I. INTRODUCTION

Teaching your child with special needs is a privilege—but it is also hard. It requires from the parents much sacrifice, patience, and unconditional love.

We cannot forget to consider what the child with special needs experiences as well. Living with a handicap such as blindness, cerebral palsy, a speech impediment, autism, retardation, a disease, or one of many types of learning disabilities is difficult. It is a daily struggle emotionally, mentally, and many times physically. The child’s self-esteem is constantly put to the test. Some handicaps or learning disabilities can be overcome with consistent and focused effort. Other handicaps can only be managed and may never go away.

Living with multiple sclerosis these last few years has helped me appreciate the struggles of a physically handicapped person. Every day it is hard for me to simply walk, put my socks on, or stay in 80-degree weather for any length of time. The emotional drain is intense. The need to think and plan for logistics to achieve normal movement is a heavy burden. The quality of life from a human perspective is diminished. Hiking in the woods or...

Just like your banking records, there are certain papers that are useful for you to stash away for the future, whether for a school official, or for your children, or for you to reminisce!

It is helpful to put together a portfolio each year, even if you use a testing option to verify your progress to the school officials. Because I use a homeschool lesson planning/recordkeeping book that is fairly comprehensive, all I need to add to my lesson plan book are some photos and samples of my girls’ work. Your portfolio for the year might include:

• Your school calendar, with field trips, outings, sports events, etc. marked (as well as any attendance records).
• Your typical daily schedule. You might even include your teacher lesson plan book or journal.
• Lists of the materials you used this year. I like to include how much I spent and where I purchased my materials, for future reference.
• Report cards/grades, if issued, and any standardized test scores or evaluation reports.
• List of...

Lesson Planning and Recordkeeping

1. Set goals for each child (intellectual, physical, spiritual, social—see Luke 2:52).

2. Determine what will be covered this year.

3. Order appropriate materials to accomplish goals.

4. Decide on “school” schedule.

5. Peruse materials and determine what you will cover and what you will not. Your curriculum is a tool, not a master.

6. Divide materials by number of weeks or number of days.

7. Build in some “down time.”

8. Lay out a framework (1 math lesson per day Monday-Thursday with math game Friday; 1 LLATL lesson per week, 1 A Beka literature unit per month, etc.).

9. Write out a plan to accomplish your goals. Use pencil!

10. Measure yourself...

Homeschooling one child can be challenging enough, but adding more children can make a homeschool mom feel like the juggler doing the zany plate-spinning act, rushing from pole to pole to give each a quick twirl to keep those plates in the air. Here are a few ideas for keeping the homeschooling “plates” from crashing to the floor.

1. Set goals and prioritize. Map out your year but be flexible (use pencil!). “Add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge…” (2 Peter 1:5). You’ll want to include character training and Biblical discipleship as well as academics. (It’s much easier to teach an obedient, diligent, cheerful child!)

And speaking of academics: Don’t make it complicated. In the younger years, your goal is to build relationships within your family while nurturing their relationships with God, and facilitating experiential learning—“hooks” on which they can hang his learning about God’s world. Many...

Time management is not about finding the ultimate planning notebook or a calendar with stickers or adopting yet another list of to-do’s to get you caught up. Time management is about identifying what is important to you and then ordering your days to reflect those priorities in such a way that you can accomplish what God has for you for today.

There are lots of great resources to help you develop routines and systems that will work for your individual needs; a partial list follows. I surely don’t need to re-invent the wheel; even if I did, it would be my wheel, not yours. And time management is something you have to tailor to your own unique personality and family, not fit into my cookie-cutter calendar (although that certainly won’t stop me from giving you samples throughout the site).

Our goal is to give you some practical ideas for starters and to give you encouragement that you can do this!

Margin is the distance between where you are and your personal limit (emotional, physical, financial, time, etc.). This will be different for everyone (for more on this topic, read Margin by Richard Swenson). Just as...

Organization at a Glance

• Pray about what God wants you to work on for your particular family.

• Ask your spouse for guidance as to which areas are important to him.

• Find a balance: “Our house is clean enough to be healthy and messy enough to be happy.”

• Be careful not to be such a perfectionist that people are uncomfortable living in your house.

• Our goal is to glorify God with our lives and, as homemakers, with our homes. We can do that better in an orderly home because we can be more gracious to our children when we aren’t rushed or hunting for the car keys or always behind, and can be hospitable. Our home is more peaceful and calm.

• This is a spiritual work because the end result is to bring peace to our homes and to glorify our Creator.

• Look for ways to bring order to your home, but don't allow...

your first question will probably be, "Is homeschooling for me?"

Taking the first step into home educating your children can be very intimidating. No doubt, you will want to do as much research as you can before you take that step. There are many fine articles in the "Resources" section of this website that will help you to make an intelligent decision. 

Your first question will probably be something like, "Is homeschooling for me?" The exercise below will help you determine if home education is for you and, if so, help you create a vision for your homeschool adventure.

• Answer the following questions on paper.

• Discuss your individual answers as a couple.

• Read through MÂCHÉ's responses.

We suggest both you and your spouse complete a self evaluation separately and then discuss your answers together.

Questions to Consider in your self evaluation

• Why are you considering...

“Stir up the gift of God which is in you….” (2 Timothy 1:6, NKJV)

When we were first considering home education, I was unsure about my own ability to meet my children’s needs. Not only did we have a daughter born with cerebral palsy, but I had two children classified as “gifted and talented” by the local public school. Speech therapy and occupational therapy in a home environment weren’t nearly as frightening to me as the thought of challenging my “GT” kids! I was so afraid that I could not offer a motivating, stimulating environment equivalent to that of the local school program. And I was right….

Instead of producing an equivalent program (i.e., limiting our own “gifted and talented” situation to one or two half-days a week), we were able to tailor our entire program to the accelerated learning and creative development of our children! Instead of having to wait for the rest of the class to catch up in math, they could move ahead at...

Your First Question: HOME EDUCATION. IS IT FOR ME?

Taking the first step into home educating your children can be very intimidating. No doubt, you will want to do as much research as you can before you take that step. There are many fine articles in the "Resources" section of this website that will help you to make an intelligent decision. 

Your first question will probably be something like, "Is homeschooling for me?" The exercise below will help you determine if home education is for you and, if so, help you create a vision for your homeschool adventure.

• Answer the following questions on paper.

• Discuss your individual answers as a couple.

• Read through MÂCHÉ's responses.

• We suggest both you and your spouse complete a self evaluation separately and then discuss your answers together.

   

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER IN YOUR SELF EVALUATION

• Why are you considering home education for your children?

MÂCHÉ's Response: Your reasons for considering home education can be...

Homeschooling through the high school years can be a tremendous blessing and an opportunity for you and your children. This workshop will address parents' questions regarding these important years of growth and potential. You can do it!

you will learn how to do the following:

• Keep records, create transcripts and build resumés

• Earn college credits during high school

• Maneuver through the maze of college entrance testing

• Choose a post high school path other than college

• Participate in extra and co-curricular activities

• Manage the difficult subjects (algebra, chemistry, etc.)

upcoming "Finishing the journey (FTJ)" workshops:

Finishing the Journey: Homeschooling Through High School Workshop (in conjunction with the Considering Homeschool Workshop)

Saturday, September 8, 2013...