I remember the first day of school for me as a young girl was always marked by a new outfit and fresh school supplies.  There wasn't a back-to-school photo shoot or a special breakfast, so when our girls reached school age, I didn't have a thought or need to create back-to-school traditions for them.  Back-to-school is among us; finding a way to make that first day special can take time and coordination. As I reflect back on our earlier years of homeschooling, I recall launching into the school year around the same time as our community’s Home School Not Back to School Picnic. This ..read more

This post contains affiliate and referral links. If you make a purchase using these links, I will receive a small percentage of your purchase from the company. Homeschooling high school is doable, and you don't have to do it alone. However, I imagined homeschooling high school would be different than it is for us. I thought that my daughters would utilize more in-person resources like community college courses and possibly co-ops. But my daughters entered their high school careers during a time that wasn't as smooth as previous years--from a car accident that changed my life and a global pan ..read more

I can't recall a time in my homeschool mom career that I haven't found a way to earn some form of income. Now, some years the amount I earned wasn't much, but other years, I earned enough to cover the lion's share of our homeschool expenses plus more. When I started my homeschool mom journey, not many other moms worked outside of the home, and honestly, I felt odd for wanting and needing to contribute financially. Now, after over a decade of homeschooling, I know that this drive and desire wasn't odd at all, and there are thousands of moms out there who are finding ways to earn a substantial i ..read more

I started working full-time last year. Before 2020, I hadn't worked full-time while homeschooling before. The only other time I worked full-time while mothering was the year we all went to public school, and during that year, I realized that full-time work while caring for my daughters was a bit too much for me. So fast forward to eight years later, and I am giving it another shot. This go-round is different because I work from home for a company that values its employees doing enjoyable work, and my daughters are teens. Although this time is more optimistic, I still have to intentio ..read more

I know it's been a minute since I've shared about our homeschool journey. We're still going strong. Just in case you didn't know, my daughters are in the 8th and 10th grades this school year. On the one hand, I can't believe it, and on the other, I am thrilled that we have shifted to a new level of learning.  It hasn't been easy for me as their primary teacher with the work I've had to do within and for myself after the accident. Some days I've questioned myself because our homeschool isn't anything like I imagined it to be for this season. Whether you homeschool or not, you probably have ..read more

This post was originally shared in 2015. It was updated in November 2020. I enjoy reading blogs just as much as I enjoy writing. It's something about reading others' stories that gives me a dose of inspiration. When we started our home educating journey in 2009, I became more intentional about the blogs I read. Homeschooling can be a bit lonely if you aren't in an area where there are many home educators or don't have a lot of support. During my search, I found very few blogs written by African-American home school moms. The few blogs I found earlier are no longer in existence, although many o ..read more

I first published this on June 18, 2012. I updated this article on July 5, 2020. It has taken me three years to write about our choice to home educate our daughters. I am sure my hesitancy to write about our decision is steeped in the uncomfortableness I feel about talking about my choice to do something different than the norm. There was an expectation from those around me that I would be a classroom teacher once I graduated with a degree in education, which ironically was the same year I decided to stay home and be the primary teacher for my daughters. It wasn't one thing that led my husband ..read more

If you’ve had conversations with anyone about homeschooling your child, I am sure one of those conversations has been about socialization. As I type out “socialization”, I realize that I have never written an article about this hot topic in the homeschool community. I assume this is because I remember being a child, and based on memory adults were not worried about me being socialized. No one asked about who I was or wasn’t talking to nor did they make it a habit to get my friends and I together. Most of what I know about being a good friend has come from simply living life outside of social c ..read more

Have you ever thought, “Am I doing this right?” This refers to homeschooling and giving your children enough. Enough refers to the basics and ALL the ideas that enter your mind as parent and teacher. Choosing to homeschool can cause even the most calmest person to feel overwhelmed and unsure because it not only entails the basics of parenting such as teaching your child right from wrong, how to care for themselves physically including potty- training and dressing, and supporting them as they go through the ups and downs of friendships, but it also includes being the primary educator in your ch ..read more

This school year, I am using Google classroom to help us stay organized in Algebra 1. Last year, we attempted online learning with BJU Press, but my daughter still needed me to be her primary math teacher versus the online teacher. This year we’re using BJU Press for Algebra 1, but the online portion will be through Google classroom. I have a few reasons for utilizing Google classroom for this math class: I appreciate the grading option. Since we live in Tennessee, I have to stay compliant by utilizing an umbrella program or reporting to the local school board. Since we use an umbrella schoo ..read more