There are lots of blogs out there to give advice on "how to homeschool", hundreds of websites that sell materials and curriculum...well meaning advice from friends who approve, comments from others (including family) that do not... it can be overwhelming.
If you are about to begin this wonderful journey--and yes, even after all these years, I would call it that--I highly recommend getting three books to read along the way. I liked skimming through them each year before we began to prepare myself to teach my children well.
1. Educating the WholeHearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarkson
This book reminds you WHY you are homeschooling. Not just for academic reasons, although that is extremely important, but the nurture of the heart of a child. The first photo is the one that I own; the second is the new 3rd edition that has recently been released.
2. The Way They Learn by Cynthia Tobias
Both of my children learn in entirely different ways so this was a much needed book for me.
3. The question of WHAT to read often comes up. A wise woman who now has her own blog, once told me in a class for young moms that the characters in the books that we read to our children and those that they read themselves become their friends. Choose your children's friends well while you can. An excellent literature resource that I have found is Honey for a Child's Heart. I used this book for many years and was never dissatisfied with the selections. There is also a teen version of this book.
Basic needs of a homeschool:
- Your Bible
- A place to read and work at home
- These two books :)
- A good math curriculum
- A good language/writing curriculum
- A good local library
- Network of other moms
- Umbrella school (I think this is only really needed once a child reaches high school)
So, relax and enjoy / instill the love of learning in your children. Starting when they are young is ideal because you can grow with the child as they learn, you learn as they do. If you are starting in the middle or high school years, study hard, but don't feel guilty about hiring outside teachers to teach what you are not comfortable teaching. For me, that was Spanish, Geometry and Algebra 2 and the sciences (Chemistry, Biology....).
And pray for patience. I encourage and challenge you to make this school year the best it can be ONE DAY AT A TIME. :)
A dear friend sent me THIS LINK to a peaceful site [The Holy Experience / One Thousand Gifts site] with a "perfect" homeschool setting. It is a pleasure to listen to and look at but frankly, we used our dining room table or the library most of the time. I love two of the quotes that are on the site:
- Education is the atmosphere we breathe, the envelope of wonder that surrounds us, held by the gravity of our daily habits.
- Atmosphere is the warmth that holds us and grows us and our fragrance can last generations.
Does your home have an atmosphere of warmth and peace that gives a child (and you) comfort and security and love? These are the primary elements of a successful homeschool experience.
Help me, Lord, to remember to see each of my children as You do. Help me to see the beauty in each one, their potential but also the beauty that resides in them right now, this moment, beauty in them because they are my blessing from You. Help me teach them in the way that they should go and give me strength, like manna, for each day trusting that You love them even more than I do. Amen.
NOTE: I have several other posts on this blog re: homeschooling. Check them out if you'd like.
My friend Virginia is a prolific writer (much more than I have time to be) and has several excellent blogs that you will find encouraging:
Also, if you have chosen other options for educating your children i.e. private school, public school / state college [we have done all three], the concepts in each of these books and websites will still be helpful for you and your family.
Deuteronomy 6:7-8
These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house
and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.
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