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Lee Binz

Struggling with Writing?

Struggling with Writing?
I quit "teaching" literature in 5th grade and let my daughter pick books (from a list of classic literature) to read with no formal  instruction. She enjoyed this approach and has been a voracious reader over the years. After reading Hamlet, she decided she enjoyed Shakespeare's tragedies and comedies and read several of them. At 16, she just took the Analyzing and Interpreting Literature CLEP exam and scored very well. She now has 6 English college credits!  I...
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english struggling with writing writing
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Guest — Lee
Hi Lois, I'm so glad it helped! Blessings, Lee
Thursday, 30 December 2010 07:47
Guest — Lois
Awhile ago I wrote to ask your advice on different writing programs. I chose Write At Home this year, and it is the best academic ... Read More
Thursday, 30 December 2010 06:03
Guest — Tweets that mention Online tools that will help #homeschool kids to learn English writing - #homeschool -- Topsy.com
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Bethany LeBedz and Lee Binz, Lee Binz. Lee Binz said: Online tools that will help #hom... Read More
Thursday, 16 December 2010 10:07
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Lee Binz

Determining Homeschool English Credits

Determining Homeschool English Credits
Are you ever unsure about how many English credits to give your students? Does your student spend more time on English assignments than they do on any other subject? These are common conundrums and you are not alone! Can composition and literature be documented as two separate credits?My student spends an hour on composition and an hour on literature each day. In answer to this I will tell you that there are some classes that simply take...
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credits documentation english grammar high school homeschool reading Sonlight specialty writing classes standard curriculum writing writing a novel
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Lee Binz

Longer Essay Could Mean Better SAT Score - ABC News

Longer Essay Could Mean Better SAT Score - ABC News
ABC reports the secret to a better score on the SAT:  write more.  It's an interesting theory.  I believe it has merit. My own son knows that his own SAT essay had factual errors. When he left the test, he was so frustrated because he had mixed up his historical characters and cited the wrong president for a particular event.  He knew he had written it wrong.  He was convinced he would receive a poor score. ...
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essay homeschool homeschool high school Sat writing
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Guest — Janet
Reminds me of this old blog entry... http://www.appelrouthtutoring.com/blog/2009/06/01/in-praise-of-folly-writing-the-sat-essay/... Read More
Thursday, 09 December 2010 09:14
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Lee Binz

Course Descriptions for Fun Stuff

Course Descriptions for Fun Stuff
I often get questions about how to create real classes for unusual interests like writing music for movies.  How do you create classes for fun?  More importantly, how do you write a boring course description about fascinating non-classroom learning? My Gold Care Club member asked for me to look over her course descriptions.  When I saw this one, I flipped!  This is just WONDERFUL, and a great example of how to take a student's interest and...
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homeschool music writing
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Guest — Heidi
I'm so glad I came across this course description. This is what my 9th grader would like to do. He has the chance to go to a wee... Read More
Tuesday, 11 March 2014 04:21
Guest — Assistant to The HomeScholar
Lee is always happy to help, Heidi! Robin Assistant to The HomeScholar
Tuesday, 11 March 2014 10:26
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Lee Binz

Online English Class Ideas

Online English Class Ideas
Math and science may scare some people, but I was intimidated by English. I think math and science are wonderful, because there is always a right answer and wrong answer. Unfortunately, English isn't that way. English can be very difficult to teach and difficult to correct. How do you know writing is "right" or "wrong" when it could be just the voice of the writer? I finally decided that my job as a homeschool parent was...
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Guest — Mikki
My daughter has been using One Year Adventure Novel now for the past two years. It has been perfect for her, and one of the best ... Read More
Tuesday, 22 November 2011 11:41
Guest — Tweets that mention How #homeschool parents can help your children become better writers - #homeschool -- Topsy.com
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Amanda Werner, Lee Binz. Lee Binz said: How #homeschool parents can help your children... Read More
Thursday, 12 August 2010 05:38
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Lee Binz

Does the SAT Have Analogies?

Does the SAT Have Analogies?
Do you remember the dreaded analogies in high school?  Here are some examples from our past: Cat is to meow as dog is to bark Poverty is to wealth as hunger is to food. Designed to encourage critical thinking, analogies used to be included in the SAT test. But wait!  Analogies aren't on the test anymore!  For the past few years, the SAT has eliminated all analogies, and has something even MORE fun instead!  When they...
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Guest — Evie Coleman
The elimination of analogies from SAT is welcomed, indeed! I know that it develops important skills, but I never did take to them.... Read More
Monday, 27 September 2010 02:26
Guest — J W
Ooo! Love analogies - thanks for the link! Chicken is to grasshopper as dog is to... 1) broccoli 2) cat 3) disgusting stuff Fla... Read More
Friday, 06 August 2010 21:29
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Lee Binz

Compensate For Learning Challenges

Compensate For Learning Challenges
In a school setting, children are often given an accommodation for their learning challenges.  In the adult world, people learn to compensate for their weaknesses all the time.  If you have a child that struggles with writing, you can help them learn to compensate as well. Dragon Naturally Speaking is speech-recognition software.  In a nutshell, you  speak into a microphone and the Dragon Naturally Speaking program will type it for you.  It says "users the power...
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Guest — Karen Cohen
My son's finishing up his freshman year away at college. He has great writing skills, coming up with great ideas for essays and ... Read More
Wednesday, 30 April 2014 10:51
Guest — Assistant to The HomeScholar
Karen, You gave your son very loving, practical tools to help him thrive in his college life! Well done! Robin Assistant to The ... Read More
Wednesday, 30 April 2014 10:55
Guest — Marie
On any Macintosh laptop you can press the function key twice and it automatically translates your speech to text. This has worked ... Read More
Wednesday, 25 September 2013 07:28
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Lee Binz

Homeschool Curriculum - Too Many Choices!

Homeschool Curriculum - Too Many Choices!
One mom asked me a simple question:  what should she use for writing instruction.  She asked about some specific programs, so I asked her if she had purchased anything.  She owned Sonlight Language Arts, Write Shop, Write at Home, and Institute for Excellence in Writing.  "Which one is the best?" she asked. Here is the problem:  too many great options.  All of these programs are well-reviewed, and I have heard great reports (and some negative reports)...
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choices Choose Homeschnool Homeschoolers Curriculum options writing
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Guest — Lisa
We're using Jump In this year with both our boys, and so far it's going well.
Monday, 21 September 2009 19:45
Guest — Kerry
We LOVE Time4Writing online writing courses. My son adores getting feedback on his writing from someone else other than just "mom... Read More
Monday, 21 September 2009 06:09
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Lee Binz

FREE Homeschooling High School Resource!

FREE Homeschooling High School Resource!
How do you teach writing a quick essay like the one on the SAT?  I like "501 Writing Prompts" by Learning Express.  It's short, inexpensive, concise - perfect for my family!  Thanks to a tip from a reader, I have found out that the book is available FREE for a short time!  (This book is no longer available.  Please find it on Amazon for under $10 here.)I want to encourage you to grab this free e-book while it...
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Guest — Autumn Donaldson
Check your library's resource section (not their actual physical resources, but their online resources) - they often have free tes... Read More
Tuesday, 23 October 2012 10:30
Guest — Lisa
Thanks for the link. I saved a copy today.
Thursday, 19 March 2009 17:00
Guest — Lee
Thanks, Donna! I got so excited about it, I could hardly believe it! Blessings, Lee
Thursday, 19 March 2009 13:47
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Lee Binz

Plagiarism Primer for Parents

Plagiarism Primer for Parents
One great way to instruct your children about the dangers of plagiarism is to have them do a short research paper on the topic.  I encourage you to have them research plagiarism online, and then write a one page report on what they learn.  It's not hard to learn enough about plagiarism in a short amount of time, and just taking a short time to do a little research is often all you need.For parents, I...
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cheating college homeschool lying parents plagiarism teens writing
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Guest — Lee
Wow, Joelle! So people actually make a PROFIT from cheaters???? That's pretty low.... I've seen some documentaries about how th... Read More
Saturday, 10 January 2009 16:41
Guest — J W
Yeah, I've been aware of the problem early on because I graduated college a few years before UseNet and bulletin boards were repla... Read More
Saturday, 10 January 2009 11:00
Guest — Lee
Thanks, Christy! Blessings, Lee
Saturday, 10 January 2009 06:43
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Lee Binz

Christmas School!

Christmas School!
When our kids were in high school, we cut WAY back during December.  We just did the very CORE subjects, doing just the things that needed to be done in order to make progress during the year.  That means we worked on math and foreign language every day, mostly. They loved reading, so nothing I could do would make them stop reading their beloved books.  It was fun for them.The entire month of December we did...
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Christmas core December homeschool math reading school subjects writing
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Guest — J W
I joke about changing the name of our homeschool to "Foul Weather Academy" because of our propensity to goof off on sunny days and... Read More
Friday, 05 December 2008 15:04
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Lee Binz

How Much Should My Homeschooler Write in High School?

How Much Should My Homeschooler Write in High School?
Ann emailed me to clarify her email address for my newsletter, and asked this question for my blog:As long as I'm writing, how many papers do you think a 10th grader and 12th grader should be writing in English? We were signed up with (an online program) and they required 24 plus a term paper. I'm trying to do it on my own this year, and I have no idea what is a typical number of...
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high school homeschool length papers requirements writing
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Guest — J W
Believe me, I told her that her writing is a gift, and I told her not to change! It's just that 6 paragraphs takes longer to edit... Read More
Thursday, 04 December 2008 17:14
Guest — Lee
Hi Joelle, First of all, I have REALLY missed you at church, and really REALLY missed you at choir! Secondly, surely you know th... Read More
Wednesday, 03 December 2008 20:13
Guest — J W
And how do you get a child to quit writing 6 paragraphs when one will suffice? ;-) That's our brand of "annoyance" (see http://w... Read More
Wednesday, 03 December 2008 19:56
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Lee Binz

Oh! The Places You'll Go!

Oh! The Places You'll Go!
Niki asks:We plan to take the kids and travel for the better part of the year.  I am concerned about "losing" this academic year and falling behind, especially in math and science.  Do you have any suggestions or advice for us regarding planning for that year and/or using the natural learning opportunities that come up that year and creatively including them in a transcript?I don't think you can prevent a child from learning.  Just traveling will...
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homeschooling journal math success travel unschool writing
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Guest — J W
I recently read a book called "One Year Off: Leaving It All Behind for a Round-the-World Tour With Our Children" by David Cohen. ... Read More
Wednesday, 12 November 2008 07:23
Guest — J W
Ooooooo, I'm soooooo jealous! If there's one thing my challenged kinesthetic/experiential learner says about how she wants to lea... Read More
Wednesday, 12 November 2008 07:10
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  2 Comments

More Encouraging Posts

  • Keeping Academic Records After Homeschool Graduation

    Parents need to keep the academic  records for their teens after  graduation . They may be needed for further education in 5 years.... or 10 years... or 30 years after the children have left the nest. Graduates may need a transcript for a job in the future, or some have even found they need course descriptions. Somewhere, somehow, you need to keep academic 

    … Read More

  • What Is The Correct Math Sequence in High School?

    So, a question many high school homeschool families ask when planning to teach math is, "what is the order of math classes in high school?" Questions may be as specific as "is geometry higher than algebra 2?" , "what comes after algebra 2?" , or "what grade do you take geometry?" For most students, what comes first doesn't matter. The most important thing

    …     Read More

  • Driven Crazy by Homeschool Drivers Ed

     If you're a homeschool family and have a teen in the house, I'm certain that you've probably had the dreaded discussion ... "When can I learn to drive?" 

    I remember when I was homeschooling and started thinking about homeschool drivers ed. Sometimes I'd get hung up on ONE small issue that would drive me completely BATTY! I remember wishing for ANYONE

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  • November Homeschool Calendar Reminders

    Happy fall! Here are some handy November homeschool calendar reminders for you!

    homeschool calendar reminders
    • Middle School: Encouraging reading can be a fun way to help children love learning and prepare for high school. 7 Ways to Encourage Reading in Middle School
    • Freshmen: Focus on the core: reading, writing, math, science and history. Quality education is the best preparation for college and for admission
    … Read More
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    Lee has three core beliefs about homeschooling: homeschooling provides the best possible learning environment; every child deserves a college-prep education whether or not they choose to go to college, and parents are capable of providing a superior education to their children. Lee does not judge your homeschool or evaluate your children. Instead, she comes alongside to help and encourage parents homeschooling high school.

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