Review: WeE-Books

If you're not familiar with The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and you need to get in-the-know and now! I tell you, this magazine has been the foundation of my encouragement through the years. Not only is it filled with delightful and practical ideas and projects for your homeschool but it offers a one-two knockout by delivering the best spiritual encouragement from some very special authors--people just like you and me, people who feel called to homeschool and that this calling is not a separate vocation but one embroidered upon the same fabric of their living faith.

But, I'm not reviewing the magazine here today! No need for that.

But, I am reviewing WeE-Books, short and sweet publications produced by the very same publisher and peeps of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and found at The Old Schoolhouse Store. I don't know about you, but this fact holds some weight with me.

In order to get a feel for the WeE-books, I tried to pick a varied lot of three from more than the thirty (30) offered. It was no easy task, to say the very least. The battery of topics include not only the many philosophies and motley of practices of homeschooling but the much more valuable topics of spiritual encouragement, including, but not limited to, topical Bible studies.

The three WeE-Books I read this week ranged from eight (8) to eleven (11) pages, written by some of the most brilliant peeps in the homeschool arena: Senior Editor of TOS, Deborah Wuehler, Dr. Ruth Beechick, and Kate Kessler, who published her interview with Classical Educator Fritz Hinrichs. I found the length of the reading was just right for its bite-sized topic as each WeE-Book was very much less a cold and practical manual and more like a personal letter of comfort or inspiring support.

And who wouldn't want to receive a letter from any one of these folks?

More importantly, the WeE-Books read reminded me that my homeschool is as unique as my family, providentially knitted together by my Creator, and yet tied to all by my calling to do my best as unto Him. By His grace, I've been doing this homeschool thang for seven years. And, although I still pretty green most days, I'm pretty grounded in my calling. I mean, I don't think it would profit me to read about why we should keep our children out of public schools--I'm totally with ya there. Nor did I find it helpful to read the practical and easy ways to build strong math reasoning with my teeny tikes--I've got that going on, too. But, as a somewhat seasoned ((think: tired)) homeschool mom, I just liberally drank in the spiritual boost I got in every word of Fall Harvest: Where's the Fruit? Probably because that's what I'm often thinking, when it comes to my kids and, more importantly and especially, me.

If you're new to homeschooling, or even considering it, these WeE-Books may help you find and pave the way to your own unique experience. Or, if you're looking for practical ways to jump-start your language arts study without shelling out major moola for a whole new writing curriculum, there's a few from which to choose. But, personally, unless I was desperate for a specific topic and found it easier to spend a couple of bucks instead of the time it takes to find some local or virtual support, I would attach myself to some like-minded and more seasoned ((think: got-it-better-together)) homeschool moms and glean, glean, glean!

So, what do you read to keep the fire burning? Where do you find the much needed support every homeschool mom needs? Pretend you're an early spring flower and tell me about your awakening to life.

Review: HomeWork

This weekend, I spent some time reading the inspiring stories contained in a little e-book, published by The Old Schoolhouse, called HomeWork: Juggling Home, Work and School Without Losing Your Balance.

The stated goal of this collection of personal stories is to answer the Big Question, "How do you do it all?" But, it does so much more than this: The tales contained within are as varied as each one of us and our respective families, uniquely knitted and providentially fitted together by our Creator.

And even though these fascinating tales of home entrepreneurship are separated into manageable categories--A Labor of Love, Computer Based, Creative Writing, and Business Support--again, the stories offer so much variety that I just got completely sucked inside each and every one of them and found myself dragging out the old pon-pons to give a rousing cheer.

For example, one mom shares the unique challenges of living in a RV, while promoting a specialty sewing business and another the joy of renovating her family home into a bed & breakfast, located on a seasonal orchard; one moms relates how she turned her love for travel into providing "five-star vacations at two-star prices" to her clients and another how she accidently built a thriving computer network management business; one mom tells the remarkable tale of how she was led by faith to become the writer of foreign language programs, one of which we actually use in our own homeschool ((The Easy Spanish)), and another how she turned a talent for copy-editing into an in-home and on-demand printing company.

These few snippets are only to give you a wee taste--imagine the rich meal inside!

If you currently run a home-based business while caring for your family and homeschooling your children, this book will be a nice reminder that you are not alone in the struggle to "balance it all." And, if you've had a home-based business stewing in the back of your mind for some time now, you may just be inspired enough to finally get moving. But, watch out! If you're like me, not currently working from home and hadn't even a glimmer of a thought of it, you may find yourself starting to stew, stew, stew.

Thankfully, you can stew your way right into chapters on finance and organization for home-based businesses immediately following the personal stories. How perfect is that?

What I liked best about HomeWork is that all of the stories could be boiled down to this: hard-working women who love both God and their families as richly as possible each and every new and challenging day, being passionate about what they do, whether it be income-producing work or the daily labors-of-love in the home and homeschool.

I very much enjoyed reading this e-book, although I don't know if someone currently running a successful business from her home, or someone not previously interested in working from home, would pay the pennies required to read it. But, if your--or now my--home-based business stewing has recently transitioned to a nice simmer or full boil, thanks to a loud and undeniable calling from God, it would be a small investment for a good deal of ideas and a load of blessed encouragement.

Oh, and if you're looking for the answer to the Big Question, "How do you do it all?"

Tell me: What do you think?