Customer Reviews

Homeschooling: A Path Rediscovered for Socialization, Education, and Family

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My brother's kids have all been homeschooled so my mom was 150% on board when we decided to homeschool our kids. Despite her initial concerns when my brother started homeshooling, she saw how well his kids have done and knew just how great homeschooling is. My mother-in-law (a retired school teacher) had no experience with homeschooling. She seems to have had images of children stuck in back of the house classrooms that do nothing but sit at desks reading textbooks all day. Although we did not need her support, or approval, to homeschool our kids, we did want to allay her fears. My husband and I each read this book and decided we would buy it for her so she could see were were not doing educational or social neglect. After she read it, she emailed me telling me she wished us well on our homeschooling path. She may not believe in homeschooling, but at least we are not at odds over the subject anymore.

I have not read this book in many months so my specific memories of the book are faint. I came here to send a friend a link to the book so her in-laws could also read it. I saw there were no reviews so had to leave one.

This is a gentle book. It acknowledges there are many fine way to educate children. Some parents feel their children will do best in a typical school environment. Other parents feel their children will do best by homeschooling. Both ways are equally okay. At no time does it insult anyone's choices. After reassuring the reader that this book is not anti-school, it then goes on to address some of the major (incorrect) assumptions people have about homeschooling. Of course the first is socialization.

After the writers bring up a common concern, they gently inform the reader about the realities of modern-day homeschooling. As I read the book, I was reconvinced of our decision to homeschool. For me, the book made homeschooling so appealing.

If someone is uncertain whether they want to homeschool or if they have friends and family that are concerned about homeschooling because they have many common misconceptions about exactly what homeschooling is, this book may answer many questions about the subject. Because it does not alienate, it may do better than other books that are negative against school.

My suggestion to homeschooling parents who are having trouble with family or friends. Do not try to convince them about homeschooling. The people around you probably believe in school and can't understand why you don't. Instead, try to understand their fears and concerns. Remember that they are truly concerned for your kids and just don't have the knowledge level to relax about your decision to homeschool. And offer them this book to help calm their concerns. It'll either work or it won't, but you'll get a lot further if you try to understand their perspective instead of fighting with them over something they do not understand.