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Please Recommend Your Favorite Book to Encourage Me to Keep Going


kathy_overman
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I am really struggling to keep homeschooling.

 

I want some 'ME' time back! My life has been so out of balance this Summer.

 

I want a little 'retail therapy' by getting some HS books to encourage me through this tough time. What are your favorite books?

 

Books that talk about:

 

 

  • Why to homeschool.
  • What are the benefits to HS.
  • How to keep going when it is tough.
  • How to know they are doing ok.
  • How to teach independence and self-motivation.
  • How to make it fun.
  • How to find balance.

 

 

Thanks ... and any words of encouragement would be great!

Kathy

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I just read the Read Aloud handbook and WOW it was great. I am also reading Family Matters: why homeschool makes sense.

 

There is also a quote that I just read that said something along the lines of, "It takes love to educate a child. Who loves your child more than you."

While a teacher may be fond of your kid they do not feel the love that you feel.

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Love the book entitled Homeschool Supermom…NOT!

 

I love the looks of that book! I may have to buy it.

 

OP I'm in the same boat as you. I'm really struggling with homeschooling. I don't enjoy it anymore and it's become a heavy burden on me.

 

Some books that have helped me over the years are:

 

Beyond Survival by Diana Waring

 

Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe by Todd Wilson

 

The Well Trained Mind ;)

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Sally Clarkson's books are a huge encouragement to me, although they aren't focused on homeschool per se. She is obviously a homeschool mom, though, and she always helps me to re-focus.

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I have been receiving the Homeschool Enrichment Magazine since I started homeschooling in 2002 and there has always been an article in each magazine that has greatly encouraged me. I look forward to each one I receive and have passed them on to others that need encouragement. I think you can view their magazine online as well but I love the hard copies.

 

Blessings,

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Every fall I experience a big dose of selfishness and think how grand life would be if my days were "free".

 

I feel this, too. It is a big relief for public school moms to send their kids to school after a long summer, and it is hard to know that I am keeping mine home (again). It does get better over the year. In March, April, and May, when the school year is winding down and things are getting lighter at my house, I really love the freedom homeschooling brings. I agree. Read some inspiring books and write down your mission statement again. It changes for me every year. This is a hard time of the year for me, too.

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From one who's been around this block 9 years now...it gets better.

 

Every fall I experience a big dose of selfishness and think how grand life would be if my days were "free". Then I come to my senses :D

 

:iagree:This is me 100!!!

 

 

I keep hoping to wake up and think, great they are home! Ha! Not happening, but hopefully these great suggestions will help.

 

I can't imagine 9 years - this will only be year 2. It would be so easy to walk away right now. I am trying to think about all that is good and right, instead of dreaming of my clean house, organized life, quiet time, etc. (I loved the suggested blog post.)

 

I can easily be a glass half empty person, and I am trying to adopt an attitude of gratitude. Thanks for the encouragement, I really need it!

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My two key recommendations are ones others have posted, so I'll just second them. The first is The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson and the second is the Read Aloud Handbook.

 

I love The Mission of Motherhood (and all of Sally Clarkson's books), but I have never read the Read Aloud Handbook. Thank you for the recommendation.

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I agree with the book suggestions of PP but wanted to suggest something else..

 

In my (small) town, several (5) other homeschooling moms and I have a book group. We meet every other Tuesday night during the school year and choose a book for us all to read together and then come together and discuss. "Discuss" meaning.. have grown-up conversation, get out of the house, laugh, cry, pray, ask advice, drink coffee, eat cookies, talk about life, marraige, parenting and of course homeschooling and the book! Some books have been talked about more than others. From experience I will say that choosing a book with questions at the end of each chapter helps keep us on track.. lol

 

We have done Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe(Wilson), Educating the Whole-Hearted Child(Clarkson), my personal favorite A Charlotte Mason Companion(Andreola), and we are just about to start on For the Children's Sake(Schaeffer Macaulay).

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Anything from the Steve & Teri Maxwell!

 

I went to one of their seminars a few years back, and she is just so "real." She dealt with depression in the midst of homeschooling her large family. There are 3 books that are just exceptional ---

 

Keeping Our Children's Hearts --- not entirely hs-related, but gives ALOT of info on WHY it's so important to stay involved in their lives

 

Homeschooling With A Meek & Quiet Spirit --- this book goes into a little more of her personal struggles and what she did to come out of it and get motivated again

 

Managers of Their Schools --- I for one am by nature a CHAOTIC person!! Lots of great tips on MORE than the "nuts and bolts" of curriculum and doing lessons. Makes you look at longterm goals for the kids and how to break what appears to be large tasks down into manageable pieces.

 

Don't give up!! Your kids need it! But.......... somewhere down deep, even with the discouragement that comes from time to time, we moms need them, too ;)

 

Happy Homeschooling!

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