So My Friend Wrote an eBook ... And I'm Giving Away a Copy!

I wanted to alert you, my dear readers, to a new book that will appear on the Amazon virtual-shelf in just a couple of days!

Back to Homeschool:

23 Days to Prepare Your Heart, Home, and Homeschool Calendar for Your Best Year Ever

by Misty Krasawski

If you click on the title above, you can check out the giveaways that Misty will be doing over the next week and even get a sneak peak at the book.  To get in on the excitement of the launch, I'm giving a copy away this week.  Wa-hoo!!!  I had the privilege of getting to read the book for review before its release.  Below you can see my review.  But before you get to that, here are the details to enter the giveaway.  You can have your name entered one time for each of these things, just let me know in your comment how many times to submit your name into the drawing.

• leave a comment here for an entry
• post this post on your Facebook or Twitter page for another entry
• email your homeschool group or friends to spread the news

The drawing will take place on the evening of June 5th at 7pm EST (that's only TWO days away!!!)  Be sure to leave your comment before then so you don't miss out on the chance to get a free copy!

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My review of Back to Homeschool by Misty Krasawski

If I had to give you reasons quickly about why you should get this book, I’d say this: You should buy a copy of Back to Homeschool because it is encouraging, comprehensive, practical, flexible, and reusable, and will set you on a purposeful path for the coming year, far beyond simply choosing great educational materials.  If you are a Christian homeschooler, I recommend this book to you.  If you are Christian and NOT a homeschooler I recommend this book to you (more than half of the book can be used by any homemaker to get a better handle on where you are and where you’re going with your family.)

[If you want a little more depth of review, please continue reading.  If not, just skip to the last paragraph of this review for my final thoughts.]

This book is ENCOURAGING: Misty is an experienced homeschooler and home manager.  She’s passionate about not simply educating her kids, but also about home discipleship.  She points her readers to the God of the Universe for strength, courage, and guidance as they prepare for the coming school year.  And she throws in some humor, as well; I definitely “LOLed” a couple of times!

This book is COMPREHENSIVE: As you work your way through the days, you will think about goals for yourself, your marriage, each of your children, and your family; you will look through curriculum options and do some shopping for materials; you’ll clean rooms of your home to ready them for the school year.  Misty walks her readers through an examination and cleaning out of their minds, hearts, schools, and homes.  So thorough!!

This book is PRACTICAL: There’s no hard and fast rule that you need to complete this book in 23 days.  You could expand it to 46 or use it over a full summer to get ready.  Mostly it’s put together in a wonderful order to get you thinking and then get you “doing” to prepare for the school year.  On day one, you focus on that topic, knowing that you will later get to buying binders and cleaning out your school room!  Misty also includes practical tips for home and school, and she suggests resources one might find as helpful as she has.

This book is FLEXIBLE: As I mentioned, you don’t have to complete this in 23 days.  In fact, we finish school this week and I’m thinking I’ll devote two days (a couple of hours each day) to each “day” in the book.  And even Misty admits by the end that she didn’t get everything!  But she got started, and having a general plan to follow is so helpful for staying focused and making progress.

This book is RESUABLE: I imagine I’ll be using this book every summer!  Not only will it calm my when-will-I-get-to-it-all craziness in my mind, it will refocus my heart each year on what really matters, far beyond the content of our school days: listening to what plans God has for our family, discerning what’s going on in each of my kids’ lives, and discipling their little hearts as we grow and learn together.

To wrap up, Misty is a real mom who lives in the real world with a real family, marriage, and herself.  She also knows the One True God.  With those things in mind, she’s written this wonderful resource to get us all thinking about and asking God what He has in mind for us each school year as we “do life” together with our families.  Don’t miss out on this gem!

(One final thought: reading this book will not make your year, USING it will!)