American Home Education And Discipleship Conferences Blog

by Kevin Swanson

I sit here in the car driving home from the office. My twelve-year-old son sits next to me and I think back on the years in which our relationship developed into what it is today. When the doctors pulled that little guy out of the womb (by C-section) almost thirteen years ago, he screamed like banshee, and just kept on screaming. . . for years, only taking a breath now and then for eating and sleeping. That’s how we were abruptly and a little rudely introduced to parenting so many years ago.

At the beginning, fathering for me involved bringing home a paycheck and a good night kiss on his forehead.

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Homeschoolers, the flying mammals of education

by Hal Young

When you have several children, sometimes the phrase “Take it outside” applies to the parents too sometimes, like when you have a phone call to make. I had just finished one of these excursions myself and was halfway up the front steps when I noticed something fluffy and brown clinging to the wall by the door. Since we’ve found the occasional wren or sparrow hiding under the eaves of the porch, I walked right up to it – and found myself eye-to-eye with a small brown bat. 

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by Elizabeth Smith

1. Cement family relationships. Relationships are the most important thing in family life. When teens are away from home for six to eight hours a day, subtle changes begin to erode relationships at home. Divided allegiance or “serving two masters” can shake their foundation. The result is diminished family ties and parental influence.

2. Individualized education based to needs. You can customize your teen’s education to provide motivation for gifts and abilities. In areas of academic weakness you can provide extra time and help. No classroom setting can offer this consistent and loving support.

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by Israel Wayne

I was talking recently with a Christian brother who was recounting his childhood years with his father. His father was a professional athlete and trained his son to follow in his footsteps. During his growing up years, this young man did everything he could to measure up to his father’s expectations. His father was his role model and he thought his dad walked on water. However, no matter how hard he worked to please his father, and follow his instructions, he found that he could never measure up.

Nothing he ever did was good enough to meet his father’s standards. He never received any affirmation from his dad. He was constantly told that he was not good enough, didn’t do something right, or didn’t try hard enough. When this young man finally entered his twenties and stepped out from under his father’s tutelage, he decided to compete in the sporting field in which his father was a renowned expert.

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by Todd Wilson

Just for the record, I’ve never experienced vertigo, but experts say that when it hits you, you’re unable to distinguish between up and down. If a pilot happens to be flying an airplane in fog and experiences vertigo, it can result in the pilot “pulling up” right into the ground.

From my perspective, there seems to be a pandemic of vertigo in the homeschool world. It’s a condition that affects mainly homeschool parents during the months of January, say...through December.

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