When we started our homeschool journey six years ago in Mississippi, I had all these questions about how and what was required. I had this image that it had to look like the public school system but was pleasantly surprised that it did not have to look anything like the public school. Mississippi has low regulation when it comes to homeschooling with few requirements. I will cover the few requirements that Mississippi has regarding homeschool and some suggestions regarding high school requirements.

Some of my most vivid school memories come from using BJU Press Homeschool’s Science and Heritage Studies books. I distinctively remember the day I dissected the crayfish on our kitchen table in Biology with my mom. I have fond memories of the day we spontaneously made pueblos and cliff dwellings out of clay and pine needles because we had been studying the different types Native Americans houses during Heritage Studies. These are the types of memories I hope to create with my children as well! This year we are using Science 2 (4th edition) & Heritage Studies 2 (3rd edition), and I love that this curriculum has cultivated learning experiences that have enhanced my children’s understanding of the material! Science 2 & Heritage Studies 2 are both half-year courses. (These subjects become full-year courses in 4th grade.)

Mandi Fox lives in south-central Illinois, just southwest of the capital, Springfield. She graduated from Bob Jones University in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She works as an emergency room nurse one day a week and also picks up work at the local Express Cares. She also teaches a variety of certification classes needed for nurses and doctors. She also is a pastor’s wife with the many responsibilities that entails.

Block scheduling, have you heard of it? It is used within homeschool and traditional school settings. I know this because I had a block schedule in high school. There are so many benefits to block scheduling within homeschooling!

Hi, my name is Alice Bradley. I grew up in southern New Jersey, the home of the absolute best hoagies, where we drank “wooder” instead of water, and in a home with my mother, who was a single parent, and four sisters. I went to public school until attending Bob Jones University, where I met my wonderful husband, Roger. We have been married 32 years and have 4 daughters and a son. While my husband was pursuing a graduate degree, I helped out some dear friends who homeschooled their children using BJU Press Homeschool materials. That is where the seed of homeschooling started for us.

Homeschooling is a lot like teaching in a one-room schoolhouse because we teach multiple grades at the same time every day. Each of our students needs our attention, so how is a mom supposed to do it all? And the more kids you have, the more potential for crazy there is! I have two boys, I tutor another boy, and I work from home (and working at home as a wife and mother). It can be so overwhelming!

When I was a kid, history was one of my least favorite subjects. I loved to write and even loved math, but history seemed like a lot of old, boring dates and facts to remember. I remember one history class in junior high, when the teacher had several large blackboards. He would write the facts we needed to know all over the blackboards, and the entire duration of his class was copying that down onto paper. Occasionally, we would have test days to go over what we “learned.” I dreaded having to teach history to my children. I didn’t want them to have the same experience I did, so I began to look for ways to make history more exciting.

My name is Danielle Misciagna, and I homeschool my three children: Christian, 15, Adriana, 13, and Stephen, 11. I started homeschooling when my oldest was in preschool. He’s now halfway through high school. It has been a journey that I mostly loved but was sometimes not always eager to take. It’s been a work in progress, a time for the Lord to teach me as I considered the best way to teach my children. Watchman Nee said it best, “The Christian experience, from start to finish, is a journey of faith.” Faith means you do not always see what’s up ahead. While I did not always know what I was getting into homeschooling, I am glad we took those steps of faith.

Valentine’s Day is one of the most family-friendly holidays. Sure, it’s a time for those in love to express their affection to one another, but when kids join the mix, Valentine’s Day is a bit different from the “I only have eyes for you” kind of holiday. 

I am a Florida girl. I have lived in the Sunshine State since I was two years old. I love our sunny weather, our beautiful beaches, theme parks, and how simple it is to homeschool in Florida.