Last month, I shared the top five reasons I believe all homeschooling parents should consider attending a homeschool conference—especially if it’s local. However, I also understand that many aspects of attending a conference can be daunting for even the most organized homeschooler. Decisions such as how to simplify travel, stay…
Whether you’re just finding your footing or you’ve been on this road for a while, we all know the homeschooling journey isn’t exactly a straight line. All homeschoolers go through different seasons — some years are full of energy and excitement, and in others we’re just doing our best to…
When my mom decided to start homeschooling in 1988, I was just two years away from finishing high school. We had moved too far from my public high school for me to continue attending, so she included me in this sweeping decision, despite my initial resistance. From my questioning teenage…
The foundational idea of a homeschool co-op is to “cooperate” with one or more families to share any part of the home education process. Co-ops can be as simple as two families meeting regularly to cover one subject or as complex as a large, organized, fee-based program covering a myriad…
I’ll be completely honest: This past year has been a season of real brokenness for me, and I have mostly been in hiding. But when a friend asked me to attend the Oklahoma Homeschool Moms’ Winter Summit with her, I felt “seen,” and I thought, “Why not?” I had never even considered attending the summit, but…
Today we wrapped up a semester of Botany with our informal homeschool co-op by taking a scavenger hunt hike with three families who have children close in age to ours. This concept of sharing educational experiences with a few friends is the essential definition of an educational “co-op” — or at least it should be. However, as homeschooling…
There are many reasons why homeschooling parents can experience burnout during the school year. It could be seasonal (a long winter), topical (curriculum feels stale), or more personal (family crisis, illness). It may even get to a point that you feel like throwing in the towel — but it doesn’t…
It is time — past time, really — for me to pay it forward in the homeschool community. I have always liked to help people, but I mostly do it on a one-on-one basis — quietly. However, the past couple of years, I have been challenged as a homeschool veteran…
I love going to homeschool conventions. I have written about them here several times. In fact, this year I am helping to plan the OCHEC Tulsa Convention. Last year, though, I discovered something else about myself during my convention experience. You see, I had a pretty rough spring semester and had…
Back when my mom began homeschooling, I was the eldest child and a junior in high school with lots of prior experience in public speaking. I was in the drama club in middle school, in the student government in high school, and even a part of the cheerleading squad for…