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Homeschoolers are usually people who love to organize, keep records, write things down, etc. When an experienced homeschooler looks on the internet for a particular resource, it can be very challenging finding the right thing among hundreds of options. If the homeschooler in question is fairly new, it can be downright mind-boggling to try to figure out what resources are needed, and which one or more of all the possibilities to use!

I've been homeschooling now for seven years, and it is rather amusing to look back at my record books and see how things have changed over time. The number of kids has increased to three (small for a homeschool family); they are all at different levels from toddler to middle school (a common occurrence);and the space we have available is not getting any bigger, although the resources we need and the kids themselves are. One nice thing, though, is that in spite of the increase in students and subjects, my paper work has actually decreased, thanks to exposure to Lean thinking.

The dual challenge that moms like me face is 1) How to find all the educational “stuff” we need? and 2) How to do it without drowning in books, records, etc? As far as the finding goes, there are many families and groups out there offering educational helps for free or pretty cheap. I really have nothing new to offer as far as the educational resources themselves go. My primary concern here is number 2 – How to keep the resources under control, as well as make planning and preparation as easy as possible. The last thing we poor homeschoolers need is more paper work!

Please note that this book is designed for and best viewed as a PDF and in color. If using a Kindle or Nook, the graphics can get pretty small. If you have a zoom function, no problem. Color is also used heavily, so a black & white display will not tell the whole story. The next edition will strive to overcome these two limitations as much as possible, but for educational purposes, I just can't help using nice, big, colorful charts!

Also worth mentioning is the fact that a large percentage of the book is tutorial explaining how to do the things described in the main body. Open Office is the main program utilized, and a little Audacity is included. Neither of these tutorial sections is comprehensive, but sufficient to understand what I displayed in the main book.

Happy Homeschooling!

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