An interview with Jessie Strawser

Tell us a little about yourself and your children. How long have you been homeschooling?

My husband Todd and I have seven children, ranging in ages 2 to 14. We’ve been home educating from the beginning! We believe that “schooling” starts at birth, not at a predetermined age.

What first inspired you to start homeschooling? Has that changed at all through the years?

We started homeschooling because we felt it was best for our military lifestyle at the time. We were moving about every 18 months, and it just seemed to us that keeping schoolwork consistent would best be done by homeschooling. We knew a few families who were homeschooling, so I had knowledge of what homeschooling was. I didn’t really know much else about it. It seemed fun, and I thought it looked relatively easy! I was able to visit with these families, ask questions of the moms, and just observe what it meant to “homeschool.”Read More

by guest author Marcia Washburn

This post is Part 2 in Marcia Washburn’s A Mid-Year Makeover article. Read Part 1 here.

And so it’s January — that month we face with combined anticipation and dread. We’ve negotiated the busy Christmas season and, perhaps, have some new ideas and new equipment (Christmas gifts!) to try in our homeschools. But the thought of slogging along for another five months may bring dismay to even the stoutest of hearts on some dreary winter days. It’s time for a mid-year makeover.

In Part 1, we discussed clearing out the clutter in your house and in your heart. Now let’s tackle those mid-winter, bored-to-be-here homeschool blues.Read More