You Can Homeschool: Answers, Methods, and Resources with Real-Life Stories

By Carrie Strong and Meagan Todd

During the pandemic, many moms and dads took a new interest in educating their children at home. But how do you begin? In You Can Homeschool, author Carrie Strong answers the why, what, where, who, when, and how questions about homeschooling.

Covering the nuts and bolts and basic tools, this resource is also filled with real-life, inspirational stories from other experienced Christian homeschooling moms. Each shares their own unique stories and methods of teaching as well as helpful tips to help you confidently start your homeschooling journey.

Strong not only provides a host of information from her personal life experiences to help you take the reins of your children’s education but to also help you connect or reconnect with your Maker and discover your God-given identity. It reveals God’s love and grace, enabling you to walk away recharged, encouraged, energized, and even more excited to carry out the plans He has for your life—plans that might even include homeschooling.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664254268

Carrie Strong

Carrie Strong is an experienced homeschooling mom of three. Before kids, she spent two years in the Dominican Republic teaching French, music, art, and Bible as well as second grade and then taught K–12 Spanish at a Christian Academy in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Meagan Todd is an experienced homeschooling mom of two young children. She is a talented professional opera-singing vocal instructor and helps to moderate a large, national homeschool group.

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Copyright © 2022 Carrie Strong and Meagan Todd.

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CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

Part 1: The Why, What, Where, Who,

When, and How of Homeschooling

Chapter 1 Why Perfection is NOT Needed

Chapter 2 Why Homeschool

Chapter 3 Why I Homeschool

Chapter 4 Finding YOUR Why

Chapter 5 The What and Where: Finding Your Educational Priorities and Desired Destination

Chapter 6 The Who: Knowing Your Child

Chapter 7 The When: Readiness Is Key

Chapter 8 The How: Rules, Relationships, and Route

Part 2: Choosing Your How: Methods of Homeschooling

Chapter 9 The Online and Virtual Learning Methods

Chapter 10 The Traditional Method

Chapter 11 The Montessori and Waldorf Methods

Chapter 12 The Classical Method

Chapter 13 The Charlotte Mason Method

Chapter 14 The Unit Study Method

Chapter 15 The Moore Formula

Chapter 16 The Unschooling Approach

Chapter 17 The Eclectic Method

Part 3: You Can Do This!

Chapter 18 My Epilogue: Homeschooling Through Covid, Change, and Loss

Chapter 19 Educational Principles and Proverbs

Chapter 20 You Can Homeschool!

Acknowledgments

Further Reading

PREFACE

This book came very close to making its way into an obscure file among other unfinished projects. Deep discouragement almost got the best of me … until I remembered why I was writing this book.

Carrie, I need you to double your word count and find out what other books are already out there that are like yours.

Those were the words of a publisher. So, like a good student, I went online, only to find out a new book had just been published that was nearly identical to mine—only more comprehensive. It even opens with nearly the same phrase: "Know Your Homeschooling Why."

After even more research, I found a plethora of other books on homeschooling already available. So why continue to write this book if others already have? I thought. But then it occurred to me. I found not only my why for homeschooling, but a clear reason and purpose for writing this book.

Originally, I wanted to provide my sister with the basic tools I wish I’d had when I first started homeschooling. Things like What is the Charlotte Mason Method? or What are the laws about homeschooling? However, the reason I persevered in writing this book was not only to make available short, easy homeschooling Cliffs Notes, so to speak, but also to encourage you with real-life, everyday stories from other homeschool parents. In addition, my passion in life is not just to provide helpful tips and tools from personal life experiences; my greatest calling and desire is to help others reconnect with their Maker and discover their God-given identity, design, and purpose.

If these words ever make it into your hands, it’s because my why trumped discouragement, and because my dear homeschooling friends encouraged me to keep going. They reminded me that the beautiful theme found throughout the homeschooling world is that we all, parents and kids alike, have a different flavor to bring to life. We all have unique personalities and ways we learn and connect with others. We all grasp information differently. Some books will grab one crowd and some another. And if God has asked me to write this book, He must have a crowd of people out there who need it. Perhaps that’s you!

So yes, other wonderful resources are out there. And I’m thankful for that. Because what I will miss in this book, others have already answered, and what they’ve missed—well, maybe you’ll find it here.

I hope that you will find answers here to many of your homeschooling questions, but more importantly, I pray that by the time you’ve read the last page of this book, you will have seen God in a fresh new way. I have been praying for you before and during the writing of this book, and I will continue to pray that the Lord uses this resource not only to empower you to take the reins of your children’s education but to reveal to you more of God’s love and grace. I pray you will walk away recharged, encouraged, energized, and even more excited to carry out the plans He has for your life—plans that just might include homeschooling.

INTRODUCTION

Throughout the pages of this book, you are going to experience real-life stories from several experienced Christian homeschooling moms.

In the first chapter, I wanted to jump right in to some of these inspiring stories to show you that no parent is perfect. We all miss stuff, we all make mistakes, we all have self-doubt and wonder at times if we’ve made the right decision to homeschool our kids.

As we continue in part 1, we will take a deep look at the benefits of homeschooling and why many parents choose this option of education. We will then explore what subjects and material to prioritize as well as where we would like to see our children arrive. The following chapter will reveal some amazing tools to help you assess who your children are. In other words, what are their strengths and weakness, and what is their primary learning style? Next, we will address how to identify readiness and when you should introduce new skills or information. Finally, we will talk about how to homeschool. In each of the chapters of this section, I left you with some space to brainstorm and jot down your own thoughts and ideas along the way that will hopefully help you gain a clearer picture of what you want homeschooling to look like for you and your children.

In part 2, I’m excited to share with you some of the most popular methods of homeschooling while giving you a glimpse into what life really looks like on daily basis for many homeschooling moms. In addition, you will find many helpful resources to help you implement the method(s) that appeal to you the most.

Following all of the events of 2020, my homeschooling world was flipped upside down. In part 3 I will share with you my journey through the trials of a pandemic, family strife, sorrow, and unexpected changes. We will end our time together with some catchy quotes and proverbs as well as more stories to inspire you as you begin your homeschooling adventure.

Before diving into the why, what, where, who, when, and how to homeschool, or before taking a look at all the various methods of homeschooling, I want to first reassure you that if we can homeschool, so can you! No perfection needed!

Sister or brother, I hope that you will be blessed and encouraged by the real stories, tips, and information provided in this book. To accommodate different learning styles, some of these stories will be told to you straightforwardly, while others will be displayed more hypothetically. I hope you can gather some new information in the way that is most optimal for your learning style and that you will be able to relate to or find your story interwoven throughout the pages of this book.

So, find a cozy chair, maybe grab a favorite beverage and a pen, and let’s dive in!

PART 1

The Why, What, Where,

Who, When, and How of

Homeschooling

CHAPTER 1

Why Perfection is NOT Needed

I completely lost it with my son today. Elijah was given the responsibility for dusting the house, and he took it upon himself to remove all the DVDs so that he could reach the far back corners of a shelf. He had this novel idea not only to dust thoroughly but also to reorganize my already perfectly thought-out movie arrangement. The Disney movies were all in one location. The thrillers in another. The Western romances had their precise location, and the Christmas movies theirs.

Cleaning up my daughter’s vomit for the seventh time today was not on my to-do list. Making cookies for the garage sale was. Cleaning up dog poop that had been overlooked for the past month was also not on my to-do list. Washing all the white couch covers smudged with blueberry stains—so that we could sell the white couches that we should never have bought in the first place—was on the to-do list. Dealing with self-imposed guilt and family drama was not. And when reorganizing a massive pile of DVDs also decided to jump onto my list, well, I lost it. And my well-meaning, innocent son became the object of my wrath.

Elijah, I said in a condescending and disapproving tone, can you please explain to me what this is? As if I didn’t have enough to do today.

He remained sheepishly silent.

I began to throw—not set—the DVDs into strategic piles that would hopefully make their way back to their original locations. Son, I am not happy right now. Do you not see how this is adding way more work to my already busy day? I asked at a high volume just as the doorbell rang.

I’m sorry, kids. We can’t come play today. My daughter has the flu, and we don’t want to get you all sick, I said kindly with a smile, wanting to appear like a fun, sweet, sensitive mom, only to return to my crushed son who thought he had been doing me a favor.

And still, even after noticing his broken spirit, my condemnation continued. Intense guilt overcame me, but in my pride, the exasperation went on. After I spent twenty minutes piling up movies we never watch and placing the reorganized keepers back on the meticulously dusted shelf, my temper finally began to subside.

"I’m so sorry, Elijah. I’m so sorry. You were only trying to help. You weren’t trying to make my day harder. I’m so sorry."

He began crying. I was crying. And on the chair that had been pulled away from the dining room table where my younger son, James, was sweeping, we sat and embraced each other with tears rolling down our cheeks, all while my lifeless to-do list kept screaming my name, beckoning me away from what really matters.

The garage sale never took place. Instead, the next morning was spent with my dehydrated daughter in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV. And even though Wrap Hannah’s birthday presents never got checked off the list, our morning was filled with unforgettable memories of watching her try to act tough through needle injections, nose swabs, and x-rays. She was my brave girl. And no amount of checkmarks can replace the love and joy that filled my heart from rubbing her sweet head and watching her cheer up over an adorable blue monkey that Mimi and Papaw had hand-delivered to her in the hospital straight from the zoo.

Bible time never happened that morning. Their schoolwork didn’t get checked, and reading assignments got overlooked. Yet even in my inability to be in two places at once, God was there. He was filling in where I couldn’t be. I hadn’t had any time to assign reading pages, but on the way to the hospital, my two sons were sitting in the back seat enthusiastically reading all on their own.

This is what God does. He fills in gaps that we miss and redeems any mistakes that we make—even ones where we totally lose it with our kids.

Time and time again I hear other homeschooling moms share their stories of how God’s strength has shined through moments of weakness. My mother-in-law, Laury, and several other homeschooling friends of mine have permitted me