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boys

6 Boy Approved Books Which Spark the Love of Reading

May 5, 2024 | 5 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have six boy approved books today. Also, look at my page The Dynamics of How to Homeschool Easily and Smarter for more tips.

Not wanting my boys to be among the boys-who-hate-to-read statistics, it was a challenge in the beginning to keep my boys’ enjoying reading.

I had a LOT to learn about how boys learn.

Sharing these 6 boy approved books which spark the love of learning, I’m hoping that one or more of them will flame that ember to read in your boys.

3 Boy Mom Reading Tips

Now that I have lifelong adult son readers, I know you’ll benefit from these three simple, easy, and tried and true reading tips.

1. Quit thinking like female teachers.

I know, it sounds crazy because homeschool stats reveal that a majority of the teaching is done by moms.

It’s hard to not think like a woman when you are one.

Where am I going with this?

The point is we add to our son’s dislike for reading when we try to use the books we loved as a girl to spark a boy’s interest.

My boys didn’t connect with a lot of the books I loved as a girl.

When I started homeschooling, I felt like I had a diversified reading diet growing up, but it didn’t include a lot of topics boys liked.

6 Boy Approved Books Which SPARK the Love of Reading!! Sharing these 6 boy approved books which spark the love of learning, I'm hoping that one or more of them will flame that ember to read in your boys. CLICK here to look at this short but TRIED and TRUE List!!

Sure, some of the books were the same ones I loved like Where the Red Fern Grows and The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.

But I had to expand what I thought were appropriate topics to read about.

2. The Hero or Heroine Matters.

Although boys love to get lost in a world of fiction too, relating to the hero matters.

It’s hard for boys who are struggling to read to relate to a sentimental girl.

At the time my first son was struggling with a love of reading, unless the girl was mischievous or a tomboy, it wasn’t easy for my boys to understand the sentiment.

Too, a lot of boys, including mine, develop slower.

Their maturity rate is different than girls.

They don’t necessarily see themselves in a place through the eyes of the character, so you have to be sure they do.

Instead of trying to read between the lines, my boys needed to understand the why of a point directly.

Finding a solution to the problem was more paramount than understanding exactly how a character felt.

A story line with male role models no matter the age was a good starting point in helping my sons identify with people who are like them.

3. Boys LOVE Pictures.

Boys are not ready to move away from pictures as fast as girls may be.

Realizing that significant fact, I was so grateful for the Great Illustrated Classics series.

True, some of the pictures are not like the comic books that boys love, but pictures are still pictures to boys.

The size of the print mattered to my first reader too.

The bigger the better in the beginning.

Until he felt comfortable and was hooked on reading, we just kept on reading most of the books from the Great Illustrated Classics series.

I never worried whether the books were abridged or unabridged until I hooked my reader.

Out of all the books I used for my boys to hook them on reading they narrowed down their favorites to these 6 choices to nurture a love for reading.

  1. Where the Red Fern Grows
  2. The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (Great Illustrated Classics)
  3. Invisible Man (Great Illustrated Classics)
  4. Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
  5. Shiloh
  6. Stone Fox

One or more of these books or series should give your boys a taste of boy approved books, but more important they’ll nurture a love of reading.

A book list doesn’t have to be long to work; the book list needs to be focused on what boys can relate to.

I’ll be sharing more book lists that have worked for us through the years.

Does your son have a favorite book or series that worked to fan that tiny ember to a raging love for reading?

6 Boy Approved Books Which SPARK the Love of Reading!! Sharing these 6 boy approved books which spark the love of learning, I'm hoping that one or more of them will flame that ember to read in your boys. CLICK here to look at this short but TRIED and TRUE List!!

You’ll love these other tips:

  • 6 Tricks for the Kid That’s NOT in Love with Reading!
  • How to Transition a Child From Reading to Literature
  • Teaching Homeschooled Boys How to Read – When to Panic!

5 CommentsFiled Under: Homeschool Boys, Homeschool Simply, Reading Lists, Teach Homeschool Language Arts, Teach the Rebel Homeschooler Tagged With: book lists, books, boys, homeschoolreading, livingbooks, reading, teens

High School Homeschool Graduation Invitations Day 3 of 10 Days Planning a Graduation

February 27, 2023 | 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today is Day 3 high school homeschool graduation invitations for the updated 10 days series for planning a homeschool graduation. Also, look at more ideas on my how to homeschool high school page.

You would think it would be easy.

Pick out some homeschool graduation invitations and have them printed or ordered online. What could possibly be hard about that?

High School Homeschool Graduation Invitations Day 3 of 10 Days Planning a Graduation

When it got close to the time of having to pick them out, the do-it-yourself homeschooler in me kicked in. 

The words mattered to me because we have traveled a different road for almost our whole journey.  

Why should I end up with something normal when it matters the most now?

I admit it, tears came with mulling over and searching to find the right words of how I felt deep down. You know not the surface wording we are suppose to say on an invitation.

But words you keep tucked away low down, because if they surface people may think you have lost it.

Planning Homeschool High School Graduation: Invitations – Which Words Matter (Day 3). You would think it would be easy. Pick out some graduation invitations and have them printed or ordered online. What could possibly be hard about that? When it got close to the time of having to pick them out, the do it yourself homeschooler in me kicked in. Why should I end up with something normal when it matters the most now? Click here to get ideas for wording for your homeschool graduate's invitation!

I wanted to express how grateful his father and I were that we had the privilege to homeschool Mr. Senior 2013. I wanted to thank the Creator for the blessing of having him in our life.

Heart Felt Words Meaningful to Your Family

Tears streamed as my hands typed.

Knowing the quiet, dignified demeanor of my son (he doesn’t take after me, must be his father) I knew right away he would be, to say the least uncomfortable by what I had already drafted.

Remember, what I said earlier about this not being just your party? It’s true. Mr. Senior 2013 cared about the details of the party including the invitation wording.

I had always thought because he was a boy, he might leave some of that up to me, but he didn’t.

I think that it is one of the privileges of homeschooling – teaching kids to care and being responsible even about little things.

Front Side of Mr Senior 2013 Homeschool Graduation Invitation | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

So after realizing that much of my wording was way too sentimental for an invitation and that it wasn’t a Thank the Lord invitation for his life, I was able to pick out words that expressed how we felt without scaring away my guests.

Too, by this point you will have decided if you will do a group graduation, which we decided not to. 

We really wanted something private where we dictated the events for the evening.

More Homeschool High School Graduation Planning Resources

  • Start the Planning Day 1.
  • High School Senior Portraits Day 2
  • Invitations Day 3
  • Graduation Menu and Party Venue Day 4
  • Home Graduation Ideas Day 5
  • DIY Decorations Day 6 
  • Table Decoration Ideas Day 7
  • High School Graduation Gift Day 8
  • Free Editable High School Diploma Template Day 9 
  • Graduation Celebration Day 10 

Look at some of these ideas for wording for both individual and group graduations.

Homeschool Graduation Invitations

  • “Join us as we celebrate the homeschool graduation…..”
  • “The Class of 20__ proudly announces the homeschool graduation from (use the name of your school).”
  • “We have accomplished our God-given assignment and proudly announce the homeschool graduation of…”
  • “Mr. & Mrs. You are proud to announce the graduation of …….from their homeschool education.”
  • “With thanks to God for his guidance, the parents of ….. announce the homeschool high school graduation of……”
  • “…….will be receiving his high school diploma from (name your school) Homeschool Program.”
  • “As our final years come to an end, we pause to reflect on the joy and memories. Please join us as _____ celebrates his homeschool high school graduation.”
  • ‘We celebrate the blessing of our homeschool journey by announcing the high school graduation of……”
  • “Please join us in honor of ____’s graduation from (your school name)”
  • “It is with great pride that we announce the graduation of our son………..from ………”
homeschool graduation invitation back side @ Tinas Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Do Save the Date Text or Email

Deciding to do a double-sided card also allowed room for more wording on the back which was important to us.

We were able to express our thankfulness for Mr. Senior 2013 and keep his dignity. Looking above I was able to get in all the details on the card.

Just as a side point to remember, I did send out a save the date email/text way early to my guests.

Especially if you plan a graduation in the summer, you will want to do this way ahead of time even if you don’t have all the details worked out.

I know our friends appreciated the save the date email/text so they could make vacation plans.

Homeschool High School Graduation Invitation Wording

Though saving money was not the main driving point for me preparing his invitation, it was a nice side advantage.

Two ways I have saved money so far, but felt like we were still having a unique experience are:

  • I had 2 photographers. One was not quite so professional where I had more time to devote to the photo shoot. The second one I knew exactly how long I would have him and had a list of photos for him too which I will tell you about in an upcoming post.
  • I designed my own invitations and only paid for printing/envelopes. Even if you don’t have the skill set for creating graphics, a lot of homeschoolers do. It is possible among your local group that you may find a homeschool teen or parent that can do this.

In the end, choosing invitations mattered more than I realized, and I didn’t want to leave the words that mattered most up to a stranger.

High School Homeschool Graduation Invitations Day 3 of 10 Days Planning a Graduation

Whether you homeschool the whole time or a few short years, it is is a treasured time and there is no substitute for expressing your heart.

The other words that I have for my son as his mom stayed where they should be and that is with him.

But those are not the only ways I unexpectedly saved money.

The venue or location to have our graduation was equally important and by accident I stumbled across another way to save money on this part of the planning too.

In my next post on this series, I will give you some tips on how we chose a venue.

More High School Help

  • Homeschooling High School: Curriculum, Credits, and Courses
  • How to Build High School Curriculum Directly From Amazon
  • Best High School Homeschool Curriculum Packages (Accredited and Not Accredited)
  • What You Must Know to Teach High School Unit Studies
  • How to Make A Homeschool High School Transcript & Middle School (Free Editable Form)
  • 3 Free High School Planner Cover Designs
  • 25 Great Homeschool High School Science Curriculum
  • How to Easily Meet the Lab Component of Homeschool High School Science

1 CommentFiled Under: 4. {10 Days of ... Blogging Series}, Graduate a Homeschooler, How To - - -, Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation Tagged With: boys, high school, homeschool highschool, homeschool joy, homeschool joys, homeschoolgraduation, homeschoolhighschool, teens

3 Biggest Problems with Homeschooling an Auditory Learner (And how to solve them)

October 29, 2016 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

3 Biggest Problems with Homeschooling an Auditory Learner (And how to solve them) @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

(Even when Tiny was little, he would have to set things to music to learn.)

Tiny was my first baby I had while homeschooling and I spent many days on the couch with morning sickness when I was pregnant with him. While resting on the couch, I used music to teach my older sons because they were preschoolers. I am convinced that hearing me read books to his brothers and playing music for them while he was in my womb made Tiny an auditory learner.

Homeschooling An Auditory Learner

It didn’t stop there. The Mr. loved carrying each son in his arms; he spent many days and nights with each son on his chest, humming to them directly in their ear. Like me, the Mr. loves all kinds of music, but you wouldn’t want either one of us to sing to you. But we have music at some time in our day.

Do you know to this day Tiny hums while he does his school and while he does other things?  I knew early on that I had a strong auditory learner and it’s not easy to school him when your other kids need quiet as they work.

On top of all that, I am a visual learner and need silence when I work. That wasn’t going to work as I taught Tiny.

Look at a few of the problems I’ve encountered and a tip or two to help you.

Problem One: They need to work with you one-to-one longer in a subject they struggle with. For us, it’s spelling.

The most important thing to remember is that your child advanced as fast as he did (or if he hasn’t) because your voice made all the difference. Your child’s strength is that he needs to listen to learn and if it’s been your voice, you need to be careful to not take that away so fast, like I did.

Don’t be quick to let him work independently on all things even if he is in middle or high school.

I learned this the hard way when I tried to let Tiny do his spelling independently too soon.

With auditory learners, pitch and pause modeled by you are everything whether it comes to spelling or reading.

Because I let Tiny do spelling independently at the same age I did my other two boys, he has struggled with it.

I have had to go back and work with him on it because he got use to the way I called out the spelling words when he was younger.

It made a difference in how he advanced in spelling. Unknowingly, my teaching method for spelling was spot on for his auditory need.

Here is one way I teach spelling to my sons. I call spelling words out by saying the name of the word first and give a definition of it. Pretty normal there.

But animated teacher that I am, then I hold my hand up in the air and bring it to the right side and say the first sound of the word, then I move my hand to the center and say the second sound and then to the left and say the last sound. Each sound is over exaggerated and very clear and distinct.

I taught all of my boys this way to show them how to break words down into sounds or their smallest part.

But this is exactly how an auditory learner learns and it lines up with his strength. When he hears me say the word broken down into sounds, his spelling is solid.

Problem Two: I call this a problem or a challenge at the very least, which is reading aloud.

The reason it’s a challenge is because if you have younger children, reading aloud with your auditory learner is not just about pleasure but they need your help to get the meaning from text.

Now, this is one thing I’ve done right.

I have never been a fan of reading aloud to my children only when they are little. The rewards change at they grow older because it’s now about discussing with boys the different view of the characters in the literature.

We still read aloud through to high school.

In addition, I haven’t realized until this year that I have been strengthening his reading ability further because he is an auditory learner. He is still learning from me as I read. I know this because as I change the pitch and power in my voice, he gets the point in the literature. This teaches him how he needs to read to himself.

My other two boys just got it when they read alone. The challenge here is that when you have younger kids and an older auditory learner they may not necessarily find delight in the same material.

I’ve learned that if you keep the younger kids interested, the auditory learner can learn from any book as long as he hears your voice.

In addition, audio books for the older learner fills that need they have because it can be exhausting to read each day with a lesson in mind. I try to focus on the enjoyment of reading aloud.

Problem Three: Along with being an auditory learner, there may be a need to wiggle, which can be a distraction.

This is also a challenge because it can make teaching them seem like a 3-ring circus, which I don’t have a problem with now, but may have been a problem in my earlier days of homeschooling.

For example, even in middle school, Tiny would throw a football while spelling a word out loud.

Also, Tiny turns grammar rules that he needs to memorize into musical jingles. If I’m not looking, he will add in a dance move.

He also has a need to recite things more to me than my other boys. He is constantly interrupting me with what he is learning or thinking.

Before I understood about his learning style, I thought he was just not putting effort into something. For example, he wouldn’t study his vocabulary very long or spelling before he brought the book to me to go over with them.

Instead of being lazy about it, it was quite the opposite. He was doing his school and applying his strength of learning out loud and with others.

He learns best by discussing things he learned with me and moving around. At first, it was very distracting for me, but having another son who learns by moving, I recognized the behavior.

When he exhausts me, he is more than willing to go into another room, shut the door and read out loud.

I’m still discovering new ways for Tiny to learn while listening, but to also teach him how to absorb information when others are not around to listen to.

Do you have an auditory learner? Have you recognized the signs? And what do you do?

Also, look at these articles: Homeschooling: Learning Styles – What’s the Difference anyway, Day 16: Practical Tips for Learning Styles and Day 15: Discovering Learning Styles.

Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

Linking up @ these awesome places:

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Be an Exceptional Homeschool Teacher, Determine Learning Styles, Gauge Homeschool Progress, Homeschool Boys, Tips for Learning Styles Tagged With: auditory learners, boys

Ten Best Tech Gifts for Teen Boys

October 26, 2016 | 4 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Ten Best Tech Gifts for Teen Boys @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Today I rounded up ten best tech gifts for teen boys.

I love to buy gifts for my boys. But when it comes to techie things, I sometimes have them meet me halfway money wise.

I’ve learned when they put a few bucks in of their own money, tech things get taken care of better. But then other times I prefer to jump out there and gift them with something really special.

So here is the list of things my boys love, some they have and others are still on their wish list.

ONE/ ASTRO Gaming A50 Wireless Dolby Gaming Headset

My boys have these earbuds and like this brand. They seem to hold up better than others.

TWO/ Skullcandy Method In-Ear Sweat Resistant Sports Earbud


Unique Teen Boy Gifts

This is the microphone that Mr. Awesome uses for gaming. For the money, it’s a great value and he has really liked it.

THREE/ Blue Microphones Snowball


FOUR/ Holy Stone HS170 Predator Mini Helicopter Drone


These bluetooth speakers we took with us to South America and really like the quality and the small size.

FIVE/ Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker


SIX/ Apple Watch Series 1 38mm Smartwatch


This is one of the laptop backpacks the boys used when we traveling because it can fit a larger laptop.

SEVEN/ Swiss Gear Swissgear 17″ inch Laptop Notebook Outdoor Backpack


EIGHT/ 7 Button LED Gaming Mouse


This photo printer is something I wish they wanted more so it would give me a chance to use it too.

NINE/ Wireless Color Photo Printer


This is the tablet that Mr. Senior 2013 has and has used for a few years. He really likes the simplicity of it.

TEN/ Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8-Inch Tablet


Let’s just face it, tech gifts can be expensive especially when you have several teens. And tech items sometimes can’t keep up with fast moving technology, but a lot of these gifts last several years.

I hope they give you some ideas for your list.

Also, look at these ideas. Gifts For Kids Who Are Wild About History.

Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

Linking up @ these awesome places:

4 CommentsFiled Under: Gift Guides, Gift Ideas for Homeschoolers, Graduate a Homeschooler, Homeschool Boys Tagged With: boys, gift, homeschoolgiftideas, teens

Top 10 Tips for Homeschooling Boys (They Do Grow Into Men)

October 27, 2015 | 17 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Top 10 Tips for Homeschooling Boys @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

When I was pregnant the third time, my husband told me to not find out the sex of our third child because I had been so very sick this time around. You know the kind of sick where you barely open your eyes in the morning and nausea sets in. No, it wasn’t pretty each morning so I just knew I was blessed with my first girl.

As things turned out, that was not the case. My third precious son arrived soon thereafter.

Embracing the term boy mom was not something I was prepared for, but in some ways I don’t feel that I was perfectly prepared for homeschooling either. It was just laid on me.

So I am not only grateful to be able to homeschool, but realize things turn out just the way they should be.

Reviewing these past 16 + years of homeschooling, I have learned a lot about homeschooling only boys.

Sharing my top 10 tips for homeschooling boys, I hope to arm you with some tips and encourage you embrace this course for the long haul.

1. Recognize the differences.

Though it’s true that boys are more wiggly than girls, it is not always true that every boy is that way.

I have two sons that don’t mind sitting still and learning and one that fits the idea that boys are more wiggly.

Recognize that each son is unique when it comes to how they prefer to learn. Look at my articles, Treasure the Moments of Homeschooling Testosterone Armed Boys and Shocking Things that Homeschooled Boys Want to Write About.

2. Use boy-friendly homeschool curriculum.

I wish at times that homeschool curriculum would have a boy-friendly label, but they do not.

However, some curriculum is easier to tweak for boys’ preferred way of learning.

Key to getting boys excited about learning was not just using curriculum that fit their learning style, but using curriculum that had male teachers.

The teaching examples used by a male teacher connects with boys. Female teachers may tend to use topics, for example, in writing, that only girls will understand.

Curriculum that we had a lot of success with has varied, but IEW with its Student Writing Intensive DVD Course with Andrew Pudewa was a huge hit with my boys.

The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, was also a favorite hit with my boys with their myriads ideas of hands-on activities.

Living books like those in Five in a Row,were also ones that fed my boys desire to read and Growing with Grammar kept  grammar short and easy to understand.

3. Friends are Important – Just Later On.

When the boys were real young, they use to joke among themselves about some girls they knew that were going back and forth spending the night with their other girl friends and having pen pals.

My boys had no desire to have to spend the night at a friend’s house. Play over yes, but night over no.

Only moms of girls ask my boys about being pen pals with their sons too.

Boys have another “language of communication” when it comes to being with each other and I recognized this early on.

Challenges and Blessings of Raising Sons

And though there were some of their friends that had pen pals, friends really mattered more as they hit the junior high and high school years.

Whatever easy time I had when the boys were little as far as not having to deal too much with “play dates” was made up when they wanted to get together every week and sometimes numerous times during the week with other teens.

I would often worry that they may be too introverted, but they quickly made up in the later years – in their own time.

4. Hands-on learning matters.

Maybe it is because they will become men, but all of my sons learned better with hands-on activities.

I do feel girls benefit with hands-on learning too, but boys especially do.

This was a lesson I had to learn the hard way because I would rather just read something and be on to the next topic that interested me.

It was so important to me that I switched my approach from a classical approach to a unit study approach so that subjects could all be focused on a topic my boys chose and to include hands-on activities.

5. Disciplining in love.

Many times it is hard to separate parenting from homeschooling because they are intertwined.

I learned that boys though not as sensitive as girls still need a mom who disciplines in love.

Berating a child never works, but especially if they are boys, it can backfire.

Parenting boys is different because I do believe in Bible principles and feel that boys need to be well equipped to lead a family. This is completely different than a supportive role that a wife will take in a relationship.

If I don’t discipline with love and especially with respect, then instead of boosting their self-confidence for weightier decisions they have to make later in life, I could be crumbling their foundation.

6. Male role model is important.

There are many single parent homeschooling families and I still feel that you can find valuable male role models for your sons.

Dad is best. That is if he is a proper male role model. My husband has played a huge part in influencing my sons to put their best foot forward, so to speak, when homeschooling.

However, a loving grandfather, caring uncle or even close friend can mentor your sons.

There can come a time, that even when you’re a super terrific mom that a son may slightly (okay, maybe an understatement because he could resist it a lot) resist your authority.

Though it can be normal, it doesn’t mean it’s right.

If your son doesn’t know how to accept authority from his mother, it’s pretty hard to accept it from other people.

A good male role model sets an example of how to treat woman with respect and vice versa.

7. Responsibility from an early age equals a strong work ethic.

I think it’s the ultimate payoff when your son is no longer under your roof, but you see that all you taught him for the past 18 years or so he learned well and is thriving.

Nowadays, I have seen plenty of pampering boys.

I don’t think it is always on purpose, but I feel it may come from not appreciating the huge differences between girls and boys.

I am not talking about being brutal when it comes to expecting more from a son, but simply put, boys need a huge measure of responsibility early on. This allows them to flex their decision making ability early on.

By letting them exercise a measure of responsibility whether it’s just around the house or out finding a job, it teaches them a strong work ethic.

A strong work ethic now teaches them to not only take care of themselves, but it teaches them the leadership role in a marriage later on.

Lessons Learned from a Boy Mom

Boys need to learn the art of sound decision making. They can’t do that when they are pampered at home and not allowed to make any significant decisions.

Tiny decisions start with where they want to homeschool and it expands to them giving input about their high school academic load.

Give them some power to make decisions. For example, if they want to get a job, make clear expectations about what you expect them to complete for their school each day.

Allow them a chance to manage their time and learn to work hard when they are still at home.

8. Recognize the “sparring” stage. Apply it to learning.

I never felt comfortable with this stage, but have learned to recognize that it is part of the male persona and can be a male bonding ritual if kept under check.

For a mom of all girls, it almost seems like boys are fighting.

When my boys were all very little, I recall one year where my sister, who is mom to all girls, was the first one to be concerned over the fact that my boys were in the yard sparring with tree branches.

They were all fully engaged, laughing uncontrollably and letting off some male steam.

What I realized early was that a competitive streak was part of the natural male makeup.

It doesn’t necessarily mean that it is competitive with other boys, but boys spar because they enjoy the challenge of pushing themselves.

I utilized their need to push harder, be better and rise above to their every day learning.

One day, my middle son was working hard on memorizing basic math facts, a subject he struggling with at the time.

Instead of learning math facts by sitting in the chair, I challenged him to race around the house as he said the math facts and to try to beat his time from before. I would holler his time out to him as he rounded the corner of the house again.

Not only was this a terrific way to fully engage his need to move and be challenged, but it was a fun way to get him to memorize math facts. He never forgot this lesson.

9. Angry outbursts can equal emotional vulnerability.

Being raised in a home with three girls, it wasn’t hard for me to understand when one of my sisters had a problem or felt vulnerable.

Boys, however, respond to problems with what seems like a need to be aggressive.

I have seen this in each one of my sons. When confronted with a situation they were unsure of, they didn’t react in a way that I thought was “normal”.

Learning through those experiences, I realized that boys get overloaded too. Unlike girls, their need for emotional support is not as easily detected and it can take the form of aggression.

After I knew this spark to watch for when teaching them every day, I had to learn when to step back and cut school assignments into bite sized pieces.

Sometimes, their aggressive behavior was a sign of the changes in their growing bodies and that they needed extra rest or extra exercise.

Understanding that boys have needs that can be masked as angry outbursts helped me to avoid explosive situations.

10. Love them unconditionally! Let them love you too.

There are extremely tender moments with my sons and one of them is when they want to take care of me.

I know their father has been a huge influence on them by modeling how he cares for me, but I never knew the depth of closeness I could have with each of my sons.

Never comparing one son’s quality to another son’s gentle qualities is a must. Each boy is different, but allow each one of them to love you on their terms and love them unconditionally.

Homeschooling boys has been of the greatest challenges about homeschooling, but it has also been one of the most rewarding.

I am proud of the men my boys are becoming.

What about you? Do you value the privilege of homeschooling boys?

Look at these other articles you’ll love.

Ten Best Tech Gifts for Teen Boys, Shocking Things that Homeschooled Boys Want to Write About. Should We Let Them?, and Teaching Homeschooled Boys How to Read – When to Panic!

Hugs and love ya,

17 CommentsFiled Under: Homeschool Boys Tagged With: boys, teens

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