MÂCHÉ has the desire to empower parents to love homeschooling the special children God has chosen for their homes. If God is leading you to keep or bring home your special child, MÂCHÉ offers the following support systems for parents who step up to this unique and wonderful challenge.

• MÂCHÉ SPECIAL NEEDS ONLINE SUPPORT

Be inspired and become informed with the insights of authors in our Resource section and gain further understanding with occasional special needs additions to our home page blog.

• Events for Parents of Homeschooled Children with Special Needs ​

​Numerous helpful workshops, seminars, and conferences, will be listed by location and date as they become available.

• MÂCHÉ Handbook Section

​​Find...

Life is very busy in our home. Rick and I are the parents of 14 children, ages 31-7 years old. We only have nine living at home now, as four are married and Josh was promoted to heaven a few years ago. All of our married children still live in town and now we have four (soon to be five) grandchildren. Life, as I said, is busy, but very rich . We are very blessed.

We’ve been home educating since 1980. We’ve just completed our twenty-sixth year. I’ve been frequently asked how is it possible to home school so many at the same time? Our school day is generally a three hour period in the morning, although sometimes the older children will have reading to finish up in the afternoon. Presently, our house has three rooms in close vicinity of each other, which we utilize during the morning schooling time. The dining room table is where those writing do their work. The living room is where those sit who are reading and the kitchen table has traditionally been the center for the preschoolers and toddlers who are working on their projects. By the way, I have special learning activities for preschoolers, which I save only for use during school time , so they look...

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. One that we know will also be very beneficial is "FAQs about Home Education". That article and the one you are reading now will give you the basics of what you need to know first.

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.

“Here’s your breakfast!” said Mom, as she cheerfully placed in front of her awakening children a plate covered with smooth refried beans and a little dollop of molasses.

The children went suddenly silent. This was new. However, they had been taught not to complain, so they dutifully ate what was put before them. Yet, each secretly looked forward to lunch.

At noon the children eagerly waited to see what tasty treat Mom would produce. Once again there appeared another plate of refried beans and molasses. Lunch was a rather quiet affair, except for Mom, who burbled quite happily about giving only the best to her family. Dinner ... same story. Three days and nine meals of beans and molasses later, Dad finally spoke up.

“Hey, hon, what’s up with the beans and molasses diet we seem to have gone on?”

“Well,” she replied excitedly, “I read this great book, Better Nutrition by Selective Feeding. I answered all the survey questions about our family, you know, and found things like how I always need something sweet around 4 p.m., and you need more fiber every three or four days, and Joey needs...

It is not uncommon for parents who are unfamiliar, or only vaguely familiar, with homeschooling to have many questions and even concerns regarding the possibility of homeschooling their children. Homeschooling requires a true commitment on the part of the parents, but can yield tremendous dividends in the complete education of your child(ren). As a parent you want to do what is best for you child. This, of course, means your decision must be well informed and properly motivated. We think we can help you answer some of these questions.

What is Homeschooling?

Homeschooling, also known as home education, is a system of education whereby children are educated under the authority of their own parents, primarily within the context of the home. Homeschooling is a fundamentally different viewpoint, not simply regarding methods, but primarily regarding authority. Whereas the prevailing philosophy relegates the responsibility of curriculum and education to the goals and standards of the government, MÂCHÉ believes it is the parent’s responsibility and privilege to determine both the curriculum and the standards for their own children. MÂCHÉ...

Dear Friends,

With Christmas fast approaching, we know this is a busy time of year for you and your family. Along with family get-togethers, decorating for the holidays, and taking time to reflect on the true meaning of the season, homeschooling in December is sometimes a bit harried, isn't it? We do understand. In the midst of it all, we encourage you to remember that your time and sacrificial love for your children are the most treasured gifts you can give.

How can we make your life a little easier in the New Year? How about by sharing the whys and wherefores of recordkeeping? Although being organized and keeping records may or may not be one of your strengths, we hope these tips, resources, and ideas will give you the motivation you need to put in some effort now so you will reap the reward of saving time, energy, and tears later on. Keep in mind that your child will often need to provide accurate details of his high school coursework to prospective employers and colleges or to the military.

Recordkeeping is...

Dear Friends,

The picture of April showers refreshing our lawns and gardens reminds us of how God's showers of blessings bring refreshment to our souls. Spring is the season for planning what flowers you are going to plant for the summer to add color to your homes. Likewise, it's also a good time to begin thinking about and planning your next year of teaching.

At this point in the year, you may not be thinking at all about the next school year because you are trying to successfully finish up the current one. But taking a few hours now to look further down the road can help remove much of the stress for next year and relieve some stress that you're feeling this year.

TAKE AN OBJECTIVE LOOK at this year's garden...

Before jumping in and ordering curriculum for next year, take time to think through the past year. Evaluate how the curriculum fit your child, how easy it was to teach, and how your child responded to it. Then spend some time with each child and get his or her impressions...

Dear Friends,

"Christmas is coming; the goose is getting fat...." It's that season of the year again and we are delighted to extend our Christmas greetings to each family. In the hustle and bustle of your preparations, we encourage you to set aside time to enjoy the true meaning of Christmas and receive refreshment from the newborn King.

As you remember, last month we began a two-part series on high school graduation requirements. We covered your state's graduation requirements for homeschoolers (if any), your child's post high school goals, and your child's personal interests. To review this information you can go to http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3533 . This month before you break for Christmas, we want to complete the series by discussing how to structure your child's high school program to include the five core academic subjects, electives, and extracurricular activities.

Dear HSLDA members:,

For the month of November, we are sending out our Homeschooling Thru Highschool email newsletter to all our members. Even if you do not have children in high school, we want you to know of the resources we have available for you at Home School Legal Defense Association.

The topic of this month's newsletter is graduation requirements. If your children are many years from graduating, you may be thinking about pushing that delete button about now, but I encourage you to read a little further before you do. Having a goal for the future is often one of the best ways to make sure that our steps now are headed in the right direction. After all, this type of "future" thinking is what God instructs us to do--to fix our eyes on heaven.

After you are done reading, should you decide that you would like to receive this email regularly, go to http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3459 to subscribe. Otherwise, this is the...

Dear Friends,

Summer is in full swing, and although we know that homeschool moms never really have a "down" time, we hope that you are enjoying the lazy, hazy days of the season. Your teaching time may decrease during the summer, but most moms we talk to use the summer to think about and plan for the next school year. So, while you are reflecting on the big picture of what your homeschool will look like in September, we thought you would benefit from considering perhaps a new approach to your schooling.

This month we asked Elizabeth Smith, wife of HSLDA President Michael Smith, to share with you ideas and information on alternatives to traditional styles of teaching in the homeschool setting. These are ideas and concepts she developed and tested with her own children. So, let's listen to what she has to offer:

"My assignment is to write about my 'unschooling' approach to the high school years. I prefer to call our method an alternative to traditional style teaching rather than...