Homeschool book review

I finished reading The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child: Your Complete Guide to Getting Off to the Right Start a few weeks ago. Within the first couple of chapters, my excitement about homeschooling next year increased tenfold.

I loved the encouragement to look first at why I'm choosing to homeschool and then what my educational philosophy is.

Seeing the different categories of homeschooling types/philosophies laid out for me helped me decipher how I want to go about doing school. (My method will probably fall somewhere in the Flexible/Eclectic area with some online and some classical and some Charlotte Mason!)

There are plenty of reviews for the book on Amazon, so here are just some of my personal notes I took when reading it:

Why am I choosing homeschooling?
- cultivate/keep Nate's love of learning
- go at a faster pace
- his (minor) behavior issues at school are continuing to occur

"Learn everything you can and, as with parenting, let love take care of the unknowns."

My goal is not to outschool the schools! Let's laugh, play, and learn!

What is my educational philosophy?
End goals:
- someone who likes to learn, can learn/figure out on his own/searches it out
- productive, positive member of society, bold for Christ
- person of character, humble

Don't overreport! Know the law. California requirements: file private school form in October; keep general records.

Each week have a "this is what we're doing this week" schedule. Include appointments and outings.

I've already recommended this book to a friend planning on starting to homeschool next year. I really loved reading it and will probably read it again.