Build Your Library Secular Literature Based Homeschool Curriculum and Educational Products. This is the first post in the Back To Home School blog series. Stay tuned this week for more inspiration for the new school year. I remember back when I first started homeschooling my children I was in my 2. I was completely overwhelmed. What was I thinking taking on this much responsibilityBuild Your Library secular homeschool curriculum, literature based building young minds, one book at a time Have you been looking for a literature based. Citation Machine helps students and professionals properly credit the information that they use. Cite sources in APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, and Harvard for free. Have you ever wondered what exactly your child needs to know before kindergarten Here is a list based upon a Preschool Inventory given to children at the very end of. 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I am now a lot less overwhelmed, my kids have not been ruined, and weird is really a relative term, isnt itWhen we first started out, I was always worried that people would ask one of my kids a simple question and discover they didnt know the answer. I would be proven an incompetent teacher and I was very uptight and  obsessed over doing everything the right way. Trouble is, there is no such thing. I eventually learned to relax, and allow for the inevitable gaps that would appear in my childrens education. No one can know everything, and education isnt about memorizing every fact possible. That might work for a Jeopardy contestant, but that isnt what educating your children is about. I dont claim to have it all together or even be an expert I havent even graduated a student yet two more years to go, but I do wish I could go back and offer some advice to my younger self to calm those first time homeschool mom jitters, or even the been doing it a short year or two and am still uneasy mom. So here is some of the best advice I can offer 1. RELAX. Its going to be OK really. Homeschooling is a lot of responsibility and a lot of work, but its also really fun. Relax and enjoy your children. One of the greatest benefits of homeschooling is getting to spend more time with your kids. Instead of having to squeeze in your family bonding time on the weekends, you can relax and hang out with your kids all the time. I know that sounds like a blessing and a curse, but remember you dont have to entertain your kids 2. Teach them how to work independently and entertain themselves, and you can still have time to read, bake, knit, even clean. Make reading aloud a priority. I say this all the time, but reading to your kids is one of the most important things you can do. Whether they are 4, 1. When I look back on our years of homeschooling, I can say that this is one thing Ive done right. Even my boys, who are reluctant readers and if asked, will say they dont like to read, will still quote books weve read or debate favorite characters. We have inside jokes about the stories weve shared, like how we cant see rabbits without someone saying, Hazel, we have to leave the warren It isnt safe or as soon as someone says I have a question someone blurts out 4. Dont compare. Your child is unique, and has his or her own timetable for learning. Windows 7 Professional Serial Crack Logic Pro here. You are unique, and will come to teaching your own child in a way that suits you best. There is no one way to do anything. Just because someones child is reading Shakespeare and studying Algebra at 6, doesnt mean something is wrong with your child. I have had both early and late readers, and at the end of the day, they all learned to read, and read well. You know your children far better than anyone else. So go your own way and forge your own path. I promise the grass on the other side of the fence is just as green as yours. Keep it simple. Especially if this is your first year and your are starting with very young children. In the early years, the only thing they HAVE to learn is how to read, how to write their letters well, and basic math skills. Everything else is gravy. Your first grader does not need to study a foreign language or grammar or even history. So if youve planned any of those things, and a few days or weeks into the school year, you or your child feel stressed out about the work load, drop some of the non essentials. Cover those 3. Rs and read aloud great literature. That really is enough in the first few years. Dont Over schedule. This goes along with keeping it simple. Sometimes when you are first starting out, people will ask you the dreaded question, What about socialization So youll overcompensate by signing your children up for every activity karate, co op, art class, soccer, book club, music lessons, scouts etc. While they all sound fantastic, too much activity means not enough time doing lessons. It means all of time spent driving to and from these events could have been spent on a nature walk in your neighborhood, or just playing Legos or relaxing at home. If you find that you have to squeeze school work in between activities, classes and errands, then you need to step back and re evaluate. Over scheduling your days will lead to burn out for you and your children. Every year, my kids are allowed to choose two activities outside of the house. This year, its music lessons and First Robotics for the older children. My youngest will be starting music lessons, and well decide later in the year if we want to add a second activity. These activities are in the late afternoon and evening, so it wont take away from our school day. Be Kind. Homeschooling is hard and there are days when you want to quit entirely. Youll be sick of being around your children all day and youll consider picking up the phone and registering them at the local public school. When you are having a bad day or week like this, drop the books, go outside and play at the park, take a fun field trip, or just cancel lessons and watch movies all day. Love your children, even when they get stuck on the same math problem for the millionth time, even when they forget how to read or diagram a sentence. You might feel like losing your cool and yelling at them for making the same mistake AGAIN. But instead, take a moment, count to ten,  and love them instead. Show them kindness, and force yourself to be patient. They grow up fast, so just recite the mantra, This too shall pass, and then go love on your babies. Homeschool doesnt have to look like public school. Public schools were set up to teach hundreds of children the same material so that everyone could be educated. The methods that work in a classroom, are not necessary in your home. You will be less of a teacher and more of a mentor, or guide. Often, you will learn right along with your children There are as many ways to homeschool as there are homeschoolers. Just because the public schools may cover the American Revolution and Botany in 1st grade doesnt mean you need to cover the exact same materials. Do what makes sense to you and to your children. Study what interests both of you. Dont let the curriculum control you. If you are studying Ancient History and your child cant get enough of Ancient Egypt, then follow that rabbit trail and spend another few weeks focusing on that topic. Dont worry about getting off schedule. You arent tied to a specific school time table, so if you need to work into the summer, you can. If you want to take a month off in the middle of the year, you canYou are in charge, and you make the rules for your own homeschool. Dont listen to the haters. Its human nature to care what other people think. But those who arent familiar with homeschooling will not understand what you are doing. They will question your parenting choices, sometimes pretty rudely. You do not have to answer to these people. Dont let others, who arent directly involved in your parenting choices, dictate how you homeschool especially if all they know is public schooling methods. If they tell you that your kids are going to be weird, or that your child will never get into college if they are homeschooled, just let it go. Thats their wrong opinion. Dont take it personally, and dont stress yourself out about it. If they are always negative, try to avoid them for a while. Homeschooling is hard enough without someone dumping negativity all over you every chance they get.