Although most of us would love to hold onto the ideal that the holidays are always full of cheer, the truth is this: Things can get a little crazy in the countdown. Mom is over-stressed, Dad has disappeared, your younger sister is bouncing off the walls, and Aunt Tess is saying that she wants a cup-of-tea…again. No one really gets how rough teenagers have it over the holidays. (Most likely because adults have blocked it out from conscious memory). So we’ve put together a little manual to help ease you through the holidays – with cheer – and right into a promising new year ahead.

Are you anticipating a smoothly run and organized household this holiday season? For most of us, high expectations for an even ride across the Christmas landscape never quite come to fruition. Despite our best intentions, holiday stress happens to most of us. And simply put, it just gets in the way of both education and family bonding. So how do you keep learning a priority amidst activities, gatherings, and the shopping melee on top of it all? We’ve got 12 great ways!

Do your children celebrate the true meaning behind the Christmas season?

Instilling a love for Christ in our children is something that families of faith take seriously. If we fail in this duty – especially over the holiday season – then the legacy of faith, worship, and giving from the heart will not be passed on to our grandchildren and beyond.

No doubt you have heard the uproar surrounding the Common Core State Standards, or CCSS. We’ve discussed previously the realities of the “newest thing” in education and its negative impact upon our school systems and nation. Though a majority of states have not fully integrated the standards into classrooms and standardized testing, the preliminary results are in, and they are dismal.

Most families who chose to homeschool their kids have a college education in mind as a final game plan. However, when you make the calculations and discover the actual costs involved, sticker shock is a common occurrence. Here are some tips on how to get through the college years.

It can be said that a solid creative writing technique doesn’t actually appear automatically for students. They can’t merely “consult an inner muse” and voila – witty and polished prose or short stories then appear as if their genealogy chart contained the bloodlines of Bronte, Dickinson, and Poe.

Are you interested in discovering how other homeschooled teens manage their lives? Do you want insight into how they think, what they enjoy, and how they cope with life’s issues and blips? If you are feeling less than connected socially – don’t. Homeschooling does not need to be an isolated world! Here’s how to get connected.

Do you honestly understand what Common Core standards are all about? A recently released Gallup poll indicates only a third of Americans have even heard of the new set of academic standards known as the Common Core, and that many of those who do know about the Common Core don’t actually understand what it entails. You may be nervous, impartial, or up-in-arms about the issue. We’ve dug up some facts for you to mull over.

Years ago, finding an online forum that focused on issues faced by homeschooling pitfalls was a challenge. Homeschool forums were little heard of and sparsely visited – but times have certainly changed! Today we have an abundance of forum choices, from large to small – and many sizes in between – and all with varying requirements, privacy settings, and regulations for participation. Let’s take a look!

It’s just another day on the ranch in Amarillo. After waking in the early morning hours, the Pope family fits in a little homeschool work before tackling the many barn chores that await. Most attach a negative connotation to chores, but the Pope children LOVE their barn chores.