Helping Families Be Happy Homeschooling
On May 6 I told you about a new project we have been working on. As I said then, it is a free resource with one purpose—to help parents make a well-informed and faithful decision about how to educate their children this fall.
We are creating a new website called Be Happy Homeschooling. Our target date to launch it is Tuesday, May 24. The website has videos, articles, and printables that aim to help parents who find themselves in one of the following situations:
- They are wondering, perhaps for the first time: “What is the best way for my children to learn? Is it time to homeschool?”
- They think they do want to homeschool but they need reassurance that: “Yes! You can homeschool.”
- They are already homeschooling, but have questions: “Is the way we are homeschooling the best way? How can I make my homeschool happier?”
- They simply need encouragement to keep on keeping on in the joyful homeschool journey they are already on.
I plan to continue Daily Encouragement for Homeschooling Mothers as I have been doing since 2013. We also plan to put a link on the Be Happy Homeschooling website so that those who visit the website have an opportunity to sign up for this blog.
We are creating new content for Be Happy Homeschooling, but we are also including videos we have made in the past, plus articles and printables. For some of the articles and printables, we have taken content from previous blog posts. For some time I have wanted to make information in past posts available to more people. This is one way we can do that.
To help spread the word about the new website, I joined Ray on his Exploring History with Ray Notgrass podcast that is scheduled for release on Tuesday, May 24. The topic is “Homeschooling an American President.” This podcast will include my reading aloud Homeschooling: The Making of Theodore Roosevelt. Ray believes that the story of Roosevelt’s parents and his father in particular is a story Americans need to hear. Some people wonder if homeschooled children can succeed. Theodore Roosevelt Sr. and his wife, Martha, homeschooled their four lively children 150 years ago. They proved that homeschooled children can succeed. They can even soar. One of them might even become president of the United States.
Theodore Sr. and Martha made a conscious decision to homeschool their children in the middle of the 19th century. They faced issues that parents face today. They cared deeply about their children’s spiritual lives. They were afraid that public school would be a negative influence on their children. Three of their children had special health needs. How they homeschooled their children is a very inspiring story and one that modern parents can emulate.
On this podcast we discuss how homeschooling helped to give President Theodore Roosevelt to America. A recording of this podcast will remain a primary resource on Be Happy Homeschooling.
The reason I am sharing all of this with you today, four days before the official launch, is that I would like to ask any of you who are able to assist me this weekend. If you could preview the website in its unfinished form and help us work out the kinks, I would greatly appreciate it. If you can help, simply reply to this email with the words, “I’d like to help.” Then, we can send you a link. Please don’t feel obligated. I know you are very busy. If you can look at the link, that would be great. If you can email me about typos or broken links or other problems, that would be even better. If you run out of time and can’t help at all, that is fine, too.
Earlier this week, Ray and I went on a short trip to the Smoky Mountains. One of my favorite spots was the beautiful Mingus Mill.
When we walked back to the parking lot, we saw a family of five—mama, daddy, and three children—climb into their truck with a New Hampshire license plate. I wondered if they homeschooled, so I asked them. Sure enough! They do. The daddy told me that homeschooling had helped them take their children to almost 1/3 of the country. He was obviously very happy about that.
We want to help everyone we can to Be Happy Homeschooling.
Thank you for homeschooling your children.
Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction,
And do not ignore your mother’s teaching;
For they are a graceful wreath for your head
And necklaces for your neck.
Proverbs 1:8