photo by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
Blogging is a great way to “think your way into a subject and make it your own” and to have fun at the same time. Whether you write about your life, your friends, schoolwork, serious stuff, fun stuff, or flights of fancy, the very act of putting your thoughts into words will help you learn to think more deeply.
On this page, I’ve organized my best posts into “Blogging Lessons,” so you can go through them step by step and learn all about blogging at your own pace.
The “Lessons” below are not intended to be done all at once, and you don’t have to go through them in order. Feel free to skip around, reading whatever sounds interesting to you. Each lesson marks a stage your blog will naturally go through, from “What is a blog?” to long-term growth. Take your time to work through the lessons, and feel free to ask any questions you want, either by posting a comment or by using the email form on my About TeacherMom page.
The extra spots in each list are for future posts — there’s always more to learn, right? So please, if there’s any topic you’d like me to write about, let me know.
[Note: If you work your way through 12 or more of these posts and use the tips to improve your own blog, feel free to Grab a Sidebar Badge for yourself. You will have earned it!]
Lesson 1: Introduction
- Blogging? What’s That?
- What is a Student Blog?
- Internet Safety Rules
- How To Make (and Remember!) a Strong Password
- What is RSS?
Lesson 2: Let’s Get Started!
- FREE Homeschool Blogging Correspondence Course
- Why WordPress.com?
- Warning: Uncheck the “Remember Me” Box
- A Blogger’s First Steps
- Did You Spring Ahead?
- Proofreading: More to Love
- Subscriptions: An Easy Way to Keep Up With Your Blogroll
- How to Save Time with Quick Edit
Lesson 3: Writing Tips and Tricks
- What Can I Write About?
- Copyright and Plagiarism
- What Keeps You From Writing?
- Free Mind Mapping Software
- Problogger Advice: How To Kick-Start Your Blog
- Conquer Writer’s Block
- Spilling Ink: Cool Bookmarks
- Improve Your Blog with These Writing Tips
- How to Avoid Accidents
- How to Teach Writing: Best Ideas from the Comments
- Favorite Fumblerules of Grammar
- Warning: Don’t Copy!
- Do You Mix Up These Words?
Lesson 4: Make It Easy for Your Reader!
- Reader-Friendly Editing and Format
- More Reader-Friendly Editing
- Introduction to HTML
- The Sidebar is for Your Readers
- Sidebar Widgets
- A Student Teaches Me (Blogroll)
- Organization (Categories and Tags)
- Organize Your Blogroll with Link Categories
- Use a Custom Menu to Highlight Your Favorite Things
- Changing the Front Page of My Blog
Lesson 5: Photos and Other Extras
- Adding Photos to Your Blog Post
- Adding Photos & Giving Credit
- How to Navigate the New Flickr
- Signs of Spring (How To Make a Slide Show)
- Photos, Videos, & Giving Credit Where It’s Due
- How To Add a Poll
- How to Add a Custom Header
Lesson 6: Let’s Have Some Fun!
- Homeschool Kids Carnival — with Sidebar Buttons!
(and check out the more recent carnivals, too) - Challenge Yourself to Blog
- NaBloPoMo: 30 Posts in 30 Days
- Dragon Writing Prompts
- Fun with Wordle and More Fun with Wordle
- If Dogs Were Teachers…
- Let it Snow!
- More SPAM
- Paragraphy Puzzle
- Grab a Sidebar Badge
- Plinky Writing Prompts
- Celebrate A Blogiversary
- My New Toy: Flag Counter
Lesson 7: Growing Your Blog
- Blogging 2 Learn “Grading” Rubric
- Inventory & Goals
- Finding New Readers
- What is Your Message?
- Learn Through Blogging — Real Life Examples
- Comments, Comments, and More Comments
- Watch Out for Spam Comments
- More Comment Spam
- “Going Viral” Has Nothing to Do with Swine Flu
- How Can You Improve Your Blog Today?
- Show Off Your Best Stuff
- New Sharing Options, and How to Add Delicious
- 20 Days to Better Blogging
- Add a New User to Your Blog
I Love Quotations
- Why “Blogging 2 Learn”?
- Quotes About Writing
- More Quotes About Writing
- Quotable: “Blogs Are like a Journal, But. . .”
- To Write Is to Think
- Browsing the Quotations Page
- Quotes About Blogging
And Videos Are Fun, Too
- Joy To The World
- More SPAM
- He’s Alive!
- Just for Fun: Simon’s Cat
- Shakespeare’s Who’s On First
- Infinite Series: How to Add Up a Gazillion Fractions
- How about History?
- Do These Gears Really Work?
- Everyone Loves Lucy!
About My Homeschool Co-op Blogging Class
- Hello World!
- Making a Plan
- Time to Sign Up!
- Still Planning: Weeks 1-6
- More Planning: Weeks 7-12
- Winding Down
- The End?
- Homeschool Blogging Class II
- To My New Blogging Students and Their Parents
- Co-op Class Schedule
- Update: New Project
April 28th, 2010 at 11:34 am
Scary Pic!!!!!!!!!!!
June 21st, 2010 at 6:35 pm
[...] already posted most of my best tips at Blogging 2 Learn, the blog for my homeschool co-op class. I’m sure you can find something of interest, from [...]
July 11th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
Hi — I am giving a talk about homeschool blogs at the HSC Conference in August (hscconference.com), and when I asked for input, someone mentioned your blog. How topical this page is! I’ll definitely let the people who attend my talk know about these great blog tips. Thanks! Suki
July 12th, 2010 at 7:59 am
Thank you, Suki! I’m always glad to hear that people find my work helpful.
April 27th, 2011 at 10:02 pm
I’ve been blogging for years now and I can see there are still things for me to learn from your lessons. Thanks!