I have been homeschooling for 10 years now, and I’ve never really questioned our decision to homeschool. I have always enjoyed teaching my kids and being there for the “lightbulb” moments on their educational journeys. Don’t get me wrong: Homeschooling is hard, and I lose my patience and blow it constantly. But […]
Tag: faith
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Finding Encouragement & Fellowship at a Homeschool Moms Retreat
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 […]
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Homeschool Graduates: The Next Chapter
Many readers know that our two daughters are homeschool graduates: They both graduated from our homeschool when they were 16. Now that several years have passed, I thought it would be a good time to update everyone on how they are doing post-graduation. Our First Graduate Our eldest daughter, Hannah, will be 22 next […]
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Find Freedom From Your Homeschooling Fears
Fear often holds us back in our homeschooling journey and robs us of the joy God has in store for us as we teach our children and create deeper relationships with them. I have yet to meet a homeschooler who hasn’t struggled with some of these fears — myself included. I find […]
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Learning Continues Despite Life’s Distractions
Even after 10 years of homeschooling, my biggest challenge is still consistency. Because of our lifestyle — owning two busy donut shops — my plans are interrupted on an almost daily basis. Add to that the recent chaos of building a house, selling a house, moving to the new house, and […]
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Ten Things to Let Go of This Year: Fear
Fear often holds us back in our homeschooling journey and robs us of the joy God has in store for us as we teach our children and create deeper relationships with them. I have yet to meet a homeschooler who hasn’t struggled with some of these fears — myself included. I find […]
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Ten Things to Let Go of This Year: Being Overprotective
There seems to be an epidemic of helicopter parenting in our country today… Or maybe it’s just in my suburban neighborhood. But I also notice it a lot in the homeschooling community. In fact, for many parents, being able to better protect their children is a major reason they decided to homeschool. Although I agree […]
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Ten Things to Let Go of This Year: Comparison
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 […]
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Tango With Traditions or Time For Our Own?
I love the idea of traditions just as much as the next person, and the warm and fuzzy feelings that word evokes in my heart. However, I’ll admit that, try as I might to establish and keep traditions, I’ve really struggled over the years with consistency. Which is a problem […]
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Thankful to Homeschool When Life Happens
I’m going to be honest here: This year has been particularly hard. Life has gotten pretty crazy with major changes for our business, home and family, including the building and development of newly purchased property while trying to sell our existing home. My well-laid homeschool plans have had to be […]
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Five Reasons I’m Thankful for Homeschooling
As a NextGen Homeschooler, I am thankful for my own homeschooling experience as well as the opportunity to homeschool my own daughters now. Homeschooling has come a long way since the mid-80s when my mom started homeschooling: From more curriculum options and enrichment programs to public funding for homeschooling co-ops. Homeschooling is […]
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31 Days of Homeschool How-To: Find Support
Welcome to our October “31 Days” series at NextGen Homeschool: 31 Days of Homeschool How-To Tips! As NextGen Homeschoolers, we remember what it was like to be homeschooled ourselves, and our experiences as students have helped shape many of our best systems and strategies today. In the next 31 days, we’ll be […]