chimes in, there is hope. Hope for a year of prosperity, abundance, and goodwill. 

It's universal.

There’s one tradition that I love, and I wanted to share it with you because your children can join in too.

In many parts of the world, there is a New Year's tradition of reflecting on the things that didn't go well during the past year and making the intention to leave them behind. 

The Practice

The way the Buddhist practice this tradition is to write down all of the things they want to leave behind on pieces of paper and before the clock strikes midnight, they throw the paper into the fire. 

Now they are ready to move into the New Year without taking the unwanted baggage with them. What's appealing about this tradition is that it's not only based on hope, but there is a clear intention behind it. 

It's a reminder that we have the power to make significant improvements to our lives, whether it’s to work out regularly, eat better, write that book you've been talking about (me!), spending more time with loved ones, or learn a new language.

We make the intention, create the space for it, and get to work. 

Easier said than done, I know. 

Include the Children

However, it's never too early to teach our children the importance of clear intentions and the power of vision and change.

If your children are old enough to write, they can join you by writing down anything they want to leave behind, and they can make the intention to do something differently for the New Year.

If they are too young to write, then you may have to do the writing for them. It would be fun to keep copies of what they want to leave behind to look back on years later.

Another thing that’s valuable about traditions, is that the tradition you can bring into your children's lives, the more things they have to look forward to during the year.

Traditions around holidays are landmarks that define certain times of the year. They are also times for shared memories and building family bonds. 

On a larger scale, traditions are the means by which we pass on our culture and customs to the next generation. 

“Tradition: how the vitality of the past enriches the life of the present. ”

— T. S. Eliot

Some Traditions

My grandfather was from a family of Greek immigrants, so we grew up with a very big Greek family. For the New Year's, there was a special cake that we baked with a 25-cent piece hidden somewhere inside the cake. 

As children, there was always a lot of suspense to see who would get the quarter, because whoever got it was guaranteed good luck for the next year. 

And my grandmother was from Georgia. The southern tradition is to bake black-eyed peas for dinner as good luck. Eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is considered good luck because after the  Civil War, that's all there was to eat.

It was actually the food for horses that kept the Southerners alive after the war.  Growing up, we celebrated this tradition, too, with the typical southern accompaniments of collard greens, cornbread, and honey butter.

Honestly, the more traditions you have, the merrier.

Happy New Year! 

May it be a good year full of hope, prosperity, and abundance.

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework to raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of better character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because Liz will empower you to feel confident, calm, and motivated; as well as provide you with the tools and support you need to homeschool successfully.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, she devotes her time to helping parents get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

6 Tips to Keep Your Kids Healthy During the Flu Season→

Just because winter is here, it doesn't mean we can expect to catch the latest bug going around. 

Trying to avoid germs is impractical because we will always come into contact with germs. What is practical is to boost our immunities so our bodies are less susceptible to infection by the germs we encounter. 

“The greatest wealth is health.”

— Virgil

And this is one of the areas where my earlier profession in Chinese medicine comes in handy. Let's  look at the top 6 ways to keep our immune systems strong.

The first is obvious but it's always good to remind ourselves.

1. Diet

Eating a healthy diet is a no-brainer, but there are some diet related ingredients we need to pay particular attention to.

AVOID

The number one ingredient to avoid for optimal immune system function is sugar. Sugar comes in many forms too. 

A diet high in fruit juices, fruits high in sugar, agave syrup, monk fruit, honey, maple syrup, and every kind of sugar you can think of, is still sugar. Keep sweet things at a very low minimum during the flu season because sugar in any form reduces our ability to fight infections.

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

— Hippocrates

EAT PLENTY OF THESE FOODS

However, foods that boost immunity are plentiful, and there are some foods you will want to include daily such as onions, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and lemon. Cooking with onions, garlic, ginger, and turmeric are excellent for immune function. 

Tumeric lattes are a delicious winter-time drink too in place of hot chocolate.

Any high vitamin C foods will also be particularly important this time of year such as oranges, blueberries, and kiwi fruits. Salmon and broccoli are also very strengthening to the immune system.

MORNING TIP

Make your children a glass of warm water with lemon and a little bit of honey in the morning, this is a great immune booster as well as a detoxifier. 

2. Oxygen

Even during the cold months, it's vital to your child's well-being to get outdoors and play. Exercise will move more oxygen into our bodies and help to keep our blood oxygenated as well as move impurities out of it.

Exercise also makes us feel happier which helps protect our immune systems too. And, of course, it's great for brain health!

Children have a lot of what we refer to as "vital heat" or "Yang energy" in Chinese medicine, so don't panic if they want to take their coats off because they're hot from running around.

They can handle more cold than we can because their bodies run hotter than ours. However, if you have a child who is a little frail, you want to take more precaution, for sure. 

Keeping windows open to bring fresh air into the house is also important to maintaining good oxygen levels in the blood. On cold days, you can air out the house and then turn the heat up for a while. 

3. Sunshine

Vitamin D, in its natural form, is excellent for our immunity. With the weather apps, we can even map what hours during the day will have sunshine and plan our outings around those times. A little bit of sunshine is better than none, so don't miss it when it does shine. 

4. Supplements

Vitamin C is important to take especially during the winter months. In addition to vitamin C, you want to add some zinc. On the days you are without sun, you can supplement with Vitamin D as well. 

You can also give your children a spoonful of homemade elderberry syrup every day. This is a great immune booster and particularly useful if they do get ill.

5. Essential Oils

Essential oils are great for adding a daily boost to the immune system to fight off viruses and bacteria. Oregano oil can be applied to the feet at the instep of the sole three times a day. There is also a blend I like a lot called On Guard by Doterra. 

“Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend.”

— Lao Tzu

Essential oils are an important part of a child's life, because they leave them with olfactory memories that your children then associate with sweet times.

Dabbing a child with Lavender oil before sleep, or frankincense and rosemary before studying, or On Guard during the flu season builds the olfactory memories in addition to the health effects. 

When I drive to my grandfather's home during the springtime, the smell of tar weed is always pungent, and it takes me straight back to my childhood. Those are the kind of memories a particular scent can trigger. 

6. Sleep

A good night's sleep is a must. It's a good idea to get your children into the habit of going to bed at the same time every night, so they wake up about the same time every morning. Children need a lot of sleep which is vital to a healthy development as well as a protection from illness.

A quiet bedtime story is the optimal way to lead an energetic child into dreamland. 

Staying healthy requires intention; it isn't something we can take for granted. The more attention you pay to your child's health by raising them to have healthy lifestyle habits, the healthier they'll be as adults. 

And the less flu’s they’ll suffer through as children. But sometimes, in spite of our best efforts, our kids still get ill, and we may get ill too.

That's life. 

Regardless, here's to a healthy winter!

Don’t miss our free download, Ten Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework to raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of better character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because Liz will empower you to feel confident, calm, and motivated; as well as provide you with the tools and support you need to homeschool successfully.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s singular online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 21+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, she devotes her time to helping parents get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling