Help! I’m Homeschooling Giveaway

I’ve been homeschooling for 10 years. Back when I started it was just an idea my husband thought would be great for his frequent travel schedule. We had no idea how to actually start homeschooling. We had no idea what each day was going to look like. I only had a few homeschool mom friends and most had just started about the same time as us. We were in that overwhelmed stage of desperately reaching for help!

I was not aware of any homeschool guide book. People said, “really, you want to homeschool? What about socialization?” I was far more worried about answering that question than creating my own healthy homeschool habits.

The week after I started homeschooling back in 2008, I went over to a friend’s house and shadowed her for the day. I wrote down everything she said, did, sang, assigned, read, cleaned and cooked. I would replicate her exact day in my own home. It was a complete shock when her schedule did not work in our home. Then I tried to do school-at-home. Ya know, personal desk, attendance book, seasonal banners, and teacher supplies. Again, it was not flexible nor fun. I had no habits of my own, just copycat ideas that didn’t work for my highly tactile artistic son. It took me almost 3 years to find my homeschool groove by trial and error. Lots of errors.

There were no “Help! I’m Homeschooling” books of encouragement at Barnes & Noble. So when I heard my online blogging friend Tricia Hodges had written a book like that, I was excited. Because y’all are so spoiled. First Pinterest. Instagram. Now this book! You might have trial & errors, but you have awesome Homeschool moms sharing a lot more information than before!

Why I recommend Help! I’m Homeschooling.

1. It’s written by someone you can trust (someone who has lived it). I’ve followed Tricia’s Blog for years. My oldest son and I were huge Chalk Pastel ebook junkies. We got them all! I followed Curriculum Choice and even wrote a few reviews myself for the site. I trust what Tricia shares and respect the love she has for homeschooling. She’s been doing this for awhile and she knows what works.

2. The book is heavy on prayer. You can try any type of homeschool method, teaching style, room decor … but if you’re not praying your heart out over your homeschool, it can feel lonely. It seems hard on the hard days. It can become discouraging when you’re not seeing the results you desperately want to see. Maybe because I’m leading Pray for Moms the word “prayer” throughout the book caught my attention. Ladies, even 10 years into this … we need that reminder.

3. Practical Hints & Tips. This isn’t a book to brag about great kids and exploit baby faces (although I totally respect the fact that she doesn’t throw her kids under the bus when they do have bad days), Tricia offers practical advice in a non-pushy non-condescending non-know-it-all way and offers easy tips you can incorporate = immediately. Reading the book felt like chatting with a friend over coffee. Rather than weigh you down with a mile long to-do list, there are easy suggestions like, “try one this month”.

4. It’s all about habits. Each chapter is about setting a certain type of habit. I LOVE THAT! I can tell you, no kidding – when I was just winging it our days down right stunk. I’d get frustrated. We ended up skipping things I knew in my heart we should be doing. Usually the day ended on a sour note and I felt like a failure overwhelmed to start it all over again. Eventually, repetition helped everyone in my home. Me especially. Yeah mom, you need repetition as much as they do. Habits are key to homeschool success, and this book is FULL of them!

I just incorporated the “Habit of One More Thing After Lunch”. Which has been huge for fighting the screen time demon. I don’t remember screen time being such a big deal when my oldest was in 5th grade. But it’s becoming a MONSTER now. The Habit of One More Thing After Lunch has been awesome pushing back screens, and I’m thankful for the idea!

New homeschool moms – this book is thin. It slides nicely into your purse or playground bag. Take it with you. Read it at night before bed. Read some during lunch or nap time. It’s not a brick of information you’ll lug around never to digest. It’s an easy read I’m certain you’ll earmark and highlight as soon as you open the cover.

Help! I’m Homeschooling! Helpful Habits for the Heart of Homeschooling

I’m a huge Support Small Biz type of gal. When I realized Tricia self-published her book – I immediately bought 3 copies. One is heading to my high school best friend who just started homeschooling. The other two are ready to ship out to winners. Just enter the giveaway below!

This gem is ideal for the christian Homeschool mom who is trying to establish a Homeschool routine. Please follow Tricia on Instagram @hodgepodgemom it’s not an entry below, but you’ll be so glad you did!!