My first read of the New Year, was a homeschooling book – surprise, surprise !!! I Discovered Pam Barnhill a year ago while reading Sarah Mackenzie’s book ” The Read Aloud Family”. And since then , I have been reading a lot of her content ( on her blog ), as well as reading her Book ” Better Together ” ( a must read if you want some morning basket inspiration ).Better Together: Strengthen Your Family, Simplify Your Homeschool, and Savor the Subjects that Matter Most can be bought from Amazon-https://amzn.to/2NrGDj0 ( affiliated link )
Pam Barnhill is a mom and former secondary teacher. When she’s not homeschooling her three kids, she can be found helping and encouraging homeschool moms at pambarnhill.com. She is the host of Your Morning Basket, a podcast devoted to helping families contemplate truth, goodness, and beauty in Morning Time, and The Homeschool Snapshots Podcast where she interviews homeschooling parents, providing a peek into their days. She lives with her husband, children, and a passel of dogs in beautiful Alabama.
End of last year, I found out, while searching on Amazon, that Pam Barnhill has written another book , called the Confident Homeschooler: How to thrive in the day to day “. I was not able to get it as a Paperback , so it had to be on Kindle. It is free at the moment if you have a Kindle membership.
I have to say I am not the biggest fan of Kindle- I am very old school and juts love reading a physical book, but I did not mind reading this on Kindle and I think part of the reason was because it was a short read ( only 22 pages ).
So here is my review, if you are looking for something new to read this Year:
“Stop making homeschooling more difficult than it has to be.
As a homeschool mom there is a good chance that you are your own worst enemy. Unrealistic expectations, your public school past, and worry combine to sabotage the peace in your homeschool day.
In order to take charge of your efforts and your results, you needs ideas that allow you to step outside your old paradigms. This ebook presents five simple ones that will do just that.
Discover:
• The single shift that will maximize learning in your homeschool.
• The most important, and most overlooked, step to homeschooling successfully.
• Two simple ideas that will create smooth-running days… for good.
• Ideas for creating a schedule that works for you instead of you working for it.
• How to take charge of those pesky mornings that often get you off track.
In the end, you’ll be able to create a homeschool for your family that brings you confidence, peace, and kids who learn. “
There are 4 chapters in this book:
Chapter 1 “Don’t work harder than your kids”- this was a gem, absolutely loved reading this one. Pam reminds us that it should not be only us putting effort and finding amazing projects to do with our children. Instead allocate responsibility and allow your children to put effort too in their own studies. As Barnhill writes, ” allow your children ,especially those 8 and above, to create their own questions, games and acctivities. “
Chapter 2 ” Be True to your… family”– this chapter is all about your homeschool vision and it is really very thought prvoking. Pam reminds us to look towards the end goal too and ask ourselves, in 20 years down the line, what do we want our children to say about their homeschool experience and about you as a homeschool mum.am
Chapter 3- “Eliminate decision fatigue “- I found this chapter really very interesting and useful. Pam explains what decision fatigue is and how we can reduce it. I loved her recommendation on using spiral notebooks for student checklists, especially good for older children, aged 8 and above.
Chapter 4 ” Love your Schedule”- This is a really very practical Chapter and it looks at the various schooling schedules that you can have, whether it is year round homescholing or alighning your acdemic year with the calendar year.
Chapter 5 -” Make the most of your mornings“- this is a short chapter on morning time and tips on how to be consistent.
Overall, this is a great little guide on home education. If you are new to homeschooling or someone who just wants their homeschool to run smoother ( don’t we all ), you would truly find this book super helpful. It is jam packed with so many useful tips, practical advice, links to many other blog posts and articles. I only wished it was longer!!
The Confident Homeschooler: How to Thrive in the Day-to-Day can be bought from Amazonhttps://amzn.to/2QTPH2n. ( Affiliated link )
Let's learn , Mama! 