By Pamela Berthume
Berthume Enterprises, LLC
www.HomeschoolersConnecting.com
3 Elstar Loop Road
Simpsonville, SC 29681-6501
800-471-4354
The subtitle for this book is "Inspiration & Encouragement from Our Home. . . to Yours." That's exactly what Pamela Berthume has set out to do in a humble and real way. In fact, she tells you in the beginning that homeschooling isn't easy for anyone, including herself, and she plans to share the "good, bad and ugly."
Through very personal stories of her experiences over the last several years, Mrs. Berthume hopes to encourage you that sticking with homeschooling, even in the rough times, will bring about greater rewards than you can imagine. She addresses homeschooling issues as they relate to all areas of our life, including marriage, sibling relations, keeping up with the housework, implementing various academic subjects, and even homeschooling with health issues.
Although the book is full of practical stories and information in all the areas mentioned above, the biggest theme of the book concerns homeschooling with health issues. The author, her husband and some of her children all have their own health battles--from ADHD and high-functioning autism to the possibility of mom being paralyzed someday. One of her biggest messages is that a positive attitude, along with following God's leading, will take you so much farther than you might have believed you could go in life and in homeschooling.
The book was originally written in 1999. In 2007, Mrs. Berthume went back through the book and added new things she had learned in the eight years since she had first written it. Since she decided to keep all the original text as it was, she wanted the reader to be able to distinguish between original text and new text. For that reason, you will find a small "1999" in the margin beside the original text, while the newer text is in a different font with a "2007" before it. I didn't find this to be too distracting. In fact, I found it interesting how some of her ideas and opinions had obviously changed as the years moved on.
In the 182-page soft cover, you will find a few editing issues, but considering the "realness" of the book, these aren't a big deal. It's nice to get to know the author's family and see how they have learned to trust the Lord and work through the difficult times. And for me, it's always nice to get a peek inside the home of a fellow homeschooler to gain new ideas and be encouraged.
Product review by Cindy West, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, January 2009
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