During the holiday season, gift-giving is a big focus for parents. Like you, I search for gifts that communicate my love. Ultimately, one of the gifts I am most proud to have given my children is actually a consistent experience: ninety minutes of daily free time. Without exception, whether weekday, weekend or holiday, this is part of our family routine. Each child has ninety minutes to themselves, in a room alone, completely free of my expectations.

I love live concerts. I love beautiful designs. For these two reasons, I love our holiday tradition of going to the United States Air Force Christmas Concert and then heading over to the Botanic Gardens. The Air Force concert is full of school children and also many homeschooling families. I appreciate the chance to enjoy laughing and singing along with a large group of happy people. I love seeing our homeschooling friends.

If you are considering pulling your child out from Public School and plan to begin homeschooling your 7th grader for the first time this January, here is my advice to you! Expect Challenges No matter how excited you are today, there will come a day when you want to quit. Homeschooling is optional, after all. Decide before you start which day you will reevaluate your commitment. Maybe you will wait until Saturday, or perhaps you can wait six weeks.

Perhaps the biggest difference between homeschooling and more mainstream forms of education is the quantity of time as a resource. I recently came across this quote and it resonated with me, especially in the context of homeschooling: Someone who experiences time as a scarce commodity…is creating a completely different personal reality from someone who perceives that he has all the time in the world. —Deepak Chopra The opportunity to choose my speed (plus the opportunity to choose my focus) is what keeps me homeschooling.

Attending an in-person Homeschool Conference is always a great way to boost my mood and encourage me in my homeschooling. I love meeting other like-minded families and hearing about techniques that are working for them in their home. Here are some conferences I’ve consistently attended and enjoyed: LDSHE VaHomeschoolers Here’s a list of all available Homeschool Conferences, listed by state Many conferences are run by an umbrella group, and, in my experience, they are mostly Christian groups.

My family loves playing the game Wingspan. The premise of the game is engaging–”buy” bird cards by “feeding” them the food they need from the birdfeeder. Put them in their preferred habitat (woodland, grassland or water) and give them time to lay eggs. Each bird in the deck is unique. The illustrations are exquisite. We learn about the birds as we play, but recently we found a way to extend the learning.

What are the best ways to spend time with your 7th and 8th grade children as you homeschool them? How can you decide what curriculum to use? How do you choose what to focus on? There are no “government regulations” on the topics that need to be taught. As a homeschooler, you have flexibility to do what you think is best. It’s most important that you and your child find a way of focusing on what she most needs.

“One star reviews don’t tell the whole story,” is the reminder I get when I read Amber Share’s delightfully clever book, “Subpar Parks.” The project started as a joke about the negative reviews people put online about National Parks. Amber took her graphic design skills and created artful hand-lettered travel-poster style images, poetically enshrining the disparaging remarks. Glacier National Park: too cold for me Arches National Park: looks nothing like the license plate

Throwing down the pencil in disgust and tossing aside the papers in frustration, my child unleashes a stream of forbidden words: “I hate this; I can’t understand this; this is impossible; I’ll never understand.” Moaned in one continuous exhale, my child repeats what has become a familiar script. She’s only 13, yet she is convinced that some of the academics she studies are beyond her reach. When faced with new or challenging material, her default is to pour out this verbal protest, usually ending with “This is stupid!

Every homeschooler (and any parent!) should read this excellent book from Claire Lerner: “Why is my Child in Charge?” Claire Lerner is the insightful friend who can help you get to the root of your parenting problem. She helps you realize what you can actually control and change. Her anecdotes especially focused on children ages 2-7, but are easily applicable to older kids. Reading the book makes you feel excited to tackle the next problem because you feel equipped to keep yourself in control.