Allowing your child to set up a blog is a great way of setting up creative writing activities for kids. I have found that as well as teaching persistence, blogging has helped with spelling and writing skills.
But kids often want their homeschooling blogs to reach a wider audience (than just Mom and the grandparents!!). So I have set up a homeschool carnival just for them!
The Carnival is a place for a homeschooled kid to show-off a blog entry - and to go see what other homeschooled kids are blogging about.
Why should my Child blog?
Blogging is a great way to encourage your children to write. It will help improve internet and computer skills - and is quite a social activity.
Another great reason is that it encourages persistence. Going back to a blog over a period of time helps children see the long term results of sustained effort.
Plus - it gives a great record of your child's accomplishments and achievements!
What is a Homeschool Carnival?
A Blog Carnival is a place where lots of links to blog posts are collected together and put in one place - so that you can read lots of new and interesting blogs easily.
The Homeschool Kids Carnival will be hosted by Homeschooling-ideas.com and each month will display links to homeschool blogs by kids. The idea is that kids will get to look at other homeschooled kids blogs - and have their blog read by more than just the relatives!
Blog entries can be about whatever the child likes to blog about - it doesn't have to be about being homeschooled.
Please Note - This service is for HOMESCHOOLED KIDS only! No adult blogs are allowed.
I am not allowed to collect information from anyone under the age of 13 - so please use an adults email address when submitting to the carnival.
Is this safe?
If you allow your child to have a blog, then you can take precautions to protect them. As a minimum, set up your child's blog to have comments moderated - and have all comments emailed to you for approval. Also check your child's post to make sure they are not divulging personal details - getting your child to write under a false name is also advised.
I will check all submissions and ensure (as best I can) that they are only from children. In this way we can work together to keep our children safe.