Joe:
Thank you,  Linda, for your support of our work and also for graciously allowing us to reprint an excerpt from your book for our members to read for FREE.

Homeschooling the Early Years
By Linda Dobson
Excerpt pp. 217-221

Somewhere there’s a local homeschool support group person excusing herself from the hot game of Scrabble and her children are playing. She answers the phone to find a stranger on the other end. The caller says, "We couldn’t take it anymore and I just told the school, "I’m going to homeschool my son’." She begins to cry as she relays one of a series of horror stories the support person has heard before. "What do I do now?" she asks, frantic & frightened.

As public school problems escalate, more families turn to homeschooling under emergency circumstances. The fears new homeschoolers typically harbor are compounded in these circumstances by lack of preparation or understanding. Like heart attack victims awaiting an ambulance, families in a homeschooling emergency situation need help now.

Realize first, the early years child is resilient and can usually bounce back unscathed when removed from the harm typically suffered as a result of public school problems. Large doses of hugs and kisses, positive reinforcement, and (most especially) homemade chocolate chip cookies enjoyed together work wonders to restore the young soul, and have been known to return a child to his normal self within a matter of weeks.

If you child is in this situation, consider providing what s commonly referred to as "decompression time, " a time-out from worries about subtraction problems, penmanship lessons, and those nasty Roman numerals. This gives him a much-needed mental, physical and emotional vacation, and delivers time for the renewed bonding you and your child may need. Yes, this mean he’ll probably "fall behind" on the work you know his former classmates are proceeding with, but your mentally, physically, an emotionally refreshed child will quickly catch up if, in fact, you decide to continue providing a similar education at home.

Use this time for observation and conversation. Watch how he fills his vacation time. Does he want to read or to be read to? Watch TV? Run and jump outside? Use the computer? Build castles with Legos or cardboard boxes? Pretend he’s Superman? As mentioned before, these are all clues as to his interests and his preferred learning style; take note.

Ask what he’d like to learn, but remember that at this age – and under these circumstances – he may not know or be able to answer such a direct question. In this case, hints may come from questions he asks you in everyday conversation. "Mommy, what does it say on the cereal box? (Early signs of desire to read?) "How does the mailman know which mail is ours?" (Mmm, post office field trip?) "How do they make chocolate chips?" (Let’s check and see if Hershey’s has a Web site. Or, why don’t we write a letter to the company and ask?)

In an emergency, new homeschoolers additionally worry they don’t have age-appropriate textbooks sitting around the house and can’t proceed until they’re in hand. You can get the textbooks you need or want soon enough. In the meantime, use the invaluable resources lists in this chapter to check what you already have (not included in this excerpt) to check what you already have. For starters, here’s a low-cost, bare-bones emergency resource kit that, coupled with your ingenuity, will keep you an your child busy as you figure out where you’re going to travel on this homeschooling journey built just for you.

• Library cards for both of you – good for books, magazines, videos, computer software, and audio stories on tape.
• Crayons, markers, and/or colored pencils
• Paper – plain or lined, loose or bound for writing and drawing (check your local newspaper office for end rolls of newsprint), construction paper, tracing paper
• Pencils
• Old magazine and catalogs from which to cut out pictures and letters; glue
• Scissors
• Scraps – wood, fabric, wrapping paper, yarn, tissue paper, and o on.
• A couple of age-appropriate workbooks (from your local department store) if they make you feel better!

That’s it! Now get to the library, load up a bag or box with interesting materials, include a couple of books and magazines on homeschooling for your evening reading, and have some fun. If you find it leads you onto the information Superhighway, we’re about to visit that next.

If you have to homeschool on a desert island and could only take ten things with you, what would they be?

1. A book on the local flora & fauna
2. Dictionary
3. Encyclopedia set
4. Musical instruments
5. Box of colored pencils, markers, and/or crayons and "one very large paper source"
6. Bible, hymnal, and/or catechism
7. Art supplies
8. Pencils and paper
9. Computer software
10. Lots of books (or as one person who got down to her tenth item said, "As many books as I could convince you are one!")

Of course, several of these ten "things" could get surprisingly bulky and varied – but that’s how homeschoolers see the world: Where others set limits, they look for opportunities.

Simple stating points

• Settle down with a cup of tea, a pad and pen, and a homeschool resource guide
  Note sources of products that sound interesting
• Start requesting catalogs.
  There are so many resources available today it’s a good idea to get an interview first. This way you won’t settle for the first resource you find.
• Clip a sheet of paper to the refrigerator on which you can write down the little things, you’d like to pick up on your next trip to the discount store to fill in the gaps.
• Gather resources slowly.
  You can always supplement your family’s resources as you experience homeschooling and get a better idea of what you really need. Errant book purchases are usually returnable for a brief time, and opened software, unless damaged, never is. Keep your budget in mind, so homeschooling doesn’t become an unnecessary source of financial stress.
• If you are turning to homeschooling under emergency circumstances, don’t panic.
  Help is only a phone call away. If the school is pressuring you for a curriculum, ask if you can borrow a set of their books. This will make them happy, give your child time for decompression, give you time to gather more appropriate materials

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Parents and educators often view a child's middle years as the 'magical' years--when innate talents and abilities really begin to flourish. They have reached the stage where they understand the fundamentals of most subjects and are still excited to learn more. Homeschooling: The Middle Years helps parents make the most of their children's crucial middle years by providing exciting ideas and activities that cultivate each child's individual interests.