Hi! My name is Emily and my husband and I have 3 daughters, ages 7, 6, and 3. We have been homeschooling for just over 2 years. My oldest was in public school for half of kindergarten, and although there were no problems, we just couldn’t stop feeling like we weren’t ready for our 5 year old to be gone 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Now we have two who are grade school and are plugging along, one year at a time!
2 Likes
Hi! I am Amber. This is my second year homeschooling (two years of preschool) and my husband and I have just decided to continue through elementary school. My children are 5, 2, and hopefully we will be adopting a 9 month old little girl next week. I am eclectic. Basically I prefer a different style for different subjects. I prefer more traditional for language arts and math, and then a little bit of everything for all other subjects. We started homeschooling for a multitude of reasons. The primary reasons are that we want to have more influence on our kids lives that what we feel can happen if they are gone all day at school, we feel God has called us to it, and our local school is tiny with multiple grades per classroom. I am a credentialed elementary school teacher and taught for 5 years. I love being able to invest in my own kids education.
Hi! My name is Jessica. This is my second year homeschooling. I have been blessed with three wonderful kids. Alex (6), Ryan (5), and Kate (2). The main reason we homeschool is because I felt God put homeschooling on my heart before Alex was born. I went to public school so I feel this is all new territory. I love the family bond we have and flexibility homeschooling brings! I am still figuring out my teaching style as I figure out my kids learning style. Love your blog! I used your K4 curriculum and will use it next yr with my kindergartener. I use a lot of your resources! Thank you for this forum.
Hello! I’m Joy. I have been homeschooling for a year. I have a 3-year old daughter and I think I’m just using the learning through play teaching style. I’d like to know more about the different teaching methods though. Why did we (my husband and I) choose to homeschool our daughter? Our primary reason is because we want to instill in our daughter the values and principles that hold dear to us - godly values and biblical principles. The other one is because I believe that we, her parents should be her first and best teacher. 
Thank you so much for this opportunity to listen to others and be heard as well. Blessings!
My name is Tamara, and while I’m a homeschooling mom, I’m not the one who does the teaching. My mom does. A little odd, but works for us. Hubby and I have three kids, Garrett (8), Nora (7) and Henry (4). We started out from the beginning.
I’m not sure exactly where we fall into, style-wise. We use different curriculum for different subjects and the kids attend a homeschool coop once a week. So far, we’ve used Learning Language Arts through Literature, Abeka, ACE/School of Tomorrow, and Horizon Math.
Hubby and I knew that we wanted to homeschool, but with both of us having to work, weren’t sure how. My mom decided to retire and offered to homeschool for us. It had always been her dream to homeschooll my sister and I, but she never did. I’m so incredibly blessed by my mom.
We homeschool for the usual reasons, but since CC has been implemented I’m so happy that we did. I can’t imagine placing that much stress on children to test.
I look forward to learning more about HS and sharing with everyone!
Hi there, I’m Amie. I have three girls, ages 5, 7, & 9. This is our second year to school & we love it! Some of the reasons we decided to homeschooling are that I felt I was being called to homeschool, family time was an issue, and then common core kinda sealed the deal. I’m still ‘feeling’ my way around some but we tend to lean toward a traditional, CM style. Once our youngest is reading we will pull more towards CM & unit studies, so we call all learn together. Thanks so much for this!!!
Hello! My name is Sheila and we have been homeschooling for 3 years. I have a son who is 11 and a daughter who is 7. I think that I lean more towards traditional with some eclectic also mixed in there. We like to take our time with lessons and really grasp and explore what is of interest.
There are so many reasons why we started homeschooling, which I’m sure many of you have the same reasons! 
Most importantly we put God first in everything we do! After years of working in public and private schools for over 5 years, my husband and I felt the calling to bring our kids home and give them the best we have to offer. So here we are!
I’ve been a big fan of Confessions Of A Homeschooler for many years! I’m really looking forward to learning from you all and sharing my own experiences in this wonderful adventure we are all in!
Hi. My favorite name is “Nana”, because that means I am a proud grandmother of 6 grandchildren – five beautiful girls, and one VERY special boy! Oh … I am also a VERY proud mother of a talented daughter (whom you know as @erica ) and a handsome son. I also have a wonderful son-in-law and a wonderful daughter-in-law, although I am not a mother-in-law!!
I was not a true believer in homeschooling. Both my husband and I had our doubts, which you have all heard before. What about socialization, what about curriculum, what about ??? Well, I have to admit, we have both “turned the corner”. Watching our grandchildren grow in the homeschooling environment has been enlightening … no it’s been a miracle. They are bright, self-confident, and well rounded. Oh … and VERY socialized! The children that I have met through our daughter’s co-ops are also impressive!!
We are now a firm believer in homeschooling. While I didn’t have the opportunity to stay at home with my two children, I can see the impact that the homeschooling environment can have.
Best of luck to all that are joinging this community forum. I look forward to keeping up with others are doing.
7 Likes
I was homeschooled and when I had children it was just natural for me to homeschool them. I have eight children, and one on the way. The oldest is 13, so I guess I’ve been homeschooling for about 9 years (officially). I use different methods for each child depending on their personality and age. I used Charlotte Mason for the boys when they were younger (and very restless) then started a more traditional approach when they could handle it. I don’t know if it was because the next child was a girl or because she saw her brothers but she could handle sitting down and actually completing an assignment. BTW, love your Preschool and kindergarten curriculum, saves me a lot of time!
Hi Everyone,
My name is Coral. I have 4 children ages 13, 11, 8, and 4 mo. I started homeschooling from the very beginning with all my children. So I guess I have been officially hsing for about 9 years. I chose to hs for many reasons, but the biggest one was that I was hsed for most of my schooling. I also went to private and public school and by far hsing was my favorite. My husband was on board from the start because he had such a bad school experience.
We have a very eclectic hs with some CM influences. We like to at least once a year take a long (1-2 mon.) rv trip. My husband works for himself which makes this possible for us. This is his biggest reason for hsing. He does not want us tied to a school schedule. We are enjoying moving our way across the states.
I am excited to see this new forum! I hope to have some great conversations with you all.
Hi! We’ve been homeschooling for 18 years in July. (Wow! Really? Time has gone by way too quickly!) My daughter is a junior at Moody Bible Institute. My son is 13. We’re relaxed eclectic & use things like Math U See, Apologia science and Story of the World. I started homeschooling because I wanted to be the one who taught my daughter to read & I wanted to enjoy her more. I wanted to teach her the way she needed to learn & what she wanted to learn. I wanted to disciple her & include all her education in her discipleship.
I am Alta M. I have one daughter, a 5 year old - almost 6 year old. I am a pediatric wellness chiropractor two days per week. We have been homeschooling since our daughter was born, but ‘organized’ homeschooling for this past year of kindergarten. We are eclectic homeschoolers, we use a few specific curriculums, such as Nancy Larson for our Science, All about Reading and All about Spelling for our reading and spelling, but we also use what ever works for us from other people as well. For example we really enjoy using the site words from COAH!!! We have a Nanny that comes to our home the two days that I work and she is our ‘substitute’ teacher. We work together as a team, but have two different teaching styles, which help with the learning.
I started homeschooling for one main reason - I wanted my child to be able to learn in a safe, yet active way. I didn’t want her to have to sit in a chair in front of a text book the whole day, instead be allowed to learn while moving, touching, or doing. Since then, other reasons have come along, but the main reason is still the same.
1 Like
Hi - My name is Jenny and I’m a missionary in Guatemala. I’ve been homeschooling for 5 years now and have 4 kids (9, 7, 5, and 2.5) My oldest recently started attending a private school here in Guatemala and I HATE IT and want him home. Not sure when/if he is going to return home. We use a combination of traditional and Charlotte Mason style. We read a LOT of books, and are trying to incorporate some languages into our school (French, Latin, Greek) I can’t decide if I want to educate my children classically, or by literature…so we sort of have a mix.
So excited to be here, although I am hoping that I can actually find time to participate. Maybe I’ll give up Facebook entirely and just get to know you ladies! 
2 Likes
I’m Melissa. I have four children, 17, 12, 10, and 5. I am homeschooling my youngest, she is doing kindergarten this year. We decided to home school her because of some minor disabilities. She just can’t handle large group settings. It also makes it much easier to continue her speech and o.t. outside of school.
we were part of a part time public school program for home schoolers through our school district. She goes one day a week and has a small class of other kindergarteners. It was hard for her for awhile but she does well with it now.
Hi Everyone! Im Mary and Im so excited to start this journey. I am just starting the process of preparing to homeschool next year, 3rd grade. I have one 7 year old boy. He’ll be 8 when we beginning homeschooling in the fall. I am excited but nervous about this step. He is currently in a private Christian school which I love, however I homeschooling has always been on my heart and I feel that God is telling me that this is what is best for our family in this season. The teaching styles I have been researching and believe I like best are a mix of traditional and eclectic. I currently run an in home daycare, so technically we homeschooled for pre-school as well. This has always been something I have hesitated about. How I successfully manage my in home daycare business and fully meet the growing educational needs of my son. I am currently finishing reading your book Erica, and getting as prepared as I can for the upcoming transition. Choosing curriculum has been particularly overwhelming topic for me. So happy to meet everyone and grow from the wealth of knowledge there is here!!
Hi! My name is Karen, and this is our 3rd year homeschooling. Our kids are 7 and 4, and I use a mix of eclectic, traditional, and Charlotte Mason curriculums. We originally started homeschooling, because our lifestyle (primarily family and ministry) bent easily towards a homeschooling “schedule” vs. a school schedule. We now see there are so many other benefits! I was terrified of doing this homeschool thing as I am not a teacher and can be impatient; but I’m so grateful for a wonderful community around us and well, the grace and mercies of God daily. Thank you, Erica, for such an incredible blog that has truly helped me more than I could ever express.
Hi my name is Heather. We have 2 children, a son who is 7 and a daughter who is 1. We are fairly new to homeschooling…we started halfway through last year. I am very traditional in the way I like to do the schooling so far…although that might change as we go along.I started homeschooling for a lot of reasons but mainly to teach my children values and morals that are important and because I felt God put it in my heart. I was a little slow to get started (my son went to kindergarten and some of 1st grade) but now I can’t imagine doing it any other way!
Hi, I’m Krista, and this is our 8th (roughly!) year homeschooling. I have 3 kids ages 12, 10, and 3. My oldest is 6th grade, so we’ve been working on being better about following a schedule and learning a little bit on deadlines and self-motivation. My 4th grader is dyslexic and dysgraphic and has really forced me to go outside my own preferred teaching style to help her with what works best for her. My 3yo is determined to keep school from ever happening.
I never knew there was a label for my “style” but apparently I’m eclectic. I find what I like for each subject, and swap it out quickly if it’s not working for us.
My husband and I were both also home schoolers - him from 3rd grade on and me for high school.
Hello, We just start homeschooling this year. We have two children ages 9 and 5 and we use a traditional homeschooling style. We start homeschooling because our daughter struggled in public school with math. I went to the parent teacher conference with my daughters teacher when I was told that she was not doing well in math. I had told the teacher that we would do whatever it takes to help her including putting her in a extra study groups, this is when the teacher told me that “I’m sorry to say but if she is struggling now she will struggle the rest of her life” I was in shock that a teacher would just give up on a child. With that being said we felt that with common core being used at school and that a teacher was willing to give up on a child, that maybe this was God leading us to homeschooling our children. With lots of prayer we believe that this was the right choice for us. God has blessed us greatly with being able to make this work for us. My husband is gone for a week at a time so we had to figure out how to make it work with my work schedule. This is were God once again blessed us, as family said they would help watch our children at night so I could go to work. We have not looked back and our so thankful!
Hi I’m Melissa and I have 2 wonderful kids ages 5 and 2. I’ve been considering homeschooling for a long time but due to some learning disabilities with my son we aren’t sure the direction we should go. We do some after school stuff to help him. I’m hoping to begin preschool with my daughter in the fall!
So excited for this forum!