Helium is a great site for writers of all kinds. It is a growing community of writers with various skills sharing their talent and expertise with all. In essence, Helium is a giant family where you can share your ideas and learn from others. Helium is a great opportunity for all, but it can be a wonderful tool for those of you who are home schooling your child. The following are a few reasons this is so.

Family Friendly: Helium invites writers from age 13 up to participate in their site. Because of this, they are very careful to keep vulgar language and other inappropriate content from its site. Writers help do this by flagging articles that do not meet helium's standards. Helium is one of the few places still trying to keep a healthy environment for youngsters.

Writing Standards: This also means they have standards. They know that good writers do not have to resort to profanity and other inappropriate content. They willingly work with writers to help them understand and achieve their standards.

History Lessons: Have your child use Helium.com and/or the internet to research various aspects of history. Then have them write a report consistent with Helium's standards. They can use the rating system to see how valuable their article is and use leapfrog to improve it.

Writing Lessons: Helium is full of helpful writing tips. Your teen can practice his or her writing skills here and you have a whole team of writing peers to help critique the writing and help the teen hone their writing.

Community Boards: The community boards allow your teen to ask for help from the community, even to getting a mentor or editing help. They also allow your teen to participate in conversations about things they are passionate about or things you want them to learn more about. The forums are watched closely to keep them safe for teens and there is a reporting process when problems pop up.

Contests: Contests offer opportunities for teens to write on various topics and then be compared to other writers. They can leapfrog during a contest and improve their standing. They can use it for an opportunity to research certain topics and form them into a "report".

Money: No, they may not make a great deal of money, but they can certainly make some pocket change, and get school credit for it at the same time. How awesome is that?

There are many reasons why Helium offers a great arena for home schooling teenagers and anyone else who wants to write or improve their writing. These are but a few. Allow your imagination to run wild, and you will see the endless possibilities. You may get hooked yourself, and you may, just may, teach your child a love of writing that will last a lifetime.

Because Helium is a community of helpers and because it is a site that is peer rated

Learn more about this author, Angela S. Young.
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