Real Life Homeschooling
Homeschoolers sometimes face unique situations. It is helpful to connect with others who have the same life experiences as you do. And there is no denying that challenging situations arise in the best of circumstances. Sometimes the best support you can receive when dealing with a challenging situation is knowing that others have dealt with it too. Homeschooling in general can be challenging--homeschooling in special circumstances can feel overwhelming. But there is help and information for almost every situation. We've compiled the best resources for homeschoolers who face unique situations: working and single parenting, homeschooling with little ones in the family, military homeschooling, home educating a gifted child or a child with special needs, and homeschoolers who are incorporating religious or ethnic ideals in their homeschools.
Experiences
Reading about others' homeschooling experiences is a great way to learn more about home education. Browse through this collection of real-world homeschooling and how it has worked for a diverse array of families.
Gifted Child
Homeschooling a gifted child can be done. In fact, you will find that your gifted child can flourish like never before when educated at home. Here you'll find support, encouragement, ideas, and strategies for homeschooling your gifted child.
Special Needs
Children with special needs, including ADD/ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and other situations, can thrive in a homeschool environment. Parents find that support and encouragment from other parents and organizations goes a long way towards a success home education experience. We've compiled the best resources for parents as they educate their special needs child.
Large Families
Homeschooling in a large family is both a joy and a challenge. Learn how to manage those challenges, while meeting the needs of everyone in the family. Here you'll find information on keeping your home running smoothly, tending to toddlers while homeschooling, teaching many different grade levels at once, and avoid burnout.
Babies & Toddlers
Can you homeschool if you have a baby or toddler (or both)? Of course! Here are some ideas and tips to help you navigate your day with little ones around.
Only Child
Homeschooling an only child doesn't have to be an isolating experience. Rather, it is an excellent way to meet the unique and specific interests and needs of your child in a way that is not possible in a school setting. Here are some strategies to keep you and your child engaged, active, challenged, and involved.
Single Parent
There are certainly some unique challenges facing single homeschooling parents. We'll help you navigate them, offering information and solutions to the challenges you face. You'll also find support from other single parents who have decided to home educate their children.
Working Parent
Is it possible to work and homeschool? Not only is it possible, but it can bring great rewards to both working parents and their children. Learn how to handle both responsibilities and get support from other working parents. And if you are looking for ways to work from home, you'll find information and ideas here as well.
Military
Military families are successfully homeschooling all over the world. Come on in and find support and information on combining these two special lifestyles.
Overseas
We take a look at the challenges and joys of homeschooling overseas. Missionaries, military families, expatriots, and others who are adventuring abroad will all find information and support here.
On-The-Road
Are you homeschooling in an RV? Do you work as an OTR trucker and are homeschooling along the way? Or do you love to travel and see the country? Each situation brings its own joys and challenges for the homeschooling family. Learn strategies for homeschooling in your car, truck, or RV, and find connections to other traveling homeschoolers.
African Americans
More and more African American families are choosing homeschooling as a great option for their children. If you are looking for information about homeschooling and support for black families who have chosen home education, you've come to the right place.
Catholic Homeschooling
Catholic families recognize that the education of their children is one of their most important duties. Here you'll find Catholic curriculum suppliers, support groups, and ideas for integrating your faith and your homeschooling life.
Christian Homeschooling
Faith is important in a Christian home. It is easier to homeschool when you can participate in fellowship with those of like-minded faith. Here you'll find Christian support groups, articles, and other resources as you educate your children in a Christian home.
Jewish Homeschooling
Here you will find resources for Jewish parents who have chosen to educate their children at home, including support, information, and ideas for combining your faith and your children's education.
Summertime
Does learning have to stop in the summer? Of course not! There are many ways to continue the learning process during the summer months. You'll find ideas for homeschooling during the summer, ways to make the most of vacations, and a listing of summer camps.
What's Popular
How Can You Begin Homeschooling? Start!
"I am not trained. I am not smart enough. I will ruin my children!" These are often the first thoughts of parents considering homeschooling. This short discussion of a simple Christian approach to the beginning of your homeschool journey offers encouragement and information to make it easy to just start homeschooling.
Ignatius Press
Ignatius Press is a Catholic publisher with a large selection of children's books. They carry Bethlehem Books, Visions books, Magnificat children's books, and coloring books.
Extending the Role
Most folks assume homeschooling dads go off to work each day while moms stay home to teach the kids. For many families, that's certainly the case. However, there's a new breed of homeschooling dads: those not satisfied being merely an observer. They don't want to come home from work and ask what Johnny learned today -- they want to be a part of that learning experience and learn it with him. These fathers are fostering a love of learning in their kids, and rediscovering it for themselves.
How I Teach a Large Family in a Relaxed, Classical Way: Science
Family style learning is a great way to tackle lots of different subjects, including science.
African American Homeschool Network
The African-American home school movement is growing; however there is a lack of on-line networks. This FB Community is a prelude to the collaborative effort to create a membership site. Its main function will be to support, encourage, and promote African American Homeschool families. Including curriculum selection and co-op group start up in your local communities.
Slowlane.com
Slowlane.com is the searchable online reference, resource and network for Stay At Home Dads (SAHD) and their families. The Slowlane.com site provides dads with a searchable collection of articles and media clips written by, for, and about primary care-giving fathers. It also hosts multiple web sites for at home dads, including independent SAHD groups and several local Dad-to-Dad chapters, all of whose missions are to help dads connect with each other in their local areas.
Benefits of Homeschooling
This article addresses some of the reasons why homeschooling is good for a Jewish family in the 21st century.
Israel Book Shop
At the Israel Book Shop, you'll find educational games, resources, and toys, along with Jewish books and gifts.
New England Jewish Homeschoolers
This list is for Jewish homeschoolers in the New England area, including CT, NH, VT, ME, RI, MA. Members include Orthodox Jews, Conservative Jews, Reform Jews, Reconstructionist Jews, and secular Jews. 
Raising Olives
This blog shares tips, ideas and some of the ups and downs of managing a home with lots of kids and raising children for the glory of God.
Games to Help Communication
Language skills usually evolve naturally in a normal family environment. But what if your child isn't taking to communication as readily as your other kids did? Maybe he isn't talking as much or understanding what he hears. There are fun ways to help kids learn the language skills that come naturally to most people.
Our Journey
Jenni Ryan shares resources and life experiences about raising a single child and homeschooling.
TAN Books & Publishers
TAN has over 400 titles in print, including books, booklets, Bibles, and prayercards.
History of Jewish Education
Learn about where Jewish schools come about and it can be returned it to where it should be.
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Homeschoolers' Success Stories : 15 Adults and 12 Young People Share the Impact That Homeschooling Has Made on Their Lives
Despite their growing numbers, many homeschoolers still find their experience somewhat isolating. This collection of short biographies aims to alleviate some of that loneliness. While the stories profile modern-day homeschool grads and students, famous homeschooled personalities from the past are offered up early in the book for historical inspiration. John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, photographer Ansel Adams, poet Robert Frost, and...
Resources
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The Work-at-Home Sourcebook
This indispensable directory contains information not found in any other book on the subject. The Work-at-Home Sourcebook is the only book available which gives specific information for finding, applying for, and getting home work with AT&T, J. C. Penney, and more than 1,000 other companies that routinely hire qualified home workers. Contact information, job descriptions and requirements, and details on pay and benefits are included. Other chapters cover handicrafts, franchises, telecommuting, learning how to work at home, and ideas for businesses that can be started from home with a minimal investment. All information has been updated, and over 150 new opportunities are included.
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Homeschoolers' Success Stories : 15 Adults and 12 Young People Share the Impact That Homeschooling Has Made on Their Lives
Despite their growing numbers, many homeschoolers still find their experience somewhat isolating. This collection of short biographies aims to alleviate some of that loneliness. While the stories profile modern-day homeschool grads and students, famous homeschooled personalities from the past are offered up early in the book for historical inspiration. John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, photographer Ansel Adams, poet Robert Frost, and songwriter Irving Berlin join the long list dug up by author Linda Dobson. And just in case there were any doubts that fame has eluded today's homeschooled, Dobson throws in actresses Whoopi Goldberg and Jennifer Love Hewitt, the Hanson singer siblings, and conservative commentator William F. Buckley Jr. The people whose stories are told here are successful entrepreneurs, Ivy League students, and athletes, such as Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor and U.S. ski team member Todd Lodwick. But to Dobson's credit, she unearths a healthy array of "regular folk" as well. Their stories are no less interesting and, most importantly, they dispel the notion that homeschooled children are over-the-top achievers and freaks of nature. Among the subjects here are an Arkansas state trooper, a private chef, an art gallery owner, and a Cost Guard Reserve seaman.

Each chapter begins with a photo and yearbook-style sketch of the personality, complete with favorite areas of study and a memorable quote. The biographies are short and insightful, with the author often injecting her own thoughts. Dobson, the mother of three homeschooled children, has written numerous books on the topic (The Homeschooling Book of Answers and Homeschooling: The Early Years, among them) and is a news editor and columnist for Home Education Magazine. In her casual, succinct writing style, she brings to life personalities that have little in common beyond their method of education. Some were taught at home completely; others for only a few years. They offer advice, warnings, and fond memories. And their overriding message is that homeschooled people are just as diverse and interesting as the students found in traditional schools. "We are not alone," is the cry heard from these pages. --Jodi Mailander Farrell

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Black Books Galore's Guide to Great African American Children's Books
"This is a great resource that fills a tremendous need. It should be on parents' shelves at home as well as in every school." —Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D. Harvard Medical School

These are exciting times for African American children's literature. Never before have there been so many titles available. Now the three mothers who founded Black Books Galore! —the nation's leading organizer of festivals of African American children's books —share their expert advice on how to find and choose the best. This fully annotated guide opens the door to a wonderful world of reading for the children in your life. Here are the most positive, the best-written, and the most acclaimed books in every category, including board books, story and picture books, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, history, biography, fables, and more.

Invaluable for parents, teachers, and librarians, this easy-to-use, illustrated reference guide features:

  • Quick, lively descriptions of 500 books, plus 200 additional recommendations
  • Helpful guidelines for encouraging young readers
  • Easy-to-find listings organized by age level and indexed by title, topic, author, and illustrator
  • Portraits of selected authors and illustrators
  • Listings of award winners and Reading Rainbow Books.
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The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook
If you are thinking about homeschooling, or are struggling with a educational homeschooling curriculum that is difficult to use, let Dr. Ray and Dorothy Moore show you how to make homeschooling an easy-to-live-with family adventure in learning. This low-stress, low-cost program shows you how to build a curriculum around your child's needs and interests - and around a realistic family schedule. Instead of a cut-and-dried approach, you'll discover the freedom of a flexible program that encourages creativity and initiative.
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Only Child: Writers on the Singular Joys and Solitary Sorrows of Growing Up Solo
Only children don’t have to share bedrooms, toys, or the backseat of a car. They don’t have to share allowances, inheritances, or their parents’ attention. But when they get into trouble, they can’t just blame their imaginary friends. In Only Child, twenty-one acclaimed writers tell the truth about life without siblings—the bliss of solitude, the ache of loneliness, and everything in between.

In this unprecedented collection, writers like Judith Thurman, Kathryn Harrison, John Hodgman, and Peter Ho Davies reflect on the single, transforming episode that defined each of them as an only child. For some it came while lurking around the edges of a friend’s boisterous family, longing to be part of the chaos. For others, it came in sterile hospital halls, while single-handedly caring for a parent with cancer. They write about the parents who raised them, from the devoted to the dismissive. They describe what it’s like to be an only child of divorce, an only because of the death of a sibling, an only who reveled in it or an only who didn’t.

In candid, poignant, and often hilarious essays, these authors—including the children of Erica Jong, Alice Walker, and Phyllis Rose—explore a lifetime of onliness. As adults searching for partners, they are faced with the unique challenge of trying to turn a longtime trio into a quartet. In deciding whether to give junior a sib, they weigh the benefits of producing the friend they never had against the fear that they will not know how to divide their love and attention among multiples. As they watch their parents age, they come face-to-face with the onus of being their family’s sole historian.

Whether you’re an only child curious about how your experiences compare to others’, the partner or spouse of an only, a parent pondering whether to stop at one, or someone with siblings who’s always wondered how the other half lives, Only Child offers a look behind the scenes and into the hearts of twenty-one smart and sensitive writers as they reveal the truth about growing up—and being a grown-up—solo.


From the Hardcover edition.
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Homeschool Open House
Personal insights from 55 families worldwide about a real day of homeschooling. Includes homeschool illusions, family culture, learning and family style, parenting strategies, chores and organization, family management, personal empowerment, decision making, change flexibility, resources, and questions to consider before deciding to homeschool. A private tour of homeschooling homes and reflective thoughts from families. Also includes five year follow-ups from families in HOMESCHOOLING: A PATCHWORK OF DAYS.
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Black Children : Social, Educational, and Parental Environments

Black Children, Second Edition collects current empirical research unique to the experiences and situations of black children and their parents. As the editor emphasizes, "African American children develop a duality for their existence. To be fully functional, they must develop the skills to do well simultaneously in two different cultures, both black and non-black." This volume explores the meaning of this duality in four distinct environments: socioeconomic, parental, internal, and educational. The complex picture that emerges discredits many of the myths that surround black childhood development and initiates in-depth exploration into the diversities of the African American experience.

Taken together, the entries in this volume provide a valuable collection (suitable as both a core or supplemental textbook) for scholars, advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and professionals in the fields of education, counseling and clinical psychology, social work, family services, and related social services who are concerned about the optimal growth and development of black children.

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Real-Life Homeschooling: The Stories of 21 Families Who Teach Their Children at Home

The book that shows homeschooling in action!

What does it really mean when parents say they homeschool their child or children? For Rhonda Barfield -- a homeschooler for the past 10 years -- the definition is as diverse as the 21 families she studies in this eye-opening book.

Real-Life Homeschooling

From the city to the country, apartments to split-levels, you'll enter each household and see education in action. Discover the challenges and rewards of tailoring instruction to each child's needs while catering to his or her inquisitiveness and curiosity. See why the number of children being taught by their parents is growing nationwide -- at home, there are no overcrowded classrooms, no unknown dangers lurking in the halls, and no doubts as to the quality of the education.

Whether you are just contemplating homeschooling or are a veteran seeking fresh ideas and help in overcoming obstacles -- look no further: Real-life Homeschooling shows just how practical and rewarding it is to educate children and provide them with what they need most -- you!

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Homeschooling: A Patchwork of Days: Share a Day With 30 Homeschooling Families
From a bedroom community in Nebraska to a farm in Vermont, from families who rely on workbooks to those who have sworn them off, this in-depth examination of the lives of homeschoolers covers a wide range of people and methods. When author Nancy Lande started homeschooling more than 10 years ago, this is the book she wanted that didn't exist. What better way to create your homeschool than reading about others and picking and choosing the styles that appeal to you? Lande has corralled a variety of homeschoolers and, with some deft editing, allowed them to speak for themselves. Every chapter features a different household on any given day. Many of the writers are mothers, but a stay-at-home dad and several children tell their tales as well. Their detailed descriptions start in the waking hours of morning and get down to the nitty-gritty information of everyday life in a homeschool: how moms fit in showers, how chores are divvied up, how reading and research are gently initiated, how parents set aside time for themselves.

These writers invite the reader into their homes and advise, "Don't mind the mess." Their passages are often funny and unflinchingly honest. They aren't embarrassed to tell you they whipped out SpaghettiOs for a hurried lunch or stole a peek at CNN while ignoring the chaos in the playroom. Some of the families have created highly structured school environments within their homes, with desks and sharpened pencils. Others promote freestyle learning, with their children sprawled across the house working on projects or reading in between walking the dog, playing games, and riding bikes. The majority of families here live in Pennsylvania, the author's home state, but one writes from as far away as Scotland, another lives on a mountain in Alaska, and yet another checks in from a college town in Texas. Their learning logs, reading lists, and journal entries, along with family photos, help illustrate the book. The quilt they piece together is a great service to those wondering how to approach homeschooling. --Jodi Mailander Farrell

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So You're Thinking About Homeschooling: Fifteen Families Show How You Can Do It
Confused and intimidated by the complexities of homeschooling, many sincere parents never get past the "thinking about it" stage. Now Lisa Whelchel - herself a homeschooling mother of three - introduces fifteen real families and shows how they overcome the challenges of their unique homeschooling situations. This nuts-and-bolts approach deals with common questions of time management, teaching weaknesses, and outside responsibilities, as well as children's age variations, social and sports involvement, learning disabilities, and boredom. Seeing a wide variety of successfully homeschooling families in action will give parents the confidence to make their own dream of home-based education a reality.
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The Grammar Of Our Civility: Classical Education In America
This book explains the history of classical education in America and offers a vision for the role of classical education in 21st century America. 
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Montessori Method
This book is Montessori's own exposition of the theory behind her innovative educational techniques. She shows parents, teachers and administrators how to "free a child to learn through his own efforts".
MCP PLAID Phonics
MCP PLAID Phonics from Modern Curriculum Press incorporates best practices for teaching essential phonemic awareness and phonics skills with lots of flexibility. Find information on these products here.
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Pass Your New York DMV Test Guaranteed! 50 Real Test Questions! New York DMV Practice Test Questions
This book is written by a former DMV classroom instructor. He shares the 50 most common questions and answers to the New York DMV written test. A great guide to help your teen pass the DMV test on their first try.
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A Different Kind of Teacher: Solving the Crisis of American Schooling
In 1991, shortly after receiving both the New York State and New York City Teacher of the Year Awards, John Gatto resigned to begin a new career as an education reform advocate. In this collection of 16 essays, Gatto analyzes the problems of American...
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