HomeWorks by Precept Consultant Jennifer Lont MI

Home
United States
Carleton, MI
HomeWorks by Precept Consultant Jennifer Lont MI

Helping families homeschool with excellence! BJU Press Homeschool mom. 2 boys. 1 graduated. 15 years and counting.

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!

08/27/2026

We have exciting news! My son finished his drone pilot course and then passed his test with the FAA on Monday. Today he got his Airman Certificate for small, unmanned aircraft. Woo hoo!!!

08/25/2026

If you’re new to BJU Press Homeschool, I know you have questions! HomeWorks by Precept is offering a live Q&A this evening, and I will be part of the panel, ready and waiting to give you homeschool help.

Please join our community group on Facebook (address at the bottom of the graphic) so you can participate. You can type in your questions ahead of time, or you can ask while we are live.

We consultants want you to have an amazing homeschool year. Join us!

08/22/2026

Today I want you to try a series of experiments.

Test #1 You've heard of this one before. Drop a sock on the middle of the living room floor and wait. How long will it be before someone picks it up? Hours? Weeks? Or should you just pick it up because no one else will bother?

Test #2 Ask your child to put away something that a sibling got out and note the answer. "That's not mine" is a typical child's response.

Test #3 Tell your child to do a chore. Do you get grumbling and huffing and eye-rolling?

Moms, the most important thing on your child's chore list is love. We are commanded to love God most of all and then love others--as much as we love ourselves (Mark 12:31). It's a heart issue.

So how do we teach our children to serve others gladly? What will change those selfish attitudes?

1. Renew your minds. Start with Mark 12:31.
2. Be the right kind of example. Serve your family with gladness.
3. Help your child practice. Add "bless someone" to your child's chore list.

Blessing someone means...
❤️ helping a sibling clean up a mess
❤️ opening your eyes to see what needs to be done
❤️ encouraging someone by joining them
❤️ pitching in without being asked to
❤️ doing a chore so someone else won't have to
❤️ working for the good of the family

And finally, remember that God is the One who changes hearts. Teach, encourage, and practice, but don't forget to pray.

08/21/2026

Today I received this signal from my husband. Whenever he puts on his last clean set of work clothes, he leaves a flag for me. It might be a shirt. It might be a sock. Whatever it is, when I wake up and see the distress signal hanging out of his dresser, I know I need to do a load of laundry for him.

That got me thinking about how homeschools function. Some people make a schedule for themselves and do the same things at the same times on the same days every week.

Other people may not schedule everything quite so rigidly, but even in those households, some kind of organization can help everything run smoothly.

Consider the daily assignments that need to be checked. Where do your kids put their completed work? In a folder? In a tray? On the corner of the table?

When will you check those papers? Little by little as they show up throughout the day? At the end of the day? Maybe you can have a one-on-one with your student each morning to check the previous day’s work.

Make some kind of plan that will work for your family. You might need a visual signal like I do with the laundry. Or you might need to establish some other protocol.

You don’t have to just hope that you have a good school year. You can take steps to make it possible!

Address

Carleton, MI

Telephone

+17347756596

Website

http://www.homeschoolhelp.com/Jennifer-Lont

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when HomeWorks by Precept Consultant Jennifer Lont MI posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to HomeWorks by Precept Consultant Jennifer Lont MI:

Want your business to be the top-listed Law Practice in Carleton?