So – You’ve read all of the books available to learn the many hows and whys of homeschooling, purchased $300.00 worth of  curriculum, set up a small desk in the corner of the kitchen with school posters covering the room like wall paper, and you sit down with little Jonny ready to start Preschool.  

But then the struggle comes, and boredom, and stress.  You realize you don’t have a, an experienced Principle, a Secretary, a Home Ec teacher, or the budget that the school does for curriculum.  And The NUMBER ONE thing you don’t have for your school is a Janitor!

This is where I found myself back in the day – which led to HOURS and HOURS of research on how other people got through, found their own way, discovered God’s plan, and moved forward with a fluid motion of learning together as a family.  There were hundreds and hundreds of resources out there for the preschool – second grade crowd.

But what we’ve found is that it stops – the resources and how to’s – in Middle School and High School. This is the main reason why I started this blog, to write how we function in a day – transparent.  This connection with Middle School and High School parents on line has been encouraging!  I was connected with The Old Schoolhouse this week and asked to read the following book titled, Help Lord, I’m Getting Ready to Start Homeschooling My High Schooler.

This is a great E-Book for $12.45 – The Easiest formatted to read that I’ve encountered. Their page size is set so that it easily fits on the screen, more landscapeish square than tall.

I thought it would be a boring step by step guide to curriculum or Super Moms telling us if we did ABC then our kids could be as brilliant as theirs.  What I found was several moms sharing their always changing journey of homeschool.  Using the guidance and mentoring that got them through K-4 to Thrive through High School ages and on through college. I have been discouraged at times, wondering if we should homeschool middle school or high school.  But then I think of all of the planning, learning, growth, evidence, fruit – that has come out of the past six or seven years – and I can see that the next years – where thy can find a groove of who they are, what they like, where their abilities lie – that we as parents get to be a great part of that – encouraging them into adulthood – I get fired up.

This book got me fired up – and encouraged. Regular moms with regular kids sharing how they grew, shared, encouraged through hardships, disabilities and family challenges.

I would encourage any mom and dad – of 4th or 5th graders and above to read this, get a copy, read an excerpt of a family a week, keep grounded in what we are doing and what our goals are.

Help,, Lord,, I’m Getting Ready to Start Homeschooling My High Schooler!
© 2009 The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC
P.O. Box 8426, Gray, TN 37615

Review and thoughts inspired by an assignment to be written for the TOS Tryout Crew.