A Few Things I Have Learned after Eleven Years of Homeschooling

1. Trust yourself.

Try not to second-guess yourself too much. I know. I have done it too often. But the thing is, if you do the research and think about how your family functions, how your kids learn, how much time you have for instruction and grading, you will be able to figure which curriculum to use and what homeschool style will work for you.

2. Don't be afraid to switch curriculum.

If a particular curriculum just isn't working for your student, find another one. This can be tough on the parent, but I feel that if they just aren't "getting it", it is better to switch and try something else. Math is the subject that my kids have the hardest time with. We have tried multiple texts, but we ended up back with what we started with. After trying the other texts, my son decided to stick with the beast he knew. Figures. 

3. Do what works for you.

Try not to feel pressured by the success of homeschooling friends and the way they homeschool. This is a real temptation, but just remember that to be successful you have to do what will work for your family, not someone else's family. It is better to get inspiration and ideas from others than to try to change who your family is and how they learn.

4. Always bring a book to read - everywhere.

This for your own sanity and self-education. It also sets a great example for your children.

5.Be a lifelong learner.

Demonstrate your love of learning for your children by always challenging yourself to learn. Read ahead on the list of books you have for your kids to read in high school. I know you have a list going - at least in your head. Or enroll in a MOOC like Coursera. I have really enjoyed some of the courses I have participated in. I will discuss some of them in a later post.

6. Find or start a homeschool support group that meets your needs.

When we started homeschooling, I went in search of a support group - like all the books suggested. I found a couple of groups in our area, but they turned out to not be right for us. There were a couple of other families in the group who felt the same way and we started our own group. We have a growing and active group that our kids have grown up with. I can't imagine trying to homeschool without the help and inspiration of these wonderful families. We older homeschooling moms have watched our kids grow up together and head off to different colleges, but the bonds they created are still strong.

7. Take a deep breath - it will all work out.

Sometimes it is hard to believe that everything will get covered, learned, cleaned up, done. There will be messes and chaos and struggles, but there will also be laughter, fun, peace, learning and love. One of the beauties of homeschooling is that we don't have to adhere to rigid schedules -- unless rigid schedules are what work for you. I have had to learn to give myself a break and just let the worry go. Amazingly, my oldest graduated homeschooled high school and will be starting his sophomore year at college. Somehow, we got through it all and he is doing very well. 

Things we did in June

June was the beginning of our "summer". Since we homeschool year-round, we usually spend the summer finishing up our work and reading. I also spend the summer preparing for the next school year.

Books I read in June:

Endangered by Jean Love Cush
You can read my review here.

Baudelaire's Revenge by Bob Van Laerhoven
You can read my review here.

The Last Original Wife by Dorothea Benton Frank.
You can read my review here.

Favors and Lies by Mark Gilleo
The review will be posted in August.

What Strange Creatures by Emily Arsenault.
You can read my review here.







Among the books read by my daughters in June were:

Galen and the Gateway to Science by Jeanne Bendick

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster








Epidemics Deadly Diseases Throughout History: Malaria
Holocaust Memories: Speaking the Truth

Trying something new. . .

Now that the oldest has been accepted to his preferred college and is finishing up the remainders of his senior year of high school at home, I have been looking back and pondering what I want to do differently with the younger two students. Each student is different and I must work with each one to fit their curriculum to their needs and interests. But generally, I like to be somewhat consistent in how we school.

I use The Well Trained Mind as my template for our homeschool. I find it to be the best in explaining the method and in giving examples of curriculum to fulfill the needed coursework. I also believe that it is the most complete and ambitious vision of what homeschooling can be.

My kids don't seem to enjoy math very much and we tried various math curriculum with the oldest and Saxon Math seemed to work as well as any other. With my upcoming freshman, I am considering switching to Jacob's Elementary Algebra. If this doesn't seem to work, we will probably fall back on Saxon Algebra 1.

This summer we are trying something we haven't done in quite awhile. My kids are all good readers and prefer to read books on their own.  However, I will be reading Sophie's World out loud and then we will discuss together. That is the plan, anyway.

We will continue to school year-round and take short breaks throughout the year.
Their music study will continue with private lessons.
I think the biggest change will be that I am going to try to add much more literature that we all read and discuss together, not just one student and parent.

I am still trying to figure out the best way to tackle Latin study. Nothing we have tried has really clicked with all of us. I am considering Wheelock's Latin this year - but we will see how that goes.

My Guides and Inspirations for our Classical Homeschool

I don't know that I would ever have thought that I could homeschool if I hadn't found The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise. This is the book that got me started and the one I refer to every single year when I plan out our year. I used to attempt to do everything suggested, but I have since gotten over that need. This is my "homeschooling bible".

The Latin-Centered Curriculum by Andrew Campbell is another of my favorites. I love to refer back to this book when I forget why I'm doing this.  There is a lot of information about a true classical education and the reasons for striving for this type of education. The format is nothing like TWTM - it doesn't follow a four year cycle, but it has some great ideas and curriculum suggestions. I tend to try to blend suggestions from both books for our school plans. This book is available at Memoria Press as well amazon.com.

Climbing Parnassus by Tracy Lee Simmons is a great resource on classical education and is quoted extensively in The Latin-Centered Curriculum. If you want to learn the history of classicial education and some well researched reasons for following it, this is a great resource. This book is available at Memoria Press as well as amazon.com

Norms & Nobility by David Hicks is another great resource on classical education. This book tends to deal more with high school education rather than applying classical education to elementary age students. This book is available at amazon.com

I have also used Ambleside Online for book lists when my kids were younger. Ambleside is Charlotte Mason inspired, but is quite useful for schedules and book suggestions.  I think that Charlotte Mason and classical homeschooling work very well together, especially in the younger years.


The Baldwin Online Children's Literature Project is a wonderful resource for classic children's literature. I have used so many of their books over the years, especially for children's versions of greek and roman stories. I highly recommend this site.