Depending on the diploma you are going to receive, you may have to take two courses of a foreign language. Spanish is the most common choice for these types of programs, though other languages are available at some schools.

Math is another of the online high school courses that you will have to take. Algebra, pre algebra and geometry are common. You can also take other math courses like trigonometry and calculus. You will find that these courses are easier than you may remember from your high school days.

Another required course is English. You must take four separate classes of English. You will also probably have to take courses in literature, as a complement to the English.

Also, think about other online high school courses like physical science and biology, as well as other math classes and electives. Many students are pleasantly surprised to learn that these courses are actually quite easy to pass. Visit ContinentalAcademy.com to learn more about these.

As believers we are exhorted to be good stewards of our time and resources. Your local public library and/or the Christian school library associated with your home school group are excellent ways to be in God’s will when it comes to stewardship. Libraries offer internet access for research, computer learning games, books, magazines, reference materials, DVDs, CDs, tutoring, special monthly activities, and so much more.

In my four years as a Christian school Librarian, I was amazed to see how little the resources we offered were actually used. I would get so excited when acquiring new materials and my elation would diminish when the students did not respond with the same enthusiasm.

So, how can we get our children excited about the library and all the treasures awaiting discovery? Here are some ways to spark their interest:

1. Make the library a regularly planned part of your home school routine. Using the library should be something your home schoolers anticipate as an exciting part of their week. Schedule weekly trips to exchange reading materials, to develop research and study skills, to use the online resources, to provide volunteer services, to work on a unit study or project, and/or to participate in a weekly library calendar item.

2. Know your librarian. According to Creative Homeschooling: A Resource Guide for Smart Families, “A home school family’s best friend is a good librarian.” (p.208) The Guide goes on to recommend developing a working relationship with the local librarian so that your children feel comfortable asking questions. Librarians are experts in the field of information. It is a science to organize information in a way that is most understandable and accessible to the user.

3. Plan to give back. Libraries need volunteers for various duties including: shelving books, leading book discussions, straightening, assisting new computer users, and reading to young children. The library is a great place for home school families to serve side-by-side.

4. Periodicals. There are many publications we as home school families will not afford ourselves at home. The library has tons! Plan a monthly library trip to peruse the magazine rack or assign a report based on current events best found in the newspaper. There are a variety of newspapers and journals, daily, weekly, and monthly, that your students can use to develop their research skills.

5. A change of scenery. Home school can get monotonous at times. Children are dynamic creatures with many interests. When the schoolhouse is your living room or your dining room table, boredom can creep in if we are not careful. The library provides another environment both literally and, within books, fictionally. It is a great place to feed their minds and stimulate their education outside of the four walls of your home. In addition, books introduce us to people and places we’ve never known before.

Plan some time at your local library. It’s a guaranteed learning adventure!

Teachers, and for that matter all school districts, need to begin to integrate technology into all classrooms and this article will tell you how.

Computer education for teachers should not be that big of a deal because all teachers who have just began probably already know how to integrate technology into the classrooms, so you should only have to teach those who have been teaching for awhile.

How do you integrate technology into your classrooms though? That is the question all teachers are asking and here is the answer. Research is the number one thing students use the internet for. Many school libraries and even some public libraries do not provide students with the information they need on certain topics but the internet will almost always have the information they need. The only problem with this is the quality of the information but teachers are able to check on that by looking at the foot notes of the article to see where the information came from.

Many schools are now having students take tests on a sheet called a Scantron or other forms of it. A Scantron is a sheet where you have 50 questions on each side, a total of 100 questions, and are given multiple choice questions A-E. The teacher will hand you a Scantron which is where you answer the questions and a test sheet, the Scantron is only a sheet where you bubble in either A-E. The teacher then puts the answers in a computer and a special machine reads the Scantron and automatically grades the test off of the answers the teacher put into the computer.

Besides research and test taking there are many other ways to integrate computers into your teaching. There are now projection screens that allow you to write on them turning them basically into a white board. You are able to watch movies on the white board, stop the movie, and draw over the movie. This is very helpful for History teachers as it allows them to teach the battles and etc.