This book is written from a mother's point of view. I started writing this book in 1995. It took me three years to complete and publish the first edition. It took me three years to complete because I was writing in "mother time." My writing took place in odd times, in odd places, and in spurts. I enjoyed the whole process. Two years later, I published the revised edition. It included material new to the first edition. This newly revised edition issued nine years after the first edition also incorporates new material and a different perspective now that my youngest child is 21 years old.

Mothering and homeschooling gave me a chance to develop myself in ways that I could never have imagined before I started. In Western culture, freedom from child caring responsibilities is often seen as the best and only way for a mother to continue to develop herself. I couldn't disagree more. The time I spent being at home, playing and learning with my children, has been the most productive period of my life. (Pun intended.)

Introduction

Chapter 1 Can I Do This - Teach My Child At Home?

Chapter 2 Creating A Learning Environment

Chapter 3 Helping Your Child Learn to Read

Chapter 4 Inviting Children to Write

Chapter 5 Mathematics

Chapter 6 The Arts: Music, Art, Dance, Drama, and Phys. Ed.

Chapter 7 Life as Curriculum: Science and Social Studies

Chapter 8 Burn-out

Chapter 9 Beyond Homeschooling

Appendices

Bibliography