Category Archives: News

Gatekeeping for a Secular Academic Group One of the complaints some make of SEA Homeschoolers is that we gatekeep when it comes to materials, curriculum, and programs. This complaint is accurate, and the gatekeeping is not going to go away. It takes work to enforce, and we think that work is worth it. Yes, SEA Homeschoolers does gatekeep. We are going to keep gatekeeping, too. Before going further, let me define how SEA Homeschoolers gatekeeps so we are all on the same page. Gatekeeping for our group refers to the practice of disallowing conversations about information and resources that do …

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WE BELIEVE FROM SEA HOMESCHOOLERS WE BELIEVE in the power of education to change the world. WE BELIEVE learning is how we get to be who we want to be in this one wild and precious life. WE BELIEVE all education models should meet the learner where they are and handcraft a journey through learning that centers on the unique intellect, strengths, challenges, and needs of the individual.  WE BELIEVE an evidence-based education is integral to the traits of egalitarianism and compassion, and that those two traits are essential for people to live together in harmony. WE BELIEVE every homeschooling …

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5 Tips that Keep Learners Engaged and Brains FocusedBy Blair Lee, M.S. Homeschoolers are dreamers. We spend months dreaming about what the school year is going to look like for our learners. It is easy to romanticize how it is all going to go academically. There is only one problem standing between our hard work and making our secular homeschool dreams a reality — our children. Don’t they realize how long and hard you worked to make this year perfect? Are you beginning to wonder just what you got yourself into? Or, you might be reading this and patting yourself …

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Handcrafting a Culture of Thinking: Metacognition What are your plans for your secular homeschool curriculum this coming school year? Language arts? Math? Science? History? What learning skills are you planning on having your children work on? Wouldn’t it be great to handcraft a culture of thinking in your home that is personally meaningful for your learners while providing support for a learner-centered education? If you were thinking these skills are something kids will just pick up, think about how many adults you know who have not mastered all the learning skills. By weaving these learning skills into your secular homeschool …

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Handcrafting a Secular Homeschool Curriculum for a Balanced Learner Secular homeschoolers are planners. Have you ever thought about the process you use when doing this planning? Do you think about the subjects you will have your child focus on and what secular homeschool curriculum or online programs you will use? What about how you are going to help your child learn how to learn? Do you plan the specific learning strategies you will deploy to help your child become a lifelong learner? Raising Lifelong Learners Homeschooling parents often say that they want to raise lifelong learners. That is a worthy …

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What is the best secular homeschool curriculum? A common question asked by secular homeschoolers is, “What is the best secular homeschool curriculum?” It is easy to understand why a secular homeschooling parent would ask this. Wouldn’t it be great if there was one well-planned curriculum provider who you could go to for the purchase of all your curriculum needs? Unfortunately, the short answer is that there is no one best secular homeschool curriculum. That doesn’t mean you will not hear from other secular homeschoolers that they have found the latest and greatest secular homeschool curriculum to use with their kids, …

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10 Tips for Secular Homeschooling Deciding to homeschool is a big step. It is a big responsibility to oversee your child’s education. Deciding to secular homeschool can make the job seem even more challenging. However, there are some tried and true tips that can make the job of secular homeschooling much easier. Continue reading to learn more, and if you’re interested in joining the SEA Homeschooling community, join our Facebook group or become a member today! 1. Know why you are choosing a secular homeschool path For most homeschoolers, the How (to do it) takes up most of their time. …

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Vetting Secular Science Curriculum10 Ways to Make Sure Your Science Curriculum IS Secular Phew! You have finally done it. You spent hours, days, and weeks planning the courses and materials you will use for your secular homeschooling during the coming year. Your excitement over planning the best year of homeschooling EVER results in you sharing your plan at a park day or on Facebook. Instead of the expected accolades, you hear from people that your choice for science isn’t secular. Wait… what? The website you purchased the science from didn’t say the science wasn’t secular. Or worse yet, the website …

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Eclectic Academic HomeschoolingOne question we get fairly often is: Is SEA (Secular, Eclectic Academic Homeschooling) an unschooler group or a rigor group? This isn’t an easy question to answer without a specific definition of unschooler. Unschoolers can range in approach from radical unschooler to a child/student-led approach that many radical unschoolers do not consider unschooling. SEA Homeschoolers is an Eclectic Academic Homeschooling Group Instead of focusing on the unschooling/unschooler aspect of this question, I will rewrite it to ask: Is SEA (Secular, Eclectic, Academic) Homeschoolers an academic group or not? That is an easy question to answer. We are an …

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The Symbolism of SEA Homeschoolers New Logo When SEA Homeschoolers founder Blair Lee first saw a radial bar chart, she immediately recognized it as a symbolic representation of many of the philosophical tenets of a learner-centered, journey-focused, handcrafted education. When she shared it with the SEA team, they saw it too! At that point, Blair knew this radial bar chart was the perfect new logo for Secular, Eclectic, Academic Homeschoolers. You might see the symbolism. If you don’t, you will be surprised by everything that Blair saw at just one glance. The New Logo Promotes a Learner-Centered Path The nesting …

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In Celebration of Our Children By Blair Lee I gave birth to my son the day before finals. He was two weeks early, which neither my doctor nor I expected. The only person who thought he would be early was one of my students, a mother of three. Two days before I gave birth, she came up to me and told me she didn’t think I would make it through the weekend. She had been watching the location of my pregnant belly shift throughout the week, and she could just tell. I am glad my student was correct because it …

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Blair Lee will show you how to teach complex and abstract scientific ideas in a way that is both accessible and enjoyable for kids--whether you have a strong science background or you feel intimidated about teaching science. Blair will use a chapter from REAL Science Odyssey Chemistry Level 1 to demonstrate how hands-on labs allow children to understand sophisticated scientific principles and theories through auditory, visual, and tactile experiments and activities. You'll discover why this is the best way to tap into a child's natural way of leaning. Thank you! Here is a downloadable PDF you can use with your …

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“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” Susan Sontag Travel is a big part of our homeschooling journey. When we can, we worldschool. Worldschoolers incorporate travel throughout their children;s journey through learning. My husband and I want our son to be a global citizen. We want him to understand that many different cultures have looked at situations and come up with equally viable answers, one not necessarily better than the other. We want him to experience and appreciate different cultures and this big beautiful planet he lives on. We started traveling with Sean when he was two years …

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As a follow-up to the talk I gave at the SEA Homeschoolers Convention 2018, “Playing School: Bridging Play and Education for Academically-Minded Preschoolers and Kindergarteners,” I would like to share a list of some of the most-loved items in our child-led homeschool. We are eclectic homeschoolers and that definitely shows in this list. All the products on this list have been selected and tested by my kids. Some are updated versions of materials my teens loved when they were little, and others are new additions to our homeschool toolbox as I start this journey again with my youngest. (This post …

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Making through History: Sometimes We Should all Be Uncomfortable I’ve been leading a class that I created called Making Through History for almost two years, and it has been one of the best teaching experiences I have ever had. The class explores history and the humanities through the art and invention that expressed the values and aspirations of people in a specific time and place. These days STEM/STEAM education is all the rage, and we are told that our children can’t be prepared for the future without it. While I agree that technology and science literacy are essential to navigating …

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