Amy Lee Bell
I am a child of God, a wife to Jesse, a mother to Ian, and a teacher of many. My full-time job consists of ministering to my family. On the side, I am a piano teacher, homeschool choir director, and a free-lance writer. (You can find some of my articles in Homeschool Enrichment Magazine.) The purpose of this blog is to track my progress on my journey to excellence in relationships and home education. (And believe me, it’s going to be a very long journey; excellence is a long way off.) 🙂
However, I don’t want to write a blog that’s all about me; I want to create a place on the web where others can come for encouragement and resources. So along the way, I will post challenges, homeschool helps, creative activities, and practical advice about homeschooling and life in general. Hopefully, my observations (and mishaps) will help you on your own journey!
Full Circle Homeschooling 
Hi Amy! I wanted to check out your blog since you had visited mine. And guess what? I am (or was) a second generation homeschooler too! My dad was a missionary in India and Pakistan in the 60s and 70s and I did several years of school using the Calvert curriculum. The school is still in operation and I used it for both my daughter and my son for selected school years. It was a great experience for me personally, and for them too. So we have something in common!
I also am a child of God.
Thanks for allowing a window into your world, and good luck with your school year. I’ll stop by again!
Sheila
Hello, Sheila! I was just rereading some of my old comments. You left one on my blog in 2011!
I was so interested by the fact that your dad was a missionary in India and Pakistan. I know it was a long time ago, and things have probably changed since then, but my son told me that he has been called to be a missionary to Pakistan. A bit scary for me, but I know that God has a plan. My son is almost 13, and he is studying the Urdu language as part of his homeschool. It’s going very slowly, but I know that God will equip him for what he needs to do.
Anyway, thank you for your comment all those years ago. I just wanted to touch base again because it seems that we will soon have even more in common!
Awesome! So you were homeschooling way before it was popular! Your children could potentially be third generation homeschoolers. That would be really cool; I haven’t met any yet, either online or in person.
Isn’t it wonderful how many opportunities homeschoolers have today? When I was young, we were basically all by ourselves, but by the time I was a teenager, there were all sorts of co-ops and group classes availiable.
I’ve been enjoying your blog posts, Sheila!
Hail, fellow homeschooler and child of God! I’m happy my random tag search led me here — this looks like a lovely corner of Blog Land.
Seems “homeschool” truly is the word of the day for me: I’ve posted a blog piece on this subject this very morning. You and your readers and guests and whoever else are more than welcome to visit me over at “Ever On Word” and read it. (:
Looking forward to following you!
Just read your homeschooling post. Loved it! Very insightful and well-written!
Many thanks. (:
Hi! Thanks for stopping by my site. I love the idea behind your blog and am looking forward to spending some time reading here. 🙂
Awesome! I’m glad you like it! I’m just as excited about reading yours! I could always use more homeschooling ideas…
I hope you enjoy my homeschooling blog. I am not writing on that one any more because I have stopped homeschooling. I started the new blog sahmscrapbook.wordpress.com to take the place of the homeschool one for now. I still like to write about education and what is happening with my kids at school and I love to read about other homeschooling families. I am a supporter of doing whatever is best for your own family and we can all learn from one another.
I’m looking forward to reading your Adventures in Homeschooling archives! Your new site looks pretty cool too! Someday I will be an empty-nester, so I will need lots of ideas for staying busy at home by myself.
Hi Amy Lee Bell,
You commented on my blog and I’m kind of shocked. I didn’t even know it was in public domain. I teach writing at a prestigious University in Korea, and what you read was intended to be read only by my students. I appreciate your comments, but I’m just wondering how you stumbled upon myobscure little course blog.
So you’re a home schooler, are you? That’s commendable if you’re committed to it, as I suspect you are. But let me ask you this…if you’re so dedicated to education, why not share your talents and enthusiasm with others? I suspect your community might need you. Do you actually have a problem with public education? Granted, we ALL have a problem with public education. But is withdrawing from the public sphere really what our country needs? (Yes, I’m an American too.) It seems to me that a re-commitment to public education is what our nation needs desperately right now.
Hey, just wondering.
Aaron Olds
Seoul, South Korea
reluctant_lemming@yahoo.com
I found your blog on Tag Surfer from my WordPress dashboard. I can’t find it now, but I suspect you must have tagged it with “writing tips” or some other tag that I follow regularly.
I suspect (and half intend) to wind up in the public sphere after my son is independent. I just prefer to teach him myself. I love teaching; I love spending time with him. I think that one-on-one offers him the best opportunities since I suspect that he would have trouble staying focused in a classroom full of kids. Not to mention, he is very hyper and would make life difficult for his teachers and peers.
I also think it is a great thing when parents take responsibility for the lives they have brought into the world. It worked for thousands of years in the past. Public schools are a relatively new experiment, and I’m not convinced that they are benefitting our society. They do benefit some: those families whose parents both have to work, or are too uneducated or lazy to teach their own children. I’m not saying that anyone who sends their kids to public schools fall into one of those categories; I’m just saying that those are the families that a public education would benefit the most. (I’m probably missing a lot of people here with my over-simplified reaction, but not intentionally, I assure you.) I realize that most people send their kids off to school because it’s the thing to do, and they believe that’s the way it should be done. I’m just not into supporting a potentially failing experiment, especially if my child is the guinea pig. I’m perfectly capable of educating him myself, and I happen to enjoy it.
The the single largest reason that I homeschool: God is the driving force behind everything we do at home. I cannot say that about the public school system. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe that public schools are inherently evil. Some homeschooled kids with lazy or negligent parents would be better off there. And I know many adults who spent all of their school years in public schools, and they are wonderful, God-fearing people. I just believe that I have the right to choose what I think is best for my own family. I hope that I don’t sound arrogant to you; I try very hard to remind myself daily that I am no better than anyone else. I realize that almost every parent does their best to make the right choices concerning their children, but I ask you to consider the fact that I am one of those parents too. I thank you for taking the time this morning to make me to reevaluate my choices.
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Hi amyleebell,
Thanks for stopping by to read my blog and hope you keep coming back. I am also a child of God and indeed I sense by reading about you that you have a great heart that you really want to have an impact and help. Please keep it up.
I strongly believe that the impact a parent makes on a child within a week is equivalent to a month or more worth of school work. That is a huge benefit for home-schooling.
Don’t forget to read the comments for placing your son on a budget.
Wonderfully Yours,
mom four kids
Thanks for the budget ideas! If anyone else is interested, we are talking about the post and comments found here, on Wonderfully Made’s blog: http://mom4kidz.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/raising-financial-awareness-in-children/
Amy,
Because of the creative ways you show us how to take care of a small child without any government help, I am awarding you the “kreativ blogger” award.
No one has to accept it, but if you want to, come on over to my site and learn the details. 🙂
Thank you so much, Kathy! I read your blog post yesterday that mentioned me, and I left the notification in my inbox. I gratefully accept the award, and will post about it (hopefully) soon!
Wasn’t trying to rush you, but just to make sure you knew. 🙂
Thanks!
Great! Great to see people who use a blog as a platform for spreading their truth and help others grow.
I will be watching, and try to make full use of what I find.
Thank you…
You’re welcome! I hope that you enjoy what you find here! I am looking forward to following your blog with great interest.
Hey. Can you share my blog? I am posting my experiences with pre/postpartum depression and other women issues – as well as Lyme. Hoping it can help someone else who needs it too. Thanks!
http://www.NothingIDo.com