Reviews"...honest and commonsensical... This is an encouraging and helpful resource for parents considering homeschooling their children." -Booklist, "What a wonderful resource! This book could have saved me buckets of frustration had it been around when I began homeschooling. What a gift to any parent who doesn't feel they're up to the task of homeschooling. Instead of sharing yet more "Super Mom" stories, Terrie addresses real concerns in a way that disarms the fear and boosts the confidence. It is like sharing a cup of tea with the successful, resourceful "homeschooling friend" you always wished you had." --Carol Barnier, author of How To Get Your Child Off the Refrigerator and on to Learning and If I'm Diapering A Watermelon Then Where'd I Put the Baby ?, "Homeschooling, insists freelance writer and home-schooling mom Bittner, "is parenting in its highest form." In this down-to-earth and practical book, she guides interested parents toward confidence and success in this venture, from the preliminary stages (convincing self, spouse and family that home-schooling is possible, dealing with its legal aspects, finding support groups, gathering supplies) through experimentation (finding the best pedagogical methods, understanding children's different learning styles) to mastery (teaching reading, composition, math. . . . Her advice is sensible and direct: find out what your state requires the schools to teach at each grade level; if there's no computer at home, use the public library's. For parents worried about the "icky stuff" in science, remember that "older children frequently enjoy doing things their parents consider disgusting." Bittner also suggests answers to what she calls the "stupid questions" (Will the kids be properly socialized? What about prom?) and faces up to the "bad stuff" ("Some days you and your children will be sick of each other"). Designed to empower the novice toward home-schooling success, this book is friendly, reassuring and endlessly supportive, and, like a very well-informed neighbor, Bittner shares everything from family anecdotes to sample school-day schedules and lists of supplementary resources." --Publishers Weekly, Nov 22, 2004, This is now a backlist title. We will continue to offer it at homeschooling conventions and book signings when the author travels., "Down-to-earth and practical... sensible and direct... Designed to empower the novice toward homeschooling success, this book is friendly, reassuring, and endlessly supportive." -Publishers Weekly
Dewey Edition22
Dewey Decimal371.04/2
SynopsisYou don't have to be a professional teacher, a genius, or a structured person to homeschool well. Many people believe they can't homeschool because they are lacking some magical quality or skill successful homeschoolers have. The truth is that homeschooling can be done, and done well, by most ordinary people.Terrie Lynn Bittner's book will take you by the hand and show you how. She breaks the job down into doable chunks and carefully explains each part, giving you the confidence you need to get it done. Her explainations are clear and thorough.Down-to-earth and practical ... sensible and direct ... Designed to empower the novice toward home-schooling success, this book is friendly, reassuring and endlessly supportive ... like a very well-informed neighbor. (Publishers Weekly)In this honest and commonsensical book ... Bittner ... offers sound advice on legal issues, lesson plans, curricula, testing, teaching, values, preparing for graduation, and college ... This is an encouraging and helpful resource for parents considering homeschooling their children. (Booklist)