Homeschooling Quick Start is for the parent who sees an urgent need to start homeschooling their child quickly and for the already homeschooling parent who is losing momentum and in need of a refresher on why they are homeschooling in the first place.
Written in a format that allows for a quick overview, and then diving deeper into detailed aspects of homeschooling, this book includes seven steps needed to start homeschooling from scratch with plenty of examples and firsthand experience.
Step one looks into the parents' conviction on why homeschooling is the right choice for them. Why are we homeschooling? There is more than one answer.
Step two is about each state's homeschool law, and the implications this has on how to begin homeschooling.
In step three, the reader will create SMART goals for their homeschool, and for each individual. Family dynamics are taken into account by emphasizing the importance of each family member, their individual gifts and goals, and finally the goals and vision as a family, aiding in the direction of the education process.
Step four walks the reader through five different education philosophies and finishes off with book and websites recommendations for further research. The reader is encouraged to choose one or two philosophies that sound like a good fit for their personality and family goals.
Step five is how to design the curriculum.
Step six explains how to create a workable and efficient household schedule.
Homeschooling Quick Start covers a wide variety of topics that are usually not covered in one book. These include encouraging the building of family culture around reading aloud to your kids, recommending and reviewing curriculum and teaching materials from five different education philosophies for every subject, walking the reader through creating SMART goals and a family vision, presenting a fresh view on teaching literature, history, and foreign languages, and making sense of it all by teaching worldview, great literature, and logic. It covers legal matters, and gives direction for running your household and general, non-school-related family matters.
The vision of this book is that education is a lifestyle and involves the whole family. From an academic standpoint, reading aloud as a family, studying literature and history combined with philosophy and worldview, make up the foundation on which all other subjects are built. But real life is not only about the academic subjects, but also how to apply them in a meaningful way. Being exposed to history, great literature and the great ideas of humanity helps students to find meaning and purpose in their lives.
