Summer opens up an entirely different type of classroom to homeschooled students and their parents. No longer is it required to sit inside a room full of books, paper and pens to learn a lesson. There are many different summer activities that promote learning and growth.

Camping is an excellent way to teach children about the world they live in. It is also a good way to teach history. Comparing the way people lived one hundred years ago to the way we live now is definitely an eye opener. Surviving a weekend or one night at a campsite with no game system, television or computer is a true life lesson. Instead of sitting in front of a tv or playing video games, children can be taught the different types of trees and plants and what they are used for. Forest plants were used for medicinal purposes before the development of our modern medicines. Cooking on an open fire is a skill that can be used in case of power outages.

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Hiking in

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My kids (14 and 11 years old) have been playing the piano for approximately five years. They have weekly lessons and then we spend the rest of the week arguing over when, how and for how long they are going to practice.

It is a harrowing process and my normally easy going children turn into master negoatiators, quibbling over when they are going to practice and the exact amount of time that they will devote to the exercise. Their favorite technique is to punch in the dreaded number of minutes into the timer on the microwave and then w-a-l-k… v-e-r-y…s-l-o-w-l-y to the piano and do a pre-playing stretch to eat up more timed minutes.

Now is the fun over when they start the actual practice. One time I was out of the room and heard rather odd music, and believe me, I'm using the term loosely. I walked over to see what was going on and was rather stunned to see my then 9-year-old son playing the piano with his foot. Yes, foot. That thing that is at the end of his leg.

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By Deborah At Parenting

I'll be the first to say it: It's time to leave the school bus bullies alone.

In case you've been in detention for the past week, a loathsome foursome of seventh-grade boys are in hot water-well, actually in a one-year suspension from school-after a video of them taunting their bus monitor, Karen Klein, went viral. But as horrible as their behavior was, our reaction as adults is even more troubling. According to one bully-boy's dad, his son has received thousands of death threats.

Plus: VIDEO: Dad Gives 12-Year-Old Public Punishment for Stealing

We all get outraged when we hear about kids whose parents publicly punish them by, say, making them stand in the mall with a sign proclaiming "I SHOPLIFTED." They're just children!, we gasp, as we wonder how evil those parents must be. Yet thanks to the Internet, and viral videos, misbehaving kids are humiliated before millions of people, not just the few passing by on their way to The Pottery Barn. And th

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"I love school." Few phrases sound sweeter. Because when your child thrives in his educational setting, he tends to thrive outside it too. That's why initial signs of trouble (complaints about the teacher, behavior write-ups) can press your panic button. We'll help you handle the toughest start-of-school challenges.

By Mindy Walker

Your child insists his teacher hates him.
If class has been in session for a few days, put a watch on the comment and emphasize the positive. After school, ask, "What was the best thing about class today?" not "Did you like Ms. Gray more?" If the objections continue beyond Week 1, set up an appointment with the teacher to discuss your child's concerns, says Sara Leef, an elementary-school counselor in Brookline, Massachusetts. Yes, this can be a hard topic to broach with an educator because it feels so personal, but left unaddressed, "these feelings tend to grow into bigger issues, which can be harder to resolve down the line," Leef explains. Before you m

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It's summer, and the livin' may be easy, but that doesn't mean it has to be lazy. Not that I have a problem with lazy. I love days with no agenda or goal in mind. But an entire summer? Uh-uh. To me, that's a lost opportunity, especially for kids who are old enough to spend the majority of their year in school.

Summer is that blessed moment when you and your kids are released from the lock-step of the schoolday schedule. It's time to bone up on life skills that get lost under homework and/or after-school activities.










1. Household responsibility
This summer, teach your kids to do something more ambitious than setting the table or emptying the dishwasher. Show them how to cook dinner for the family. Take them through the process of doing the laundry, from hamper-to-folding. Get them pushing the gas-powered mower. Frame it as "move-out skills" they'll be proud to have mastered when they become someone's college roommate.

Related: 7 things you should NEVER say to a child

2. Independent ent

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