Unexpected Homeschooling

3 Shares

Like many families, homeschooling comes to us in unexpected ways. Most moms stumble into home education because they find themselves dissatisfied with the public school system. Unexpected homeschooling is becoming quite normal in America.

Unexpected Homeschooling from a Christian Perspective Book Review | Renee at Great Peace #ihsnet #homeschool #homeschooling #homeschoolmoms #christianhomeschooling

I want to introduce you to a book by Cindy Colley. For those of you who do not know Cindy she is the wife of Glenn Colley, elder and minister at the West Huntsville Church of Christ in Huntsville Alabama. Cindy is a Bible class teacher, work’s in women’s ministry and speaks at ladies days and women’s conferences all over the country.

This post contains affiliate advertisement links.

She is also the mother of 2 children, whom she successfully trained up in the home through homeschooling. The two of them went on to earn college degrees and themselves are working to serve God faithfully.

But Cindy did not start out as a homeschooling mom. She started her oldest son Caleb in public school. In fact, not only did she send her son to Kindergarten but she was also the ideal “head room mother” who dutifully baked cupcakes and planned parties and sang songs for the children, even including her husband in the festivities. She was even an officer of the PTA. In fact, her public school experience with her son was only a positive one.

You may be thinking, ‘why then, did she decide to homeschool?’

Book Review: Cindy Colley on Homeschooling

Cindy’s decision, like most who homeschool, was not an easy one for her. In her book she talks about how a relative stranger sort of challenged her with the idea that the family would be great homeschoolers.

This was quite a shock to Cindy. But, the challenge left her with wanting to know more and so it began, the search for what homeschooling was about, the search for the how’s and why’s of homeschooling and the ever vital, what shall I teach them search.

Cindy’s book is a no-nonsense reflection on what the homeschooling years were like for she and her family. It explores the stereotypes and even helps to dispel them. She gives a clear look into the daily life of homeschool and shows the importance of goal setting and record keeping.

Cindy gives important information regarding the logistics of how to go about those aspects as well as how to meander the wide array of curricula choices.

Most of all, Cindy’s book on homeschooling helps to show how a family becomes ever so closely bonded through the joys and struggles of homeschooling. She uses her own life as an example of how training in the Lord is important for the spiritual, and emotional development of children.

She shows how in the home the children are given more freedom to learn and grow at their own rate and how they are even taught good work ethic from an early age.

Another really great thing about this book is that while it is 95% written from a homeschool mom’s perspective, the other 5% is written from the homeschool students perspective. Her daughter Hannah Geiselbach and her son Caleb Colley wrote 2 of the chapters from their own perspectives of what homeschooling life was like and what it has afforded them in their adult life.

Throughout the reflective musings of Cindy she includes 77 things you need to know. These are important things for a homeschool mom to consider or keep in mind while in the trenches. They are subtly included throughout the book and are a part of the context as you read through the books. Here are a couple for your thoughts:

“10 – You’ve got to have the respect of your kid.”

“50 – Always try to step back and see the big picture instead of just what happened today.”

Cindy understands the ups and downs of homeschool life and gently encourages mom in the journey. You can purchase her book at The Colley House.

Which is a blog site that her whole family participates in. They encourage Christians in the truth of God’s Word, they offer sermon’s, lessons and Bible study aids for both men and women. Several books are available by each member of the family including Cindy Colley on Homeschooling.

Note: All photo’s and quotes used with permission from the author. This review is based upon my own thoughts after reading of the book which I fully purchased. I did not receive any compensation, discount or other benefit from this review, nor was I asked to review it by the author. All opinions are my own and I freely share them with you, my reader, to encourage you on your homeschooling journey.

Don’t Miss These Posts on Homeschooling