The book that got me started

When Madeline was one year old, I impulsively picked up a book at the library that was laying on a shelf. I don't think I had heard of it before, and don't really know why I grabbed it. I took home the book, read it, and loved it. It took me many more years of reading, thinking, and praying to fully commit to homeschooling. But reading that book was really the beginning of our homeschool journey.

Since then I have read many more outstanding homeschool books that I would highly recommend. "The Well Trained Mind" by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer is the one I always go back to. The theory and layout of this type of education resonates with me. The idea of a classical education clicks with me. It makes me wish I know about great wars, intriguing books, and important discoveries. The fact is, I don't know much about all those things. "The Well Trained Mind" gets me excited to learn these things along with our children. Yes, it is overwhelming to consider the academic rigor the book suggests. But, you only go one year at a time. Don't all really difficult things end up being really great in the end? So when I'm feeling discouraged, planning next year's curriculum, or need to go back to the why, I go to this book.