With homeschooling becoming more visible and with more people considering it as an option for their children's education, the number of inquiries I address has increased.

The two most important ingredients of Family Night are making it a good experience and being consistent. It helps to have your family's night be the same time and day each week. The kids come to expect that special time and will remind you with their queries: "What are we doing for Family Night?" Sometimes we have a lengthy activity planned. Other times we hold a short "powwow" to teach a principle that is important to us.

Inspired Educational options can be daunting. Here Lindsay Evans helps break them down. Editors' Picks 10 Tips for Developing a Love for Literature Creating a love for reading takes effort. Here's how to help your children run to the bookshelf in anticipation of their next adventure.

Homeschooling For Success: HowParents Can Create a Superior Education for Their Child by RebeccaKochenderfer and Elizabeth Kanna (Warner Books, 2002). The Disciplined Mind: Beyond the Facts and Standardized Tests, the k-12Education that Every Child Deserves byHoward Gardner (Penguin Putnam, 2000)

Could chocolate help our kids become better global citizens? Believe it or not, it can. It all depends on how the cocoa is grown, how it's bought and sold, and what our children are taught about this favorite treat.

Children love stories, particularly stories about themselves and the day's activities. Hearing a story is an enjoyable way for them to process and understand the world around them, their behavior and the consequences of their actions. One of the most important aspects of storytelling is to make sure the story is told in a shame-free manner, simply and calmly, explaining the facts without judgment. After all, it would be a rare parent to attach a criticism of her child when teaching her the alphabet.

Many families will see the benefits in homeschooling however may not choose to homeschool because of financial concerns, special needs or simply that the children are doing well in their current setting. It is not necessary to make a black or white decision on education.

Education has long been regarded as potentially liberating. The opportunity to learn to read can be linked to changes that shake the foundation of coercive power structures, as well as open up worlds of possibility for individuals. Because mandatory schooling is associated with opportunities for mobility and privilege, with social and economic progress, it is possible to look at the institution as a country's pledge to its citizens to enable such opportunity. Read on for more.

We knew nothing about homeschooling, but just hearing the commentator speak the word homeschooled resonated deeply with us and instantly piqued our interest to the point of action in Salinas.

Below are some common myths about homeschooling, and the simple facts behind this widely misunderstood movement. These stereotypes are touted freely by the popular media and conventional schooling experts alike. We have probably all imagined them ourselves at one time or another.

Here are tips and ideas to encourage and develop your child's love for writing. Avoid writing competitions that rank child writers as "First," "Second," and so on. If a competition "celebritizes" the winners—get on TV, meet the mayor, kiss the queen—avoid it even more. Writing is speaking. It is a human and a democratic right. Children should never be judged "better"—and their peers, therefore, "worse"—while learning to speak their souls.

Early childhood education has benefited from the wisdom and insight of many caring individuals through time, and continues to evolve today. The works of Rudolph Steiner, Maria Montessori, and others have significantly shaped the way children interact with their teachers and within the classroom. By recognizing the needs of young children and implementing strategies to effectively guide their curiosity, these educators have developed many different, but highly effective methods in early childhood education.

An exciting new movement is stirring the world of education--a movement that promises, at last, to make children participants in the revolutionary changes that swept the world in the late 20th century.

There is a lottery (which is part of SF's effort to integrate its schools); it is commonplace for families to not be assigned any of their top 7 choices. The system is universally hated by parents.

What kind of a food education are children getting these days? In many families, both parents work and there is little time to prepare meals.

The most effective way for young children to learn is not the Program for Effective Teaching model or the whole-language approach: it's the natural relationship between a mother and child.

In a well-known experiment, children were shown drawings of a variety of children. These drawings included a child of normal weight, a fat child, and children with various handicaps, including missing hands and disfigured faces. These children rated the fat child as the least likable. This bias also affected the larger children, who revealed the same prejudice.

Toddler dance classes are about having fun and developing coordination and basic dance movements. Types of toddler dance classes include mommy and me dance classes, toddler ballet classes, and toddler tap dance classes. See below to learn more and for dance studios in Salinas, CA that give access to qualified dance instructors.

The educational philosophies developed by Rudolf Steiner and Maria Montessori are similar in that they both involve a comprehensive view of the human being that goes beyond just educating the intellect. However, they differed in their understanding of how best to meet the needs of the growing child.

Mothering Magazine's online resource center links its readers to reliable resources emphasizing natural parenting and family living in Salinas.