Name: Teresa H.
Your education level/background: B.B.A. in Management and a J.D. Worked for several law firms and a federal judge.
Years/grades homeschooled: I started homeschooling when my oldest child entered Preschool. She is now a Junior in high school. My other children are a Freshman, 7th, and 4th grades. I have homeschooled them all continuously from Kindergarten on. So, this is my 13th year of homeschool with eight left to go.
Number of children: I have four children, all two years apart in age.
Religion: Roman Catholic and we did start with a box program from a Catholic school, but have now branched out and use more resources.
Learning disabilities or special challenges: None.
State(s) you have homeschooled in: We have lived in the same community in Kentucky for our entire time. Under Kentucky law, we are a private school.
What you wish you’d known that first month of homeschooling: That there was no reason for me to have a formal preschool year. It was super hard, because my oldest wasn’t completely ready. With my other three I waited until Kindergarten and it was much smoother.
Favorite curriculum choice: I did adore my box curriculum when my kids were all in Elementary. It was okay in Middle School. It is not a good fit for High School at all. My favorite piece of stand alone curriculum is The Story of the World Volumes 1-4 and the accompanying Activity Books! Such a great way to teach history to littles. I have used them in grades 1st to 4th. But, they can be beefed up and used again in Middle and High School.
Homeschooling philosophy : Curriculum wise, I love the idea of a Classical education like Susan Wise Bauer talks about in her book The Well Trained Mind. In practice, I have not forced my children to memorize very much, but count on them learning by repetition and usage.
I think I am a lot like a mamma bird; feed them information just long enough until they are ready to fledge and then push them out of the nest. As my kids get older, I don’t “teach” them very much. I expect them to read the textbook and “teach” themselves whenever possible. I want to raise lifelong learners who can always learn a new skill on their own. I always answer questions when they come to be, but I don’t spoon feed them information once they can read on their own proficiently.
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