Homeschooling

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Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to be a homeschool mom! To understand how crazy an idea I thought it was, you really must read my first ever blog post: It Started With a Prayer.

Much has happened in our almost 10 years of homeschooling. I started with a 3rd grader and a 1st grader who has autism. The following year we added a preschooler. Two years after that our oldest started attending a local Christian classical school three days a week. I spent the next four years homeschooling the younger two. Three years ago my youngest started attending the same school her older sister attended, making me a homeschool mom to just my son. And now the oldest is off at college and the youngest is back at home for a year! We are the poster family for taking it one year at a time!

As I explained here I don't blog exclusively about homeschooling. Blue House Academy is more than just books and lessons; it is our way of life. So if you're looking for a blogger who is going to give you daily tips and encouragement for your homeschooling journey, I'm not your girl. I love, love, love homeschooling, but just about every day I also feel like giving up. It's a hard job, but it's also the best job. In honor of our 5th anniversary of homeschooling I explained just how hard this job is, but that we're not in this journey alone. If homeschooling doesn't deepen your dependence on God, I don't know what will!

Nevertheless, I do occasionally have something useful to share, and I love to talk curriculum! Want to know what we've used the last several years? Here you go!


The three most visited posts on this blog are oldies, but apparently goodies. I still get dozens of hits each week on these posts, so perhaps they will be helpful to you too.

(includes link to download a copy for yourself)

(a list of all the books we read for the second year of our history cycle)

(how I prepare for the year and keep track of completed papers)

Now that we're done with our elementary years, I'm pretty set on my favorites for that age group.

All About Spelling (affiliate link)

I find it's also healthy to laugh a little when it comes to homeschooling, so I'm not above poking fun at my mistakes like when I had to eat crow over some missing spelling tiles.

If you're new to homeschooling and could use a little direction and encouragement here are some wonderful places for you to visit:

The Well-Trained Mind Forums - my go-to resource for researching curriculum and for help when problems arise.
Olive Plants - my bloggy-best friend has some great tips for homeschool planning and teaching children the art of bird watching.
Mt. Hope Chronicles - here is a lady who makes learning beautiful; so much to glean here!
Handbook of Nature Study - nature study has been one of my favorite parts of homeschooling and this lady leads you through it step by step.
The Curriculum Choice - tons and tons of reviews!
Simple Homeschool - variety of authors, variety of topics.
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers - a fun, yet informative blog.

My best advice? Read, read, read! Read to your kids good books that make learning come alive. This isn't just for homeschoolers, but for every family. Start when they are babies and make it part of your lifestyle.

You might want to visit the Blue House Academy bookstore. I've listed many of the books we have used and am even working on splitting some of them up by history cycle (SOTW 1 & 2 are done). Please don't feel pressured to buy through our store -- we don't get any affiliate money off our Amazon store because Amazon and my state aren't on good terms, but even if we did get compensated you wouldn't hurt my feelings by shopping elsewhere. ;-)

Happy Homeschooling!


What? You haven't had enough yet? Well then, here's my whole archive of homeschool posts!

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