Review: Homeschooling for the Rest of Us

By Sonya Haskins
Homeschooling for the Rest of Us is not only “real” but a little comical…to me anyway!
Sonya Haskins focuses mainly on the heart of the family and developing relationships before anything else.
“Focus on relationships first, academics second.”

Chapters:

  1. That’s Homeschooling…Right?
  2. Pressure, Perfection, and Progress
  3. Developing Positive Relationships
  4. The Socialization Question
  5. Routines and Schedules
  6. Extracurricular Activities, Support Groups, and Co-Ops
  7. The Art of Academics
  8. Nurturing Your Child’s Heart
  9. Living in a (Very) Messy House
  10. Dealing with Relatives
  11. Homeschooling on a Budget
  12. The Special Needs Child at Home
  13. Following Your Own Path

Chapter 1 touches on the broad spectrum of what homeschool households look like. The seemingly perfect, bad and the ugly…
Then there are homeschooling families in the middle. That’s where our family falls and SO many other homeschool families that I know. I like this middle road a lot!
We gave up on perfect a long time ago. Actually, I don’t think that perfection was ever the goal.

One of my favorite quotes comes from Chapter 3, “Parenting is a lot of work. Homeschooling is parenting to the extreme!”
A point that I’m glad she makes is about relationships as you transition to homeschooling. This was the case for my family. We came from the public school to school at home. Boy, was it a transition!!

In Chapter 5, there are several great example of establishing routines, how much time to spend on subjects and what to do when there are interruptions.

The chapter (Living in a (Very) Messy House) makes me cringe just to think of Chore charts. I love the idea and function of them. I just can’t get myself in gear to even want to make a chart. I’ve gotten really good at barking orders. Guess I gotta step back and realize why that method is NOT working. Living in a (Very) Messy House is helping me to hone in on some homemaking skills.

In closing, Sonya reminds readers of a few things:

  • Determine why you are homeschooling
  • Set goals for your home school
  • Follow your own path

I truly like that this isn’t a “know-it-all” type of homeschool book. It’s a very easy and delightful read. At only 172 pages, I’m not overwhelmed with lots of information.

You’re invited to read Chapter 1 by following THIS link.

This book is available from Amazon, Christianbook.com, BarnesandNoble.com and your local bookstore.

Price: $13.99
ISBN: 978-0-7642-0739-6
ISBN-10: 0-7642-0739-3

Until Next Time…Be Abundantly Blessed!

Kela

Disclaimer: BethanyHouse provided a free copy of this resource for me to review. I share my personal, honest opinion of the product (good, bad or indifferent). I have not received any financial compensation for this review.