About

My name is Cheryl. I’m a homeschooling work-at-home-mom of three cool children. I work as a virtual assistant and transcriptionist.  I am also the moderator for YHOP Rules and the webmaster of Homeschoolers-Work-At-Home (www.homeschoolers-work-at-home.com).

I am homeschooling my two daughters, ages 9 and 6. My two year old son is definitely in the mix. When he was a little younger he did  his “homework” by drawing on his sister’s schoolwork and watching things like the Electric Company and the Leap Frog DVDs (The Letter Factory, The Word Factory, The Storybook Factory, etc.). Now he’s very much into imitating what his big sisters are doing during the day, so I’ve added activities suited to his skill level.

With so much going on within these walls, sometimes it’s easy to get a bit stir crazy. So, I associate with other homeschoolers or WAHM (work-at-home-moms) to keep myself in check. I also associate with a small group of businesswomen and we mastermind together solutions for our various business questions. I really like The Homeschooling Lounge and Café Mom for Mommy-to-Mommy time. And of course my husband is a big factor in keeping my sanity. He’s a great listener and since he’s home during the week he gets to share the “madness” with me.

In my spare time I enjoy crocheting, needlepoint, cross-stitch, knitting and things like that. I also enjoy reading and spending time with my husband. I used to like cooking, but I live in the house of Picky People, so I don’t get much of a chance for culinary exploration anymore. Sleeping is also nice, but I’m not sure if that would count as a hobby.

Working from Home

Besides working as a virtual assistant and educating our children, my family is also trying to raise additional funds for Alex’s Lemonade Stand. I am also an ambassador for Medic Alert, so we go to doctor’s offices and drop off the brochures for their non-profit organization. This is something that my kids help me with and enjoy doing. It also gives me the opportunity to teach them how to conduct themselves in professional offices, give a brief presentation and learn the importance of clear communication.

As with homeschooling, if you want to work from home you need to have confidence in yourself. People won’t understand what you do from home. Many won’t want to believe that it is possible to teach your kids, run your household and run a business.

But you can do it! And love it! And reap the benefits of all three, not just for your kids but for yourself. Because the bottom line is, nobody’s perfect so regardless of what you do there will always be something for someone to complain about.

As Napoleon Hill said, “Whatever your mind can conceive you can achieve!” so let’s get started.

Why I Do What I Do

Homeschooling is one of the most important contributions that I feel I can make to the world. I have been deeply affected by a publication called The Puritan Gift: Triumph, Collapse and Revival of an American Dream. It has helped me to really put my educational aspirations for my children into a different light.  The choice of homeschooling isn’t just for the children. In this day and age it is imperative that we rebuild our communities one family at a time. Besides giving them an education and teaching them values, we also need to teach them to be self-sufficient.

The United States became a power to be reckoned with because of the combination of hard work, faith and education. As the book relates the history of how the United States grew, one thing is clear — our country is in its current mess because we have disregarded these elements for far too long. (According to the authors, the beginning of our loss of dominance began in the 1970s when MBAs were considered more important than actual experience in the field.)

So, as homeschoolers we need to also be engaged in some kind of cottage industry, service industry, etc. We need to teach our children how to create an income for themselves.  One resource that is being developed to help do that can be found at www.homeschoolers-work-at-home.com and www.homeschoolingentrepreneurs.com. The first site is geared towards parents looking for ways to make money from home, while the second provides education and ideas for our children to explore.

Things won’t get better unless we make them so.  Good luck!

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