Lesson planning for a larger than average size family can be a bit tricky. This sample planning sheet offers an easy approach to planning out schooling for a large family.

Spiral Academy is dedicated to serving the needs of home school families, primarily in Colorado, who desire the benefits of private school enrollment with minimal oversight over their educational activities. Their sole intent is to lend support for academic excellence that is always conducted in the spirit of religious and cultural tolerance. Religious and political beliefs are not part of Spiral Academy's identity or purpose. Students have an eclectic mix of beliefs, political affiliation, and cultural diversity.

A Beka offers a DVD program for home schools, a traditional parent-directed program, and textbooks and materials.

Most people who have never met a homeschooling family imagine that the kids are socially isolated. But some new research by Brian Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute suggests otherwise. Indeed, Ray's research helps to explain why the number of homeschoolers in America continues to grow. Ray reports the typical homeschooled child is involved in 5.2 social activities outside the home each week. These activities include afternoon and weekend programs with conventionally schooled kids, such as ballet classes, Little League teams, Scout troops, church groups and neighborhood play. They include midday field trips and cooperative learning programs organized by groups of homeschooling families. For example, some Washington, D.C., families run a homeschool drama troupe that performs at a local dinner theater. So, what most distinguishes a homeschooler's social life from that of a conventionally schooled child? Ray says homeschooled children tend to interact more with people of different ages.

Do kids like to be homeschooled? Here are some responses from homeschooled kids, revealing the common and not-so-common benefits for kids when they are home educated.

Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) uses properties listed in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places to enliven history, social studies, geography, civics, and other subjects. TwHP has created a variety of products and activities that help teachers bring historic places into the classroom. Includes a series of lesson plans; guidance on using places to teach; information encouraging educators, historians, preservationists, site interpreters, and others to work together effectively; and professional development publications and training courses.

Sometimes called a sapphire on the plains, John Martin is a peaceful paradise in which people play, birds flock and wildlife roams. The park is close to historic land​marks, yet remote enough to attract year-round nature and recreation lovers to stay and explore. The reservoir provides uncrowded boating, waterskiing, and spectacular conditions for a wide variety of wind water sports. The mild Southeastern Colorado weather provides plenty of great days throughout the year. Anglers​ from shore or boat catch walleye, saugeye, bass, wiper, crappie, perch, and catfish. Many consider the park a birdwatcher's paradise with almost 400 species documented in Bent County. Majestic bald eagles roost here in winter. Threatened and endangered species like the piping plover and the least tern make the park their home for several months each year.

A homeschooling mom travelled 3500 miles cross-country with her son and found educational experiences in some unexpected places. Drives home the point that learning can happen in many different ways and that we cannot always plan how our children will learn.

Colleges and universities frequently ask two questions about home schoolers: (1) Are home schoolers eligible for financial aid without obtaining a GED or passing an ability-to-benefit test? and (2) Can a university admit a student with a home school high school diploma who is under the age of compulsory attendance and still retain its eligibility for federal funding? The answer to both questions is “Yes.” This analysis of the Higher Education Act Amendments of 1998 explains what post-secondary schools could require of home school applicants and how homeschooled students are eligible for financial aid.

If you’ve made the decision to homeschool your children, more than likely, you’ve met resistance from almost everyone who knows and loves you and your children. These lighthearted examples can help you respond.