Search Results for: going into middle school

Preschool Primer Part 3 – Making The Choice

Yesterday, I described some of the types of preschool curricula that parents may encounter when they are going through the process of choosing a preschool for their toddler. Curriculum is important because it gives you an idea of what your child will be doing all day and whether there is a comfortable balance between free, creative play and structured activity. Of course, choosing a preschool is about more than just the curriculum. Today I will discuss the other factors that are a part of the preschool choosing process. Basic items like cost, location, transportation, and pick up/drop off times as … Continue reading →

Time Engineers: Math and Science CD-ROM for Middle and High School Students

At a Glance: Product: Time Engineers Cost: $19.95 Individual, $49.95 School District/University Use: Homeschool, Classroom, Home Grades: Middle School-High School (5th-9th) Lessons Taught: Math, Science, History, Physics Skills: Problem Solving, Reasoning, Critical Thinking Rating: 5 out of 5 Gold Stars Today I am sharing with you one of my new favorite tools to teach math concepts to middle and high school age students. For many homeschoolers these years are difficult in terms of teaching math. I agree. It is for this reason I want to present you with a tool that you and your students will enjoy. What is Time … Continue reading →

School District Wants to Microchip Students

A school district in Rhode Island wants to start implanting RFID chips into the schoolbags of students. This is a pilot program that hasn’t been done before. The school feels that this would help them monitor students. The ACLU says that this violates the privacy of the students, and could actually risk their safety. In my opinion, this is a very strange way to use technology. The Middletown School District, in Rhode Island, is interested in launching a pilot program that it feels would help them to better monitor some of its students. The school wants to put RFID chips … Continue reading →

A Smooth Start to the School Year

It seems kind of silly to me to start school before Labor Day. Although my daughter did get in three full days of school, my senior just had two and my youngest had one and a half. Oh, that’s another thing…those dreaded half days. But that’s another story. So the kids got a taste of school and then immediately enjoyed three days off. And so far it looks like its going to be a good start. I had quite a few concerns about my daughter starting high school, especially since she was coming from such a different environment. Admittedly, some … Continue reading →

My Daughter’s Transition to High School

How is it that dropping my daughter off for her first day of high school almost felt like the first day of kindergarten? How is it that I spent more time awake in the middle of the night than she probably did…worrying about the transition? I was doing pretty okay about all of this until we attended her Open House the night before. All of my kids brought their supplies to put them into their lockers. No one had any trouble opening their locks. We then took their schedules and went to each class, meeting the teachers. But with my … Continue reading →

Back to School Anxiety & Emotions

Do a Google search on this topic and you’re likely to come across a ton of news stories, blogs, opinions, etc. I thought I better throw my hat into the ring, so my readers would not be left out. The person quoted the most on these various sites is Samuel Gladding, who is a professor at Wake Forest University. He offers 6 tips for helping with back to school anxiety and is summarized by Bradenton.com. The fact that these articles keep popping up on my alerts daily was funny to me, as I think I have more anxiety than my … Continue reading →

My Daughter’s Graduation from Middle School

This past Friday I attended my daughter’s graduation from middle school. This ceremony was a bit more special than your average graduation. I say this because in most middle schools, the children move on together to high school. But my daughter attended a K-8 school where they are all going separate ways. These kids grew up together since either K-4 or kindergarten and so they had developed a very special bond. I think it’s a huge part of the reason that my daughter had so few problems in middle school. When we arrived at school, we were handed a pamphlet. … Continue reading →

Middle School Curriculum Choices from Christian Liberty Press

I have homeschooled since my oldest daughter was in Kindergarten. She is now in seventh grade. I remember back when she started Kindergarten I spent hours finding just the right curriculum with sweat under my brow nervous I’d pick the wrong thing. As she enters a new transition into middle school I feel the same pressure to find the perfect curriculum under the fear of ruining her life with one poor choice. Ahh, those transition years or first steps are so hard for a parent to make. The only advantage I had this time was years of homeschooling experience with … Continue reading →

How to Organize Your Child’s School Papers

In some parts of the United States school is already in session. Where I live it is just under two weeks before my children return to school. One of the benefits to having children in middle and high school is that I notice the amount of papers that come into the home is drastically reduced. However I remember the old days when they were younger and it seemed like paper was going to overtake our home. So I established a system early on that has worked really well with school papers. Every school year I buy a new 3-ring binder … Continue reading →

Teens Going Solo

This past week was registration for my two boys. They are attending school in a nearby school district. My daughter has one more year left at our local neighborhood school. It was exciting for my youngest who is going into middle school. He was able to get his schedule, try out his new locker and plot his path to each of his classes. He feels a bit nervous but he is more excited than anything. Later in the day I had to go back to register my oldest for his junior year. It’s a little strange how they stagger things … Continue reading →