Homeschool Students and College Admission: Standing Out

More families are choosing to homeschool because they believe they are seeking a superior educational experience for their children. However the variety of homeschool curricula makes it difficult for colleges and universities to accurately evaluate student accomplishments in comparison to those of other students.
Homeschooled students can stand out for college admissions in all of the same ways that traditional students can. You just have to be a little more diligent in accounting for it.
Here are some suggestions for developing an application that really stands out. (Most suggestions apply to everyone, not just homeschooled students.)
1. Academics- Many homeschool students will need to create their own "transcript" to show colleges what they have studied. Some colleges and universities have supplemental forms for homeschool students to complete, listing their academic accomplishments.
Take time to present your coursework in detail- list experiences, travels, books read, etc. A student I advised this year was working on a research project at a local hospital, an in-depth project ideal for the homeschool student. Some students have in-depth Bible study as part of their curriculum. All of these academic experiences are valuable and should be clearly listed on college applications.
2. Activities - Another way homeschooled students can stand out is in their activities. Activities do not have to be school-based. You don't have to be a member of a school club or sports team to have accumulated significant hours in sports, organizations, or activities meaningful to you.
With greater flexibility of schedule, homeschoolers and can participate in activities requiring a significant time commitment. I've known some students who homeschooled so that they could pursue high-level competition in sports such as gymnastics, golf, or tennis, but your activity could incorporate your talents in music, the arts, or any field of your choice.
3. Service and Leadership - We need service and leadership in every community! Homeschool students have the unique ability to contribute because they are often available when other students are in school. Whether you choose to incorporate opportunities into your curriculum or take advantage of your ability to participate in activities scheduled during the traditional school day, you can stand out for your dedication to service or your leadership.
Consider service at your church or religious organization. Volunteer your time at the local library, hospital, or community center. Stand out in your community by becoming involved in local political campaigns, organizations such as Toastmasters or the Rotary Club, and look for opportunities to pursue issues and activities you are passionate about.
All students should take advantage of the opportunities on college applications to explain meaningful activities and elaborate on unique educational opportunities. Homeschool students may need to spend extra time and effort on applications to make sure all their academics, activities, service, and leadership stand out.

College admission is more competitive now than ever. Get help from a former high school counselor and independent college advisor who knows the system. Megan Dorsey is a nationally recognized expert in test preparation and college admissions who has helped thousands of students earn the test scores and scholarships they need and get into the colleges of their dreams.

So, You're Thinking About Homeschooling?

Reasons for Homeschooling
For some parents, it is for religious or moral reasons. For others, there is concern for safety in regard to peer pressure, violence, and bullying. The poor academic quality in many public schools cause parents to believe they can do a better job.
Homeschooling also gives a child the opportunity to spend time studying something he or she particularly enjoys, expanding education beyond the classroom to mentors and others in a particular field of expertise.
State Regulations
Homeschooling is legal in all 50 states, but regulations vary from state to state. For example, in New York State, regulations are high; including parental notification to the school district with a Letter of Intent, instructional plan, standardized testing or professional evaluation, and quarterly reports. California's regulations are minimal; with the school districts requiring parental notification only.
Even in the states with the most regulations, the paperwork is minimal and not time consuming.
Curriculum
Choosing a curriculum is the next step. There are many choices available from pre-K to 12th grade. Access to a computer is all you need to search for publishers and homeschool catalogs offering textbooks, workbooks, teacher manuals, video school programs and more. These sites usually offer reviews to help you decide. There are many used homeschool curriculum sites available, too. Homeschool groups online and within communities are great resources for advice, guidance, and encouragement.
Learning Styles
There are 3 learning styles:
· Audio - learns by listening and talking
· Visual - learns by seeing
· Kinetic - learns by doing and touching
Children use all 3 learning styles but often lean toward one as they process information. Homeschooling allows the opportunity to teach your child the way he or she learns best. For example, a kinetic learner will be restless with a half-hour audio book. Supplying a craft to go with listening to the book will keep his attention. Likewise, an audio learner will enjoy the audio book and having a question and answer time afterwards. And the visual learner will appreciate pictures with the audio book!
A Typical School Day
Every family is unique. Parents have values and interests they wish to pass down to their children. A family in a New Jersey suburb is going to look different than a farm family in Iowa. Your school day is going to be tailor-made to work with who you are as a family.
Homeschooling is a lifestyle. There are times of sitting and doing math, history and science, but there are times for a walk in a meadow to find insects or discovering animals in a tide pool. Maybe you have a museum nearby or a little garden on your window sill. The possibilities are endless in finding that almost every moment of the day is part of your child's school day.
As children spend time with their parents and siblings, they are not exposed to the continual peer pressure of being with others their own age every day. There are plenty of opportunities for socialization in community programs or homeschool groups.
Additionally, homeschooling teaches more than academics. Character building is an important in a child's development and who better to teach this than the parents? Homeschooled children learn to be self-starters, productive, thorough, organized, industrious, and more. We are not only teaching our children how to pass a test, but to love learning, to be life-long learners, and to relate to others with integrity.
High School and Beyond
Yes, you can teach your children through high school. People do it every day!
By now, your child should have learned much about being a self-starter and taking more responsibility for his/her education. Many homeschooled high school students take classes in their senior year at their local college. Colleges are very homeschool friendly, as the data indicates the academic success of homeschoolers.
Conclusion
There is commitment and dedication in educating your children but it will prove to be rewarding for parent and child. Hopefully, this article has helped dispel some of the unknowns of homeschooling and give you the encouragement you need to get started.
If homeschooling is something you've been thinking about, it may be time to get started!

Parents have a natural inclination to instruct their children. We teach them to drink from a cup, tie their shoes, and sing the alphabet. Soon we are teaching them how to ride a bike, play checkers, and help them with their homework. No one cares about your child like you. If you love your child and want them to learn, you have what it takes to homeschool.

Building a Career Through Online Education Courses

Education is a systematic process of acquiring knowledge and skill necessary for personal growth and development. The practical application of education in a specific field of study can jumpstart a professional career or establish a foundation for possible business ventures. Making an investment in education can be one of your most significant and wisest decisions in life because of its immediate impact to your future. Distance education plays a vital role in connecting educators and learners worldwide, breaking the barriers imposed by time constraints, distance, disabilities and socio-economic status. Distance education courses are being offered by Open Institutions to answer the call for internationally recognised quality education and training. Whether you are a student who just started on the path of learning, a professional in your field of study and want to further your education through advanced and specialized programs, or a person who is restricted by travel or health concerns, online courses definitely have the answers for you.

Many individuals are asking on how effective distance education when delivering the methodologies of teaching. Online education classes are as effective as traditional face-to-face instruction done in colleges and universities. The keys to establishing a successful online study depend on the dedication and focus of the learner, and timely peer-support by the open institution. The people behind the curriculum and online support offered through distance education are professionals and experts in their field, so you can be sure of having the quality education and training that you are looking for. Online instruction is divided into four major classifications, namely: voice, video, data and print. Voice or use of audio as medium of communication includes the telephone, tapes, radio and audio-conferencing.

On the other hand, videos may come in the form of instructional tapes or CDs, or combined with voice and data as file attachments. Print media can be in the form of instructional books, guides, course outlines or assessments which are delivered through courier or mailing system. Data is the widely used form of instruction due to the advances in technology in computers and the internet. Information is transmitted electronically and may be in the form of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI), Computer Managed Instruction (CMI), Computer Mediated Education (CME), or a combination of any of these. The delivery of education and training became better, faster and economical since all the instructional materials and methods of teaching are coursed through e-mail (electronic email) or e-fax (electronic facsimile), online conferencing and other World-Wide Web applications. This would include advances in communication by utilizing Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). By making use of all the available communication media, online learning study is delivered fast and efficient.

Distance learning has many advantages that individuals on different levels of learning can take advantage. It provides the flexibility of choice when you want to finish a course or where you want the training to take place. Assessments and projects are given at the end of a specified topic, submitted to education professionals and experts of their field for evaluation, and then feedback is given to determine if a learner is to advance to the next level or if further reading is required prior to advancement. You can never be too old or too young in order to start a life changing career, or build the basic foundation to start a new business. All you would need is the proper self-motivation and focus so you can look forward and fulfill your dreams in life.

Random Facts Versus Whole Science Approach to Homeschool Teaching

When it comes to learning science, most of us were taught in the public school system, which is a big proponent of the random fact teaching methodology. In other words, science was a single subject taught in a vacuum separate from other subjects. When it comes to teaching difficult or complex subjects such as science, it makes more sense to take a holistic approach. Here's why.

The Science Random Fact Junk Drawer

There has been much news lately about the American education crisis in regards to a lack of interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) disciplines. The United States is falling behind other developed countries when it comes to new technologies and discoveries, mainly because it is producing fewer graduates with related degrees.

One of the reasons for this lack of interest in STEM disciplines is due to the way kids are taught. Students often learn a bit of science here and a bit of science there without being provided any logical way to connect the dots. This collection of random facts can be likened to your junk drawer at home - you know there's a screwdriver in the midst of all those rubber bands and paper clips and batteries and gadgets somewhere, you just can't find it amongst all the clutter.

The same holds true for kids learning science. For instance, if a child learns a little something about the earth and the moon and how the shadow of our planet can cause a lunar eclipse, that's an interesting, but random, fact. You might also have taught your child some astronomy concepts and explained how the moon affects the ocean's tides. Perhaps your child has also learned something about gravity and the moon's gravitational pull. But if you are using many mainstream homeschool science curricula, those facts were never pulled together to show the student how the moon is at the core of all these facts and they are interrelated. That's why it's so difficult for many kids (and adults alike!) to make the leap between one science fact and how it impacts so many other areas of the world around us. This also makes it very hard to extract a random fact later because the child must rely on rote learning.

The Whole Science Teaching Approach

A better, more effective way to teach homeschool science is through an exponential approach. By helping kids make their own connection between subjects, they are much better equipped to draw broader conclusions. This is also a great way to encourage their natural curiosity and develop hands-on experimentation that offers exciting new discoveries in the child's mind.

The whole science homeschool teaching approach is all about extrapolation. Once your student has assimilated some core concepts they are prepared to expand that knowledge and apply it to different, everyday situations.

For instance, let's go back to that random fact about the moon's gravitational pull on earth. That's a physic concepts and that explains much about a lunar eclipse, which is a topic generally brought up in astronomy. Those same gravitational forces are at work when it comes to oceanic tide cycles, a topic that may be part of biology learning. By painting the bigger picture, a student can connect the dots between physics and astronomy and biology herself and become excited about learning more.

This approach also compartmentalizes and organizes bits of information so they can easily be retrieved at will and on demand. And it aids the homeschool science teacher, who often doesn't understand the information herself, present complex concepts and help the student come to a conclusion that need not be foregone.

When it comes to teaching a difficult subject such as science, the homeschool teacher would be wise to use a whole science approach rather than relying on a random fact methodology.

Dissecting A Famous Speech Can Stimulate The Home School Student And Parent Alike

Some of the best field trips for home school students do not require leaving the home. To analyze or dissect famous speeches from our country's sublime past including those of Patrick Henry or Webster or Lincoln, or those of Churchill's "Finest Hour" Empire, or of Cicero's gasping Roman Republic, or of the pure Athenian democracy of Demosthenes and Pericles, can open up the majestic, astonishing course of history like nothing else can. Nor should one overlook the gaudy speeches of captains of industry, such as Iacocca of Chrysler, who successfully overcame very long odds. And even more than an important excursion into history, speech dissection can also stir young men or women to rise up, one day, as political or business leaders themselves!

A speech, properly examined, is like a portal on a deep sea diving vessel that can allow us to explore incredible treasures otherwise buried from view and lost forever. A speech, fleshed out by an experienced home school parent or instructor, can bring a crucial moment in history alive. Indeed oratory dissection can lay bare, if you will, the very soul of the speaker and the nature of the audience and that of an entire nation or civilization, at the moment of its delivery. What is more, many and rich are the secrets of statecraft entombed within a famous speech of bygone years.

The trail begins with an exploration of the actual "Argument" of the speech. What was the "Proposition" (central asserted truth) and "Purpose" (free act the audience was to take). What was the speaker attempting to prove and what accomplish? What reason or other did he marshal, and what emotional appeal or other did he excite? Then the deeper dissection-and the deeper discoveries-may emerge. Did he argue fairly? What arguments did he leave out? Was he hiding something? Did he show true courage or true leadership? Was he representing hidden interests or special interests? Was he a friend of the people or of the king or the modern version of a king? Was he caught in the middle of contradictory forces? Was he ahead of his time? Or riding the wave of good fortune? What might have been a different way of making his or her case?

Speech dissection is the first building block at one and the same time of public speaking and of leadership. Before we can learn how to craft a persuasive speech of our own, we need to be able to discern the methods of someone else. Because our government and our companies are based upon persuasion, not force, to decipher how a leader argues is to take the first step toward becoming a leader ourself.

Physical Changes That Occur in the Brain Through Learning

There has been a lot of research into the brain and we home schoolers have learned many fascinating and amazing things from neuroscientists. Probably the most amazing fact about our brain is that it is constantly changing and growing. Scientists call this neuroplasticity.
Neuroplasticity - a big word but one that is important as we think about teaching kids and actively engaging their brains. According to Judy Willis, a neurologist and educator, neuroplasticity is defined as the selective organizing of connections between neurons in our brains. Basically, what scientists have discovered is that as we learn new things, our brains actually change and physically grow. Throughout our lives, our brains are growing and changing and making new connections as we learn new things and experience new situations.
Neural Connections
As we learn, neural connections are made. The more we use those connections, the stronger the connections become. "Cells that fire together, wire together" has been a saying among neuroscientists since the late 1990s. When we perform tasks or recall some information that causes different neurons to fire together, the connections between these cells become stronger. As we continue to do the task and associate the information, those connections become strong links between various parts of the brain.
Not only do our brains make neural connections, but depending on the activity, parts of our brains can even grow. Think about how when you exercise your arm muscles, they tend to grow - become stronger and get bigger. Our brains work the same way. If we are doing an activity or learning concepts that use specific parts of our brains, that part will physically change and grow.
This works throughout our lives. Consider how important it is, then, to begin to build useful connections even in young children. As they gain information, connections are made that become strong. When new information is presented, it is added to these connections and becomes a permanent part of their thought processes.
Things to Think About When Home School Teaching
We can start by telling our children that intelligence is not static. It is something that is malleable and they can work to change. When they know they can grow and change, children are more likely to actually do so.
Practice makes perfect. As children practice with a concept by repeating activities, retrieving memories, and reviewing material, strong neural pathways are built.
Remember to teach in context. Learning is the making of new or stronger neural connections so we need to tap into what children already know. Teach so that your children see the connection between the new information and what they already know.
Help children to understand that this is how the brain works. As they realize that they have control over their learning, they are able to change their brains through study and review.
Homeschool Application
As we teach our homeschool kids a subject like science, for example, we need to constantly be thinking about how to make these neural connections stronger and real. By not being afraid to teach the principles of science, even to young children, we are building pathways that will connect them to even deeper information as they get into high school and college. Apply what they are learning not just to science but also to the other content areas. Learning the history of how a concept has developed, taking the language and understanding it, and finding out how people have thought about the concept helps children to build connections that become stronger and easily accessible the next time they come across new information.

A Better Way to Homeschool: Using Notebooking To Add Creativity and Depth To Your Lessons

As a homeschooler, you have total freedom to express yourself and what you are learning in a way that suits your learning style and personality. With many, many, many curriculums to choose from, it is understandable to see why many homeschoolers are falling into the worksheet mentality.

Worksheets are easy to assign. Worksheets are either done or incomplete. Many parents enjoy the boundaries offered by a worksheet; but is that the best for your child?

Ask yourself these questions:

• Is the assignment my child is working on destined for the trash can?
• Will my child understand the topic better by completing this assignment?
• Is my child excited to finish the task at hand?
• Does my child look for ways to share this assignment with others? Are they proud of their work?

There is a better way. Let me introduce you to the art of notebooking. Don't tune out yet. You do not need to be creative! Phew! All you need is a rich collection of books, articles, or textbooks and a healthy supply of enticing supplies, and your child will basically do the rest.

Well, it may not be that easy, but almost. Your child knows when something is simply a time filler. I have been guilty of this type of teaching. If you have been homeschooling any length of time you will recognize this to be true. When I hand my children a piece of notebook paper and tell them to write something, they are more than likely going to stare at the blank page for some time before doodling all over the edges.

Notebooking templates create a very different response. There is something magical about a neat and creatively organized sheet of paper containing very manageable spaces for varying pieces of information. There are thousands of notebooking templates available today. I was hand making my templates for my kids until recently. Even a simple box for an illustration and a few lines for explanation changes the way my own kids attacked an assignment. Now when they read a story, or learned about an event in history, or completed a science experiment is was manageable for them to illustrate the point that struck them as most interesting and then writing a few good sentences to describe what they drew.

The first thing I noticed was that the manageable template yielded a better product most of the time. The second thing I noticed was that the kids could not wait to show their assignments off. I began experimenting with template styles and presentations. I started putting their pages into plastic page protectors and notebooks. A Funny thing happened. The more time I took to showcase their work, the more the kids applied themselves the next time. If the assignment was for their "book" they attacked it head on. If it was a simple worksheet, they hardly gave it a second glance once completed.