36 Comments

  1. I worry that we’re feeling more and more called to homeschooling in some way, but our finances will not allow it. Working hard to get the SL’s paid off by the time 1st grade rolls around so I can work part time and be able to HS if we decide it’s best. s

  2. My son was just born and I’m already interested in homeschooling when the time comes. I attended public school, too, so I don’t know the first thing about it. This book sounds like a great place to start. Thanks for the review and good luck with homeschooling!

    1. No. I don’t think so at all. But I kind of look at it in the view of getting into a pool and thinking you’re too lazy to swim. Once you’re in, you’re swimming, and it hardly feels like it because you wanted in the pool in the first place. GRANTED, I’m not foolish enough not to expect things to be difficult, but I am kind of giving that part up in faith that it’s yet another calling as part of my vocation as a mother. …not to paint the opposite in a bad light at all, because hey, if we try and realize it’s not for us, to school, to school they’ll go!

  3. You can do it! I am a teacher and the most important thing about being a teacher is loving your students – which you already have down : )

    Thanks for sharing this! I have debated homeschooling (my kids are still little) and this book for $1.99 will be the perfect summer read.

  4. We tried homeschooling in pre-school and kindergarten but I failed so hard. It was just so hard to make time to do it when I had another little one to take care of too. For first grade we did K12 online schooling and I was so super happy with it. They sent us tons of curriculum, science and math toys, and a computer, fo’ free, and we only had to check in with the “teacher” once every two months to make sure we were on track. Lots of lessons we skipped, we did others out of order, some days we still didn’t get to it. Next year we’re heading out on our own, but it was so nice to have a year where my daughter got the basics like reading down and I learned how to be a homeschooling mom without my head exploding. I know this sounds like a paid ad but it’s really not I promise haha. Its just I hear lots of mothers scorn online public school, like you don’t really have your mom cojones if you have to still rely on it but it really just helped our transition from no-school to homeschool and find our stride while still having back up. Having some kind of structure really helped me to have confidence in myself and my daughter, and really understand what she is capable of, especially since I started off with a “public school mindset” thinking that I had to hold her hand every step of the way. Now we’re on the verge of “un-schooling” because I was just so astounded by how much children can learn if you just give them the opportunities. Is this turning into a ramble?
    TL;DR we used K12 for our first year and it helped us get it together.

    1. YES! My husband and I are struggling to understand/visualize the realm outside of the public school, classroom setting mindset. It’s kind of difficult when that’s all we’ve ever known! I think maybe something like this might help us for the first year, too. Thanks for your input, Kierstin!

      1. If you haven’t already you need to watch Ken Robinson’s TED talk (the most watched TED of all time! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY) and read Peter Gray’s book Free to Learn. It really helped give me a new vision of what education really means and forced me to answer the question….what am I trying to achieve by homeschooling?
        I think for most of us that choose to homeschool the answer is not “so they ace their SAT” or whatever lol :)

  5. My youngest is 14 and has always been homeschooled. I have 4 who went exclusively to public school, 1 who attended parochial school and will graduate from public high school this Friday having spent her junior and senior years there. I, like you, am not organized, but please do not touch my piles of papers,because I do know what is in them!
    I tried many different curricula and found I am not a boxed curriculum kind of gal. We use a little of this and a little of that. I have literally thrown books in the trash part way through a school year because I so detested them.
    I prefer to see and handle books before I buy them. That can be difficult because I usually want to see the one book the publisher didn’t bring to the conference!
    Some sound advice that I received from a veteran homeschooler when I began was this: They don’t usually finish the book in public school, either. That takes so much pressure off! I only insist we finish math, but I don’t use the typical homeschool (No Saxon or Math U See here although we tried both) math program and missing a couple of lessons is huge.
    Finding support, whether in person or in an online community, is a huge help.
    I am not entering the contest as I do not need a how to book at this point, but I wanted to offer my encouragement.
    I need to take the time to write a blog post about what I use and why, I think.
    May you enjoy your journey!

    1. Thank you so much, Christine, for weighing in and giving encouragement. It’s funny about the finishing the book part: I was just talking to my husband about that. I remember always noting that for my entire elementary and high school education, we never ever actually finished the entire text book. (yes, I noticed that even in elementary school!) I’m right with you on wanting to handle books before I purchase, or else it could easily become a costly process! I’m actually excited to find a way to teach math- and do it right, in a way that my boys can learn it! This is what excites me about homeschooling :) Thanks again, for stopping by.

    1. Aww! Jenny I’d definitely order the ebook this week, if you are able. I really love having a physical copy of a book because I am a biblioblasphemer and I take notes in the margins, BUT with the ebook being so cheap right now, it’d give you a start!

  6. I am currently homeschooling my kids, but I’d love to have a hard copy of this book to help reassure me on my journey! I’m not very organized, and sometimes I really feel like I’m over my head. :)

  7. I have known Rebecca Frech for many years (we have been friends since grade-school). What a wonderful review of her book! (and I want to say after reading it, I want to be your friend too!) Please don’t put me in the drawing, I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your post. Happy Monday!

    Scottie

  8. I have been debating this for a while. Now that I have the time I may be doing this very soon

    1. That’s how it started with us, just debating the issue. But it weighed more and more heavily on our minds and we kind of figured, why not try, if we’re willing? I’m always honored to have you visit, sweet lady.

  9. We will be homeschooling first grade and kindergarten this year for the first time. I am most nervous about getting things accomplished with the younger kids and about the kids being happy with homeschooling!

  10. I don’t have children yet but my biggest worry should I decide to homeschool them is that I won’t be organized enough and that they won’t get the proper socialization. I wa homeschooled thru sixth grade and I wish I would have gone to school. It would have saved me a lot of painful social experiences later. Even my Kim admits that. However, I learned so much and experience so much from homeschooling I am grateful for that.

  11. Biggest fear, hands down, is not having patience for the child who has a different learning style than me.

    1. That’s definitely a worry for me as well, but really only when they get to be middle or high school aged. I’ve been informed that many local homeschooling groups gather for certain classes, or some families send their children to a school for only a certain subject, sometimes due to the resources that school has, or for many other reasons; one of them possibly being differences in learning type. I definitely worry that my oldest will have a different learning style, but I have hope in the flexibility of homeschooling, AND my husband and I both are open to regular public or parochial school, if in the end, things don’t work out. :)

  12. Starting Kindergarten with my oldest this year, and I am most worried about keeping on an even schedule not giving him too much or too little and staying consistent. Also the idea of teaching while entertaining the two younger seems daunting.

  13. Yay! I’ve still got a couple years to figure this out BUT getting a head start never hurt anyone (right? lol).

    I think finding the time would be the biggest fear of mine since we’ll have who knows how many kids by that point.

    1. That’s something I’m trying to address at this juncture, kind of figuring out what a typical homeschool day might look like, and how to either involve the littles, or keep them occupied.

  14. And I never get the hang of rafflecopter…I wouldn’t press “I commented” until I already did…but that’s wrong, whoops! My biggest worry would also be how unorganized I am, and how I don’t feel qualified.

  15. Wishing you all the best as you start this with your boys! I have a friend who would love to read this book! Hoping I win so I can pass it along to her…

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