Customer Reviews

Easy Homeschooling Techniques: Your Guide to the Low Cost, Time Saving, High Quality Method

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A practical information book on the basics needed to start home schooling your children. With Christian references & historical information this personal & personable text covers every aspect from preparing your home to starting a business.

What are your qualifications to be a home school teacher? Very simple: you need to love your children; have time for them each & every day; have strong beliefs that are not being taught in public schools; have doubts about the quality of public education; you must be able to read & write & you must be committed to completing the study courses.

I enjoyed the stories of her movable classrooms; how combining subjects opened up a whole new world & how heirlooms & elders can teach more about history than any pages in a book.

Easy Homeschooling Techniques is a thorough resource for parents wishing to teach their own children with a complete Course of Study; chapter by chapter Endnotes & a solid Resources section.

Do give it a go, I think you will find it eminently useful in your home schooling efforts. Do check out my eInterview with this forthright author, business woman & teacher!

I have had the priveledge of being in communication with the author of this book off and on for over a year. I have determined that she lives what she has written in her book. She has written this book in such an "easy" to follow, "easy" to understand fashion. It is literally a step by step "how-to" manual. She has even included symbols throughout the book which makes finding topics easier to find when you want to refer back to them. For example, anything she suggests you put in your personal notebook has a fountain pen symbol by it throughout the book. This was great for me because it takes me too long to find things again when I refer back to them. It is a time saver. So if you don't need another time consuming book to read, this one "reads fast" and has helps to make referring back to it easy and time saving. The book it aptly titled...Easy Homeschooling. I wish I had read it years ago before I began schooling. I'm excited about the results I'm seeing in my own homeschool as a result of following Lorraine Curry's methods recommended in her book.

I have read, highlighted, pondered and researched her ideas scripturally. It is the most balanced, and inexpensive approach to schooling I've read about yet. If you're frustrated, burned out, broke and generally feeling out of control and loaded down with too much stuff, this book will teach you how to clean out what you don't need, keep what you do, and streamline your homeschool so you have time to "have a life" beyond school.

After researching homeschooling for 11 years and actively doing so for 5, I am STILL reaping so much from this book. I read it through once and then re-read it making the suggested lists and checklists and all I can say is WOW!
I WISH I had read this book first!! I checked out "Easy Homeschooling Companion" from my library a year ago but I was still in the "I-need-to-know-WHICH-curriculum-to-choose" mindset so I didn't get anything out of it (I'm going to get it again...I bet I missed out on a LOT!) I have always felt the
lead to design our own curriculum and have had "How to Create a
Low-Cost/No-Cost Curriculum" and ALL of the Design-A-Study books for many years but have never been able to "put it all together" with a plan...so I kept searching for THE curriculum for us. I knew there wouldn't be a "perfect" program but I figured the changes should be minor to warrant the continued
use/purchase of said program. Unfortunately, the changes were always wholesale so we dropped it. But now, since reading this book I have been able to define my vision for our home education journey...I can finally SEE an "overall" plan for
our homeschool as God has been leading! Even in your book there are things we probably won't focus on; but I have gained SO much from seeing your overall plan based on your goals for your family. I can see how we can now focus our daily journey to have our homeschool as my husband and I first envisioned. I took your advice and didn't buy any ("more" in my
case :-) curriculum until I finished your book. I did finally buy a program I believe with minor modification will help us reach our goals. But unlike before, when I made this purchase, I have a MUCH better idea of what types of materials will help us reach our goals...because I have my goals written down! I've read before about setting goals but the way you lead the reader in the SPECIFICS is unmatched! I LOVE your use of checklists and have begun using this listing technique all through our home and lives.

I have THOUROUGHLY enjoyed and learned SO much from reading this
book. I used to recommend Gayle Graham's "How to Homeschool" as THE homeschool book to purchase first or if you could only have one. I will now move that down a notch and recommend "Easy Homeschooling Techniques" as THAT book.

Lorraine Curry's Easy Homeschooling Techniques: Your Guide To The Low Cost, Time Saving, High Quality Method is the ideal "how to" introduction and manual for parents who aspire to teach their children at home. Curry shows how to make sense of education methods, lay a good informational foundation, start up the easy way, plan for success, make order in the home, set achievable goals, provide a high school level quality curriculum, provide homeschooling even when employed. All pertinent issues for homeschooling are carefully addressed including phonics, drawing, organizing and cleaning, choosing literature, school planning, state studies, teaching the Bible, keeping high school credits, teaching homemaking, even career planning. Easy Homeschooling Techniques is highly recommended for its accessibility and is designed specifically for the non-specialist general reader wanting to educate their child at home and is enhanced with a course of study, excerpts from vintage books, a resource section, and invaluable "Authors and Poets" booklists.

This is a must have for all homeschooling parents. It takes the best of all styles of schooling and combines them into a better, less expensive homeschool experience. It is easy to read and has wonderful advice for new and old homeschool teachers. With all the books being written about homeschooling, this is one that you will want to keep forever.

The value in this book is that we don't have to be overwhelmed by all of the curriculum choices out there and there are other options which can be more frugal. Her techniques are quite simple. I felt this book to be very encouraging while also laying out some principles we may want to consider in our parenting and homeschooling.

My favorite chapter was toward the end, "Abiding in the Vine." I felt inspired to continue on homeschooling while striving to do even better.

The author is correct in saying that we may want to limit TV viewing for our children. I can see where such graphic intensity has diminished many peoples desire to read and to read at elevated levels, my own and my children's as well.

Over all a great book to read before purchasing curriculum and just starting out homeschooling.

I found this gem at our local library and have renewed it TWICE. In that time, I've read through it two times and started a notebook to take extensive notes on each chapter!

Curry presents a very realistic and attainable ideal of what the homeschool should be, particularly for the Christian family. She encourages the homeschooler to look to God's Word for instruction and encouragement and move away from external ideas on what learning "should" look like.

This book, in addition to Mary Pride's Complete Guide to Getting Started in Homeschooling and Catherine Levison's A Charlotte Mason Education have been highly influential in the development of our homeschool program.

Curry covers all the major "subjects," as well as art instruction, music and much more. She gives practical, low-cost guidance on teaching, along with a huge helping of encouragement and admonition to the homeschooling family.

I also recommend Ruth Beechick's books.

VERY highly recommended!

Scanning the Table of Contents of this remarkable book is like catching a glimpse of everything you've ever wondered about schooling your kids at home. You could purchase a shelf full of homeschooling books before you would find all the material covered in this single, easy-to-read volume.

Starting with the basics of establishing a home education program, Lorraine Curry guides beginners through the decisions and goal-setting processes that will uncomplicate the homeschooling experience. With an emphasis on simplicity and practical economy, she addresses methods and curriculum choices from preschool through high school. Curry stresses the importance of going beyond the 3R's to teach life skills and build character. There is an excellent section on teaching art and a helpful overview of world history that can provide a framework for any grade level.

Homeschooling can be an expensive proposition, but spending lots of money does not assure a quality education. Curry not only promotes inexpensive alternatives to the increasingly sophisticated array of homeschool materials, but also devotes a chapter to the consideration of running a home business.

This book will guide and encourage the novice as well as provide a refreshing perspective and refocused direction for experienced homeschoolers.

I was shocked that the writer said there was no need to teach "spelling, comprehension, grammer and vocabulary" since they can be learned by reading to the child and teaching the child to read.
My four year old was reading at a second grade level. By the time he was seven, having read hundreds of books, he still needed to be taught language. They don't automatically absorb what you think they are absorbing. He was simply making up his own definitions of words! They often made sense, but he was still wrong.
I'm a christian. I understand wanting to teach from the Bible and do so myself. However, I've seen way too many homeschooling books say you don't need to do much like just take them for a walk and go home and lookup the butterfly they were interested in. I think you are doing your children a disservice if you do this type of homeschooling.
I was not looking for someone to tell me I don't have to do this or do that. I didn't expect that from this book.
I suggest using the book for organization, etc. but not for curriculum planning.

This is the best homeschooling book I have read and my most valuable homeschooling resource! This is a must read for anyone considering or currently homeschooling. I am constantly re-reading this over and over. I find/learn something new each time. You will not be disappointed!