At last---a resource especially for parents of "onlies"! Conner's book is part memoir, part guide. Learn how she homeschooled her 14-year-old son from kindergarten on, transitioned from structured teaching to a more relaxed approach, selected curriculums appropriate for her family, and dealt with the unique challenges of teaching one child in an educational community trending toward large families. 77 pages, softcover from GCM.

http://www.christianbook.com/homeschooling-only-one-donna-conner/9780974759104/pd/759104

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Author: Donna Conner
Located in: Fort Worth, TX USA
Submitted: April 17, 2006

    Tell us a little about yourself.  I was an only child myself growing up, and had a fairly typical childhood/young adulthood. I've been married for over 23 years to my best friend, Glenn. It was 7 years before he felt we could start our family, and the Lord blessed us right off the bat with Mike. He's 16 now (as of 2005) and we only have 2 years to go in our homeschooling journey with him. When Mike was two, we sought another child, and the Lord blessed us again. Richard was born 6 weeks early and had a lot of special needs. He was with us for 2 years, but now dances on streets of gold. Mike started homeschool "kindergarten" as an "only" child, a year and a half after Richard died. We have sought the Lord for more children, but have not been so blessed. I have experienced the life of a special needs child, the death of a child, the raising of an "only", and I treat my life as an open book to help those around me in whatever way I can.

    What was your motivation behind this project?  There just isn't anything out there for those of us homeschooling "only one" and something needed to be out there. I comoderated a "fellowship" at a Book Fair in 2003 with a friend for those in this same boat. We had standing room only that first day... It energized me and made me realize that there really were a whole lot of families in the same boat. Those homeschooling their first, their last, their grandchild, one of their several children as well as those blessed with one child in their family. The Lord was very gracious and laid people in my path to make writing and publishing this book a reality. It was and is His work.

    Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists?  Oh there are so many! Especially in my early homeschooling days, Chris and Ellen Davis of The Elijah Company were such an encouragement and help (with their catalog). ANything written by either Ruth Beechick or Mary Hood is well worth the time, money, effort!

    Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know:  I encourage readers to come to my website. I've put together several individual webpages for resources for those with only one student. There are several email loops that I've found and listed on one page, as well as websites that deal with one-child families with either an article or information. I created and maintain a Message Board where we can all gather and encourage and help one another. I also have a personal blog that they are welcome to read in on AND I write a weekly column for Homeschool Blogger.com, in their Company Porch area. The page that all past columns are archived is: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/HSBCompanyBlog/hs ingonlyone I want my website to be a lighthouse showing what other resources are out there, as well as giving comfort and support to those who are on the same journey I've been.

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