*This giveaway has ended. Winners to be announced shortly.*
This summer I was a part of an ebook project that I wish I could have read when I first began homeschooling.
"You can do it too: 25 homeschool families share their stories" is the brainchild of Lorilee Lippincott, who blogs at Loving Simple Living. Along with her family’s journey to minimalism and simplicity in their lives, she is also passionate about encouraging families that homeschooling isn't as daunting as it might seem.
Knowing just how different every homeschool family looks and functions, she chose 25 very different, very average families to share answers to a series of questions. What I love about the end result is that there is something here to help and encourage anyone, whether your children are 5 or 15, whether you’ve been homeschooling for 7 years or are just thinking about starting out.
Each family answered 26 questions including:
- What does your typical school day look like?
- Do you follow a specific curriculum or method? What and why?
- Are there specific challenges you face with home schooling? (physical, legal, family)
- Have you thought about quitting before? Why and what changed your mind?
- How much time to you spend preparing lessons? Have you learned any tricks to plan better?
- What do you see as the biggest misconception that people have when they think of home schooling?
- Why do you keep home schooling? Is it different than why you started?
- If you could tell someone thinking about starting home schooling one thing, what would it be? or what about someone feeling burned out and unsure they can continue?
Best of all, there are no right or wrong answers, and this doesn't read like a how-to book. It's regular families talking about their everyday lives as homeschoolers. Ups and downs, victories and struggles, good days, bad days and all the in-between days. Real life stuff.
To give you just a little sneak peek, I thought I would share a couple of my own answers from the book…
Are you worried about socialization? Why or why not?
Absolutely not. In fact, I'm grateful that my children are avoiding the negative socialization that they would receive in a classroom or school playground! Think back to your own school years… what was your socialization experience really like? My public school experience included learning about things I wasn't mature or old enough to handle (sex, alcohol, etc.) struggling with peer pressure to be disrespectful to teachers or to make fun of other kids, being left out and feeling emotionally crushed, being concerned with being cool and popular and adapting to the current trends and fads, and ultimately prioritizing my relationships with my peers above my family. Need I go on? My experience is NOT uncommon. Is this the type of socialization that we are worried about our kids missing out on?
By keeping my children home with me, there are plenty of opportunities for positive socialization. They are learning to love and appreciate their siblings, to be a part of our family and do their part through chores and other acts of service, and how to obey and respect their parents. I am able to supervise the great majority of their social interactions with other children and I can carefully choose ones with children that I feel will be positive friends and playmates, that will encourage and build up my children rather than drag them down. My kids have a lot of adult interaction, and because they are not so influenced by their peers, they are learning how to speak both respectfully and also intelligently to adults (rather than being one of those kids who answers in one-word sentences while looking down at the ground). My children are less dependent on peer, age-based groups, and are happy to play with children that are both older and younger than they are. I can guard their exposure to things beyond their understanding and maturity levels, and be there to talk through the things that we may hear in a song or watch in a movie or read in a book-- I don't have to wonder how they will internalize these new ideas, because I am right there to discuss it with them.
After 3 years of homeschooling, my oldest is an articulate, fun, engaging and confident little girl, who makes friends easily anywhere that she goes. Other adults frequently comment on how polite she is and how well she engages in conversation with them. My daughter isn't a superstar (well, I'd like to think so, but I'm a little biased!). In fact, I've known plenty of other (older) home schooled kids and teens who also exemplify these wonderful traits, which I believe is a direct result of homeschool-style socialization.
What are your concerns with home schooling now? Are they different than when you started?
Recently, my husband and I have gone back and forth, weighing the decision of whether or not to enrol in our province's government-funded homeschool program (you still choose what and how you want to teach, but you receive money for purchasing curriculum and are then held accountable to a teacher who checks in on your progress, gives reports cards, and ensures that you meet up with the grade level requirements). Our other option was to simply forfeit the money that we have been receiving and go it alone. After much consideration, we've decided not to enrol, and it's a decision I feel very satisfied with. Every state and province is different in what it requires of homeschooling parents, and over the years I have recognized that I am a better homeschooler and that I am more focused on our family's goals (as opposed to the outside requirements and expectations of others) when I have no one to be accountable to but myself, my husband and the Lord.
My biggest challenge in it all is learning how to balance academic study with the other aspects of developing our children (love for God, character, responsibility, etc.) as well as nurturing a creative and inspiring environment. In other words, my concern is that I would use these years and months and days wisely, knowing what to focus on in each season, so that our family can reap the rewards of a job well done. I don't want to spit out children that conform to the mediocre standards of a government-sponsored education system which I have chosen to opt out of. Doesn't that defeat the purpose? Instead, I want to give my children something far superior, and therein lies the challenge… knowing what is superior and what is worth our time and energy and then figuring out how to do it. My concern with homeschooling these days is knowing how to provide my children with a truly excellent education.
When I first began, I don't think I honestly knew what to concern myself with. I wondered how I would choose and afford curriculum, and if my kids would listen to me, and could I actually teach them as well as someone else. I wondered if I had the patience, and how our extended family and friends would react, and all of those other things that parents worry about when they first start. Now, I've stopped worrying about all of that and started to worry about the actual substance of what I do and why I do it. I'm not concerned with what others think but only concerned about being faithful to my task.
Taken from my interview in the book You can do it too: 25 homeschooling families share their stories
How to get your copy
"You can do it too" is available here for $9.99. The PDF version that I'm currently reading is a meaty 253 pages, so it's a full length book.
Or, you could win a copy...
I'm going to run this as a simple, 24-hour giveaway for 3 copies.
To get entered, all you have to do is leave a comment telling me either:
a) Why you homeschool and one thing you love about it
OR
b) Why you're considering homeschooling (if you don't yet) and one question that you have
That's it. As my 7 year old daughter would say, easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy. :)
Giveaway ends Wednesday, August 29th at 9am (ok, so it's technically a 30-hour giveaway, but I'm not crawling out of bed at 3am to end it :). Giveaway has now ended. Thanks, everyone!
Hi! I have a 2 1/2 year old and a almost 7 month old. I just decided to homeschool Officially thanks to encouragement from the awesome book "Educating the Wholehearted Child" by Clay and Sally Clarkson. So good! I want to homeschool because I want to ensure I am giving my children the strongest possible spiritual foundation. I feel it is my biggest responsibility as a parent. But, let me tell you, the lazy conformist in me DOESN'T want to homeschool! It sounds nice to dump them somewhere for most of the day and have someone else take care of teaching them the things they should know. Too bad my heart and conscience tells me "no!"
Oh, my question. how do you handle more than one kid's school work at once?
I’m considering homeschooling our girls (they are 3 and 1). One of my questions is how do I schedule our days when I feel like everyday is so different?!
I am considering homeschooling because I want my child to have a Biblical worldview and I'm concerned about negative aspects of socialization.
We have been homeschooling for 5 years. I love that I can control the socialization they receive. I also love the flexibility. We had an opportunity to travel across the country 3 years ago, so we made it into a home school field trip. It truly was one of the best trips we have ever been on, and it could not have happened had they been in public school.
I just started homeschooling and so far I love that I can work at my son's individual level and pace for each subject. I also like not having to follow the school's schedule.
My husband and I are considering homeschooling one day because of the socialization issues you mentioned in your interview, and because we feel we can give our kids a better, more personalized education at home than they would get at school.
My question would be: How do you balance your roles as teacher vs. mom? Do you separate those roles during school time vs. the rest of the time?
I love that, though we are in the midst of a major move, my (very young) children do not have to adjust to a new school!
I am going to start my oldest in a more scheduled pre-school at home this monday. She is very excited but I am more concerned about how to keep her attention. We will only be working for about an hour at a time but I have 2 younger child who will probably distract her a bit. My question would be how do you keep a 3 1/2 year old's attention to complete a task while having younger children playing near by?
We believe that the family/home is the center of discipleship...and home educating our children goes hand in hand with keeping it the center!
We homeschool in order to teach our children what is most important in life- to know and love God, and to love others as well. I love the opportunity to teach them about our loving Heavenly Father as I teach school subjects. I also love not missing out on all of these special moments of their too- short childhood, but nurturing a relationship with them, and between our whole family all day long. I love to see their eyes light up when they figure something out, do well on a test, or learn something new and exciting.
I'm considering homeschooling. One of my questions is how to manage different levels and how to entertain/include toddlers while working with your other children.
We are considering homeschooling because I was a public school teacher and after I saw how things are done both socially and academically, we decided homeschooling will be the best choice for our family. How do you homeschool multiple children at different grade levels?
We started homeschooling 4 years ago when we received clear direction from the Lord and knew we were charged with teaching and disciplining our little ones. We do love it.....and most days even smile about it. It brings me joy to hear my kids questions, watch their search for truth, and experience the "light bulb" moments in their life.
I homeschool because I believe the Lord has called me to it, and I love it because I love spending time with my kids, loving and learning together!
This is our second year homeschooling. My children are in first grade this year. We love exploring the world together, reading and just enjoying being together. One of my favorite parts is seeing my children's personalities and gifts emerge.
I am planning on homeschooling my children with the hope of establishing a good Godly foundation. I also want to be the main person influencing my children with the help of God and my husband....who better to teach my children than their mommy who loves them so much and wants the very best for them?! There are many things that scare me about homeschooling though such as; am I capable, will they listen, will I hold them back at all, will I be patient enough, can we afford it, will people think we are strange, etc. I would love a copy of this book to find some encouragement. Thanks so much for offering it.
I am considering homeschooling my 3 year old twins because we live in a terrible school district and I want so much better for their education. Along the lines of socialization, I also want to keep my kids away from so much of the negative things I was subjected to in school.
We want to homeschool our daughters to help give them a biblical world view and keep the Bible and Christ as the most important thing. Right now I'm looking into the types of homeschooling and what is required. My oldest will be 4 in December and we are looking at starting preschool or kindergarten in the fall.
My sons are 4 and 2. Having been a public school teacher, I am seriously considering homeschooling my children. I could never imagine subjecting my kids to the things I heard and saw in my middle school classroom. Even though I was a teacher, I feel inadequate to homeschool, completely ill-equipped. My question is: how do you balance it all and maintain your sanity? We are praying through this, but I need more information. Thank you for contributing to this book!!
I am considering homeschooling for my daughter in the future (she is only 18months right now) because the benefits of having her home with me and being able to help her to get the most out of her education seem so much better than the public school education that I got as a child. My biggest question is just whether or not I will be able to have the time to plan lessons to effectively teach my daughter what she needs to know. Right now it all just seems a bit overwhelming. I would love to read this book to gain more insight into the world of homeschooling.
I have a 2 year old son and a 4 month old daughter and have just begun to perhaps start maybe thinking about schooling options for them. I grew up in public schools and had a pretty good experience but I do remember being exposed to non-age-appropriate things that I would rather my children not "learn". I have also seen family friends who were homeschooled, and liked some of what I observed but didn't like how other families carried it out. I would like to learn more about the nuts and bolts of how to choose curriculum, how much prep time it would take for me to teach them said curriculum, how I would get "it" all done while teaching them, etc. Reading about the experiences in this book would be very helpful to me.
We homeschool for the absolute freedom it gives us in scheduling, curriculum and every aspect that we want.
My favorite thing about homeschooling: easy, the time I get to spend with my children every day!
We're hoping to start homeschooling the next year or two, though we are beginning unofficially this year with our three year old, but definitely more in an unschooling way. I think what I want most is to help my daughter meet her full potential in a way I believe isn't possible in a traditional classroom environment.
My kids are currently enrolled in a private, Christian school in our area and while we are very pleased with what they offer, I am drawn to the flexibility that homeschooling affords. As a busy family, the freedom to schedule according to your families time table as opposed to the schools tempts me.
But, I'm not sold on the idea yet. Education is very important to me and I want my children to have every door open to the come graduation time, so they are free and able to pursue whatever they desire. So, my question is, how to homeschooling families of teenagers deal with college/university requirement and ensuring your children are well prepared for post-secondary? I ask this because in reality, very few (none?) of the homeschooling families I know have children in university or have continued their own education if homeschooled themselves.
I recently left my teaching career to stay home with my daughters who are 1 and 3. We are doing home preschool at this point, and I am so motivated by the learning and fun we are having together. I most love the freedom to explore topics that we are interested in and the close attention I can pay to their learning experience. I do have some time before I have to make a formal decision about homeschooling, so I am looking for all of the information I can find at this point.
I have the typical worries of someone in my position: Will I be able to teach them and expose them to all they need to know? Will I choose the right curriculum? How will I explain this to my family and friends so they understand? Will my girls regret that they didn't have a typical school experience? What if I can't keep up with homeschooling? How will I get my husband to agree with me if he doesn't already? And on and on... :)
I would love to read about each families experience. When I first became a mother (of one) I was determined to homeschool. Now that I am due with #3, the 3rd in four years, the idea really scares me, but I still feel compelled. Thanks for the giveaway!
b) Why you're considering homeschooling (if you don't yet) and one question that you have
Reason:
When I have my first child (soon!) I plan to homeschool. There are so many reasons that I even consider it, but the two most important are 1) lots of quality time with my children, 2) the children will receive an excellent education because they will be taught by someone who has their best interests at heart, rather than busy teachers, who are often forced to prioritize conformity over learning.
Question:
It appears that many of my questions will be answered by the book :), but one question is how early mama should start to work on reviewing for herself higher level math and physics as preparation for teaching/testing the more advanced high school lessons. Of course there are curricula out there, but I assume that I will be interested in tweaking them at least a little bit, so I would want to be fresh on the material.
We have homeschooled for 6 years now. We homeschool because the Lord lead us and you don't say no to God!! What I love about homeschooling is that we have flexibility (being a military family that's very important), I know without a doubt what my children are learning. I love that I can see my children's strenghts and weaknesses and can address them immediately vs a teacher getting back to me after she/he's eventually noticed there's a problem.
Most of all, I love that I get to spend all my days with my children. I get to be the one who hears them read their first words, solve their first math problem, first sceince experiment, learn their first history lesson, etc. It's such a blessing. It can be challenging, but the blessings override any challenges!
I love homeschool because it is real life and I can testify to God and his wonders, wisdom, love...all of his character. My children are different than public schoolers as I was told yesterday: my children are loved and are ones that an older lady we "adopted" loves to spend time with.
I would really love to read this. Our daughter is in her last year of public elementary school and we are really struggling over what to do about middle school. Private? Public? Home school? We're so conflicted. Looking for clarity, from the Lord and would love to read about other families experiences homeschooling. Thanks for the chance to win!
We are just beginning to homeschool this year with a first-grader, kindergartener and a pre-schooler. I am very excited but also feel overwhelmed. I am most concerned about our schedule and finding time to get everything else done, like cleaning the house. Any suggestions?
We are homeschooling our 7 year old for the 3rd year now. We love it. However, we have an 18 month old now...and I would like suggestions for keeping little one busy while schooling the older one. :D
I am very interested in homeschooling for several reasons: we don't feed into a great school, I feel a lot of public school time is spent on prepping for tests, and I want to be able to incorporate our faith. I do not currently homeschool because we are dealing with some major life changes all at once, and I feel like my son's school would end up getting put on the back burner when his frenzied momma can't handle everything going on at once!
I homeschool because we were in the middle of moving to a new town the last 2 years and didn't want our son to have to move schools so many times.
I was given the opportunity to "test drive" home schooling when I worked as a nanny. My own mom always said that children always learn better from experiences, which can so naturally be a part of homeschooling. I clearly remember from my educatinal psych classes in college the charge to teach to "every learning style in the group." what better way? I consider it for my own children as a source of stability; our lifestyle requires us to move every 2-3 years.
I decided to homeschool because God definitely told us to. That said though, I was jealous for my kids' time. I wanted to be the one they spent the most time with and thus learned from. I pray that they will develop the love for the Lord that I have and always walk in His ways.
We recently made the decision to start homeschooling our three children and I have loved making the transition. What I love about it so far is the opportunity to get to know my children on a deeper level. Also I am now intimately aware of what they are learning and how well they are learning it. I am no longer at the mercy of school schedules and reports from teachers to tell me if my kids are succeeding or struggling. I am also very grateful for the opportunity to include character building and biblical studies into their daily learning activities. My children did very well in the public school setting and I am thankful for the amazing foundation of learning that their teachers have established in them. I look forward to having an active role in seeing that they continue to grow and develope into the amazing adults I know that God intends for them to be.
I am supposed to start homeschooling my three girls 6, 4, and 2 this fall. I was homeschooled and know how beneficial it can be, and just how it helps retain a childs natural love of learning. Yet I am still struggling with the HOW is this supposed to work out with all the other things that need doing around here? Plus, we just found out that we are expecting #4 and I am not feeling well or capable. My question is, how does one get it all done, especially in those pregnancy or new baby seasons that are very full as it is ?
M.T.
I want to encourage you to go for it. Those things you feel you "need" to get done around home, well the important things will get done and the rest of it will fall away as you find it's not necessary to be done daily or even weekly.
I've homeschooled through 3 pregnancies, so I promise it can be done and two of those I was sick the whole pregnancies. It absolutely can be done! The fact is, you are not going to get it all done and that's ok.
we are considering homeschooling because our children are gifted, and could be better able to pursue their passions with us. how does one challenge the gifted learner, especially when their gift is not your own?
I stayed home this year to be with my 4 and 2 year olds, and I am planning on homeschooling my son next year for kindergarten. He is high functioning autistic, and can read encyclopedias and use the information in conversation later, so being in a class learning how to read would not be good for him. His drs keep saying he needs the social interaction, but I was a teacher and I know that public school is NOT the best place for him. It was truly only by God that I am able to stay home now.
My husband and I chose to homeschool our children because we felt the Lord leading us to do so and we wanted to obey the Lord. My son is entering the 5th grade and after four years of home education and two in public schools, we love not having to reintegrate our son (the oldest is the only one who attended public school) into the family structure after returning from school. I love that we get to teach our children based on our Christian values above all else, and my sons love being at home together. I also love that my children love being around me and appreciate being at home; often when we go places they are ready to go home after a while.
I have a 1 year old son who I have been on and off thinking about homeschooling when he turns 5. I would love to win a copy of this book so I can read more about other's experiences. A question I have about homeschooling is in regard to how parent's keep their kids social with other kids. Also, have parents found that their children grow up to be overly mature or socially awkward because of homeschooling.
We are homeschooling this year (using Classical Conversations) and I'm super excited about learning all of the stuff my daughter is going to be learning, particularly the history.
I am considering homeschooling for several reasons. I would love to be able to spend the time with my son, I really don't want to have to worry about school districts, school ratings vs where I must live, etc. I also would like to deter the negative aspects of public school socialization and pressures with ore positive influence that is much more controlled in the home school setting. And finally I want my son to have a religious schooling background and can not afford private schooling nor do I necessarily agree with all of their teachings where I have no input. One of my biggest concerns, beyond "can I really do this?", is that I am a single mother who must solely provide our household income. I have scoured the web for work from home ideas so that I may be able to do this but haven't really been able to find something that will actually pay the bills. Are any of you in the same boat? What do you do? So, I would love to win a copy of this book, it looks great, and I can use all the help I can get!
I am nervous about the environment that public school is offering my kids, but I'm not sure I can be the teacher and mom to them. My son is in highschool and I am afraid I'm incompetent to educate him.
I would love to homeschool my children but don't yet due to finalcial constraints (I have to work, though work from home so I am with my children before and after school). The main reason why I want to do it, and why I WILL, somehow, make it happen (God willing) is because I miss my children terribly when they go to school. I love spending time with them, and watching them learn, learning with them, experiencing their curiousity and interests develop. My biggest question though, when I do embark upon it, is how will I balance the needs of my kindergarten age son, and my second grade girl? I am still working on figuring that one out!
I'm hoping to homeschool because i want my children to have an excellent education that includes travel and exposure to other cultures ..... and be free from the confines of standardized testing and one size fits all curriculum! Can i do it?? I hope and pray i can!!
This is our 8th year homeschooling. I enjoy being with my children and watching them learn as I learn with them. I wanted to avoid all of the negative things you mentioned about socialization in public schools. Most of us have been there and can't imagine ever wanting that for my children. I love hearing about the experiences of other homeschool familes because it is not always easy, but it is always worth it!!!!
My children are not school aged yet (22 month old and 2 week old). I've been considering homeschooling for tons of reasons and have not come to a conclusion yet, primarily because my children are still pretty young. One reason I'm considering it is to control what they're learning and how they're learning it. I enjoy education and I enjoy learning so that's naturally a desire I have. I also have a million questions. One would be, how do you decide what approach to start with? Start with a curriculum or interest-led learning or find our city's homeschool association and go from there?? Getting wisdom and thoughts from a variety of experienced homeschool moms, like this book, sounds awesome!
We are starting our first year of homeschooling this year. We decided to homeschool for several reasons. We like the flexibility, the chance to teach our children in a positive and affirming environment, and the ability to maintain our close family. It was probably the hardest decision we've ever made, but the best! You only get one chance with your kids!!