This podcast is exciting because I had the opportunity to chat with one of my favorite homeschool mom friends, Andrea Thorpe, founder of African American Homeschool Moms and author of several books for children and homeschool families.
Andrea has always loved teaching and writing and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and an elementary teaching certificate. She enjoyed nine years as a classroom teacher and counselor in grades K, 1, 2, 5, and 6. Later she went on to earn her Master’s Degree in Student Personnel Services, and worked as an elementary school guidance counselor.
Are you a visual person? I am super happy to introduce my video interview as well! You can watch our interview below. (It is the very same as the audio you will hear on Itunes and Spotify.)
What Andrea of African American Homeschool Moms and I talked about
- Andrea’s back story and how the Lord led her family into home education
- How she freed herself to integrate her “at-home” life with homeschooling her children
- How and why she created the African American Homeschool Moms Facebook group and website
- Two of her biggest challenges in homeschooling: staying motivated and making it a point not to lose herself personally in homeschooling
- Admonishment to homeschool moms not to get caught up in the crowded, noisy space of the homeschool market. You should know what will nourish your homeschool and what is not important for your own children
- How Andrea has found a core group of homeschool moms that she can trust. She says that you have to be willing to be vulnerable in order to build trust and meaningful relationships within the homeschool community
- Benefits of homeschooling for her family: the close relationship between her daughters, the flexibility of teaching what we want to teach and when, and the freedom to outsource classes as she needs to
- Some of Andrea’s favorite homeschool resources. (She likes to use whatever works for her kids at the time.)
Andrea’s encouraging tips for homeschool moms in a noisy landscape
1.) Pray as a family and ask for wisdom.
2.) Take time to enjoy your kids because time goes by very quickly. The days are long but the years are short.
3.) Don’t feel you have to listen to “experts” and be careful who you choose to listen to.
4.) Take care of yourself as a homeschool mom and be nice to yourself.
5.) Be grateful for the few good friends God blesses you with.
6.) Don’t compete with what other moms are doing. Do what’s best for the kids God has given you.
Purchase Andrea’s Books
Sharing Our Thoughts: Biblically Based Parent and Child Journal
The Story of Jackie Robinson: A Biography Book for New Readers
The Story of Katherine Johnson: A Biography Book for New Readers
How To Reach Andrea:
andrea@africanamericanhomeschoolmoms.com
http://www.africanamericanhomeschoolmoms.com
African American Homeschool Moms Facebook Group
Resources Mentioned
Thanks for listening/watching!
I truly love to chat with homeschool moms of faith. If you are a new homeschooler I certainly hope you’ve found Andrea’s words and her homeschool story encouraging.
If you are just getting started with homeschooling, here are some of my homeschooling resources for newbies, and if you have additional questions about homeschooling, I would be glad to answer your homeschooling questions.
That’s what homeschool moms do – we help one another!
You can read more from Andrea here: https://christianhomeschoolmoms.com/slow-cooker-hot-chocolate/
Until next time…happy homeschooling.
