Top Sources for College Scholarships - -




Summary:  Where to find college scholarships with tips for getting merit aid, the National Merit Scholarships and more. Plus links especially for homeschoolers.  Did you know the FAFSA can help your teen get scholarships from the colleges?  Really.  #getintocollege #collegescholarships


Top Sources for College Scholarships is now a chapter in my new book.


Have you seen my NEW Complete Guide to college for homeschoolers yet? 



and 
Barnes and Noble $11.99

Kindle is coming!

It lays out 10 easy steps for homeschool to college, and covers everything you need to help your teen get into the college of their choice, with 7 NEW chapters. Recommended by Lessa Scherrer, a certified college counselor and a homeschooling mama of 3.

Create your own unique and nurturing high school program for your teen and showcase their accomplishments to the colleges. 

The 17 Chapters include:

>Chapter 1 - How to Start Homeschooling if you are a Newbie
>Chapter 2 - 101 Reasons to Homeschool High School
>Chapter 3 - Researching and Getting Started
  Chapter 4 - Planning High School and Making a 4 Year Plan
>Chapter 5 - Choosing Your High School Curriculum
>Chapter 6 - Three Ways to High School Credit
>Chapter 7 - Making Your Teen's Transcripts
>Chapter 8 - 100 High School Electives
>Chapter 9 - Making Homemade Courses
>Chapter 10 - Writing a Winning College Essay
>Chapter 11 - Course Descriptions and Reference Letters
>Chapter 12 - The Common Application - Your GUIDE
>Chapter 13 - Preparing Your Teen for College Writing
>Chapter 14 - Dealing with College Testing SAT/ACT
>Chapter 15 - Top Sources for College Scholarships
>Chapter 16 - Dealing with “Those Questions” from Others
>Chapter 17 - Don’t Forget the FUN!

>There are 12 downloadable high school homeschool planning printables plus a transcript form for you to just fill in.

The kind of transcript form that the colleges are used to seeing.


For more info: 


- 2nd Edition




Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,
Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early yearshighschool
collegegifted/2e and wrote -Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition,   She offers homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting and has had some of her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.


Want to stay in touch?

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No spam ever.  
Just encouragement for your homeschool 
in your inbox.

Copyright @ BJ's Homeschool
2019

All Rights Reserved






Frugal Elementary Science Activities - PreK - Elementary



Frugal or free ideas for early and elementary homeschool science activities and easy to do unit studies.  Hands-on and FUN! #homeschoolscienceactivities #elementaryscience #homeschoolelementary


What is science really in the elementary years?

For us we did not involve an expensive set curriculum.  Not at all.

How to Plan to Homeschool High School - 4 Easy Steps -




Summary:  Planning to homeschool high school is not that hard!  High school homeschool graduation requirements, what are homeschool core studies, how homeschool high school electives add in so much, where to search for your homeschool high school curriculum and how to make a high school homeschool 4 year plan.

When my daughter was in middle school we started thinking about homeschooling the teens years.

Thriving in the Early Years with your Sensory Kid - -




Do you have a young child who is a sensory seeker?  Or who is VERY active?

My little one was always tumbling all over the couch, doing hand stands every chance that she could, and even preferring to be upside down more often than upright.  ALL the time.

How could we keep our home from becoming upside down, too?

For down to earth tips for dealing with your sensory child, just click here, as this post has moved to this new link below....




Over the years, we found many ways to help our sensory seeking child, and I share those ideas in my post above.  I hope they are a help to you and your precious little one.




Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy


Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early yearshigh schoolcollegegifted/2e.  She offers free homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting and has had her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.

Want to stay in touch?  


Click here to subscribe.



Copyright 2019 
All Rights Reserved

Our Favorite Choices for Homeschool Math Curriculum - Preschool through High School ----



Summary:  Our choices for preschool homeschool math curriculum, elementary homeschool math, curriculum, middle school homeschool math curriculum, high school homeschool math curriculum and how we added in living math all along the way. Homeschool math curriculum reviews are included.  #homeschoolmath #homeschoolcurriculummath #homeschoolpreschool #homeschoolkindergarten #homeschoolhighschool


Are you kids struggling with their chosen math curriculum?  Are you looking for another way to go that might fit their learning style better?

We switched out our math curriculum more than once in our homeschool, once in elementary, and then again in high school.

Sometimes our original choice in homeschool math curriculum just didn't make the grade, so to speak.  So we took the leap and searched around for other options again, and each time we found a math curriculum that worked better than the original one. 

Yes, it was hard to let go of our initial homeschool curriculum choice, and it did impact our budget.  But each time it made for a happy math student in our house.  And success in her math studies.

Today, I'd like to share our favorites for homeschool math curriculum for preschool math play, elementary homeschool math, middle school math and also high school homeschool curriculum math options.

Click here for my whole article on:


--------------- BJ's Choices for Homeschool Math ------------------
Preschool to High School


....to reach more information about all of our favorites for math.  I hope that it is a help in your homeschool and for the young mathematicians in your house. 

too.

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,


Betsy


Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early yearshigh schoolcollege2e and wrote - Homeschooling High School with College in Mind.   She offers free homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting,  and has had her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.

Want to stay in touch?




Just click here.
  

Copyright @ BJ's Homeschool 2019

All rights reserved.

Meeting the Sensory Needs of Your 2e Child





Summary:  Ways to meet the sensory needs of children who have sensory processing disorder. Tips for everyday issues and frustrations such as dealing with clothing and setting up a routine.



Our daughter has been a blessing to us, ever since we flew to China to adopt her as an infant.  

At the same time, having a child or one with Sensory Processing Disorder has been a challenge. 

Can you relate?

Many gifted kids have sensory needs and intensities.  

But we found that ours showed the signs of more than that, and was found to have sensory processing disorder (SPD). That was one of the ways she was twice exceptional.  

And since I have an OT background, we just worked to accommodate things to meet her needs, as best we could.

We knew that our school district did not have a program that would help her deal with her sensory issues and meet her needs.  So we took the plunge and tried our hand at homeschooling.   

Our daughter was a sensory seeker as a little one, always jumping off the couch, doing summersaults across the living room floor, spinning in her dad's desk chair, and seeking out sensory input all day long.

She also reacted to loud noises, did not like to be touched, ie was hyper-reactive to tactile input, and hated the tags in clothes.  And zippers.  And buttons, or anything that put pressure on her body from her clothing.

Solving the Clothing Issue

This was easy for us, as we just went with what seemed to work out best for her.  So it was sweatpants and tee shirts for years.  The other advantage of this, beyond the sensory issue, was that both were very easy for her to put on by herself.

Through trial and error, we went about solving her other sensory needs, one day at a time.  Many families seek out the help of an Occupational Therapist for sensory processing disorder.  But since I was an O.T. myself, we didn't need to do that.

Here are the things that worked well for us.

Meeting Sensory Needs - 

Lots of information on that is here, in a post for younger kids but all the techniques listed apply just as well to older kids, too.  Just scroll down to the section on 




Providing Routine in the Day

Our sensory seeking daughter did best with some structure in her day.  Knowing what was next helped her anxiety.

We set up a simple routine of meals, errands, etc.  We built a rhythm to our days.

Structure was a help.  We also needed to help our daughter to prepare for changes in her life.  Lots of kids with SPD struggle with change.  Ours especially did, with all the changes she had moving to the US and being adopted.

Preparing for Changes

We took time to prepare our kiddo for any changes. 

Kids with SPD often get upset with changes in their routine.  So we let her know ahead of time if we could.  And she got a vote in any changes to physical things, such as rearranging the furniture.  Giving her some control helped her to process the changes and then to feel safe.

Now as a college graduate, we still see the intensities, but the other issues have dissipated over the years, or are well compensated for as she grew.


I was recently asked to write for the top special education site on this topic.  I invite you to click 8 Tips for Homeschooling a Twice Exceptional Student for more ideas and encouragement.

What would you add to this list?   I love reading your comments.





Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,


Betsy



Betsy is retired O.T, homeschool blogger, and most importantly is mom to her 2e college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early yearshigh schoolcollege and 2e 


Want to stay in touch?


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Copyright @ BJ's Homeschool 2023
All rights reserved.


Teaching Homeschool Science - Hands-On - for Elementary and Middle School Kids



 Teaching science using hands-on approaches, science kits, science experiments,Magic School Bus science kits, ,elementary hands-on science, educational gifts, science kits for homeschoolers, preschoolers, kindergarten, and elementary aged children. This post has affiliate links to products that we love and would use in our homeschool.  Please see my disclosure policy.


Are you looking for a fun way to teach science to your kids?   Do you have a young one who learns best through hands-on approaches, like mine?

Blessed by our Twice Exceptional Homeschooled Kid



We knew our daughter was gifted when we adopted her in China, as an infant.  She was just so aware of everything around her, especially on the long bus trip from her orphanage to the government offices there.  But that is another story.  Link to that story is here.

Homeschool Testing







Summary:  How to test your homeschooled child or teen at home.  Annual achievement testing is not hard to do and here are some great homeschool testing resources to help make it easy to do.


Are you thinking of testing your child at home this year?  In our state of Washington, annual testing is required starting at 8 years of age.

This article has moved.  Please click on the link below to read how we dealt with the annual homeschool testing requirement, when we first started out.  The link is here:




Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy



Betsy is a homeschool blogger, former O.T, preschool teacher and published author of children's stories.  She is mom to her 2e college grad whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool about the early yearshigh schoolcollegeand is the author of "Homeschooling High School with College in Mind".  She offers homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting.


Want to stay in touch?

Subscribe, Pinterest, G+, Facebook 



Just click here.


This post was shared on my favorite linkups here.

Copyright, 2018, All Rights Reserved

Homeschooling in Washington State and Where to Find Support - -





This post has moved.  To reach all of my tips and resources on homeschooling in Washington state, please just click the link below:


More high school posts are on Pinterest here: Homeschooling High School Pinterest Board.


This post is linked to the blog hop at Homeschooling State by State, where there are many resources from all around the US.   And I work with families from all over, too.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you want a step by step guide to college, plus my exclusive guide to the Common Application for homeschoolers?  It is the top feature in my new book!

I have gathered together all my best tips for high school and college and put it into my new book, Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition

It gives you everything that you need to plan your high school homeschool for your college bound teen.  Plus how to help them get into the college of their choice.

Amazon for only $11.99
Paperback is on Amazon for only $11.99
This book is an easy-to-read guide to college for homeschoolers, recently updated with 7 NEW chapters, including:

- My own homeschoolers guide to the Common Application
- How to write the Counselor Recommendation Letter
- Where to find college scholarships
- SAT/ACT Prep
- How to make your own homemade courses
 Included are also 12 homeschool high school planning printables to make your record-keeping easier.

10 easy to do steps to homeschool high school with college in mind. And it really is NOT that hard!!  

This book does not tell you how to homeschool high school.  Instead it gives you guidance for doing it your way!  

Keep your nurturing homeschool style and showcase their accomplishments to the colleges!

Recommended by: 
Lessa Scherrer, Certified College Counselor
                               from College Inside Track

"Betsy has a wealth of understanding and knowledge to share with the parents of college bound homeschoolers.  She provides support, encouragement and step-by-step advice on all aspects of the homeschool high school and college application process. This book is a must-read for parents considering homeschooling high school and for parents in the thick of the application process."

And help for record keeping!  With my exclusive high school and college planning printables.



The high school and college planning forms include:

College Entrance Requirements Form
Overall High School Plan
Curriculum Planning Sheet
High School Credit Record Form
Transcript Form
Activities and Awards Form
Homemade Course Form
Writing the College Essay Form
Course Descriptions Record Keeping Form
Reference Letter Request Form
PE Record Form

For more information, click here - Frugal College Prep for Homeschoolers or to buy it here - my book on Amazon for only $11.99.  

And don't worry about forgetting things!


Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,
Betsy


Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early yearshighschool
collegegifted/2e and wrote -Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition,   She offers homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting and has had some of her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.

Want to stay in touch?


Subscribe, Pinterest, Facebook 


No spam ever. 
 Just encouragement for your homeschool
 in your inbox.

Copyright @ BJ's Homeschool 2019

All Rights Reserved

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