Homeschooling High School - An Xbox Education

One of my greatest discoveries was using DVDs to teach my children French. Simply by using the "French Language" option on our "Finding Nemo" DVD, we were able to review our French vocabulary in an incredibly fun way. We quickly expanded to other Disney movies and, when they got older, even into non-animated films. Now I hear that there is ANOTHER great way to study foreign languages -- by playing Xbox games! Did you know that you can play some video games in a foreign language?

John Nordlinger is a senior research manager for Microsoft Research in gaming efforts. He wanted a refresher on his French, so he started playing "EverQuest" -- the multiplayer online role-playing game -- in that language. The strategy worked, Nordlinger said, but he added that researchers don't completely understand why.

"When people play games, there is some sort of state they get into," he said. "Nobody has really studied whether or not the brain is more receptive to learning complex concepts when you're in that state. People assume that is the case."

What a fabulous idea! That would have been a PERFECT fit for my kids! I'm planning on telling Alex the idea today, because he is still taking French in college. He did watch "Finding Nemo" in French to prepare himself for this quarter. I was pleased that he remembered our homeschool strategies. Imagine his delight when he learns that he can study with video games! Just another great "out of the XBox" idea for learning a new language!

A home school education is becoming an increasingly popular choice among a growing number of young children and their parents, and the reasons for this increased popularity are many. Among other things, the options that a child has are many, but there are mostly three reasons that stand out -- the public educational system is not providing the necessary answers, parents want to exercise greater control over the education their children receive, and lastly, an education from home schooling helps to ensure the safety of a child.

Providing a physical education while home schooling is also an essential part of the education of a child and it is actually one of the main challenges faced by parents and families that decide to use a home school program to educate their children. The good news is that it is quite simple to include a good physical education curriculum at home while adhering to an academic schedule and it can also be achieved without making use of any help from other places outside the house.

There are several myths about receiving a classical education through home school. A large part of these myths revolve around the idea that this kind of education is no longer relevant. That often comes from people who mistakenly believe that the world has advanced beyond the need for a classical education. The truth is that the foundation of a classical education is truly valuable no matter what year it is or how technologically advanced the world becomes.

While rewarding your teenagers all the time for the progress the make while schooling them at home may seem like a good strategy, an incentive program of some kind is usually a better idea. It doesn't have to be much of a big deal, but small and useful rewards for any work well done can go a long way towards motivating your children to stay focused. It is especially useful in a classroom situation in which there are no other students competing with one another.