Today I.....

Today I spent all day on the phone helping moms start homeschooling for the first time. It was amazing to find that they had the same questions and worries I did the first few years of homeschooling my kids.

I guess muddling through it for the last 4 1/2 years and growing up in an environment where alternative education was welcome, I've learned a few things.

But the biggest thing I can offer moms that they're not going to find almost anywhere else is I know how to homeschool when you have NO money to invest in it.  The people I talked to today, on the whole, were in the same boat we are: can't even print online worksheets because the ink and paper cost too much. And I have spent a lot of time getting educated and finding resources for just that situation. What I've found is that if you can access the internet, you can homeschool for really truly free and without the pressures a cyberschool puts on you. And I really believe you can get a better education than you can through any of the programs out there, if you just know where to look (and I think it's great fun to find those where to look places).

Honestly, if it could be my job to interview kids and then create custom homeschooling online curricula for them, I'd do it in a heartbeat. That sounds like fun to me!  And the parents I've talked to today were, across the board, excited about the possibility of customizing their child's learning to match their abilities, challenges, and talents. It's really very fun. And liberating. Especially as you grasp the idea that YOU really are in charge, and you can do great, fun things without having to do busy work.

So what I'm doing now is, as I finish each of my children's curricula, I'm going to be putting them up, complete, online so that other parents can access and use them as a starting point for making their own for their kids. Granted, not everyone is going to want to include materials science for their kindergartener, but at least it will give people an idea of what they can do.

And you know what? I REALLY enjoy helping people get started homeschooling. It's a way of teaching, and I love teaching.