I had played tennis once before meeting my husband, who was an avid player, but I really liked the game. Once I had my first child, I took lessons through our adult continuing education program and loved it. I quit when I was six months pregnant with my second child and didn’t take lessons again until my youngest baby was two.
When I got into tennis, I didn’t realize what a blessing it was going to be. There are six reasons I think tennis is a perfect homeschool family hobby that I highly commend to you.
#1 It accommodates all ages
We have been able to involve our kids in the sport from the time they could walk. The youngest kids love to be the ball boy or girl and chase them all over the court.
My husband and I take turns hitting the ball with the older and younger kids and then play doubles with them. We now have enough players that we have to rotate them in.
Even though my son is a college student now, he still loves to play with the family.
When I first started playing in a league, many of the women I was playing with (and who were beating me!) were in their mid-80’s. Tennis is a hobby and sport that we and our children can play our whole lives, God willing.
#2 It’s inexpensive
My husband’s and my personal lessons were very inexpensive through the community college. While indoor court time can be pricey, we play for free outside any time weather permits. We live in Missouri where the weather often allows us to play at least a couple of times even in the dead of winter.
We have also been able to save money in the sport by:
taking advantage of low-priced lessons through our community center
enrolling the kids in group lessons (both homeschool classes and general)
taking advantage of free court time for practice during the day given to families of kids in group lessons
splitting private lessons as a family outdoors
asking skilled friends to give lessons
buying tennis racquet models from previous years
With respect to equipment, you can also save money by buying used racquets from a club or a friend.
#3 It’s portable
Tennis is a hobby you can play almost anywhere. We have played together on most of our vacations. We just bring our racquets and some balls and we’re all set. It helps to break up the time spent at the lake or the beach. Our friends from Spain play and we enjoyed the sport when we vacationed together last year.
Tennis has also been something we’ve traveled to enjoy together. We took in a professional tournament last summer and it was a blast.
#4 It’s fun exercise
Tennis is a great way to get aerobic exercise without even realizing it. You’ll especially notice the workout if you play singles or just hit the ball back and forth rapidly. But anything is better for the family than sitting.
#5 It’s competitive
Most of my kids love to compete and tennis gives them the opportunity. Last summer my four older boys were on two teams together. The practices were at the same time, so my oldest son was able to drive them. He also drove our next oldest son to their matches, leaving us with just one match we had to drive to.
Not every sport is easily accessible to homeschoolers, but for us, tennis has been. My kids haven’t entered junior tournaments as individuals, but the option is open to homeschoolers through junior USTA.
#6 It’s a way to connect with extended family
We have had so much fun playing with my husband’s family on family trips and whenever my husband’s sister comes into town.
The kids’ cousins who aren’t tennis players will also join in the fun. Doubles accommodates the most ability levels. We have a lot of great tennis memories.
Does your homeschool family play tennis? Let’s talk about it on Homeschool Sanity on Facebook.
I wrote about sending my son, who had been homeschooled his whole life, to high school as a junior. It’s hard to believe that was three school years ago.
I know there are many homeschooling parents who have wondered if they should send their children to school, particularly when it comes to high school. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to answer that question for you. I don’t know you, your child, or your school district. Even if I did, I could give you bad advice. What I can do is tell you what I learned from the process and tell you where to go for help in making the decision: God. He knows what is best for your child. He has proven Himself trustworthy to us. I believe He will for you, too.
I share what I’ve learned in case it will be helpful to you.
Public school isn’t always the enemy.
I had heard horror stories and I was terrified. Our local high school’s website said that homeschoolers would have to be interviewed by department heads to determine what grades they would be given for previous coursework. When we met with the guidance counselor, I was prepared for a fight. If the school planned on giving my child anything less than the grades he had earned, I wasn’t willing to enroll him!
We had submitted my son’s transcript and PSAT scores prior to our meeting. The counselor handed us an official transcript with all his courses and grades on it, just as we had reported. I said, “You’re just going to accept his courses and grades?” She said yes. Not only that, but she asked if my son wanted to enter as a senior because he had so many credits. He declined because he wanted to build up an even stronger transcript for college.
I don’t know if my son’s PSAT scores were taken as validation of his coursework or if this is how any homeschooler would be treated. I have heard of other homeschoolers being forced to repeat high school years.
In our case, the public school was our ally, not our enemy.
Public school can be validating.
I have heard the story of poorly prepared homeschool students entering public school and failing socially and academically many times. It’s a popular tale among teachers commenting on homeschooling online. I was worried that teachers would use my son to confirm that narrative.
Instead, my son came home and said that one of his teachers had this conversation with him:
TEACHER: “You were homeschooled right?”
MY SON: “Yes.”
TEACHER: “Your parents have done something right. You’re an excellent student.”
I just wanted to hug the man. It isn’t that I didn’t know that my son is a good student. It’s that I’ve never had my teaching of him praised. It was nice to hear.
My public school stereotypes were wrong.
Even though I went to public school, my views of it have changed as a result of the media and warnings from the homeschool community. I honestly expected a completely out-of-control morass of immorality.
I agreed to help serve lunch to the theater group at the high school. When I walked into the lunch room and saw everyone sitting and talking quietly, I was astonished. When I served the teens lunch and they all thanked me, I was again surprised.
Because my son is extremely social, he has introduced us to dozens of young people he met in the various groups he was in. It’s been a joy to get to know them. Many of them share our faith, which was another surprise. While they have shaken my public school stereotypes, I believe we have given them a non-stereotypical view of homeschooling, too.
My son needed to experience public school.
My son had a much different set of stereotypes about public school than I did. In his mind, public school was filled with cool kids who loved to discuss what they were learning and teachers who all loved to teach. I did my best to relieve him of those stereotypes, but it wasn’t until he went to school that he had a better perspective. He later told me that there were just as many weird kids at public school as in homeschool groups (ha ha), that there were kids in advanced courses who would play video games instead of listen and discuss, and that some of his teachers were just plain awful.
His funniest realization (for me anyway) was this: “I could have learned in two weeks what it took them a whole semester to teach.” Ahem. I told you so.
His saddest realization is that unkindness exists everywhere. As a homeschooled kid at church, his experience was that his friends who weren’t homeschooled tended to ignore him in favor of their schoolmates. I think my son hoped that once he was in school that this wouldn’t happen anymore. It did, in various settings.
I’m so thankful that he was able to learn these lessons while living at home. We had plenty of discussions about what he was learning and experiencing and his dad and I were able to give him guidance. Everything he experienced has also served him well in college.
Conclusions
While I’m thankful for the lessons learned by sending my son to high school, I can’t recommend it to everyone. I still have reservations about sending young people who aren’t strong enough spiritually, academically, or socially to succeed. My next three oldest sons do not want to attend public high school at this time. But if they change their minds or my younger children want to go (and the Lord confirms that decision), I won’t be terrified.
Have you sent your child to public school after homeschooling or are you thinking about it? Let’s chat about it on Homeschool Sanity on Facebook.
Preschool is probably the most fun age to teach. Have you seen the crazy fun ideas for teaching our youngest students on Pinterest? My post about creative ways to occupy preschoolers has been very popular, so I know you have!
The Problem with Preschool
With the collective ideas of homeschool moms and teachers online, creativity isn’t the problem when teaching preschool; organization is! Preschool teaching, activities, and crafts require time to organize. And most moms who have preschoolers just don’t have that time. We get so busy, we put preschool on the back burner. And that’s a shame for our little ones and for us.
There is an Answer
What if all the ideas were organized and the materials were prepared in a 26-week curriculum for your three or four-year-old so you were ready to teach whenever you could find the time? That’s what Encompass Preschool is.
Four days a week there are morning board activities–this is like a bulletin board you create to focus attention on what you’re learning. Everything you’ll want to add to your morning board is ready for you to print. Don’t have a bulletin board? A large piece of cardboard (like those at craft stores for science projects) would work beautifully.
Encompass also includes group activities for siblings or friends, making your preschooler feel like a big kid! My older kids always loved doing preschool games and crafts with their younger siblings.
Workbox activities are also included. Workboxes are like learning kits for little ones. Fortunately, you won’t have to come up with the ideas for these, because Kathy Gossen, the creator of the curriculum, has already done the work for you!
Encompass really does encompass so much. Kathy shares that after completing this curriculum, your preschooler will have developed fine and gross motor skills, music, art, math, Bible, recitation, literacy, and cooking skills. They’ll be ready for kindergarten learning because they will be able to recognize all basic upper and lower case letters, numbers 1-20, basic shapes, colors, time to the half-hour, U.S. coins, write his/her full name, and demonstrate basic reasoning skills. In addition, he/she will have the opportunity to memorize several well-known Bible verses, poems and nursery rhymes that will hopefully have a life-long impact on behavioral development.
I can tell you that my preschoolers didn’t accomplish all that, but I wish they had!
With “over 400 exclusive printables, 3 PowerPoint presentations, editable lesson plans, a detailed scope and sequence, and nearly 300 links to the best supplemental resources found across the web including more free printables, YouTube videos, music downloads, computer games, iPad games, and more,” you would expect to pay a LOT for the convenience and breadth of this preschool curriculum.
That’s why I’m shocked and delighted that it is JUST $10.
After reviewing the quality of these materials and appreciating the incredible value of them, I asked Kathy if I could be an affiliate for Encompass and share it with my readers. I’m so crazy about it, I wish I had a preschooler to use it with!
If you will be teaching a preschooler, don’t miss this opportunity to spend less time preparing for preschool and more time enjoying it. Give yourself and your child the gift of Encompass Preschool.
I have a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, but I don’t see patients and I don’t teach at the university. I gave that up to stay home with my children and homeschool them.
The most stinging criticism I received for that choice was:
“What a waste.”
It wasn’t “what about socialization?” or “how can you possibly teach children at different levels?” or “I would be crazy being home with my kids all day.” It was “Don’t you think you’re wasting your education?” that got to me.
Truth be told, there was a part of me that agreed with those critics. I had accumulated $30,000 in debt for my education. I had also invested ten long, tearful years in school and practice for the privilege of calling myself a clinical psychologist. I could have helped hundreds of people had I continued practicing the past 16 years that I’ve been homeschooling. Yet I chose to pour out my education for the sake of six little people who call me mom and not Dr. Wilson.
I’d like to tell you that I had thoroughly thought through that choice, that I had counted the cost, and that homeschooling was the clear winner in my deliberations, but that isn’t how it happened. Instead I found myself pouring out what I thought was so precious without even fully knowing why. I just knew I had to. I wanted to.
I was like another woman two thousand years ago who was accused of waste.
“While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper,a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked.“This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.” Matthew 26:6-9
I wonder if, like me, this woman ever second-guessed herself. Who could she have helped? What else could she have become if she hadn’t chosen to waste what she had? Jesus answered her question and He answered mine.
“Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me.The poor you will always have with you,but you will not always have me.” Matthew 26:10-11
There will always be people in need of counseling. These poor souls will always be with us. But my children won’t be. My oldest has just finished his first year in college and day after day I think, “I wish I would have taught him this, too.”
When I was counseling, the number one pain point for the people I saw was a disconnect with mom or dad. Mom or dad weren’t there to guide, weren’t there to teach, weren’t there to encourage and the hurt of that carried on for decades. It’s true that I have poured out my education–wasted it even–for the sake of six children I love so much. I never wanted them to sit in a therapist’s office saying, “She was never there for me.” In pouring myself out for my kids, I believe I’ve done a beautiful thing for them and for Christ, to whom I was being obedient. Not every mom is called to homeschool, but I was.
As hard as it was to hear how I was wasting my education when I chose to stay home, I was also so encouraged. At the time I was leaving the Christian practice I was in, a dad with his Ph.D. was joining us. When he learned why I was leaving, he said,
“I’m so proud of you.”
I still get misty thinking of that. More than most, this man understood the sacrifice I was making–the sacrifice I am still making, with no regrets.
And so homeschooling mom who has wasted your education to homeschool your children, I want you to know I’m proud of you, too. What a beautiful thing you’re doing.
I would love to get to know you better at Homeschool Sanity on Facebook.
Let’s face it. Teaching grammar, vocabulary, spelling, handwriting, and composition can take a LOT. OF. TIME.
Even if you love teaching language arts like I do, you don’t have hours and hours to devote to it.
Then there’s the problem of motivating kids. Sure there are a few kids who just can’t wait to get their hands on language arts workbooks, but most kids would rather do chores! Hm. There’s a chore motivator I haven’t tried.
A Quick, Fun Way to Teach Language Arts
Like most of you, I wanted a quick, fun way to teach my kids who range in age. This year mine are in 3rd to 9th grade. I’m happy to report that I found a way!
In less then ten minutes a day, I have seen my children’s language arts skills improve significantly. They remember what they’ve learned, look forward to the lesson, and the curriculum cost me less than $15. Interested? Read on!
I found the book Caught Ya!: Grammar with a Giggle by Jane Bell Kiester on Amazon when I was researching language arts curricula. I was immediately excited about the concept.
Students are told an engaging story typically with one sentence a day. I write the sentence on a white board that they can all see.
I define the new vocabulary word in the sentence and assure them that it is spelled correctly. The students must then write the sentence correctly in their notebooks while I walk around checking their work. If they have made a mistake, I say, “Caught ya!” My kids are very invested in not getting caught as they are writing the sentences with their siblings. When everyone is finished, I ask them to tell me what is wrong with the sentence and we review any spelling errors or grammar rules. Here are some of the benefits of this approach we’ve experienced.
It’s an easy way to correct handwriting problems on the spot. I often make my kids erase improperly formed letters or words that are too close together. And no, I am not being too picky! I only make them correct significant problems.
Handwriting speed increases. The youngers try to keep up with the olders so they can be done. Handwriting speed is very important to a young student’s confidence.
Grammar skills are practically applied. Students who can get every workbook problem correct often can’t translate those skills into editing and writing. Learning where to start a new paragraph is a skill Caught Ya teaches that is rarely learned in workbooks.
The story line and competitive aspect helps students who are less interested in grammar pay attention to it. This has been especially true for my sons. Sometimes they can’t wait to find out who is right about a particular error.
Caught Ya combines the benefits of copywork and editing into one short practice that is more effective than longer workbook lessons.
Are you ready to buy? Wait just a minute.
There are some potential drawbacks to this approach.
The book is written for classroom teachers. A lot of time is spent explaining how to use this approach with a large group of students in and out of class and that doesn’t apply to homeschoolers. I did recommend it to my teacher neighbor, however!
The book assumes you know language arts. The corrected sentences are given to you, but if you don’t know all the rules for why sentences are punctuated in a certain way, for example, you will need to look it up. The fastest way is to use an online query or to turn to an English handbook. You can do this while your kids are writing so you still seem to know what you’re doing. 🙂
The included stories are really long. You are encouraged to write your own stories for your students. I would love to do that, but I just don’t have time. I use the included stories that are designed for a 5-day a week classroom. They move too slowly to complete on our homeschool schedule. I am choosing to just continue the stories into the next school year, but I would also considering editing the stories to shorten them. There are many different Caught Ya books with different stories for different grade levels I would like to try. One of them may be right for you.
Just 10 Minutes? That’s Not Enough!
I agree. Children need lots of time to read and be read to and plenty of time to write as well. What children do not need, in my opinion, is lots of time spent doing boring English drills that kill their interest in the language arts. Caught Ya is a great replacement for language arts workbooks or could be a great supplement for more enriching language arts teaching.
If you like the principles behind Caught Ya, I think you’ll love my upcoming elementary language arts curriculum. Be sure to subscribe to Psychowith6 so you’ll be the first to be notified. If you’d like more ideas for making language arts fun, check out my lists of grammar websites and games and follow me on Pinterest.
Grammar and writing can be a tedious subject to teach. Fortunately, there are so many amazing free games available to make teaching them fun. Until now, you had to Google your heart out to find them. No more! Below is an organized list of FREE grammar games for teaching parts of speech, punctuation, sentences and writing. I’ve described each game so you can decide if it’s for you. Following each section is a Pinterest board including those games. Follow them and be sure to pin this post so you can reference it later.
More Grammar Game Sanity
None of these games are online games. For a great list of online games, instruction, and quizzes for grammar, see The Best Free Grammar Websites. Many of the following games are appropriate for both classroom and homeschool use. I love to use games that require multiple players in our family co-op.
To make prepping many of these games even easier, pick up an Amazon laminator and pouches.
Free Parts of Speech Games
Adverb & Adjectives Game – Players must correctly identify adverbs and adjectives and use them in sentences to keep cards.
Roll, Say, Play Adjective or Adverb Game – Students roll a die and write a word using dry erase marker in the correct column. Winners have the most cards correct.
Spaced Out Adjectives and Adverbs Game – two teams divide into aliens and spaceman. Drawn cards must be identified as adjectives or adverbs. Words modified must be identified as well. Players who draw a planet card lose all their cards.
Students as Props – Three students have either noun, verb, or adjective taped to their foreheads. Other students tape appropriate words to each student.
Word Dominoes – Cards with words and parts of speech on them are played like dominoes.
Word-Eating Whale Game – an empty milk jug is transformed into a whale and is used to eat caps that have verbs on them (and not nouns) in the tub.
Nouns
Basketball Pronoun Game – basketball-themed board game teaching he and she pronouns to young or special needs learners.
Make it Plural! – Students have to give the plural form of nouns in this board game.
Post It Note Noun Hunt – Players find Post It Note nouns and sort them into person, place, and thing categories.
Irregular Plurals Card Game – This game is played like Go Fish. Students ask if the other players have the singular or plural form of the noun to make a match.
Pronoun Word Detective – Includes a matching a board game to teach pronoun identification.
Proper Noun Sit Down, Stand Up – Power Point slides of common or proper nouns are used to have students sit down for common nouns and stand up for proper.
Proper Noun Tic-Tac-Toe – Players must write a proper noun for the listed common noun as their X or O.
Shining Plurals – Players must identify the plural form and can then keep the card. If they draw a string of lights, they have to return their cards to the pile.
What Gets a Capital Letter? – Students use this board game to determine which words should be capitalized and why.
Verbs
Gator Grammar – Players must identify the past, present, or future tense verb to finish the sentence. Drawing a gator results in loss of cards.
Grammar Sandwiches – Can be played as a matching or Go Fish game for irregular verbs.
Phineas and Verb – Students have to use the correct verb tense in this card game based on the Disney show.
The Verb Game – Students compete to write as many unique verbs that can be associated with a place as possible.
Verb Balloon Pop – Students pop balloons that contain paper slips with verbs that must be taped onto the correct tense. This could be a race or just for fun.
Verb Race – Students have to write the correct past tense form on dry erase boards to advance on the game board.
Verb Relay Race – Each leg of the relay uses a different action verb.
Verb Freeze – Students act out verbs like charades.
Verb Vine – Players must make the changes to the verb directed by the game board.
Adjectives
Adjective File Folder Game – Students use picture adjectives to prompt them to give thorough descriptions.
Adjective Game Time Filler – Players answer questions about themselves. They sit down if the adjective doesn’t apply, leaving one winner.
Adverb Sort – Players time themselves as they sort adverbs by the questions they answer.
How Often Adverb Game – Board game in which players must answer personal questions using adverbs of time and frequency.
In the Manner of the Adverb – One player leaves the room. The remaining players draw an adverb and act it out when the missing player returns. The returned player must guess the adverb.
Miming Adverb Game – The student draws a verb and adverb card and acts them out. The remaining players must guess both words and use them in a sentence to describe the student’s action.
Four Corners Sentence Type Game – Students go to one of four corners corresponding to a sentence type. They sit down if the sentence read matches their type.
Interactive Games for Sentence Fragments – Includes Words on Strips of Paper (students try to find someone with an independent clause to go with their dependent clause); Pairs Game (students work in pairs to transform sentence fragments into the best or most humorous sentences); and Song Game (teams compete in determining whether song titles are fragments or sentences).
Musical Papers – Students edit their peers’ papers until the music stops and then they move to the next paper.
Paragraph Mix Up – Cut up a paragraph into sentences and mix them up. Have students race to put them in correct order.
Poof! Sentence Types – Players draw a strip and identify if it’s a sentence or fragment. If correct, they keep the strip. If they draw Poof!, they lose their strips.
Random Words Poem – See which student can include the most dictionary words in a poem that still makes sense.
Snowy Sentences – Features snowman-themed word cards that have to be put in order to form sentences. Could be done as a race.
Tabloids – Students creative a factual news story and a tabloid-type story. Other players guess which is which.
Telephone Oracle – A group writing game with writers answering questions and then attempting to guess the question that goes with the answer.
The Sentence Game – A great family game. Players fold paper over and add sentences or illustrations with funny results.
Type of Sentence Game – Players try to guess whether a declarative sentence is true, answer interrogatives, perform commands, and reply to exclamations.
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
I had played tennis once before meeting my husband, who was an avid player, but I really liked the game. Once I had my first child, I took lessons through our adult continuing education program and loved it. I quit when I was six months pregnant with my second child and didn’t take lessons again until my youngest baby was two.
