Article Library
Welcome to CHEA’s ever-growing library of useful and encouraging information. Make a date with yourself to come back and enjoy news and refreshing articles.
Preschool
Slaving Away?
by Rebecca Kocsis How well I remember those days of caring for small children and homeschooling, too. I remember collapsing on the sofa after we put the kids to bed and not being able to move. I...
Preschoolers and Worksheets by Debbie Feely
Picture the typical preschool worksheet, numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, arranged across from drawings of grouped objects. These worksheets are available by the dozens, free online or in purchased...
What to Do With Baby? by Susan K. Stewart
Just an ordinary day. Just an ordinary homeschool day. Everyone sitting quietly around the dining table working on math, English, or science. Our toddler sitting quietly on the floor playing with...
Toddler and Preschool Learning Tools by Susan K. Stewart
My husband would say that little ones are like geese. They wake up in a new world everyday. For toddlers and preschoolers, each day brings new adventures and new lessons to learn. Young children...
Wake Up & Smell the Crayons By Susan K. Stewart
In the past two or three years I’ve been asked a new question so often that it is beginning to rival “What about socialization?” The new question is “What pre-school (or kindergarten) curriculum...
Preschool: At What Cost? by Susan K. Stewart
“Does she go to preschool?” the nurse asked about our three-year-old granddaughter. When our reply was no, she looked as though she didn’t know how to respond. Bob explained as long as our...
What Do I Do With My Child Before Kindergarten? By Debbie Feely
This is an excerpt from "Preschool At Home" As the new generation of Christian homeschooling parents, you face as great an obstacle as we who came into the movement 20 years ago. Homeschooling is...
Priorities for Preschool by Debbie Feely
In the years our sons were preschool age, we heard Dr. James Dobson discuss A Checklist for Spiritual Training, from his book Straight Talk to Dads. One particular thought caught our ears. He asked,...
The Ages & Stages of Two to Four Year Olds
Picture a scraggly bearded, ratty clothed castaway standing on the shore of a deserted island. Now picture a fun-in-the-sun family standing in the water just in front of the marooned survivor....
Ready for Kindergarten By Debbie Feely
How does a parent know if her child is ready for kindergarten? Pressure to excel academically at a very young age is cyclical as the culture flows from one extreme to another in educational...
Elementary
Stepping into the Classroom of Creation by Roxanne Weber
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge” (Psalm 19:1-2 NIV). Why is it that...
Making Math the Favorite Subject By Bethany Bennett
Finishing up with one customer, another asked me where CalcuLadder was. I pointed to a shelf above eye level and wondered why anyone would use it. It seemed a lot of money to pay for math drill...
A Spelling Tip or Two By Bethany Bennett
When I started homeschooling, it hadn't dawned on me I would actually have to teach spelling. If you read well, shouldn't you be able to spell well? That's the way it worked for me. Having to teach...
Continue Reading for Pleasure, Progress, and Principles By Bethany Bennett
Though I didn’t particularly enjoy teaching reading, the success of hearing my child read is a great milestone in my homeschooling. Reading, reading, reading to your child before he can read for...
Vocabulary: To Teach or Not to Teach By Bethany Bennett
Trying to keep up with my eight-year-old friend Alexa’s rapid fire recollection of her science experiment was a mental challenge. She was so excited about the hands-on experience she’d had with a...
But I’m Not a Teacher!
by Penny Ross “But I’m just a mom! I’m not a teacher! Won’t I fail my child?” This is one of the most common fears I hear voiced by parents considering homeschooling. We are accustomed to the world...
Summer Unit Study: Shark Week
by Katie Julius [Editor’s Note: This post is part of a series of unit study topics we are sharing over the course of the summer. Whether you take a few weeks, a few months, or no break at all this...
Jr./Sr. High
Teaching Your High Schooler to Write by Denise Boiko
Classic writer's block is that crippling paralysis that strikes when we're expected to come up with eloquent, edifying words—typically, under a time limit. But a different kind of writer's block can...
Ace the SAT Monster by Jean Burk
Yes, that’s the dreaded standardized test that most students bomb—even really smart ones. Colleges not only use it for entrance exams but also scholarships—the higher the score, the bigger the...
Most Likely to Make a Million by Karen D. Koch
Homeschooling through high school is looming large before me. How did it get here so fast? Just the other day Mitchell was wearing diapers, drawing rockets with crayons, and sleeping with a stuffed...
High School Students with Hearts Toward Christ by Bret Welshymer
A homeschooling mother recently shared a story about her 17-year-old son who had a job stocking grocery shelves. Within a few months of starting his job, he was awarded two promotions. Sadly, this...
Discipleship 101 By Mary Schofield
The first step to starting high school is to consider high school graduation. That’s right, you have to plan the graduation before you even start ninth grade. If your student is enrolled in a...
Teach Your Teens to Think Biblically Using Research, Reason, Relate, and Record By Mary Schofield
All Christian parents hope their children will grow up to be strong in the Lord, not only trusting Christ for their salvation, but also becoming mature Christian leaders. This requires that they...
Sharpen Those #2 Pencils: Preparing for the SAT Exam by Denise Boiko
Whether homeschooled or traditionally schooled, high school students have one thing in common: their dread of college entrance exams. Homeschooling parents, too, may be intimidated.To begin with,...
But I’m Not a Teacher!
by Penny Ross “But I’m just a mom! I’m not a teacher! Won’t I fail my child?” This is one of the most common fears I hear voiced by parents considering homeschooling. We are accustomed to the world...
Homeschool Myth-Busting: High School Edition
by Penny Ross As grade 9 drew near for my oldest child, I was quite concerned that it would be too difficult and time-consuming to homeschool high school. I worried that I would be doing my kids a...
Preparing for the Teen Years
by Durenda Wilson [Editor’s Note: We are looking forward to having Durenda join us as a Featured Speaker at CHEA’s Parenting & Homeschool Conference, May 9-11, 2024 in La Mirada. This is just a...
New Additions
Project Guys and Building Relationships by Phil Downer
In my experience, men have a tendency to fall into two categories: people guys or project guys. Either we like people and don't care much for projects, or we love working on projects and find people...
Spelling and Grammar and Latin, Oh My by Barbara Beers
Probably the most frequent lament of homeschool parents over the past three decades centers on teaching their children to spell as well as they read. What begins enthusiastically in kindergarten...
Math Facts: Are They Really Important? by Julie Kotoff
Does the thought of teaching math to your children send shivers of fear down your spine? Do you have this reaction because you weren’t very good at math yourself in school? I am amazed at the...
Around the Year in 93 Newberys by Karen Koch
I read a lot in 2014.Each year I compile a list of all the books I read. I usually prepare a fresh sheet of paper and label it with the current year at the top on January 1. Then as I read books, I...
Choosing a Group for Your Special Family
Sometimes it can seem frightening to look for a support system among strangers. You may worry about how you and your special family will be accepted. Many homeschool groups don’t have special...
Finding a Homeschool Group
(Excerpt from An Introduction to Home Education) With so many homeschool groups available, finding one that is right for your family will take some research. You may want to consider the following...
For Dads
Four Simple Goals By J. Michael Smith
At graduation services I share four simple goals for success. The first time I shared these concepts with an audience I could not believe the response. After the graduation, parents came up to me,...
Preparing Our Sons to Serve by Dr. Voddie Baucham
I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.—Mark TwainThere is an epidemic of mediocre, prayer-less, visionless, immoral, irresponsible men in our culture. And if we continue to...
Raising Men by Kevin Swanson
I think my son is turning into a man. Finally. (Big sigh.) Just yesterday, for the first time, he drove solo into Parker from our home here in Elbert County, Colorado. Of course, Brenda and I were...
Sun Rises and Sets with You by Rick Boyer
It hangs on my office wall, a simple wooden plaque not as long or as wide as the lid of a shoebox. My desk is parked against that wall and the plaque is roughly centered, right at eye level. I see...
Savor the Season by Rick Boyer
In my experience, men have a tendency to fall into two categories: people guys or project guys. Either we like people and don't care much for projects, or we love working on projects and find people...
Encouragement and Inspirations
6 Ways to Celebrate the New School Year
By Elise Hamel Ahh, back to school time! For many homeschool parents it can feel overwhelming. It can be daunting to help our kids get back into a new routine after a more relaxed summer. But...
Praying Through the Homeschool Years By JulieBeth Lamb
Originallly published in the Oakdale Homeschool Support Group Newsletter, May 2003 Prayer is about the most important part of the Christian homeschooler's life. It is what keeps us focusing on God...
Is My Child Over-Socialized By Mavis Irwin
Anybody who has ever told someone that they homeschool their children knows that the inevitable question to be asked is: "What about socialization?" You know with that look of horror in their eyes...
Encouraged, Excited, Energized By Rebekah Stemm
I had a dream that my kindergartener was getting beat up on the playground at her public school. In my dream, I went to talk to three of the authorities whom I knew personally in real life. Being...
Living a Legacy By Mercy Hope
We live in a society that has effectively persuaded the majority of parents that forfeiting ones personal comfort and "freedom" for the purpose of training their own children is too great a...
The Homeschool Housewife Gets Some Sleep … NOT! by Susan Kemmerer
If you are one of those blessed women who are able to sleep through the night with nary a break in your restful repose, feel free to skip this article. This is addressed to those poor brave souls (I...
Time to De-Fragment Mommy by Karen Koch
My laptop computer has been sluggish lately — running slowly, working inefficiently, locking up doing basic functions. In light of this concern, Saturday morning I snuggled in with my laptop, my...
Eleven Reasons to Keep Homeschooling by Karen Koch
Let’s face it. Homeschooling is often hard work and sometimes discouraging because we’re stuck in the ruts and can’t envision the end results. As we near the halfway mark in the traditional school...
Weathering a Homeschool Storm by Norm Wakefield
Do you sometimes feel like a Category Five homeschool hurricane is going to obliterate your faith and smash it upon the rocks? As parents and leaders of your family, your faith in God sets the...
Other Tips and Topics
9 Helpful Apps for the Homeschool Mom
by Elise Hamel If we’re being honest, our phones and devices can often be a distraction or an escape from the responsibilities of homeschooling and family life. There are many pitfalls to relying...
The Homeschool Mom’s “To-Don’t” List
by Julie Froisland As busy homeschool moms, we have plenty of “to-do” lists as we balance homeschooling with “life stuff.” After homeschooling for almost 20 years, I’ve come to realize that as many...
Peaceful Preparations
by Katie Julius September looms. First day of school photos fill your social media feed. School supplies have been picked over in the stores. You feel behind. You feel unprepared. You feel...
6 Ways to Celebrate the New School Year
By Elise Hamel Ahh, back to school time! For many homeschool parents it can feel overwhelming. It can be daunting to help our kids get back into a new routine after a more relaxed summer. But...
A Homeschool Mom’s Back to School Shopping List
by Katie Julius I love this time of year. The store shelves are filled with rows of new school supplies – from a rainbow of three-ring binders to boxes of brand new, unbroken crayons to clean, crisp...
Homeschool Myth-Busting: PSA Revisited
by Katie Julius Those of you longtime homeschoolers may be reading the title of this blog quizzically since traditionally, we don’t really start talking about the Private School Affidavit (or PSA)...
God’s Homeschooling Tapestry: A Memoir By Susan Beatty
This article was first printed in the Summer 2007 issue of The California Parent Educator magazine on the occasion of CHEA's 25th anniversary.I didn't see it coming.One is seldom privy to a...
Prayer Partners
CHEA's ministry rests on a foundation of prayer. The tenth of each month is CHEA's day of prayer for homeschoolers in California, group leaders (local and state), and CHEA's ministry to all...
Homeschool History By Susan K. Stewart
"Children at risk." "Students hunted down." "Parents arrested and jailed." Sounds like headlines about a third-world country or a secretive cult. They are not. These are headlines about home...
If We Don’t Remember, We Forget By Gregg Harris
One of my family’s favorite films is one called Avalon, made in 1990 by director Barry Levinson. It tells a beautiful story about how easily the next generation can be lost. Sam Krichinsky (played...
Microscopes, the Bible, and Real Science: Why a modern microscopist believes the Bible to be God’s Word.
by Mark Armitage, M.S., Ed.S., Creation Research Society It is often said that the Bible is not a book about science. Skeptics maintain that it contains no scientific facts within its pages....
The Shelving of Classic Books By Sarah Schwab
In the late twentieth century, there was a move to replace classic western literature used in most schools and universities with a more diverse reading curriculum. The new curriculum would place an...
Going Fun Places to Learn by Susan Peterson
“This subject is sooo boring.” “School is not fun.” “I don’t get anything out of just reading about it.” These and numerous other comments like them are what we homeschoolers hear so often, but we...
Re-Discovering Your Hometown by Karen Koch
I chuckled while watching Pixar’s Wall-E with my kids the other day when the captain and other characters said incredulously, “I didn’t know we had a pool” and “We have a jogging track?” Apparently...
Child Training and Parenting Skills
Grow Where You’re Planted: Teaching Kids to Use Talents Wisely
by Megan Mora Fuentes, HEAV There are a lot of resources available to help you identify and nurture your children’s talents, but what about teaching them how they can use their skills within their...
An Unexpected Blessing
by Rebecca Kocsis It was just an ordinary park day; one of dozens that we had attended since we started homeschooling. The children enjoyed a few...
Preschool Prerequisites
by Rebecca Kocsis I was sitting quietly with my husband before church. The wife of one of our pastors introduced me to a friend who was planning to homeschool. She hoped that I could help her friend...
Mission Accomplished, but Game Not Over By Julie Walker
My husband and I, even when we were dating, spoke of homeschooling our children. Now, over 25 years and three sons later, our youngest is a freshman in college. Game over. We did it; all three boys...
Of Seasons, Gardens and Rocks By Eileen Shaffer
Hooray for spring! The roses are finally budding with the coming of warmer weather. "Purple wallflower bushes" cheerful pansies and bright impatiens form a kaleidoscope of color against the backdrop...
Encouraging Homemaking through Stories by Angela Mills
A few days ago, I told my seven year old that we would be skipping school to do a day of chores. “Yes!” she exclaimed. “I can help you like Laura and Ma!” She then proceeded to don her fanciest...
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