Homeschool and Blogging

As a mom to a teen blogger (in the making) and homeschooler, I am always trying to find ways to incorporate things the kids do into credits for school. Blogging can, to some extent, be added to the list of credits. Blogging is something that you, or for this instance, your kids will love or hate.
It does take time to develop a good blog. It definitely takes time to get your writing style together and to make sure everything flows well.
Blogging involves many aspects of learning. There is research, editing, and of course the writing. All of those are things kids do in school and for school credits. There is also grammar, which needs to be correct with capitalization and spelling.
So in what areas can Blogging be used for credits?
Tierney has recently said she is interested in journalism so that was why I started to research blogging and ways she can incorporate that into journalism and credits for school.

Journalism. This is probably the most direct credit to match with blogging. There are interviews your child can do, even if it is just locally with government officials, postal workers, staff at the local zoo, there are numerous people to interview and for many different reasons. Journalism includes researching, style and voice, fact checking, and a good strong headline to catch attention.

They can basically put anything into a blog. What classes they are working on, an essay they have to write for science or someone they are reading about in history. If for some reason they just can not think of anything or are having writers block, Pinterest has a ton of blogging prompts and journal prompts to get their mind going. There are so many possibilities! They can have a lifestyle blog, fashion, foodie, travel, whatever they are interested in and want to share with the world.
Creative Writing online via a blog can be a good avenue. They might be interested in writing a book and learning about the aspects of that. While they  are learning how to do that they can share sneak peeks into what they are writing, maybe share a chapter or if they are writing poetry share it via their blog. This is also a great way to get some feedback from people other than those close to them. And a way to take criticism and learn from it.

Photography and Arts is another credit you can check off while blogging. Whether it is what food they are eating or the clouds in the sky, a good lesson in photography will go a long way with blogging. And learning about the art of photography can be added to the list of classes.
If they are creative and artsy they can blog about how to draw certain things. Do a step by step and show others how to draw simple things. If they photoshop well, there are tons of things they can do tutorials on. People love to learn and when it is simple and broken down they are more likely to give things a try. A fun daily challenge will get readers and followers to join in and be interactive.

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Some people are not so good at writing but much better at talking so a Vlog or Video Blog can be another way to go. This would be more part of an elective, video production or director, and movie production to name a few. Filmmaking is a credit in school. Learn the different aspects of lighting and editing softwares, adding music and words. Directing and production is a huge part of the film world. Filmmaking is also included in the Drama credit. If they are good at script writing or make an awesome costume, or can design a authentic set then you can earn credit just like that. Public speaking can be a way to branch out the vlog aspect a little bit. Your kids will get used to talking in front of people, even if it isn't live and eventually feel more comfortable talking in public. This can also help learn how to pronounce words properly and how to talk with action.

Sometimes you have to think outside the box a little and get a little creative to add in some credits and keep kids interested.
Do your kids do things they could be getting credit for?

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