Megan

My husband and I get excited every time we hear about or meet a new homeschool family. It’s fascinating to hear their stories. Some started their homeschool journey during the pandemic because they were concerned for their child’s health. Some were frustrated with the uncertainty and crazy scheduling that accompanied pandemic schooling. And some were alarmed when they got a good look at their child’s curriculum. Parents have a host of reasons for homeschooling. But, in my view, there are no bad reasons—any reason to homeschool is a good reason. 

If you are new to homeschooling, the myriad of options may confuse you. Some curriculum publishers have designed their curriculum for Christian homeschoolers, but there are a growing number of secular homeschool curriculum options as well. Let’s take a look at the differences between these options so you can understand what might work best for your family.

[Read more…] about Choosing Between Secular and Christian Homeschool Curriculum

My family loves homeschooling. In fact, we love it so much that when my youngest daughter turned three, she started asking to join in. Many families start homeschooling their preschoolers like we did. She would watch some of her siblings’ video lessons; she would scribble on pieces of paper and place them in the folder where we kept finished worktext pages; she would even pretend to take the weekly spelling test!

We knew that we didn’t want my daughter to start kindergarten when she was three—she wasn’t developmentally ready for that and it would have frustrated her. Plus we wanted her to have time to enjoy being a kid. But we realized that we could do preschool activities at home with her. We could dedicate some time each day to work on some school-readiness skills through guided play. She was happy to be “doing school” like her older sisters, and I enjoyed watching her grow through our time together.

Keep reading to learn more about homeschooling preschoolers

A few years ago, a friend introduced my family to the idea of a year-round homeschool. We had been homeschooling a couple of years on a traditional school schedule, and I was feeling very burned out. My friend shared how a year-round homeschooling schedule had helped her family, and, after some prayer and consideration, my husband and I decided to give year-round homeschooling a try. It was a complete game-changer for our homeschool, and we’ve been doing it now for four years. 

It’s hard to homeschool and keep up with all your other responsibilities such as laundry, housecleaning, cooking, medical appointments, etc. If you are struggling under the pressures of these and other obligations, you may want to consider year-round homeschooling too.

Learn more about year-round homeschooling

Have you ever observed a child who is truly delighted with learning? It’s amazing. You can see the intense concentration. You can hear the joy and excitement. The child isn’t asking for snacks or breaks or fewer math problems. For that magical moment, nothing else matters. That child just wants to learn more. This is the goal that everyone who pursues child-led learning longs for.

You as a homeschooler want that joy-focused learning experience for your child. Maybe that’s why you chose to homeschool in the first place. You may be interested in child-led learning because of its emphasis on child-initiated activities and homeschooling at your own pace. But before you implement child-directed learning in your homeschool, consider its strengths and weaknesses.

Learn about child-led learning

With the expense of raising children, does adding on the potential cost of homeschooling give you pause? In addition to the costs of groceries, clothing, medical care, babysitting, the expenses add up fast. If you are considering homeschooling your child, you probably have a lot of questions related to how much homeschooling costs and what the actual cost of homeschooling is. Is it something that your family can afford? How much do materials for homeschooling cost? How do homeschool costs compare to public and private schools? Are there any funds available for homeschoolers? Are there any homeschool tax credits? Let’s look at how much homeschooling costs so that you will have a good idea about how homeschooling might fit into your family budget.

Learn more about homeschooling costs