Hi! I’m Ilka, married, mother of two. I homeschooled my older son, and now the younger one, with preschool material from Rod&Staff. The older one is currently in 3rd grade in a Christian one-room schoolhouse, which is much like what I hear from large homeschooling families. 
The little guy will most likely join him in the fall. However, that school only goes K-5. I’m not ready for public school 
and very much in favor of homeschooling after that. Both my sons, however, are social butterflies, and we will need to find more interaction with other children (besides church). We live in a very rural area, no children nearby.
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Hello, my name is Suzie and I have been home schooling for about 4 years, minus a quick trial of the local schools last year for about 6 months of the school terms year.
My kiddos are 8yr old girl who is transitioning between 2nd an 3rd grade. A 6 yr old 1st grade girl and an 8 month old little boy.
We have not yet found much support in the area where we live. But hope to soon. My biggest trouble is of course staying motivated and keeping the kids on schedule.
I love this blog already and look forward to sharing and growing with you all.
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Hello Homeschooling families!
I’m Tracy, and I haven’t started homeschooling yet, but it’s my dream to HS my 2 kids. I have a boy (almost 4) and a girl (1.5 years). I’ve joined this forum looking for ideas/insights from you veterans. My son has one more year before he would start K, so I’m trying to get my ducks in a row to see if im really cut out for this endeavor. It’s a bit overwhelming, but I’ve been researching HS since my son was 4 months old. I LOVE the idea of having my kids home for school-- I think Erika posted once that students spend over 16,000 hours away from home in the traditional setting, and I don’t think I can part with my kids for that huge chunk of their formative years! Not sure about curriculum preferences, but I think I’d lean toward Classical with some extras tossed in there.
Thank you in advance to everyone here for sharing your wisdom to moms like me who want to join the ranks of homeschoolers!
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Hello! I am Liza and I have been homeschooling for just this school year.
I have 1 daughter, 5, and 3 stepsons who are 15,16,17 this year. (EEK!)
My daughter, and youngest stepson are homeschooled. My SS14 is using time4learning and I am still working on finding a groove for my DD5. She is advanced in math, but behind in phonics/reading. We are still plugging along though! I will find something she enjoys, and I am certain she will do wonderful.
I was homeschooled all 12 years of my primary education, and we used a more classical approach. I am drawn to that, with my kids, but am finding that doesn’t always fit their style. l am definitely still learning every day. 
thanks for the group! !
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Hi all!
So excited to be a part of this community. I have 3 kiddos (5, 2.5 and 8 days!!! 
So we are taking a little break right now but my oldest will be kindergarten age in the fall. We have been enjoying all the preschool activities so far. I look forward to getting back on schedule and figuring out what our style will be.
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Awww…congrats on the new baby!
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Hello!
I’m Megan and I have two wonderful daughters (7 and 5) . This is my first year officially homeschooling, although I did some pre-k stuff with my oldest daughter before she attended a public kindergarten.
Overall it has been an awesome experience and I'm hoping to get my husband on board for a second year. We initially chose to home school because my husband is in the military and between moves, deployments,training and schools he has missed out on much of our daughters lives. We really wanted to be able to take advantage of the time off he does have when he is home. Homeschooling was something that had been on my heart for a while, and I had prayed for years for a clear answer and for Him to soften my husbands heart. Unfortunately, he still harbors some reservations about their socialization. I'm not quite sure why though, with all their activities they have a better social life than I do. :grinning:
I think that my teaching method is traditional/eclectic. There are certain subjects that I prefer a more traditional method, whereas with others my daughters seem to respond to a more eclectic approach. The language arts come very naturally for both my girls and I. Math and science are not my forte and so for those I have to step out of my comfort zone and try to make them fun.
In all honesty, I’m thrilled with how my daughters and I have grown through this year. I feel that they have a solid friendship, which they struggled with before. I feel that as a mother it has actually helped my practice patience and I treasure the opportunity to see them learn. I look forward to being a part of this community and hope to learn even more.
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Thank you! Would you mind sharing with me a little bit about why you have chosen homeschooling?
Love your description: “classically traditionally with a bit of unschooled…” ! 
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Love your kids beautiful names!~
I’m Shannon - mommy to two wonderful little girls, Nadya (7.5) and Katya (3), and wife to my high school sweetheart. We are learning through our 3rd year of homeschooling. We started when Nadya was in Kindergarten. She’s an advanced learner and the public school options wouldn’t be able to meet her needs nor provide her with the kind of nurturing environment she needs. We floundered a bit our first year, using a mix of ideas that I pulled from the internet and browsing at Mardel’s while visiting my grandmother. We found quickly that an all online based program did not work for us! This year we’ve been using Sonlight and really really enjoying it - she is an avid reader so the literature base is an excellent fit for us. I supplement with Notebooking/Pocket Books and lots of Lego time as they are her other passion. We participate in a local homeschooling coop group for 6 weeks each Fall and Spring and I teach a weekly Lego Robotics class for Nadya and 2 of our homeschooling friends.
My youngest is just getting started; she attends a Christian Preschool 2-days per week. She has really blossomed there and enjoys having her “thing”. I’ve know the director for years and feel this is the path God is leading for Katya. I have some of Sonlight’s P 3/4 that we’re working through as well - she loves to read stories together, sing, dance, and paint.
I feel truly blessed to spend this time with my girls and to be an active participant in their learning and life adventures.
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Hey Everybody -
I’m Erika and am married to Brian. We have a daughter, Blakely, who is will be 3 in June.
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I am new to homeschooling and plan to bring Blakely home from preschool this summer and start on our journey of homeschooling.
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Just one kiddo for us, and our family is complete! Yes, I’ll be in the minority of homeschooling an only.
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As I’ve begun the research process in to different styles I think I will gravitate between Charlotte Mason, Thomas Jefferson Leadership, and Relaxed Homeschooling.
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I believe that the public school system is failing our children, and I want to teach Blakely to be an independent thinker, grounded in God, and to have an entrepreneurial spirit.
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Check out www.jimmiescollage.com she also home schools an only child Hope you find some ideas on there.
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Thanks @Proverbs31I read her book Homeschooling An Only Child and love her thoughts on Charlotte Mason and notebook ing!
Any other resources? I would value all the help I can get
On homeschooling in general or on homeschooling an only child? Or any particular subject?
Hello, one of the great things about homeschooling is to be able to tailor the curriculum to where your child is at in each subject. For example, my 12 yo is technically in 6th grade however, he is doing 7th grade math, 9th grade science, and because of his dylexia he is in 5th grade language arts for the writing/spelling and grammar but in 9th grade vocabulary. Because he has different learning styles and is at different levels I use a variety of curriculum to meet his needs. I also have a 9 yo 3rd grader that I customize learning for. The most wonderful thing is being able to provide a challenge where they can be challenged and extra help where they need it. Another wonderful experience I have had with homeschooling is that working 15-30 minutes (versus an hour or more) a day on an area of weakness really makes progress. I hope this helps answer your question.
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Hi, I’m Lori. I have been homeschooling my 3 kids for 6 years now. We mostly use traditional curriculum with plenty of extra curricular activities. Too many actually. We started homeschooling because that’s the direction we were led to and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Hi my name is Angelica and I’ve been home schooling for 2 years. I have 3 beautiful girls and another one on the way. We use Easy Peasy homeschooling but also love read aloud time so we do a lot of literature as well. I love the Charlotte Mason style of teaching.
Hi! My name is Heather and this is my second year homeschooling. I have one son but sometimes feels like he qualifies for two I don’t really know how to describe my teaching style…I was an elementary ed teacher for the public school for 9 years before staying at home with my son. I have a hard time stepping out of the box, I was schooled in strict standardized curriculum before starting this journey. For the past 2 years I have bought whole box curriculum but really feel as if we need a new direction for next year. I started homeschooling my son because he has autism. He is extremely high functioning but can not function in a typical classroom. I am trying to find the best way to meet his needs and his style of learning, but am having a hard time stepping out of my box. I am so glad to have found this community and hope to find some real inspiration from everyone!
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Hi! I’m Jen and I have been homeschooling for 5 years now. I have a 2 children, a 9 yr old 4th grader and a 6 yr old Kindergartener! I too lean towards a mix of tradition/eclectic teaching style!
We began homeschooling because we felt called to. In fact, I know it was only of the Lord that we are homeschooling, because prior to starting our journey, I was against homeschooling altogether. My heart began to soften as I felt the Lord leading me more and more towards this path. I can now say that it has been the greatest blessing (and hardest task) I’ve ever been called to.
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