Category: Home Schooling

Sarah Latimer: Inspiring Family Unity and Heroic Identity- Part 1

We’re preparing to see lots of green, and I don’t mean money. Irish Americans and actually Irish everywhere, as well as many who aren’t Irish but enjoy the celebrations, are gearing up for the annual festivities of St. Patrick’s Day, so “green” items are in all of the stores and either are or soon will be in the ads as well as notices about special events. So, what does this mean for us in the survival community? Well, I was thinking about the ethnic and national pride surrounding this day. On this day those in our communities who we had …


Letter: A Filing Methods For Digital Libraries

Dear Editor: This e-mail is offered as an addition to other discussions in SurvivalBlog of this subject, such as, Preserving a Digital Library. Having messed around with computers since the early 1970s and, having lived through multiple computers on multiple versions of operating systems, I settled on a simple filing system for digital content that I save. As an engineer, I love to invent things but I don’t like reinventing wheels when there are so many about that can be used for my purposes. My filing system is exactly that – a re-purposing of an existing filing system invented in …


Letter Re: Surviving Science

HJL, Your surviving science log reminded me of a high school chemistry class experience. The year before had been physics. That class I aced with no problems. (I had lots of garage experience with levers and such.) However, chemistry was something I couldn’t get my brain “wrapped around”. In chem class we had the typical of the times (1959 to 1961) chem class desks that included flasks of hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and some glycerin for lubricating the glass tubes for going through the rubber stoppers used in various experiments. We had desk partners; mine was a typical …


Surviving Science, by Funtripmom

What happens if you decide to homeschool and you failed science class, not just one science class but practically all of them? On the other hand, what happens if you decide to homeschool and you got an “A” in chemistry, but you never did anything to merit that grade, and therefore you don’t know the first thing about chemistry? That about sums up my science class record. I either didn’t do very well or I passed with flying colors all to the tune of helping the teacher grade papers. At the time I loved it. I thought, “This is grand! …


Letter Re: The Home Library

HJL, I have thought on the topic of the home library and what books it should and should not comprise, at least in terms of there being a set of bookshelves, which all family members have access to and are encouraged to read and use for study, whether one homeschools or not. A Bible and a good concordance thereto top the list, and I believe that the King James Version, in modern type, is generally the best overall. For intensive Scripture study, in fact, I usually print out a Book or chapters from the KJV from a reliable .pdf file. …


Our Founding Fathers Were Right, by a Florida Mom

Our Founding Fathers were right, about education, too. Have you ever wondered how a generation with one-roomed schoolhouses produced so many great thinkers? Have you wondered what types of books were available when Abraham Lincoln studied on his own? Unlike many instructional books today, the educational books our founding fathers used were designed for simplified teaching, and self-teaching. They used McGuffey’s Readers, Harvey’s Grammar, and Ray’s Arithmetic. These were not grade level books; they were progressive level books, and they produced great thinkers who became great men. Pioneers could only pack a few books with their belongings, so they picked …


Letter Re: Surviving Homeschool, by M.

I am always excited to read about others Home-Schooling or “home educating” their children. I am a veteran of home-schooling our four children through high-school (or secondary school, for our international friends). They are all now married with small children of their own, and each have become competent adults with a sober view of the future. When we started, home education was only a few years legal in my state. Before the birth of our first child, we had already met two families of “renegade home schoolers” who were educating their children at home secretly because they were appalled by …


Surviving Homeschool, by M.

As I began this homeschool journey, my expectations and reality have clashed more times than I’d like to count. Being a former teacher, I love to make lesson plans and think of how I can relate a topic or subject to incite excitement and see the light of understanding dawn on the student’s face. I love that part of teaching. (Most teachers do.) However, the daily life of homeschooling was much different than that of a typical school room. My days start when I wake up and don’t end until I go to bed. I am always “ON,” which makes …


Letter Re: Caring for Babies in a Post-Collapse World

Mr. Hugh, I would like to add to the article on caring for babies. My mother-in-love told me that when her daughter was born, she contracted a stomach virus within hours after birth. She survived the virus, but her intestinal tract was very sensitive. The pediatrician put her on a formula of goat’s milk and rice water– water drained from boiled rice. This might work for the baby in your scenario as well. Goat’s milk is an excellent alternative to human milk, and rice is a grain that is very easy on the digestive tracts of infants and elderly folks …


Letter Re: Early Literacy for Children

Dear Mr. Latimer, I would like to reply to SRG’s letter of response to my article, Early Literacy for Children. I wholeheartedly agree with SRG. Neither of my parents went to college, and my stepdad did not finish high school. He proudly served our country in the military, then supported his family (parents, brothers, sister, wife, and three stepdaughters) by working in the coal mines in Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky. The most intelligent person I know never took a college class, and the dumbest person I know was one of my college professors. One of my three children went …


Letter Re: Early Literacy for Children

HJL, I just read C.L.’s blog on early literacy for children, and I couldn’t agree more with the general trend of her commentary. Whether or not a child ever gets post-K12 education, the child, to the best of his or her ability, should be exposed as early as practical to as wide a variety of literature as possible, and not just what is “suggested” by what ever the local school board expects of them. Probably the best investment in personal education is reading anything and everything that can be gotten a hold of, simply to expose a child (a person, …


Early Literacy for Children, by C.L.

I have read many articles on preparing for TEOTWAWKI that deal with valuable information on caring for our needs and those of our family. These have been full of important information and should be noted. However, I feel there is another skill that each of us needs– teaching our young children to read. I am a teacher, and I love being part of a child’s early literacy experiences. I want to share some things that have worked for my own children and my students. Background: I am a Christian wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, and prepper. I have a B.S. in …


Why and How to Navigate the Homeschooling Waters, by Funtripmom

Do you find that the very thought of homeschooling sends shivers down your spine? Does your head start to spin? Are your children so rambunctious that you can’t picture them sitting quietly to read and learn at home without driving you crazy? If so, you are not alone. Many parents feel inadequate, overwhelmed, or just plain too tired to even contemplate the notion of homeschooling. However, these are the same parents that notice the drastic, negative change of our public education in this country, and they feel stuck. Is that you? Well, take a breath, and let me guide you …


Raising Joyful Soldiers: Practical Methods for Teaching Children to be Responsible, Productive Leaders in a Survival Situation – Part 1, by Dr. W

The very first writing prize on this blog was awarded to an article titled “Preparing Your Children”, which explored the mindset and general principles of nurturing our children to become responsible adults who can survive and thrive in a post-collapse setting. This article will guide readers away from the general to the specific, exploring, in detail, easy-to-implement principles and activities that parents can begin to apply now, regardless of their children’s ages and stages, to the nitty-gritty details of raising our children day to day. As a homeschooling family with several children, we aimed to raise our kids to love …


Letter Re: Books For Home Schoolers

I saw your list of recommended reading for young people, especially those being educated at home by their parents. I would like to add my own list. Anything by Stephen W. Meader (1892-1977). Meader published 44 novels in his lifetime. The subjects range from entrepreneurial to adventure to American history. The grammar, vocabulary, and storytelling qualities are first rate. His books are set during difficult times, including the American Revolution, the westward expansion, the War Between the States, and the Great Depression. Characters are mostly young men trying to make a living through common sense, hard work, and persistence. Most …