SCAIHS

08/31/2026

Have a senior this year? College application season is here!

Fall is a great time to start getting organized before application and scholarship deadlines begin approaching.

If college is part of your senior’s plan, now is the time to:

🎓 Research colleges your student is considering
📅 Make note of application and scholarship deadlines
📝 Check for any additional application requirements
💻 See whether their schools accept the Common App, which may allow your student to use one application for multiple colleges

SCAIHS families can also visit the Senior section of the Middle School/High School Information HUB in Central for helpful information and resources throughout senior year.

And most importantly—you don't have to figure it all out alone! 💛 Your SCAIHS counselor is here to help with questions about applications, deadlines, scholarships, and everything that comes with navigating senior year.

A little organization now can make the college application process feel much more manageable later!

Parents of graduates: What’s one piece of advice you’d give families heading into college application season? 👇

08/31/2026

08/28/2026

What’s one homeschool purchase you’d make again in a heartbeat?

08/27/2026

📚🎧 Do audiobooks “count” as reading?

It's a question homeschool parents ask often—especially when we want our children spending plenty of time with actual books.

The answer is a little more nuanced than a simple yes or no.

Audiobooks don't develop every skill that comes from reading print—children still need opportunities to practice decoding and reading words independently. But listening develops important language and comprehension skills and can be a wonderful addition to a child's reading life, particularly for struggling or reluctant readers.

And newer research gives parents even more reason to embrace them!

According to the National Literacy Trust's 2026 research on children and audio:
🎧 36.6% of audiobook listeners said listening got them interested in reading.
📖 30.1% sometimes read along while listening.
💛 50.3% said listening to an audiobook feels like reading.

Previous large-scale research has also found that listening can help children understand stories and subjects, engage their imaginations, and access books that may be beyond their current independent reading level.

So instead of thinking print OR audio, consider thinking:
Print + audio.

Read the book. Listen in the car. Follow along with the audiobook. Put on a great story during lunch. Let a struggling reader enjoy literature above their current decoding level while continuing to work on reading skills separately.

One of the joys of homeschooling is having the flexibility to use different tools in different ways. 💛

👇 We'd love to hear from you: When does your family listen to audiobooks—car rides, quiet time, lunch, bedtime, or somewhere else?

08/25/2026

Many assumptions are made about what causes student success.
This new nationwide homeschool study found that student achievement was generally not associated with family income, parent education levels, or whether the teaching parent held state teacher certification.
Read the full study here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0161956X.2025.2605901

08/25/2026

As a new homeschool year begins, remember: you don’t have to have the perfect routine figured out on day one. 💛

Ease back into your schedule, keep your plans simple, make room for movement and fun, and give your family time to find a rhythm that works for you.

And for a little August challenge—choose ONE healthy habit to practice this month. Maybe it’s reading every day, getting to bed on time, keeping your homeschool space tidy, or simply starting the day with a positive attitude.

Small habits can make a big difference over time!

💬 What’s one habit your family wants to work on this month?

08/20/2026

📚 Spiral vs. Mastery - what's the difference?

If you've spent any time researching homeschool curriculum, you've probably seen these two words. But what do they actually mean?

The difference is simpler than it sounds!

🌀 SPIRAL: A concept is introduced, then the curriculum moves on to other skills while regularly coming back to review and build on what was previously learned.

Think: Learn it → move on → come back to it → build on it

🎯 MASTERY: A child spends more concentrated time on one concept, building understanding and proficiency before moving on to the next.

Think: Learn it → practice it → understand it → move on

And here's the important part: one isn't automatically better than the other.

Some children thrive with the frequent review and variety of a spiral approach. Others do better when they can stay focused on one concept until they feel confident before moving forward. Some curricula even combine elements of both!

One of the benefits of homeschooling is having the flexibility to consider **how your child learns best** when choosing curriculum. 💛

Does your child seem to prefer spiral or mastery learning? We'd love to hear your experience in the comments!

08/18/2026

What did the first nationwide homeschool achievement study in 15 years find?
Researchers found that homeschool students scored substantially above the norm group across every core academic subject:
• Reading: +29 percentile points
• Language: +25
• Math: +25
• Social Studies: +26
• Science: +27
Read the full study here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0161956X.2025.2605901

08/17/2026

📚 Did you know SCAIHS has a bookstore?!

Whether you’re still gathering curriculum for the new homeschool year or realize a few weeks in that you need something different, come browse our selection of new AND used curriculum!

💛 SCAIHS members save 15%
📚 Nonmembers are welcome to shop too!

Stop by, browse the shelves, and see what you can find for your homeschool year.

📍 SCAIHS Bookstore
613 St. Andrews Rd. | Columbia, SC 29210
🕤 Monday–Thursday | 9:30 AM–5:00 PM

Tag a homeschool friend who needs to know about this! 👇

08/14/2026

🎙️ NEW SCAIHS STORIES EPISODE

*“Am I doing enough?”*

It's a question so many homeschool parents ask—and one Morgan knows well.

In this episode of SCAIHS Stories, Morgan shares her journey from classroom teacher to working homeschool mom, while also navigating homeschooling a child with complex medical needs.

She opens up about the pressure to recreate traditional school at home, the doubts that can creep in, and how encouragement and guidance from SCAIHS helped her begin to trust the process and embrace a more flexible approach to learning.

Her story is a beautiful reminder that your homeschool doesn't have to look like a traditional classroom - or anyone else's homeschool - to be successful. 💛

If you've ever wondered whether you're doing enough, we think you'll find a lot of encouragement in Morgan's story.

🎧 Listen to the newest episode of SCAIHS Stories:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scaihs-stories-homeschooling-in-south-carolina/id1678548695?i=1000772357287

And if you know another homeschool parent who needs this reminder today, share this episode with them. 💛