A Survivor's Guide to Home Schooling

by Luanne Shackelford, Susan White

Home schooling may be one of the most important and rapidly growing social movements of the day, but that doesn't get the laundry done for home teaching moms! Here, at last, is help millions of home schoolers have been waiting for. Written by two home teaching moms, this book answers the questions home schoolers are Writing with wisdom, candor and humor, the authors share the situations, solutions, successes and yes, even the failures home teachers face. A Survivor's Guide to Home Schooling offers practical suggestions, support, and encouragement, all in light of Scriptural guidelines.

Genres: Education, School, Nonfiction, Christian

182 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1988

Reviews

[Esther Williams]

She gave great advice on what to do and what things worked for her. She also talks about ways to be successful and how to deal with difficult situations and the many ways you can homeschool. There were things talked about like why you shouldn't homeschool too. Some of the info was outdated since it was written in the 80's but I liked most of her advice.

[Abigail Williams]

This was an interesting read. It’s quite old i believe so the specific recommendations like curriculums are not up to date, and as with any book with advice take what’s true and useful and leave the rest.

[Sarah Beth Harris]

I know this book is almost 40 years old. Certainly, some of the material is outdated and not applicable. I like that it’s not offering a trendy perspective. In fact, her godly advice is so timeless. The author is also quite humorous. I found myself truly refreshed reading this book.

[Azir Gamboa]

This book is a treasure! Helped me a lot in my homeschooling the first few months.

[Janine Jensen]

Outdated but pleasant to read.

[Danielle McIntyre]

Definitely some great pointers for homeschooling. Some of the curriculum info is dated. But a lot of tips and tricks for each type of parent which I found most useful.

[Allison]

Oh, this is just great, just great. I'm going to re-read it again now. This was a very realistic picture of homeschooling. But written conversationally so it's easy to read. The writers are (were?) directors of a big homeschool co-op and this book seems to me to be based on the counseling and encouraging they did in real life. And, this is little, but could have been very annoying and wasn't: the book is co-written but the authors don't switch back and forth. All examples of 'how I did it' are from just one of them. The book was encouraging but it was also challenging. I mean, there's a whole chapter on What About Time for Me. (The answer is you'll get to spend time with your kids but you will have to wait on a lot of the other things that you want to do for the time being. And that's your choice.) There's a chapter on where do the dads fit in. There's a chapter on teaching several grades at once and what to do with the little ones while you're teaching. And there's a whole chapter on disciplining because if your kids don't do what you tell them to do when you're "mom", they're not going to do what you tell them to do when you're "teacher". And some examples of schedules (a wide variety) because school does have to get done some time, but you need flexibility too. You can tell she enjoys teaching her kids, but also knows that some days "school doesn't have to be fun, it just has to be done". She talks some about curriculum and different styles of schooling, (Calvert got a good nod as does 'an exceptional job of teaching' as a secular textbook). But, she gives her recommended curriculum list for each grade. Because "we have found that first-timers usually need to start with a good program suggested by someone else. Then, the next year, they at least know what they don't like and can make a more educated choice for the following year". She's partial to BJU press textbooks.

[Lynnea]

Not a bad book. It is very quick reading (although I did skip a bit of the unncecessary stuff). It is also pretty dated, written in 1988.
But there were a few good parts and Biblical references. For example, "Christians are supposed to grow more like Christ as we grow in the Lord."
I also appreciated the comment of how hard it is to keep up with the extra curricular activities along with homework when kids are in school all day. How everything is rush to this so you can rush to that you can rush home to go to bed so you can get up and start over. One of the authors talked about how hard it was to help with homework because she didn't know what the teacher expected, her child didn't know what the teacher expected, and then her child would say, "but that's not how my teacher said to do it!" It was just a reminder of how frustrating homework was.
Overall, it wasn't really that great of a book but it gave me helpful reminders...

[Andy]

Probably one of the most outstanding guides to understanding the home schooling life that I have ever seen. Two very realistic home schooling moms write about the real life issues, challenges, blessings, and excitement, that comes from home schooling.
They are VERY clear that this is a difficult job that is not right for everyone. But they are just as clear why they made this decision.

Truly - outstanding!

[Lyndsay]

A good insight to how homeschooling is! The authors are quite comical at times also. Reminds you that any frustration or feeling overwhelmed is normal and felt by almost all homeschooling mothers/fathers. Definitely a good read for anyone new to homeschool.

[Jena]

great book about the "nuts and bolts" of home schooling. Helped me to really think I could do it!