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When we first started homeschooling, we picked a classical curriculum that required five days of school work. Since I had just pulled my son out of a parochial school, I took the the five-day school model as an assumed standard. My son must do five full days of schoolwork to learn just as he had in school.

However, that plan didn’t work for long. I quickly discovered that my son was behind in math and couldn’t keep up with the schedule for the classical homeschool curriculum. Soon we were both frustrated.

When families begin homeschooling, it seems natural for moms to step in and do the bulk of the teaching, organizing, and planning. As the primary or sole wage earner for the family, dads are considered the principal of the homeschool. However, this situation also puts dads at a disadvantage. They come home at the end of the workday and don’t know what went on or how the children are performing in school.

I have three of them—each one with her own brand of anxiety. It’s an ever-present reality we’ve learned to live with in our homeschool. On good days, it’s pretty manageable: we acknowledge the fear, address it, and move on. On bad days, it’s crippling: there are tears, stomach aches, cancellations and despair.

When I first started homeschooling, one of my greatest fears was that I would not know enough to adequately teach my kids up to and all the way through the high school years. It's a common fear.

The good news is that you have many years to prepare for upper level maths, and if you follow a path like Saxon lays out for you, you'll be ready.

Ask any veteran homeschool mom whose kids have already graduated from high school, and she will reassure you. She had the same fears you have now. She realizes now how pointless most of those fears were.

What a difference 10-15 years of hindsight makes! But you don't have to wait that long. Let's look right now at ten of the biggest and most common homeschool fears so you can face—and more importantly, conquer—them.

A large part of my job as a homeschool blogger and advocate is helping new homeschoolers get started. Newbies have so many questions and feel overwhelmed with information. How do you navigate through it all to find what will work best for your child?

I am no expert, but I have been homeschooling for more years than I can count on one hand now, and here is the best advice I can give to people who are just beginning their journey.

Plan less than you think you can do. It’s normal to want to do everything, everyday.

Are you thinking of taking the plunge into homeschooling your children?

But you’re worried, right? You might even feel overwhelmed.

What if you fail?

I’m here to tell you we’ve all had those thoughts and feelings, but guess what? Homeschooling is not going to chew you up and spit you out, and here’s why.

As homeschooling parents, our time is at a premium. Many of us are homeschooling several kids. In addition, we need to cook meals, grocery shop, clean the house, take kids to activities, and perhaps also work a part-time job.

Life is busy.

To carve out more time in their schedule, parents frequently ask these two questions about BookShark curriculum.