​

Welcome to the Parent-to-Teacher Newsletter of Alinea-Home!

If you are exploring homeschooling or are already within your first few years of teaching your children at home, you are in the right place. Many parents today feel a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices, opinions, and expectations surrounding home education. Here, each week, my goal is to slow things down and help you think clearly, build stability, confidence, and thoughtful learning environments for you and your children.

This is a place where things will begin to make sense.

Welcome to: The Year of Preparing the Parent to Homeschool

A Weekly Curriculum Preview of: The Parent-to-Teacher Curriculum

Greetings, All!

If you are new here, Welcome! To get you caught up, several weeks ago I spoke about a former homeschool mom and retired elementary school teacher who asked parents in a Facebook group a simple question:

“How Can I Help, YOU?”

There were literally hundreds of responses, and I read each of them. As I read through them, I began to see a pattern. Many moms begin researching homeschooling through the lens of two questions:

“How do I start, and which curriculum should I buy for my child?”

Here is How I Plan to Help

Most homeschooling conversations begin with curriculum for children — textbooks, lesson plans, and learning objectives.

But my experience taught me something different.

Before I could confidently guide my children’s learning, I had to first learn how to establish a culture of learning in our home and shift my own thinking about education.

In this multi-week series, we will begin exploring the foundation of the Parent-to-Teacher curriculum — a framework designed to help parents prepare themselves for the responsibility of leading their child’s education. Let the fun begin!

The Questions I Had to Answer First

When I started homeschooling over 30 years ago, I asked the same questions. But before I could even begin answering them, I had some convincing to do.

I had to plan a strategy that would convince my family and friends that I could do this, because they were absolutely right in asking me a myriad of questions like:

• “Do you even have a teaching degree?”
• “You can’t teach every subject, you aren’t that smart!” (OUCH! That one hurt a bit!)
• “Do you even know how to teach?”
• “How will they get into college?”
• “Is homeschooling even legal?”
• “How will you know if they’re learning enough?”

They were a bit harsh at times, but they were also right.

Primarily because I had no idea. I really didn’t know how to respond to their questions or concerns. And when I moved away from everyone due to becoming a military family, I knew even less.

Instead of giving up on the idea, I had to learn how homeschooling worked largely on my own. There were very few people around me who had done it before, and even fewer examples that showed whether it would work for our situation.

The Kind of Education I Wanted to Build

Traditional schooling often leads us to view education as something that is delivered to the child—through textbooks, teachers, assignments, and grades. I wanted to create something different, focused on allowing time for thinking and asking questions.

While I recognized the importance of traditional core subjects to develop knowledge and skills, I also wanted to incorporate experiences that my children could own and articulate as their own. However, when I began the search for such material, I realized that such a curriculum did not exist.

So I began by asking myself a very direct question:

It was a reasonable place to begin.

What I truly needed was a curriculum that I had to create myself. Ultimately, it was a curriculum I had to build for me to learn how to create a culture of learning in my home first. So, how do I start this process, and where do I begin?

When I Realized What Was Missing

Since I wanted to build something different, the something had to be centered around time to think and ask questions.

When I first started homeschooling, I had a high school diploma and a deep belief that my children could learn well at home.

What I did not have was a clear plan for how to manage the daily structure and routines that would support learning. I didn’t yet know how to organize our home for study, create a culture where asking questions felt normal, or guide their academic growth over time.

That growth also included their help in managing our home — a personalized curriculum where they learned responsibility and home management.

There would be no time left to build a truly individualized learning journey for the next twelve years.

Together.

Building a Home That Supports Learning

Even though I had to convince others, I also had to convince myself. But what we all really wanted to know was this: Was I prepared to teach my children well? At the time, I didn’t have a clear answer. Well, actually, I did.

What I did have was a kitchen table, two curious children, and a determination to figure it out.

So I began doing something many homeschooling parents skip. I quietly focused on building systems inside our home that would make learning possible. I built a home environment where books, conversation, and curiosity were part of everyday life.

In other words, I was not just teaching my children. I was becoming their teacher.

Looking Back

Looking back, I realize those early questions from family and friends were not unkind. They were simply the natural concerns of people who had only ever seen education happen inside a school building — just like me.

This required me to realize something important: I could not be the one to do everything every day. I needed help.

The love of learning inside our home had to be developed through a home management system that supported the learning:

• I needed to learn how to manage my home.
• I needed to learn how to learn myself again.
• I needed to create individualized learning plans that allowed me to listen, watch, and guide my children as we discovered who they were becoming.
• I needed my children to learn how to manage a home--an early adulting curriculum.
• And I needed a way to record my notes and observations year after year as we grew together.

So I was not the only one asking questions.

Homeschooling allowed me to step into the unknown and build something intentional and exceptional for my family.

Discovering the Curriculum I Had Already Built

Not until after my children left for college — when I returned to college myself and began studying literacy and education more deeply — did I realize something surprising.

I had actually built a curriculum for home education.

Not for the children.

But for the parents.

A curriculum that helps parents establish a culture of learning in their home, guide learning, and develop the confidence needed to lead their children’s education.

Over time, that realization became the foundation for something much larger.

What I now call: The Parent-to-Teacher Curriculum.

Over the next few weeks, I want to introduce you to an idea that quietly shaped my entire homeschooling journey.

A Weekly Parent-to-Teacher Curriculum Preview​
​(Why I Built a Curriculum for Parents First)

Theme: The Year of Preparing the Parent First

A sneak peek into next Monday.

The Year of Preparing the Parent First to Homeschool

Part 1: Why I built a curriculum for parents first​
Part 2: What you are really building when you homeschool​
Part 3: Before you choose a curriculum, prepare these 10 things

Together, these ideas will begin laying the foundation for the Parent-to-Teacher curriculum — a thoughtful approach to homeschooling that begins by preparing you, the parent, first.

Until then,
Denise

P.S. If you know a homeschool mom who is struggling and could use some guidance, feel free to share the newsletter with them. I would love to bring a breath of fresh air to them.

Educationally, Dr. Denise Perdue Founder, Alinea-Home Parent-to-Teacher Academy for Homeschooling

​​​

123, Hopkinsville , Kentucky 42241
​Unsubscribe · Preferences​