Crash Course for New Homeschoolers- A Review

So…you want to homeschool. That’s great! You’ve heard it can be done and you’re willing to do it. But where to start? What are the options? What are the laws?

Beginning to homeschool can be a daunting task- especially if you are all alone in the task (you don’t have family or friends who have or do homeschool). Angie McFarren has created a resource to help new homeschoolers get going. It’s not just for new homeschoolers though; there’s plenty for ‘veterans’ as well!

Who is Angie McFarren, you ask? She and her husband began their homeschooling journey in 2002. Starting out, she encountered issues and confusion that she tried to solve by looking through the myriads of online resources. It was just so much! Have you felt this way? She’s been there; she’s done that. Since then, she’s created a consulting service (H.O.P.E Home School Consulting) as well as this resource: Educate the Home Educator Crash Course.

Have you heard about the Educate the Home Educator Crash Course before now?  You will find it is your “go to resource” when you have homeschool questions.

This course is packed with great tips and resources. We are going into our fourth year of homeschooling and I found some great things in this that I’d not heard of or thought of; it is super helpful!

This ebook has over 300 pages and is a 6-part course that covers:

The Foundation of Homeschooling- How to Get Started

How-To for Teaching Subject Areas

Achieving Success Academically

Mom Directed Advice

Having Fun with School at Home

Wrapping Up the Year

I’ll share with you a few of my favorite parts of this Crash Course, but know there is a lot more that you would most likely find to be beneficial:

First let me just say: The order of this is relevant. It is methodical not haphazard. If you are just starting out and you pick up this course, you start at the beginning. As you go along, it flows with where you are. I thought that was quite ingenious. There’ve been plenty of books for homeschooling that I’d picked up at the start of my journey but couldn’t find my needed information until the middle or end of the book. The information is pertinent to where you are.

Also at the end of the lessons there are notes of what attachments are needed (or would be very helpful) with implementing the information.

I really appreciated that there was a list of reasons to homeschool…and not to homeschool (pg 10- Lesson 1). Many will tell families who are contemplating homeschooling to just do it! Jump in, the water’s fine! But homeschooling is not for everyone. The list that Angie has included is a good one to make you think about whether you have the right ‘motives’ for homeschooling.

Methods of homeschooling are as diverse and varied as the people who homeschool. If you have an idea of how you want your day to look, take a look at the descriptions of each method to see where you might ‘fit’. She also includes a ‘test’ to help determine your style. (pp 11-14 –Lesson 2)

Tips on how to save money on curriculum. (pp 25-28 –Lesson 5), although somewhat basic to me now, would have been wonderful advice when I was just starting out. The lesson ends where the next one picks up: curriculum providers. She gives a great list starting on page 31. These are separated by homeschool methods as well.

In Lesson 11, the advice on grading, I found to be quite helpful. It’s a point of contention for me personally.

If you are at all concerned about socialization –that ever present question on everyone’s mind –pay close attention to Lesson 12! Also a not to miss and definitely a lesson to take note of is Lesson 13 –support systems while homeschooling, for you as the teacher/educator as well as for the kids. I cannot stress this enough.

Throughout Section 2, teaching through the subjects, lessons 25-28 were of particular interest to me: Life Skills, and How to Homeschool High School Parts One and Two.

This course also comes with a 51 page pdf download containing forms and templates for use throughout the homeschooling experience- and beyond.

That is only a small bit of what is great about this course/resource. I highly recommend this for those who are just getting started- even for those who have been at it for a while, I’m sure there will be something you hadn’t thought of before.

You can purchase this eBook for $21 using the coupon code EHCCNOV12.  The retail of this course is $57 –a savings over 30%! This offer ends on November 30, 2012.

You can find other useful features with H.O.P.E: Consulting, Free Resources, the Gold H.O.P.E Club, and much more.

Click on either of the graphics in this post to be taken to the website where you can purchase this homeschool resource.

***Disclaimer: I am an affiliate for H.O.P.E. but was offered this crash course for free and this review is based on my own experience and opinions. All links are affiliate links; I will receive a fee if a purchase is made through them. Being an affiliate means that I find this product/company to be worthwhile and helpful and I promote the products/company. It does not mean that I will only say positive things if I do not truly believe it to be so.