Buying Used Home School Curriculum - Mistakes to Avoid

Buying home school curriculum can be expensive. Many people resort to purchasing their curriculum used, which usually works out very well for the buyer and seller. Here are a few warnings to watch out for to make your purchase of used home school curriculum, just what you need:

1. Do your homework - Check eBay and homeschoolclassifieds to see what the going rate is for the book or curriculum you are looking to purchase.

2. Check editions - What edition do you want to purchase? If it doesn't matter, then make sure the books in the set you are purchasing are all the same edition. If you want a particular edition, then make sure you ask questions before buying.

3. If you have any allergies be sure to ask if the books come from a pet-free, smoke-free home. You would hate to start sneezing or coughing every time you opened a used book that you purchased. Even if you don't have allergies, it's usually a good idea to buy a book or curriculum that doesn't smell like animals or smoke.

4. Ask the condition if not stated. Most people state the condition of the book(s) they are selling. If you have any questions about the description or if the description is incomplete - always ask!

5. Complete set - Make sure you ask if all the lessons are in the set if this isn't mentioned in the ad or auction.

6. Set your price. When bidding on an auction for your book or curriculum, make sure you decide ahead of time how much you want to spend. This will keep you from spending more than you want to at the end of the auction when the bidding can get a little crazy.

7. Check the seller's reputation. Make sure you look over any complaints at the site you are purchasing from. On eBay check the seller's feedback ratings and make sure you are dealing with a reputable seller.

Purchasing home school curriculum can be fun and rewarding. I have bought and sold quite a few home school books and have met many wonderful people. Hopefully these tips will help you have a positive experience with purchasing used home school books and curriculum.

Author Info:

For more tips on homeschooling, grab your free report "How to Home school using the Best Resources" at http://www.homeschool-how-to.com Heidi Johnson specializes in helping families find resources to simplify and improve their lives.

Grammar For Writing In College - Is Your Teen Ready?

Your teens drilled on college grammar, did worksheets to identify common grammar mistakes, practiced SAT questions to correct common grammar errors. They have grammar for writing down cold, right?

Possibly.

Standardized "bubble tests" don't test whether students can apply writing conventions like correct spelling and grammar in their own writing. What counts in the college classroom is the students' own writing. No matter how well students do on standardized tests, if they can't write grammatically, they will have a tough time in college.

In 1992, Connors and Lunsford did a study of the most common errors in the writing of college students. The researchers found 20 specific errors accounted for over 91.5% of all the errors in college students' writing. Here, in descending order of frequency, is their list:

1. Missing comma after introductory element

2. Vague pronoun reference

3. Missing comma in compound sentence

4. Wrong word, especially a wrong homonym

5. Missing comma(s) with nonessential (nonrestrictive) element

6. Wrong/missing verb ending

7. Wrong/missing preposition

8. Comma splice

9. Missing/misplaced possessive apostrophe

10. Unnecessary shift in verb tense

11. Unnecessary shift in pronoun

12. Sentence fragment

13. Wrong tense or verb form

14. Lack of subject-verb agreement

15. Missing comma in a series

16. Lack of agreement of pronoun with antecedent

17. Unnecessary comma(s) with restrictive element

18. Fused (run-together) sentences

20. It's/its confusion

Nothing on the list of common grammar mistakes should be above the ability of a sixth grader, should it?

If you can teach your students so throughly that they rarely let an error from that list slip into their writing, you will have equipped them with the grammar for writing required in most college and workplace situations.

Author Info:

Linda Aragoni is a writer, writing teacher, and editor of You-Can-Teach-Writing.com, the guide to enabling students grades 7-12 to become competent writers. Get a free copy of all five articles in the series "Is Your Teen Ready for College Writing? just by signing up for Linda's free monthly ezine by Aug. 1, 2008. Details at http://www.you-can-teach-writing.com/ezine.html

Copyright 2008, Linda Gorton Aragoni. You may reprint this article provided the whole text, the author's name, the links, and this copyright notice remain intact.

Early Reading - Is it Necessary Or Possible?

When you have your first child you may dream of them being a child prodigy who can read when they are 2 years old. While there are some children who read very young, others don't "get it" until they are a little older. Here are some tips you can use to help your child learn to read when the time is right for them.

1. Read to children whatever age they are. This will help them the most in developing language and reading skills. Even when your children learn to read, you should still read to them if they enjoy it. Everyone loves a good story.

2. Two and three year olds aren't ready to sit down and learn letters and writing, but you can do some activities that will help them develop their reading readiness. Children of this age are not able to connect between concrete and abstract. Focus on the spoken word at this point in their lives. Encourage your young child to talk about the story you have just read to them.

3. Children who are four or five years old can show a greater readiness for reading. Teach the child sounds and letters when he is most interested in learning. Keep their curiosity alive and don't worry about how fast they are learning. Use every day activities to help your child understand the concept of letters and writing. Help him learn to write his name. He will be most interested in this word than any other word you can teach him. Then move on to teach him how to write and read words like "Mom", "Dad", and the names of everyone in your family. Give them a sense of wonder of how much they can learn just by being able to read.

When your children learn to read early they certainly have a head start in their journey of learning. If your child doesn't learn to read until they are 8 or 10, as long as you have encouraged them and helped them to progress at their own speed with a little bit of progress each week, you know that they learned to read in their own time.

Author Info:

For more tips on homeschooling, grab your free report "How to Home-school using the Best Resources" at http://www.homeschool-how-to.com Heidi Johnson specializes in helping families find resources to simplify and improve their lives.

Homeschool Writing - 6 Ideas For Getting Your Kids to Write

Getting homeschool students to write can be quite a chore, but it doesn't have to be. Usually getting started is the hardest part. Here are some ideas that can spark your child to write and maybe even enjoy writing:

1. Make an album - Find some old or new pictures and have your child paste them on a page and write a caption or description for each picture so they don't forget who the person is or what they did when they look at it years later. Sometimes baby or toddler pictures can spark your child even more to want to write about what they did.

2. Write letters - Your children can draw pictures and/or write letters to friends or relatives. If they are very reluctant you can write a letter and let the child add a sentence or two or a drawing. These letters can also be to imaginary figures like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.

3. Retell a popular story - Use your child's favorite fairy tale and have the retell the story from a different perspective. If they like little red riding hood, have them tell the story from the point of the wolf.

4. Make Lists (lots of them!) - When you're in the car, ask a child to write down your grocery list as you dictate it to them. When you are going on vacation, have your child make lists of what they need to bring. Make Birthday lists, Christmas lists, favorite book lists, what they want to do this summer lists, and many more.

5. Take Turns Telling a Story - Have each person in the group write a paragraph of a story. One person can start and then pass it on to the next person to add another paragraph until you have gone around the group a couple of times or until you think your story is done. This could provide some hilarious entertainment.

6. Take Turns Writing a Poem - Along the same line, you can adapt the previous example for writing poetry. Each person writes a line of a poem and you keep passing it around until you feel your poem is complete.

Homeschool students can enjoy writing. You might need to be a little more creative with some students than others. Learning to express their ideas can aid them tremendously, especially as they become a teen and then an adult.

Author Info:

For more tips on homeschooling, grab your free report "How to Homeschool using the Best Resources" at http://www.homeschool-how-to.com Heidi Johnson specializes in helping families find resources to simplify and improve their lives.

Catholic Home Schooling Curriculum - How To Help Your Kids Strengthen Their Mental Foundation

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ brings happiness in human lives. The Roman Catholic believes that without him, everything would not be possible; we are all nothing in this world. Only through Jesus Christ we can reach our ultimate potentials including our education.

What are the schools teaching THIS

Today there are schools that are exclusive for those who are member of the Roman Catholic, some also are the Baptist church, and so many more.

There are so many Christian schools, although they are different, but their goal in teaching is the same, they all teach about the divinity of Jesus Christ.

If you choose to study in a Catholic school, part of the curriculum or subject is the Bible study, Christian living, Each student will be assigned in designated area, to preach gospels, retreats, every Friday it is compulsory to attend the Friday mass, this are some of the activities that is part of the curriculum of the school.

What is the mission?

The Vision, Mission, and Goal of the Catholic Home schooling curriculum is to provide an adequate knowledge about Christianity, the center of the subject is all about Jesus Christ.

That every student, while they are young will able to comprehend the purpose of Christ here on Earth, that they will live and practice the good values of Christianity, that they will become an example to their respective community.

In Catholic home schooling curriculum, every subject will be incorporating the values and teaching of Jesus Christ, like for example Science Biology.

Before discussing the subject about human life, the introductory part of the subject is pertaining life Creation or which is called The Creation of the Lord Jesus Christ, mainly focus is the seventh day creation, which is the crucial part of his creation is the human life.

The main objectives of a Catholic home schooling curriculum are to ensure individual understanding knowledge about the purpose of life here on Earth.

Each parents must take part to develop their kids' spiritual aspect that someday somehow they will become a strong person, because right in their early stage, they start to build a life with a strong foundation of Jesus Christ.

Catholic home schooling curriculum is for the parents to facilitate their child in their studies, whether in matters of academic, religious aspect, they must ensure that they're child is heading in the right way.

Author Info:

Eddy Kong is the author of a website called, Catholic Home Schooling Curriculum. This guide will be able to help more parents find alternative solutions to their home schooling methods so as to start the bonding the process. Drop by at his site now for more information.