Getting Started

Being Mom When You’re the Teacher When your kids are little, your role as mom is intertwined with your role as teacher. From birth, your kids are learning as you are teaching them EVERYTHING. Even before homeschooling “officially” begins, you are already established as your kids’ teacher – you teach them how to walk, talk, […]

Families Homeschool for Diverse Reasons There are as many different reasons families homeschool as there are homeschooling families. For many, homeschooling is a calling. Some say it is a necessity, and others simply say it is a choice. Regardless of the reasons families choose home education, each individual must make the decision freely, and both parents […]

Hitting a mid-year slump in your homeschool?  Here are 13 ways to gain a new perspective as we begin a brand new year: Purge old papers and books, and re-organize your school space. Sort out what you need to keep for each child’s portfolio, and get rid of the rest. Chunk what isn’t working. If […]

It seems to be a well-known phenomenon among homeschool moms that the “January blues” settle in shortly after the holidays. Feelings of not being as far along as we wanted to be can become overwhelming, and the “shorter” days and yucky weather seem to add to the stress. Just knowing that I’m not the only one […]

Embracing the “Light Bulb” Moments Our homeschool changed drastically this year, and I wanted to wait to share it with you after we’d had a chance to get into a routine. Our Family Story As a blog manager, I work part time from home. My husband works full time outside the home, and we spend […]

This time of year, many homeschool moms start discussing mastery.How do you know when students have mastered a subject and are ready to move on to the next level? Some experts recommend that you complete at least 75% of a textbook to consider it credit-worthy. But, what if you don’t use a textbook? Or, what […]

It’s the middle of the school year, and your child is not thriving or growing. You think it is time to pull him out of traditional school, but you aren’t sure you can do this. You might be wondering, can I homeschool? What will my family think? What will my friends think? How do I […]

The homeschool convention vendor hall is full of eye-candy, isn’t it? In my opinion, it’s a lot more fun than the mall! After reading homeschool catalogs and pondering the best products for our family, it is a real treat to get to touch and look through materials and speak with the vendors in person. My […]

Sometimes, homeschooling can seem like a long and daunting road. Though I would not trade our days at home for anything, some days are admittedly better than others. I have days when I feel like a squirrel, running from thing to thing to thing . . . When I feel like my wheels are spinning, […]

The reality of our homeschool is that learning and life are integrated, and we do not recreate a classroom setting or schedule to achieve educational goals. Learning happens, and life happens. Whenever challenges present themselves, both big and small, we regroup when necessary and adapt. I think that the ability to adapt is one of […]

Dear Homeschool Mama, From the day I decided to homeschool, you have been there as a supportive friend, an experienced adviser, a cohort, a prayer partner, and an encouraging voice. When I had no clue how to start down this path, you assured me that I could do it. You helped me by suggesting which […]

We are year-round homeschoolers, but we scale back during the summer a bit as we make the transition back to school and on to the next grades. We’re gearing up to our full schedule over the next couple of weeks. Although we “do school” all through the summer, our pace is more relaxed for these […]