BLUEPRINT HOMESCHOOLING

Before you build a house, you need plans. You need a BLUEPRINT.

Blueprint Homeschooling is for home educating parents of all philosophies and styles who are looking for a better way to manage their time, energy, and sanity throughout the school year. Do you spend your school days searching for missing ingredients to science experiments? Do you feel like you are constantly behind or like you are not doing enough compared to other people you know? It doesn’t have to be this way.

Blueprint Homeschooling is a friendly, humorous guide to planning your school year. Before you even take a glance at a calendar, you’ll discover why you homeschool, explore some of the educational philosophies and teaching methods available, and set goals that take into account the reality of your life. By the time you’re done, you’ll have all the tools and supplies to make it through an entire year of home education, fine-tuned to the real world you live in. Filled with practical advice and stories of those in the homeschool trenches, Blueprint Homeschooling has something for beginners and seasoned homeschool veterans alike.

When I first decided to homeschool seven years ago, I felt lost. Fortunately, an experienced homeschooler took me under her wing and mentored me through the process. She took me to curriculum sales, loaned me her favorite catalogs, and gave me books and curricula her children had outgrown. She told me what books were must-reads, often putting copies of them into my hands. She introduced me to other homeschoolers who could offer me ideas and encouragement as I educated my children at home. Whenever I asked my friend how I could pay her back, she always said the same thing: "Pay it forward"

BLUEPRINT HOMESCHOOLING is my attempt to pay it forward. As I continued homeschooling, a new group of parents started their homeschool journey. They came to me for advice and encouragement, with questions about how to plan, how to find curriculum, and how to manage all the nitty-gritty of a home educating lifestyle. After a few years of this, one of them asked me to write a book. Not being one to say no, I set to the task of compiling all my best and most encouraging homeschool advice in one volume. Two years later, it's ready.

The book is structured around planning an entire year of education in advance. But it's not just about the plans. Through the stories and exercises, you'll learn how to manage burnout, how to homeschool through major events like a new baby or a move, and how to get back on track if your plans have been derailed.

If you're just considering homeschooling, Blueprint Homeschooling will help you visualize what homeschooling will look like in your life. This is the quick overview of all the major issues you might need to think about before diving in to a homeschool year.

If you're new to homeschooling, Blueprint Homeschooling will help you navigate the sea of choices you'll need to make about curriculum, evaluation, and scheduling. If you don't already have friends who homeschool, I hope the stories and ideas will encourage you the way a good friend might.

If you're a veteran homeschooler, Blueprint Homeschooling can offer fresh insight into how to solve some of those recurring issues that you come across every year. Whether you feel too busy or like you might be missing something, I hope that the exercises will help you find renewed energy to continue.