Why We Homeschool

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of families worldwide have been thrust into schooling remotely at home. Some parents look forward to sending their kids back to school, but others have found they prefer schooling at home. They've noticed things like, "My child has learned more at home with me in the last 2 months than in the past 2 years at school!" Or, "I kind of like spending so much time with my kids and learning alongside them." Many parents are considering continuing homeschooling beyond the pandemic, and this book is here to help them make an informed decision about their children's education.Homeschooling is not about trying to reproduce a school environment at home. It's not hours and hours sitting at a desk with a parent or in front of an online class. Homeschooling is about creating an environment outside of the school structure that fosters a love of learning, creativity, family closeness, and flexibility. There is no one size that fits all in homeschooling; every family is different, and approaches homeschooling and parenting in their own unique way. In this book, 24 seasoned homeschooling families share their experiences. The authors include both religious and secular homeschooling parents from all walks of life. They represent a variety of homeschooling styles (from self-directed learning/unschooling to more formal approaches), abilities and disabilities, marital statuses, educational achievements, job statuses, races, and socioeconomic levels. The authors have children of all ages, from babies, preschoolers, and kindergarteners, to students in elementary school, middle school, or high school. And some have children who are now adults. They discuss what they love about homeschooling and also the challenges they've overcome. We hope that this book will inspire and encourage those who are considering homeschooling, as well as those who are already on their homeschooling journey. And we hope it will expand your ideas about the concept of education, and what's possible for yourselves and your children.

"Mama, why am I homeschooled?" It's a question that nearly every homeschooled child asks at some point. With its delightful, hand-painted illustrations and rhythmic structure, this charming book shows readers how they can learn scholastic skills through everyday life. Sometimes, ditching the desk makes all the difference. In choosing to homeschool, your family gains the freedom to learn while snuggled up in a porch swing. Science lessons can take place in the garden. Math facts can be mastered in a grocery aisle. Days are spent in the company of loving family. The school bell doesn't ring until tired eyes are amply rested. The homeschool life is a simpler life. Written in patterned poetic prose, this book showcases a few of the delights that come with the decision to homeschool. Do you enjoy supporting female entrepreneurs and/or fellow homeschoolers? This book was written, illustrated, edited, and published by a small group of messy and loving moms! Mama, Why Am I Homeschooled© was written for homeschooled children in the primary grades (Preschool-3rd). It is ideal for both boys and girls, ages 3-8, but certainly could be enjoyed by older siblings. Open it up and prepare to fall in love with homeschooling all over again!

What our children believe about God, themselves, one another, and the universe - it is all a feature of their education and consequent worldview.The worldview being conveyed to our children by the American public school system is badly broken, and we both can and should judge this tree by its fruits. Stagnant academic performance, bullying, school shootings, teen suicide, substance abuse, teacher-student sex scandals - all these and more have become features of the public schools in this country.We should ask and answer some important questions, then. For starters, what sort of worldview are our children constructing that these and other dysfunctions are now so commonplace?And who is helping our children come to the conclusions they ought to about God and man, and the meaning of life, the universe, and everything?If the answers to those questions are unsatisfying, there is a better way. And this is why we homeschool.

“If you read only one book on educating children, this should be the book.… With a warm, informative voice, Bauer gives you the knowledge that will help you flex the educational model to meet the needs of your child.” —San Francisco Book Review Our K–12 school system isn’t a good fit for all—or even most—students. It prioritizes a single way of understanding the world over all others, pushes children into a rigid set of grades with little regard for individual maturity, and slaps “disability” labels on differences in learning style. Caught in this system, far too many young learners end up discouraged. This informed, compassionate, and practical guidebook will show you how to take control of your child’s K–12 experience and negotiate the school system in a way that nurtures your child’s mind, emotions, and spirit. Understand why we have twelve grades, and why we match them to ages. Evaluate your child’s maturity, and determine how to use that knowledge to your advantage. Find out what subject areas we study in school, why they exist—and how to tinker with them. Discover what learning disabilities and intellectual giftedness are, how they can overlap, how to recognize them, and how those labels can help (or hinder) you. Work effectively with your child’s teachers, tutors, and coaches. Learn to teach important subjects yourself. Challenge accepted ideas about homework and standardized testing. Help your child develop a vision for the future. Reclaim your families’ priorities (including time for eating together, playing, imagining, traveling, and, yes, sleeping!). Plan for college—or apprenticeships. Consider out-of-the-box alternatives.

In the book of Philippians we are told to be anxious over nothing, and yet we are anxious over everything. We worry that our students will be "behind," that they won't score well on the SAT, get into a good college, or read enough of the Great Books. Our souls are restless, anxiously wondering if something else out there might be just a little bit better -- if maybe there is another way or another curriculum that might prove to be superior to what we are doing now. God doesn't call us to this work and then turn away to tend to other, more important matters. He promises to stay with us. He assures us that if we rely on Him alone, then He will provide all that we need. What that means on a practical level is that we have to stop fretting over every little detail. We need to stop comparing. We've got to drop the self-inflated view that we are the be-all-end-all of whether the education we are offering our students is going to be as successful as we hope it is. After all, our job is not to be successful -- success itself is entirely beside the point. It's faithfulness that He wants.

Provides a Christian perspective on how to make education a meaningful experience at home or at school, for parents, students, and educators.

Quiet the voices of "not good enough" and step courageously into guilt-free homeschooling Many homeschool parents have a long-term relationship with self-doubt. "Did I make the right decision?" "Could someone else do this better?" "Am I robbing my kids of something by not sending them to ‘regular school’?" What if there’s a better way? Not a 3-step technique or a shiny, new curriculum, but a change in perspective that transforms the way you plan, teach, and homeschool? Homeschool Bravely teaches you to see homeschooling as a calling, helps you overthrow the tyranny of impossible expectations, and guides you through the common bumps in the road, including how to: juggle school and parenting with toddlers at home teach a struggling learner plan with the end in mind accept your own limitations without feeling guilty stay the course even in the face of criticism Reclaim your hope, renew your purpose, and transform your homeschool. Because the truth is: God will use every part of your homeschool, even your fears, faults, and failures, to weave good plans for your kids.

This intimate, eminently practical memoir of a successful homeschooled family of six children illuminates today’s most exciting choice in education, and shows how it works from cradle to college. What is it that homeschoolers do that the public schools can’t or won’t? There are at least as many answers as there are studies. But nothing can capture the homeschooling experience in all its richness like the story of a real family that homeschools its children in middleclass America. Homeschooling: A Family’s Journey is the perfect book for those millions of Americans who may know someone who homeschools, who may have read about it, thought about it, and wondered whether homeschooling is right for them. Sharing the concerns of committed parents everywhere, authors Gregory and Martine Millman are consistently practical, informed, caring, and no-nonsense in their approach. They pay special attention to homeschooling and college, the economics of home-learning, and how a parent can really handle a child’s full education. Homeschooling opens a window on an exciting, important way of education—and, even more, a way of life—that can make all the difference in your family’s world.