Happy Saturday, friends! This morning, I slipped out of bed around 5 am to spend some time reading and writing. It’s been so peaceful. I feel super ready to take on the weekend. I can’t wait to see what it holds!

I thought I’d share the Introduction to The Relaxed Homeschool with you this morning. This short book is the culmination of many of the things I’ve learned through twenty years of being a homeschool mom.

“Educating my children has been one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences of my life. It’s been amazingly wonderful, and has brought me to my knees. I can’t say this about much else, and I’m so thankful for all the lessons I’ve learned along the way.

I’ve been a homeschool mom for over two decades now. I have nine children, four of whom have graduated from our homeschool. We actually had a homeschool graduation less than a month ago, which is always a reason to celebrate! 

Each day, my home is filled with lots of noise, fun, learning, laughter…and the occasional tantrum or two. At the beginning of our homeschool journey, I thought it would be a smart idea to make our home look just like the public school I learned in. It didn’t take me long to realize this was a mistake, and through the years our homeschool has morphed as I’ve become less structured and more relaxed.

It has been a good change, and I hope this short book will encourage you if your homeschool feels harried. Even after twenty years, I still don’t have it all figured out. But now, I understand how homeschooling works, and I trust the process. I’ve realized that my children still learn, even when our homeschool is more relaxed. In fact, they learn more.

Having a relaxed homeschool isn’t so much about what curriculum we use. It’s more about our own attitude going into the day. If we are more concerned about completing our curriculum perfectly instead of our home environment and children’s hearts, then we’ve missed the point. Believe me, I’ve been there. 

In just a moment, I’m going to tell you my story when it comes to our homeschool. I call it “My Story” instead of “Our Story” because I truly believe the key to a relaxed homeschool lies within myself. Of course, our children’s attitudes and actions shape the day, too. But as parents, we are the facilitators of each day, and our homeschools are largely shaped by our decisions.

Then, we will move on to ways we can create a more relaxed homeschool. From preparing our hearts, to spending time in nature, to freeing ourselves from expectations, we will learn and grow together until our homeschool becomes a more relaxed place for both ourselves and our children to learn in.

So often we totally stress ourselves out, while thinking our homeschool needs to live up to the perfect standard we see online. I promise, this isn’t true. If we become committed to providing a happy and relaxing environment for our children to learn in, they will succeed.

Thank you so much for taking this journey with me. Let’s join hands, and make our homeschools relaxing as well as productive.”

If you are a homeschool parent, I just know you are doing a great job. And I really hope this book encourages you along the way if you choose to read it.

Find The Relaxed Homeschool here. You also should be able to read a longer sample through this link.

I hope you have an amazing weekend, friends. Thank you so much for stopping by today!