Marilyn Whitlock Archives - Excelsior Classes

Selecting a Grammar Program

Oct 1, 2018 | Marilyn Whitlock, Rigorous Courses

Studying grammar has many proven benefits, among them an increased ability to craft a variety of sentence types and to analyze the writing structures of others. So, in addition to improving students’ own writing, understanding English grammar will help those students...

Exercising an Advanced Vocabulary

Jun 7, 2018 | Marilyn Whitlock, Rigorous Courses

Would your students describe themselves as appearing on fleek? Or maybe they have moved on to using the term snatched to indicate a look that is just right. How many of our students would warm to being considered exquisite, of consummate beauty, or debonair? Would...

Who Are They? Three Steps to Clearer Writing

Apr 19, 2018 | Marilyn Whitlock, Rigorous Courses

So your student can write a complete sentence, structure a paragraph, even craft an essay. Great! What’s left to improve? What makes writing engaging to readers? When meaning is easy to grasp, readers can follow a train of thought and be captured by it, but even...

Help! Am I Messing Up My Kids by Homeschooling?

Nov 15, 2017 | Marilyn Whitlock, Online Homeschool

The Early Years For the first few years, our homeschooling venture seemed to be going well. Our young daughter learned to count and recognize letters. Soon reading, writing, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division followed, and Mom breathed a sigh of...

Ignite a Passion for Reading with Science Fiction

Jun 12, 2017 | Marilyn Whitlock, Rigorous Courses

Is your student a reluctant reader but an avid consumer of movies and games with science fiction themes? Many find the themes frequently explored in science fiction — a passion for traveling through time to the distant reaches of the universe, the creation of...

Punctuality: An Underappreciated Virtue

Mar 13, 2017 | Engaging Education, Marilyn Whitlock

The Need for Punctuality Outside of the sanctuaries of our homes, life is filled with deadlines. As a homeschool parent, I have savored the freedom of our family’s life at home; learning at one’s own pace is often rewarded with unparalleled creativity. However, I have...