"Help! I'm Homeschooling and I'm Freaking Out!"

Yep. That was me about 8 years ago. Fresh out of the "I'm gonna homeschool!" box with absolutely no clue how or where to start. Thankfully, I had a great friend who was not-so-new to homeschooling. She dished out tons of practical advice to help steer me along the right path....

1. First things first: Visit the Home School Legal Defense Association's website. Here you'll find your state's laws regarding every aspect of homeschooling; required subjects, testing and reporting requirements if any, as well as links to local support groups.

2. Research homeschool curricula. A great way to do this is by reading reviews such as those found on the TOS Homeschool Crew's Blog. Our helpful crew has reviewed a ton of great products over the past 2 years, with more coming in all the time. This should definitely be one of your main "go to" resources! (Yes, I'm slightly biased.)

Other things to consider are your ability (or willingness) to teach, your child's learning style, your budget, how many children you have, and how much time you have in the day to devote to homeschooling. The answers to these questions will help you determine which product is right for you and your children. For example, if you're a real hands-on, artsy, craftsy kind of gal then Lapbooks or even Unit Studies might be a way to go. However, if you're more like me and would rather give your child their list of assignments at the start of the day (because whenever you use glue, it always ends up horrendously wrong), then a more structured "school like" program would be better.

3. Ask, ask, ask! Chances are, you know at least 1 other homeschooilng family. We're everywhere! (Great. Now I sound like my husband whenever he talks about The Grateful Dead and his fellow Dead Heads..."We are everywhere!" Ugh...)

But seriously, even if you don't happen to know of any other homeschooling families, there's still the internet and good ol' Yahoo Groups. I joined a few of these in the beginning too, and the support from all those fabulous ladies was incredible! They were such a blessing!

4. Purchase a packaged curriculum. I know...I know. Packaged curriculum is often seen as the "unkosher" way to go; consistently viewed as the enemy of all creativity, the killer of that great homeschool pioneer, rebel-with-a-cause spirit. But can I tell you a little secret? Lean in close...They really do make things a lot easier in the beginning (and even later!). Honestly with this approach, there's no guesswork about which math, or which spelling program, etc. It's all right there in front of you. Easy breezy!

Some places such as ACE (Accelerated Christian Education) or CLASS (Christian Liberty Academy School System) provide grading and record keeping services as well. Granted, these aren't free but they're quite economical versus other complete programs. We used ACE for Kindergarten, as that was what Sierra's private school was using, and then switched to CLASS for the next 2 years. After that, we moved onto the "wing it" approach, which was soon followed by The Jubilee Academy, an excellent online program.

Once you get your bearings and adjust to the new homeschooling lifestyle, you may consider dropping the package deal and just "winging it". However, there is no shame in a little hand-holding at the beginning!

5. Subscribe to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Not only do you get some fabulous freebies with your paid subscription, but you receive a plethora of helpful tips, advice, timely encouragement, product reviews, spiritual nourishment, e-newsletters, freebies and more. The Old Schoolhouse magazine is far and away the bestest of the best in homeschooling magazines. (I really do feel this way and have always felt this strongly about it, even before the TOS Crew started. This is not just a shameless plug. So there.)

And there you have it, folks. My Homeschooling 101 Advice, in a nutshell. ;)

To read what my fellow Blog Cruisers had to say, please click here. :) The Blog Cruise is the TOS Crew's first blog carnival, which features fun, helpful and highly informative Q & A's each week.

Review: Educational Diagnostic Prescriptive Services

Educational Diagnostic Prescriptive Services (EDUDPS) offers a host of unique products designed to make the most of your homeschooling efforts. They offer everything from tests and assessments, literature-based writing curriculum, an in-depth college and career planning guide, to a comprehensive vocabulary program that can be used for all grade levels.

Founder and author, Jill J. Dixon "holds a Bachelor of Science in English Education (magna cum laude) and a Master’s Degree in Special Education (summa cum laude)." She's amassed 27 years of teaching experience in the private and public sectors, as well as 16 years homeschooling her own four children. She opened EDUDPS in 1993 to offer "educational consulting, tutoring, and testing services to parents, schools, and homeschool support groups" and presently serves as a "national consultant to the Homeschool Legal Defense Association" among other endeavors.

Our family received digital copies (E-books) of 4 products: Write With the Best Volumes 1 and 2, Roots and Fruits, and The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers.

Write with the Best Volume 1: Modeling Writing After Great Works of Literature, is a descriptive writing program for grades 3-12. The premise is that in order to become a great writer, one must study great writing. (Works for me!)

This program is broken into nine units, each covering a specific writing aspect (or genre), which is then represented by an excerpt from a classic tale or poem. (No separate book purchase necessary! Woohoo!)

Topics include:

• Writing a descriptive paragraph (focusing on a specific object, place or character)
• Writing a dialog
• Short Stories
• Fables
• Writing a friendly letter (a lost art these days)
• and finally aspects of poetry (rhyming verse and a ballad/narrative poem)

Excerpts from such famous works include Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Vernes' 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and more.

Units consist of 10 lessons, which take between 15-45 minutes each to complete. Prep-time is basically "zero" as daily objectives are included (reading the passage, learning the parts of speech, using a thesaurus), with the entire e-book presented in a clear, easy-to-follow manner.

We didn't delve into this book too deeply yet, but so far we're really enjoying it. The lessons and schedule are short enough to implement into our busy day without feeling burdensome.

This terrific resource is available on sale in E-book format for only $14.95 (regular price is $19.95), $22.45 (Pages Only, 3-hole punched, no binder), or as a 3-Ring Binder for $24.95.

To learn more, you can download sample pages by clicking here.

Write with the Best Volume 2 is designed for 6th-12th graders and covers elements of expository and informative writing. As with Volume 1, Write with the Best Volume 2 incorporates excerpts of literary classics to illustrate its eight distinctive units (genres). Each unit provides 10 days worth of lessons, which take approximately 15-45 to complete.

Genres and corresponding excerpts include:

• Poetry - Free Verse from Emily Dickinson
• Business Letters from Helen Keller
• Persuasive Essays from Thomas Paine
• Expository Essays from Francis Bacon
• Literary Critiques from Edgar Allan Poe
• Newspaper Articles from Ernest Hemingway
• Speeches from Marcus Tullius Cicero
• Dramatic Monologues from William Shakespeare (my personal favorite!)

This is a phenomenal program that I was very happy to receive, especially since Sierra loves to write. I love how both Volumes 1 and 2 break down heavier literary concepts, making this program not only effective but enjoyable (for teacher and student alike!).

This volume can be purchased in Ebook format on sale for only $18.65 (regularly priced at $24.95), $27.45 (Pages Only, 3-hole punched, no binder) or $29.95 (3-ring binder).

Samples can be viewed by clicking here.

Next up is Roots and Fruits. This comprehensive vocabulary program for grades K-12 teaches the English forms of Latin and Greek roots and prefixes. In only 15 minutes per day, younger children (K-3rd grade) learn one root per week, while older students (4th and up) learn 2 roots per week with corresponding vocabulary words.

Suggested activities are provided for each weekday and include:

• Writing the roots on a large sheet of paper (the idea is to keep the roots visible throughout the week)
• Looking up the meanings of the roots and vocabulary words in the dictionary
• Using vocabulary words in sentences
• Using provided "games" to test retention

The games are actually pretty neat and were my favorite part of the program. Two of my favorites were "Beat the Clock" (matching game) and "Goofy Sentences" (self-explanatory).

Roots and Fruits is a great way to teach vocabulary in a simple, non-intimidating format. Dixon's writing style throughout is one of a cherished friend, never pushy or over-the-top.

You can purchase this great product in E-book format for only $11.25 (regular price: $14.98), $17.48 (Pages Only, 3-hole punched, no binding) or $19.95 (Comb-binding).


You can download samples of this program by clicking here.

Last but not least is the The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers. This nifty volume arrives jam-packed with over 200 pages containing a wealth of necessary information to plan your college years with success. Examples include:

• Various assessments and questionnaires
• Job profiles (including those specifically for stay-at-home Moms!)
• GPA calculation
• CLEP and AP tests
• ACT, and PSAT/SAT testing information and a whole lot more.

My oldest daughter, Sierra is developing a passion for cooking and baking (don't know where she gets that from!), so the section on Culinary Arts was especially helpful to us, as were the personal assessments.

This well organized and extremely useful tool is available for $39.95 (softcover) or on sale for $26.20 (E-book). Regular price for the E-book is $34.95.

To get an idea of just how spectacular this product is, please click here to download your free sample pages.

Overall, I was very pleased with the quality of products from EDUDPS. Mrs. Dixon provides an outstanding amount of information in several neat little (and some not so little!) packages. Her prices are affordable and her style is friendly, caring, and supremely helpful. Whether you're a homeschooler, or send your children to public or private school--or are perhaps looking for a way to teach your struggling or disabled learner, EDUDPS has something for everyone.

Their products are fantastic, their customer service exemplary. Visit their website today to learn more about this great company.

We award EDUDPS two Snoopy-dancing thumbs up!