When my daughter was little, I didn't want her to grow up. I didn't want her to grow up because I didn't want her to leave home and go to school. When I first found out that I could teach her at home legally, I was so excited. Now she didn't have to leave. This book is about all the things we learned along the way and what we did in our homeschooling experience. Included in this book are personal stories, activity pages, timelines, curriculum reviews, field trip ideas, Bible verses and much much more. I talk about sixteen school subjects including reading, writing, spelling, grammar, foreign language, math, history, geography, state history, science, health, art, music and occupational education. Also included is the story of the Bible, the 100 greatest books ever written, Aesop and Shakespeare, biographies, a chapter about famous historical forts and socialization. Field trip ideas, unit study methods and homeschool helps as well as our daily schedule and the curriculum we used are outlined and shared. I also came up with the idea of "Joyboxes" to use on those days when everyone is burned out. Intent forms, scope and sequence, testing and how to enroll your child in college classes along with scrapbooking and making a memory book about your child's homeschooling experience. These are all followed by a back-and-forth question and answer section. In one way this is a sharing of our personal homeschooling adventure as well as including all the information you may need to start your own adventure.
I grew up on a wheat farm in rural Washington State, USA. I attended and graduated as Valedictorian from the local school and went to the same Assembly of God church all of my life. I became a Christian at the age of 10, during a Kid's Crusade at our church. My life is devoted to the Lord and I try to live according to the Holy Bible and the words of our Savior, Jesus Christ. My husband and I homeschooled our two children K-12 and enjoyed watching them mature in knowledge and love of the Lord. Living in a rural area surrounds us with various forms of wildlife and I enjoy writing about this and exploring and hiking. I have written numerous children's books, a book about our homeschooling experience, a 37-day devotional chronicling the year in which I had two major surgeries as well as cancer, vacation travel books for children and, lastly, a book about the month-long Foreign Study trip I took to Europe when I was 18. All-in-all, I have 28 books ready for publication. Port Hole Publications in Gardiner, OR is publishing my book, Meadowlark Park, written about the birds that live in the meadow below our house. I personified the birds and they interact with each other as humans would-some of the birds are leaders, some complainers, some prideful and some are even mean. I operated a bookstore in a larger suburban area, selling homeschool textbooks and classic children's books and videos. During that time, I was invited to give a speech on "Why I Love Books" to a ladies' church group and critique a local history book for the town's Literary Club. I was also invited to teach two seminars at a local Homeschool Convention on "How We Homeschooled" and "The 100 Greatest Books Ever Written." Through my bookstore I sponsored numerous local author book-signings, curriculum fairs and Poetry Dinner Theaters. What I enjoyed most about my bookstore was finding the perfect book to match my customer. I closed the local retail store to pursue my dream of building and operating my own internet bookstore, www.firesideclassicsbookstore.com. So far I represent 50 authors with a plan to add over 400 more. My favorite book is the Holy Bible, New International Version, and I try to read from it every day. My most treasured book is a small, leather-bound edition of Jane Eyre, published in England over 100 years ago, and given to me by my great-grandmother. I have loved books even before I could read them and it has always been my dream to write and publish them.
