HomeWorks by Precept Consultant Jennifer Lont MI

09/10/2026

Which websites do you regularly use while you’re homeschooling?

➡️ For vocabulary, I search for the proper pronunciations of words.

➡️ When we did Spanish, I had to use Google Translate pretty frequently.

➡️ For math courses, we use desmos.com for graphing.

➡️ And of course, I keep my lesson plans, calendar, and gradebook quite organized at www.homeschool hub.com!

What sites do you find helpful?

09/09/2026

First, I laughed. Then I thought about which of these “words” would have the most similar meanings. Then I noticed the spelling mistake. (It happens. Maybe especially when writing words that aren’t real?)

Anyway, the timing was perfect. We were working in one of BJU Press Homeschool’s high school vocabulary books. These books focus on word parts, origins, and the nuances between definitions. We have found the vocabulary books to be a helpful addition to our language arts courses!

I like an occasional cosplay as a functioning adult 😌

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This is a portrait of the composer and pianist Franz Liszt, created by Hungarian artist Miklós Barabás in 1847.

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09/08/2026

Yesterday my son helped my husband work on our roof. This morning, my son did a couple lessons of schoolwork and then went out to mow lawns. Next week he will start the next segment of driver's ed. The teen years can be especially busy.

I'm not going to tell you to just ditch the schoolwork because "real life is learning." I agree that practicing driving safely is learning. I agree that helping his dad with roofing will give my son new skills. But I also know that schoolwork is important too.

Let's say that it's going to rain on the weekend. My son may mow on a weekday and do some precalculus and government on Saturday. When I tell you to plan to be flexible, I'm not saying you should skip the curriculum. I'm saying that you should figure out how to rearrange your schedule so that you can accomplish ALL of your responsibilities. You can create a schedule that works for your family. And you can change it as often as you need to.

This year my son decided to start school early so he'd have more flexibility. He finished over 60 lessons in his core courses in August (not counting electives). If you haven't started early, you may just need to extend some subjects into the summer. It all depends on what you decide to prioritize this school year.

Unless your state has certain calendar requirements, you have control over your homeschool schedule! Use that freedom to manage your homeschool in such a way that your children fulfill all their responsibilities--whether that's book work or yard work.

09/07/2026

Did you do schoolwork on this Labor Day? My son is spending the day fixing the roof with my husband.

09/04/2026

How many times do you hear your name in a given homeschool day? If your kids are constantly calling for your attention, I have a few suggestions that may save your sanity.

🫠Make sure your kids know where all their supplies are. Train them to get what they need for themselves.

🫠Dedicate a space on a whiteboard (or even a notebook) where they can come write what they need from you. Then when you finish the task you're on, check the list to see what each of your kiddos needs. They may ask you to check an assignment so they can take a quiz, help them understand why a math problem was wrong, or discuss whether or not they need to do a particular assignment listed on the Hub.

🫠Teach them to reread. Reread the directions if they don't understand an assignment. Reread the text in the book if they can't figure out an answer to a question. Sometimes if they stop and think about it for a minute instead of calling for you, they will figure it out on their own.

🫠Teach them to move on to another part of the assignment or even another subject if they have reread and are still stuck. This allows them to continue to be productive while they wait for you. (They should first come write what they need on your list so you know they need help.)

🫠In situations where they need your help right away, teach them how you want them to approach you. Instead of yelling your name at 5-second intervals, your child may need to bring his book and stand quietly nearby until you can turn your attention to him.

🫠Make sure everyone knows the snack rules. If you allow snacks, teach your kids what they can help themselves to and when they can help themselves to it.

When you take the time to teach good routines, it can really save your sanity. You will still be able to be there for your kids all day to take care of their needs. You just don't need to hear your name yelled 5,492 times a day.

09/03/2026

This morning I was asked if tests and quizzes should be open-book. After all, in real life, we are able to look things up and use resources to figure out problems.

I replied that I am not going to say that there is never a time to use an open-book test. But many kids will use that as an opportunity for laziness. It's our sinful human nature. What they really need is to learn to engage with the learning process so they can make progress.

If a student is struggling with tests and quizzes, I have suggested that the quizzes can be used as study guides to help them prepare for the test. This is especially true if a student is coming from another curriculum and is not used to the level of critical thinking we have with BJU Press Homeschool. Allowing open-book quizzes can give the student an opportunity to learn how to answer the kinds of questions that will be asked. Following that up with a closed-book test will give accountability. It should motivate the student to actually use the quizzes to STUDY and prepare.

Once the student learns how to engage with the curriculum and can answer questions designed for critical thinking, I would wean him off of those open-book quizzes.

If a student was really struggling in a subject, then I would look at what we need to do to help the student learn more in the daily lessons rather than just making the assessments easier.

If all you do is make the tests easier, then it's like changing the measuring tape so you can call a four and a half food person six feet tall. What we want is growth. Not a certain number.

And what if your student is not able to grow like most other children do? Then we will adjust what we do every day to nurture the kind of progress that student is capable of.

So what's the answer? Open-book or not? As with most homeschool decisions, you need to choose option C. Use wisdom to make decisions that will cause your child to grow and make progress daily.

09/02/2026

My son took his first precalculus test yesterday. When he submitted it, it went straight to my assignments page to be checked. I opened it up and toggled the button at the top right to show me only the ones he missed.

Don’t have heart failure when you see the number incorrect! Most of these items were graphs or equations that were done on paper. The computer can’t check everything. You’ll have to check essay questions in other courses too, but the computer will tell you the information that needs to be in your student’s answer. In this case, I compared my son’s math to the answers in the computer and entered his points in the box for each question.

One of my son’s answers had a variation in spacing, but the numbers were all correct, so I just overrode the computer and gave full credit. You have complete control over the grade.

On another question, my son got 3 out of 4 parts correct, so I gave him 1.5 points out of 2. Take note—you can use decimals to give partial credit.

Out of all of these questions that I needed to look at, only 1.5 were truly incorrect. But if your child bombs a test, you can click on “grant retake” and have him study the material again for a second attempt. But if you decide to submit the score, it will go directly to the gradebook, where you can see your child’s cumulative grade in that course.

Online testing is available for BJU Press Homeschool video users in 5th grade and up. Just another way the Homeschool Hub makes life easier for homeschool parents!

09/01/2026

The kids aren’t the only ones getting back into the routine of school. Homeschool parents, you have some responsibilities that need to become habits, too.

One of these is checking daily work. Your kids NEED this feedback. Correcting mistakes is a fantastic opportunity for growth!

Ideally, you should check their work daily. Don’t let them make the same mistakes day after day. Remember—practice makes permanent. Help them fix their problem areas!

If you’re struggling with this habit, you might want to start checking the work WITH your child. This provides instant feedback for the child and accountability for you. Here are some ideas to help you establish a routine:

🖍️ Check the work together at the end of every school day.

🖍️ Check the work together at the beginning of every school day.

🖍️ Check the work together at the beginning of each lesson.

🖍️ Check the work together right after lunch.

Pictured: Colored pens for checking papers. Yes, I use red sometimes, and my sons do not feel oppressed by the color. 😂

Also pictured: A page from our Homeschool Hub account that tells me what I need to check. It looks like I have a little catching up to do. That’s totally normal. My son will join me in a few minutes, and we will get it done!

08/31/2026

My son is taking English 12 this year. We have the online video course with books, but we’re making some modifications.

First, we’re only going to watch the videos on the writing days. On grammar days, we’ll just use the book.

I’m also going to watch the writing videos WITH my son so I know exactly what’s going on with those assignments. That will also prepare me to modify the assignments as needed.

I’m already planning to skip some of the chapter writing assignments. And instead of doing two semester writing projects, we’re going to focus on one. He will still be doing plenty of writing. He has writing assignments in American Government as well.

Remember, this curriculum is like a buffet of resources. Feel free to pile your plate high with educational goodness, but you don’t have to eat everything in the restaurant!

08/28/2026

Here’s a peek at our Homeschool Hub account. You can see for yourself how much a gradual start to the school year can help. My son is already one-ninth of the way done with his history course!

He started both government and precalculus at the beginning of August, but he took some time off of precalculus this week for drone stuff. By the way, if he logs enough hours on drone-related learning, I will be giving him a half-credit for that on his transcript.

He added physics partway through the month, and then we started English 12 just yesterday. Next week we will add Bible and vocabulary.

I just counted, and with the exception of some writing he has to complete, he has finished 50 lessons so far. This head start will help us so much as we head into a busy homeschool year!