Contests and competitions- how to "show what you know"

Homeschoolers, particularly academic homeschoolers, are looking for ways to "show what you know" beyond the mom-required assignments. Several parents have asked me how we find authentic ways to demonstrate knowledge and growth without yet another essay, test or worksheet. For us, we use a lot of contests and competitions! My son loves a good contest and will participate in almost anything I can rustle up. My personal favorites are those that are simply contests against yourself- where you're not beating out anyone else, but just improving upon your previous results. The kid though, he likes prizes and will work for even the promise of a prize, certificate or award at the end!

Some of our favorites:

National Mythology Exam:  This will be our third year and as a mythology junky, the kid has a goal of earning every color medal for his wall. This year, he's hoping for silver to go with his previous gold and bronze. I'm working hard to discourage him from throwing a question just to get a silver!

Sikorsky Helicopter Challenge: Part engineering, part design and a whole lot of imagination required- this contest makes kids really think outside the box for a new idea that solves a problem

Doodle For Google: Answer the question in an artistic way and your doodle could win you a place on Google's homepage, as well as a scholarship!

Scholastic Contests: Scholastic always has an interesting contest cooked up- from skyping with authors, to book related treasure hunts and poetry writing contests, there's something for everyone!

Math League: Several weekends a year, math-loving kids gather in school cafeterias around the country to try their hand at challenging math tests. Even independent homeschoolers can participate!

Math Olympiad: School based teams participate in individual and team based math competitions. Tests are five times a year and problems are novel, challenging word problems.

PBS Writers Contest: For young elementary kids in K-3, this writing contest is a fun way to get kids engaged in writing and brave enough to share their stories.

Google Science Fair: Big ideas, bold research and amazing prizes for kids 13-18 that have a true passion for science.

Test- based opportunities are also available from local talent searches. Students take a standardized test to qualify for merit based awards, scholarships and participation in enrichment and academic courses. Hoagies' Gifted maintains an up to date talent search page if you're interested in these types of opportunities.

Other contests and competitions like Geography Bee, Spelling Bee and Poetry Jam may be available in your local area. Some of these are held at a city or county level and independent homeschoolers can enter. If your local competition starts at a traditional public school, it doesn't hurt to call and ask if your child can participate!

Signing up for another year

The interesting situation of Academic Homeschooling means that we have natural breaks in our school life where we contemplate "Should the kid go back to school?" In our area, most schools are K-5, 6-8 and 9-12, though we do have a few 6-12 schools.  Since on paper, my son is finishing up 5th grade, it was logical to have the discussion of whether or not he should go back to traditional school in 6th grade.

While I think every homeschooler has these moments, wondering if it's time to send the kids back to the brick and mortar building, it seems to come up more in families that are not homeschooling against a system. We have friends that have always homeschooled and always will, up until the day that Junior moves out for college/trade school or marriage. Our other friends that fell into homeschooling due to medical reasons, academic reasons, military reasons or a host of other situations, wrestle with this every single year. Is this the year? What about next year?

We live in a district with a high proportion of charter schools that have lottery-based admissions. The most likely entry point is 6th grade. By default, most people who are looking to make a change- either from homeschooling to school or from school to school, have to make it in the winter of 5th grade. It's a huge decision because whatever you choose feels like it locks kids in for the rest of high school. It's painstakingly difficult to look at your 10 year old and try to determine what kind of person he will be in seven years and which high school is the best option.

After all the thinking, the pros and cons lists and the debates and discussions, we decided to forget about it for a year. My son is happy, sleeping well, as access to a huge amount of experiences, curriculum and life discoveries that he wouldn't have sitting in a classroom 8 hours a day with two more hours of homework. As I've said before, my irregular pentagon doesn't fit nicely in a square box anyway. I'm confident that the time will come when going to traditional school is a no-brainer and doesn't cause us to feel so tortured by the decision.

In the meantime, why would we want to give this up?