Some families are willing to sacrifice a lot to homeschool their children simply because they feel that their children need more than the public educational system is offering. In particular, parents want their children to experience more than just a harried existence of rushing to everywhere and getting the minimum out of life. Three particular areas have many parents quitting jobs or changing job schedules to be able to educate their children themselves so that they can provide religious instruction, more advanced training than they can get in public school and finally that family bonding that is slipping away from the traditional family.

Religious Instruction

Public education is required to teach a non-religious curriculum because of the vast differences in the backgrounds of students and teachers. Parents who wish to sidestep the influences of the public education system can find help in homeschooling. It is easy to find a home school curriculum that will promote whatever religious beliefs the parent wants to teach their child. Many Christian based curriculum choices are available that provide the vast resources that children need while reinforcing the Christian values and teaching of the Bible.

As more and more families are choosing to homeschool, Jewish and Muslim (and even more than can be mentioned in this article) curricula are being developed by families and made available for sale once they have been tested. Different religious groups can also develop their own curriculum based on one of currently available, but tailored to their specific belief structure. The basic structure is similar in all of the religious curricula, but the tenets of the particular faith is interwoven into the reading, writing and history.

Advanced Training

The measure of a homeschool curriculum is whether it satisfies the criteria of the government agencies that are responsible for education. Seeing as how the majority of public schools are churning out children who are passably able to read and can barely spell, it is possible to beat the public school system by just spending more time with children, reading with them and going over their homework with them. The operative words are “with them” because quality time with children means more interaction and places more importance on doing a good job with schoolwork.

For parents who want their children to be college ready, a more advanced curriculum is required. Luckily, many advanced programs are available for home school families. Since parents who decide to homeschool come from varied backgrounds, many homeschooling materials are created by these parents to satisfy a need that was lacking in the homeschool community. As more families homeschool their children, more advanced curricula are becoming available for college prep.

Engineers, lawyers, doctors, chemists and CEOs have all contributed to the vast array of home educator materials available for parents to use for their children. These people make it possible for a child to choose whatever career path they can envision without having to attend public school. The only limitation is how much a parent can afford to invest in their own child’s education.

Family Bonding

Because of the closeness of parents with their children in a homeschool environment, a special bond occurs with kids and parents that makes the experience even more beneficial. Instead of having a complete stranger instilling their (who knows what kind) values on children, parents can form a stronger relationship and develop a more eager desire to learn in their children simply by continuing to encourage them.

Closeness with children is something that the family unit lacks, and simply showing an interest in a child’s education is more important than the actual training materials on their own, since children respond to parental involvement very positively by wanting to excel. Obviously, stress and mental problems can get in the way of a positive learning environment, so before embarking on a homeschool curriculum, it is vital for parents to understand how much time they must devote to their children’s education and whether they are mentally able to undertake such a task.

Some methods of homeschooling have a more “hands off” approach to teaching, by basically giving children a list of books to read and workbooks to use, but no real structure or interaction. This style is typically better for parents who are not able to deal with a structured schooling environment. Parental involvement is still crucial, but only in the encouragement of the child to continue reading and working at their own pace.

Summary

Religion in schools is a target from a lot of directions. Students are leaving school ready for a $10 per hour job. Too many families are fractured or simply damaged. It is crucial that parents become involved in their own children’s education; even if it means after school religious instruction, help with homework and family activities. Homeschooling is one way to take away complete control of the preparation of children from the government (which has difficulty doing any large task effectively) and placing in back in the hands of the parent.

After seeing the results of having his 3 daughters in public school and in home school, Micheal Savoie found that home educators need more resources at their disposal to make homeschooling simpler for the parent and student. By making a website where home educators could exchange ideas and resources, the Home Educators Resource Exchange was born. Find out more at http://heregroups.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Micheal_Savoie

But all these actions don’t really help to improve children’s education. More probably, it will just add to their tensions and problems.

So exactly, what can you do if your children come home with poor report card?

Support. Encourage. Motivate. These are the key words to help children improve their performance.

Also, here are 6 simple education tips to bring faster improvement in your children:

Child Education Tip 1: Don’t Attach Negative labels

Do not label your children with degrading titles like: “Stupid,” “Lazy,” and other negative names which create poor self-image. Firmly believe that your children are capable of achieving anything they really desire.

Child Education Tip 2: Identify Your Children’s Problem

Children who don’t perform well in studies have some problems. These problems can be solved if identified. To identify problems, observe your children closely and ask them questions. Here are examples of some common problems of children:

” Complaining about classmates/teachers

” Coming from school tired and irritated

” Good in one subject but not in another

” Slow reading and understanding of study material

” Avoiding homework until the last minute

” Finding it difficult to interact with other children and adults

” Spending time on unimportant activities

” Learning little or nothing in class

” Problems with eyesight or hearing

” Not enthusiastic in going to school

” Being disobedient and/or sulky

Once you identify your children’s problem related to education, it will become easy for you to think and find solutions for it.

Child Education Tip 3: Puff up Your Children’s Self-Confidence

This is one of the best ways to improve your children’s performance. Search for some good study habits or skills of your children and talk about it.

No matter how poorly your children are performing right now, there might be some topic or study skill in which they are good.

For example, your son might be good in spelling, or reading or drawing diagrams. Your daughter might be good in math or biology or in remembering formulas. Think about it and praise your children for their good education skills.

Also, search for some education related achievements of your children in the past and discuss it with them. For example, perhaps your son had got ‘good’ remarks on his science report. Or perhaps your daughter had scored better grades in some subjects last year, or even year before that.

Discuss such past education related success. Remind your children about their achievements, however small it is. This will shift your children’s mental focus on their good study skills and on their ‘education success.’ They will realize that they do have the ability to learn. The power to win.

Tell your children, “If you can learn one thing, you can also learn other things. If you can achieve success once, you can achieve it again.” Such words from you will strongly motivate your children to succeed in education.

Child Education Tip 4: Speak With Their Teacher

Meet your children’s school or college teachers and discuss your children’s performance and education problems with them. Ask them what is wrong with your children, and what you can do to help them improve. Advice and suggestions of teachers will help you immensely.

Child Education Tip 5: Set Achievable Goals

When children have clear goals in their mind, they usually make efforts to study better. Hence encourage your children to set small and reasonable goals for their studies.

For example, if your daughter has scored C grade in math test, she can set a goal to score B grade in next math test. If your son has fallen behind in his History class, then he can set a goal to read two or three history lessons each week, depending upon his speed.

Child Education Tip 6: Keep Your Children Fit

Encourage your children to get some physical exercise like, running, jogging, skipping, cycling, swimming, etc. Exercise improves blood circulation, digestion, and provides more oxygen to brain. This leads to better learning and memory. Ask your children to exercise everyday, or at least five days a week.

Finally, remember what Edison’s mother did!

Thomas Edison was labeled as “slow learner” by his teachers. But his mother, Nancy Edison, did not accept her son as ‘dull.’ She motivated, encouraged, and taught Edison to learn at his own speed and style. And we all know what Edison went on to achieve in his life as a scientist!

Want to make success easy for your children? Download free Positive Parenting ebook and Success Training manual for children written by Preeti Narayan, who is educational expert and co-author of ‘Success Mindware’ an All-in-One self development course for children at http://www.mindpowerguide.biz

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Preeti_Narayan

1. Money doesn’t simply appear

Time is money and money is time. Something has to be traded for it. As working parents, we sacrifice our time for the money we earn. Teenagers will begin to grasp the relationship between time and money but with younger children, you can start by asking them to do simple chores around the house. Pay them for their labour and reward bonuses for their level of performance. They will learn the difference between doing job and doing it well. The earlier your children realise that precious time given up for money is gone forever, the better prepared they will be when they get their first job and spend their income accordingly.

2. Lead by example

Let your children see you dealing well with money. Explain the difference between needs, wants and desire. Help your children understand the value of things. If they hear you lauding the merits of consumerism, they’ll get the message that labels are important. Teach them about good consumer habits. At the supermarket, make them compare prices. What is the best buy? is it value for money? Did you know that the most expensive items at the store are usually at eye level? This is the best way to encourage them to save and spend wisely. Let them see that money doesn’t grow on trees and there is a limit until you have worked to earn more.

3. Be as open as possible about money at home

Talk to your children about how much things cost, and how long it will take for you to save for those items. When your family sets goals, include everyone in the discussion. Give your children challenges and suggest they only have a certain amount to spend. They will realise they can’t buy everything they want. Amplify this lesson during a vacation. Set a budget and let your children decide whether they want to stay in a posh hotel or participate in a unique activity while travelling. Keep records of the holiday expenses and let them see the total cost of the trip, the cost of food and accommodation. By learning about the choices they have to make with their money, they will begin to see priorities and not over buy.

4. Have fun, play The Game of Life or Cashflow for Kids board games

Teach your children about more complex concepts like compound interest and proper cash flow management, understanding the basics of investing in stocks and shares, real estate and other businesses. As your children become familiar with these subjects, have discussions with them about the activities they are interested in and turn these activities into a business or a career ambition. This encourages marketable skills and motivates your children towards working extra hours on gaining those skills. Enrichment courses such as speech and drama, arts and craft, creative writing and many others will help your children develop their confidence in speaking, writing and communicating, all of which are essential for their future. The more your children play, the higher their financial IQ will become.

A family’s attitude towards money has a powerful influence on a child from a very early age. Teaching our children about the proper use of money will help them develop their money skills, be more responsible and disciplined. Education is the key to developing healthy money habits in your people. You can never start teaching them too early.

Kevin Goh.
Working From Home Parent.

Help Your Child to Become A Reading Genius.

Parents can use these Genius Books to enhance your children’s creativity, imagination, self-expression and develop their own sense of morality and ethical code.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Goh

As a parent, I’m always looking for ways to teach my children life long lessons about money. One of the best teaching tools I have found is money! What I really like about money as a teaching tool is not only its effectiveness in teaching my children, but also its effectiveness in reducing my taxes!

In a recent article, I asked you to think about this question:

What Tasks Can Your Children Do For Your Business?

What tasks did you come up with? Here are some of the more common tasks:

- Filing
- Cleaning
- Answering phones
- Running errands
- Data entry
- Maintaining the company’s online presence
- Updating the company website
- Research

As you can see from this short list, the tasks can range from simple to complex depending on your child’s skill set. The more advanced your child’s skill set, the more your child can earn – keep reading to find out why this is a good thing!

- How To Legally Reduce Your Taxes By Hiring Your Children -

When your company pays your children, this is money that your company would usually:

Distribute or pay to you, or
Pay to another employee to do the tasks

If the money is distributed or paid to you, it is taxed at your individual tax rate. If the money is paid to another employee, then that money is leaving your family circle and can no longer work for you and your family.

Having your company hire your children keeps the money in your family and moves the income from your tax rate to your children’s tax rates.

Your children’s tax rates start at 0%. This means if you are in a 30% tax rate, then paying your children shifts income from your 30% tax rate to your children’s 0% tax rate and you reduce your taxes!

- Your Children’s Tax Rates -

The first $5,450 of earned income to each child is taxed at 0%. What happens if your children earn more than this amount? You may still save taxes because your children also have 10% and 15% tax brackets. This provides great opportunity to shift your income to a lower tax bracket!

What about payroll taxes?

Your business and your child may be responsible for payroll taxes, which total approximately 15%. Don’t forget to factor this in when you are calculating how much you save in taxes by hiring your children.

However, there are exceptions to this rule. These exceptions exempt some businesses from having to pay payroll taxes on wages paid to children of the owners. The rules are very specific to each situation so be sure to discuss this with your tax coach.

Getting your children in the game and on your payroll provides many opportunities to reduce your taxes. Even more exciting is what your children can do with this money to put their money to work.

Tom Wheelwright is not only the founder and CEO of Provision, but he is the creative force behind Provision Wealth Strategists. In addition to his management responsibilities, Tom likes to coach clients on wealth, business, and tax strategies. Along with his frequent seminars on these strategies, Tom is an adjunct professor in the Masters of Tax program at Arizona State University. For more information please visit http://www.provisionwealth.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thomas_Wheelwright

* Linguistic intelligence: Learning and using spoken and written language

* Logical-mathematical intelligence: Logically analysing problems, detecting patterns, reasoning.

* Musical intelligence: Performing, composing, and appreciating musical patterns.

* Bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence: Using the whole body or parts of the body to solve problems.

* Spatial intelligence: Recognizing patterns of wide space and confined areas.

* Interpersonal intelligence: Effectively working with others.

* Intrapersonal intelligence: Understanding self and feelings.

By using games and other activities in your classroom, you’ll be able to create a class period that explores various intelligences and reaches a variety of children instead of just the linguistic learners.

Additionally, it’s important to remember that preschoolers simply learn best through play. Just think about how preschoolers learn to count. They may count how many cars they have lined up or how many blocks they’ve stacked.

Here is an example of how to transform a mundane activity into an exciting game that stimulates the children’s imagination and encourages better retention of vocabulary. Imagine you are teaching colours. Tell your children they are pirates who have lost their treasure overboard and they must dive down and retrieve it. Spread coloured objects or cards around the floor. Demonstrate by taking in a big breath, hold your breath and dive down and pick up one of the coloured objects, then come up for air and ask the children to name the colour, or you name it, depending on whether you are doing a speaking or listening activity. Then tell the children which colours to dive down and collect. You could make it even more dramatic by dimming the lights when the children dive down and turning them up when they surface. The children can then sort the different coloured treasure by stowing it safely in treasure chests (boxes or bags – one for each colour).

Any paediatrician will tell you that the best way to encourage a large vocabulary in your children is to read to them everyday. For young children learning English you need super simple stories, and in an ideal world, stories that reinforce the language and vocabulary you are teaching in class. You can access a free ESL preschool story with games in the resource box below the article.

As well as using games and stories you’ll need to take into consideration a few other things:

* Preschool children have small attention spans so change your activities every five minutes or so because if they go longer than that, they’ll start getting restless and you’ll spend more time trying to keep their attention than actually doing the activity.

* Teach a small amount of language in any given session. For this age group, try to introduce three words at a time and then add to the list as you see the children understand the meaning of the words you’ve already introduced.

* Engage the children on multiple levels. This includes using fine and large motor movement, singing, talking, listening and looking. For example, you could have a game where the children need to move around the room to stand next to a picture or object of the word they heard you say.

* Competition in the preschool classroom causes undo stress on the children. Avoid playing games or doing activities that have winners and losers. Either have the class work together to “win” as a group or do not distinguish between winning and losing. On the same note, be sure to be supportive and encouraging to all of the learners in your class.

* Preschool children can get very excitable so vary excitable games with quiet ones to balance out the energy level in the classroom.

* Preschoolers are very visual. Bring in real objects whenever possible. When it is not possible, find colourful and vivid pictures.

* Preschooler children usually are not yet reading and writing (at least not to large extent) in their own language, so don’t expect them to do it in a second language. At this age, you can expect them to listen and understand first. After a while, they will begin speaking individual words and short phrases.

* Themes work well in the preschool classroom. Focus your vocabulary learning on groups of similar types of words such as foods, colours, numbers, animals, families and body parts. You can work in short phrases that are relevant to your theme.

* Be well prepared, plan more than you think you will use and move seamlessly from one game or activity to another. Use colouring or similar quiet activities when the children need some downtime.

* Repeat, review and revise. You need to frequently review the vocabulary that you’ve previously taught them or they will quickly forget it.

* If you have a particularly naughty or rough student in the class, keep him or her close to you. Ask him or her to be your special helper and be sure to give a lot of praise when you see him or her behaving appropriately.

Above all, just remember what you liked to do in school. If you were bored, you probably didn’t get much out of the class and the same is true for preschool and pre-k children. For free games and an illustrated story written for ESL preschoolers, visit the link in the box below the article. Help them have fun and before they know it, they’ll be learning!

Shelley Vernon has helped 1000s of teachers be an inspiration to their pupils Improve the effectiveness of your lessons and enjoy yourself more. Receive free preschool ESL games and stories now on http://www.teachingenglishgames.com/3-5.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shelley_Vernon

The evolution of psychology and the study of the human mind have opened new avenues of understanding problems affecting and afflicting human behavior and finding effective solutions to them. Yet, more important than studies, it is a person’s own observation, understanding and attitude that can help find the right solution. The same principle applies to finding appropriate ways to deal with reading disabilities in children.

Identifying the reasons for reading disabilities

To effectively deal with reading disabilities, as a teacher, you should understand that at the surface all reasons for the problem may seem similar but delve a little deep and you will find that they vary from child to child. In a nutshell, the reasons are the same but at the same time, different. They are same in that reading disabilities can, based on symptoms, be characterized into certain groups. For example, some children may have difficulty in reading rhyming words, others may struggle with words that start with the same sound and yet others may not be speaking at the level of their peers. Yet, each problem is different because all individuals are unique; their ways of looking at things are different and their reactions to a situation also reflect individualistic traits.

Talk to the parents

To deal with reading disabilities, you must talk to the parents to get a better perspective of why their children are facing the problem. If the parents are observant enough, they would be able to discover signs of reading disabilities in their children at a very early stage. In fact there are many indicators that point to the things to come in this direction. For example, children may have difficulty in manipulating sounds in words or they may not be comfortable with rhyming words. Then again, children who have had repeated ear infections or speech delays in the early stages of their lives may face reading disabilities making it difficult to cope with their peers in their class.

Observe the children in class

While talking to parents will definitely help, your own observations will make all the difference in dealing with the situation. Listen to the children when they read aloud in the class and watch out for the tell-tale signs. What do they do when they reach a word they cannot pronounce-skip over it or ask you how to pronounce it correctly? When you correct them, do they stop to pronounce it or continue reading? Do they guess at the word rather than read it?

Then again, you can also base your observations on their writing abilities. It is an accepted fact that children, by the time they reach the end of kindergarten, they are comfortable with all consonants in the alphabet though they may make mistakes with the vowels. Your observations will help you identify the problem and decide on the direction to take to overcome it.

Dealing with reading disabilities

All children have unique behavioral and emotional patterns and their own way of dealing with situations. You should keenly observe the children, identify the reasons for their disinclination to read, delve deeper into their emotional patterns, and then decide on the approach to take. Studies have shown that the majority of children who enter kindergarten and elementary school at-risk for reading failure can learn to read at average or above levels, but only if they are identified early and provided with systematic, explicit, and intensive instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension strategies.

Select the right topic

Studies have proved that there is a strong link between understanding or gaining familiarity with something and then reading about it. In other words, if the children are familiar and interested in a subject, they will put in extra efforts to read about it. So it is important to find a topic that would interest the children and motivate them to read. For example, children in the kindergarten stage are fascinated by birds and animals so giving them topic such as ‘Animals in a Zoo’ may catch their fancy and motivate them to read.

Build vocabulary

Learning, or rather informal learning is a process that begins much before the children enter preschool. It has generally been observed that children from economically or socially weaker sections are less exposed to new words and situations in the early stages of their lives. This is all the more disadvantageous considering that this is the stage when the children have a keen perception and are more than eager to know, understand and identify the sounds and colors of the environment that surrounds them. Yet, owing to circumstances, parents may not have the time to indulge the curiosity in their children.

So by the time they enter kindergarten, their vocabulary is much less than that of the children from middle class backgrounds or with parents who have spent quality time with them. Studies have shown that children from an average middle class child is exposed to approximately 500,000 words by kinder-garten; an economically disadvantaged child is exposed to half as many, at best.

You can teach new words to children through Phonemes or sounds that represent the letters of the alphabet. The children enjoy blending sounds to make words; they are also more comfortable reading words they are familiar with.

Guided or contextual reading

Rather than introducing new words in isolation, it is better to introduce them in the right context so that the children are able to associate the word with a situation. For example, take the children for a walk in the garden to identify the flowers there. Tell them the name of the flower, let us say rose, when they see a rose. You can at this time also play a spelling game and ask the children to spell the word rose. Now when the children go back to the class and read about flowers, they would be able to associate the picture of a rose with the word rose and read it correctly.

Appreciate the efforts of children

According to the a report of the Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children, National Research Council, “as in every domain of learning, motivation is crucial.”

Appreciation is a great motivating tool that can work wonders and bring about the best in both adults and children. A word of praise can raise the confidence level of the children and build their self-esteem. It is equally important to have patience with them. In the beginning, when they read they are bound to make mistakes and mispronounce words. You may find their reading hesitant with frequent starts and stops. Keep in mind that a class will always have children from varying backgrounds and performing at different levels.

Sensitize children in the class

It is equally important to sensitize the children so that they do not mock or laugh at the kids who cannot equal their level of reading or performance. It is a known fact that nature has a way of compensating for disabilities; a child with a reading disability may be extremely good at something else, for example, he or she may be very talented at drawing. So if children laugh at a child’s effort at reading, you can point out his or her talent in drawing and explain to them that every human being is gifted in one way or the other. This will not only sensitize the children to respect each other but will also help to build bridges between them. Once children feel that they are not outcasts but accepted members amongst their peers, they will be all the more willing to learn and conquer their disabilities.

Communicate with parents

The time of the children is divided between home and school. There should be no gap in communication between the parents and the teacher, as they collectively have the maximum influence on a child’s crucial developing years. Keep them in the loop about the policy you are following and ask them to follow the same at home for maximum impact. If need be, counsel them to be appreciative of any progress their children make and also emphasize that they should never lose their calm in front of them.

Pragya Katariya is a professional content writer specializing in web content development, travel writing, finance writing and SEO articles. Please visit her website http://www.oceanbluecommunications.com/ for more information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pragya_Katariya