Homeschooling and the Internet – Blogs

We’re getting close to wrapping up the series on Homeschooling and the Internet.  This particular post is one near and dear to my heart!  It’s also one I hope you’ll give some serious consideration to.

Blogging has exploded in the past 10 years.  There are blogs everywhere on everything.  Homeschooling is no exception.  But, where do blogs fit in with actual homeschooling itself?

Of course, there is the wealth of information out there (like my Homeschooling Mother page) on all the tips and tricks and how-to’s of homeschooling, but can you actually use blogs to teach your children?

Absolutely!

This was a concept introduced to me by my friend, Lynnette.  After she started her own blog, she let her children start one for the sole purpose of giving them a place to practice their writing skills, photography skills, and computer skills in general.

Now, my kiddos had a blog already, but it was just for fun.  Since then, I’ve let my oldest daughter start another blog where she can really work on her writing and photography.

In addition to this, I ran across an excellent tool to help you and your child get started in blogging.  It is from Training Daughters, Teaching Wives and gives guidelines and prompts for blogging.

You can set up free blog accounts at Homeschool Blogger (which uses a WordPress platform) or Blogspot/eBlogger.  Both of these are very simple to use, but have room to grow.  As with everything internet related, you want to have a good grasp on how much time is spent and what exactly they are doing while working on their blog.  Both of these free blog sites allow you to keep your child’s blog private so only you can see it, or public where the children can interact with other young bloggers.

I also think blogging has merit for homeschooling mothers who want to blog their journey.  You can find me over at The Homeschool Classroom today talking about this subject!  So, head on over there and read more about how blogging and homeschooling go hand in hand.

And if you are interested in learning even more about blogging as a homeschooler, check out the 2:1 Conference!  This conference promises to be an amazingly informative and inspirational conference geared specifically to the Christian homeschooling blogger!

Oh, and by the way…

(and I’d love to meet all of you in person!)

Check out the Twitter Party tomorrow night at 9:30 pm EST.  You can follow the chat under the #2_to_1 hashtag.

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Now, for a quick housekeeping note:  Tomorrow’s post is the final one in my Homeschooling & the Internet series.  But, I need your help!  The post will be on Free Sites for Homeschoolers.  I’d like to be able to compile a good list, so be thinking about some of your favorites and leave them in the comments section tomorrow!  Thanks!