Weekend Edition~Home Schooling From Scratch

Another homeschooling book I came across at my local library. Home Schooling From Scratch, by Mary Potter Kenyon.

Overall I found this book pretty good. I wouldn't consider it a essential homeschooling book to have to read. But, I do consider it a nice over all read, relaxed, conversational style writing, as if she is having a conversation with the reader rather then talking at the reader, simple language, fast and short read as the entire book including resource pages is only a little over 100 pages. Actual reading pages are less then 100 pages. This book was also published in the late 90's so some of the references and information will be a bit dated, but truth be told a LOT of what she mentioned is still used and well regarded by homeschoolers nearly 2 decades later today!

Chapter 1) Tells her own story of how she learned about homeschooling and why her family chose to homeschool.

Chapter 2) Speaks about different styles of homeschooling. This part I found the most dated. There has been much more research into homeschooling since this book was printed, and so I feel there are more current studies done on what constitutes a complete education and some things she felt left holes in education many today do not agree do. As well as many more styles and kinds of homeschooling has formed as well. But, over all I was surprised she mentioned some of my favorite authors in this chapter-Ruth Beechick, John Holt, Gatto! And she mostly spoke well of them, and I enjoyed the quotes she used from them.

Chapter 3) Goes into budgeting cost of homeschooling and how most people truly can afford it, if they follow free and inexpensive resources. Which she goes into many options of being able to cost effectively find these resources and use them.

Chapter 4) Explains more ways of homeschooling for low cost or no cost at all-begging, and borrowing and apprenticeship. I, Heather, personally was able to get a huge chalk board for my classroom by simply asking on a local Freecycle group, I was also able to get one of our desk that way.

Chapter 5) Digs into where to look for support. Most of the advice in this chapter is very good. The computer support group advice is VERY outdated however. haha If you are old enough to remember the internet in the mid 90's, it was pretty current advice for the time! My own notes to you, there is TONS of internet support groups now. AOL has not been around for years, people went from those chatrooms and emails to more discussion boards and yahoo type groups, and from discussion boards and email lists (like yahoogroups), to facebook. Most the old homeschool discussion boards are pretty dead today (there's a few out there, but they are very slow and inactive). Facebook has more then you can shake a stick at! haha

Chapter 6) Speaks of inexpensive learning activities, broken down into subjects, and then ends with holistic approaches to learning.

Chapter 7) Goes into details about how to organize your home, so that educating the children is easier.

Chapter 8) Explains how cottage businesses can not only bring in income for the family, but helps teach children real life skills, as well as your routine school subjects-language arts, math, etc. I like her ending thought to this chapter, is that as a business owner you would want to continue to do research regularly on small businesses and particularly the kind you have, so that you can continue to have a money making business, and in this, this teaches your children that people continue to learn way past when they receive a diploma.

Chapter 9) Gives many ideas on how to save money on food and clothing, and other material things, in order to funnel more of your money into other things you would rather have-weather it be for homeschooling, or just in general like vacations and such. Some really nice basic ideas.

Chapter 10) List of many homeschool and money saving resources.