In This Issue The Winds of Change Mary Pride This year’s i-Learn Awards can be found on page 8. We hope they help you with your curriculum decisions! S omething new is happening. The national mood on educa-tion is changing, and it’s by no means certain what the out-come will be. Meanwhile, homeschooling still re-mains the best possible way to protect our children and ensure their academic excellence and real-life preparation. As my mother used to say, “Let’s make hay while the sun shines!” In this issue you’ll find lots of help to brighten up your coming school year, whether you prefer online schooling, screen-free homeschool, group home-schooling, or a mix of methods. The Best from Online Educational computing has changed a lot in the last 35 years. Back in 1991 and 1992 when Bill and I were writing Pride’s Guide to Educational Software, we were able to review just about every educational program worth mentioning, in 600 pages. This meant we had five computers dedicated to reviewing soft-ware: an IBM PC , an Apple II, a Macin-tosh Plus, an Amiga, and a Commodore. I still miss that Amiga! A decade or so later, after we started Practical Homeschooling, it used to take our whole family a week or more to hand-tabulate all the votes for our Reader Awards and for what would eventually become our i-Learn Awards. Now every year a handy spreadsheet captures the information from the on-line voting, all so you, our faithful read-ers, can find out which online apps and courses your fellow homeschoolers ap-preciate the most. And There’s More . . . On page 18, attorney Antony Kolenc explains the legal ins and outs of tutor-ing, co-ops, cottage schools, and more. Got sand? On page 22, Emily Redman invites you to dive into it with your kids! Even email improves when kids learn to write actual letters. Learn how to teach this vanishing skill on page 25. What important statistical skills are high schoolers not learning? See page 28. Want a leg up on your student’s col-lege applications? On page 30, Dr. Kuni Beasley shares great inside information on how to impress admissions officials with a passion project. HOME-SCHOOL.COM & PRACTICALHOMESCHOOLING.COM FALL 2025 PRACTICAL HOMESCHOOLING 1
Practical Homeschooling Issue 163: Page-1
