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Congratulations on your decision to homeschool!  You are beginning a wonderful and exciting journey that will bring you closer to your children and twine their hearts around yours.

Whether you are new to homeschooling or are a veteran at it and want to homeschool more effectively, I am here to help you find your optimal homeschooling style, identify the way your children learn, and make wise curriculum choices.   In addition, I have so many more resources I’m going to share with you that I am confident you will find even greater personal benefit than the answers to these three topics.

For more than a decade I’ve been searching the web, talking with every experienced homeschool parent I can find, and reviewing curriculums to find the best ways to homeschool my children.

I have felt the intense frustration of trying to use a math curriculum that was given rave reviews by a friend who found that it solved so many mathematical issues in her homeschool, only to find that it created confusion, frustration, and many tears for my young daughter.  Then the feelings of overwhelm and despair as I spent weeks reading online reviews of different math curriculums, all posting testimonials from parents who claimed this curriculum brought out the genius in their child.   I had no idea how to choose, and was plagued by worry that I may guess wrong.

I have experienced feelings of aggravation and even anger as I watched my young son continually act out toward his sisters, as if he wasn’t getting enough of my attention and this was the only way he could get it, in spite of having my personal undivided attention on a daily basis.  I later learned that I just wasn’t communicating love to him in the way he needed it – I wasn’t speaking his language (more on this when we talk about love languages!).

And I have been sure I must be a failure as a wife, mother, and teacher when the classical style of education I thought was perfect for my interests and teaching style had to be cast aside each day, meaning school didn’t happen for yet another day at our house, because the demands of caring for a preschooler, a toddler, a baby, and being homemaker, wife, and bookkeeper for my husband’s business kept me running all day long to put out one fire after another.  It was the perfect example of too much to do, and not enough time for what I felt I should be doing (more on this when we talk about homeschooling styles).   I learned later that while aspects of the classical style appeal to me, that is not the primary style of homeschooling that resonates with me, my family, or our lifestyle.  Rather than beating myself up for not making it fit where it wasn’t really working, it would have relieved me of the emotional burdens I was creating to have known of other legitimate homeschooling options that would be a natural fit for us.

During each of those painful experiences, I wished I had a guide who could help me to find the solutions that were right for me.

Whether you are new to homeschooling or are a veteran homeschooler and have experienced similar feelings of confusion and frustration, I want to assure you that you are not alone!  I have put this program together with you and other parents like you in mind.   I am including everything that I found in 10 plus years of study, and I am giving you the tools and information that will help you find the ideal answers for you and your family.  I don’t consider myself a ‘sage on the stage’, but rather a ‘guide on the side’ who is providing you with resources that will help you and your children to have your own beautifully unique homeschooling journey.

This next part may sound like bad news (I know when I heard it I was dismayed!), but you will frequently need to be changing and adjusting the way you do things in your homeschool.  That’s right, just because you decide on the right homeschooling style, find the perfect curriculum, or have a great relationship with your child one school year doesn’t necessarily mean you are all set!  Life circumstances will change, children’s needs will change, or other issues will arise that will require some adjusting with homeschool plans.   The foundation you build from completing this course will give you the skills you will need to evaluate the needs of your family and make wise homeschooling decisions.

This course is designed with 10 steps to help you get started homeschooling.  Completing the steps in order will empower you to understand your child, yourself, and the homeschooling style that is best for your family.  In each step I share with you my own experiences and direct you to the best websites or blogs that I have found to provide additional perspective.  I refer to several books in this course that are optional resources if you are interested, but there is one book that I consider a MUST read.  This book is The Child Whisperer by Carol Tuttle.  You will need to read at least a portion of this book to complete step 4, so you may want to order it now so that you will have it when you get to that step.

And finally, this material is copyrighted.  That means it is my work and that it is illegal to copy, reproduce, or share any part of it.  I’d love for you to tell others about it, but please let them purchase their own copy, as this is helping me to support my family.

Alright then, are you ready?  Let’s dive in!

Here are the 10 steps you will take to begin homeschooling:

• Believe you CAN
• Enroll in HSLDA
• Allow time for a detox period if your child has been in public school
• Build a relationship
  • Discover your child’s love language
  • Determine your child’s personality type

• Create your vision and mission statement
  • Identify your homeschooling vision
  • Create your homeschooling mission statement

• Understand your child’s learning style. Also, be aware of your own learning style.
• Determine your homeschooling style
• Set realistic goals for the year
• Create a learning environment
  • A – Attractive
  • B – Box
  • C – Clean

• Determine Curriculum

Rule 1) Determine whether you really need a curriculum for the subject.

Rule 2) Don’t rush out and buy.

Rule 3) Do your research

Rule 4) Don’t buy just because someone else likes and recommends it.

Rule 5) Consider the price and check the return policy