Homeschool Made Simple is a DVD featuring Carole Joy Seid that can be used independently, without any other materials. Seid, who has over 30 years’ experience teaching moms and dads a literature-based approach to homeschooling, offers a seminar for a small groups of parents. This seminar is on the DVD and includes the following topics:

Children & Reading,
Choosing Books,
Building Character in Children,
Math, Writing, Science, Art & Music
Bible, Creativity, & a Typical Day,
Children and Media,
Teaching History Using Literature

This DVD is specifically made for homeschooling parents, especially parents who are overwhelmed by homeschooling and doing other chores, taking care of smaller children, and running a home. However, any homeschool parent would likely benefit from Seid’s advice. Each section is approximately 25 to 35 minutes long, so the segments can easily be watched at night after the kids are in bed.

I loved the advice Seid gave! While I won’t implement everything she recommended, there are some strategies I started using as soon as I listened to her DVD. For instance, she recommends that after lunch, kids have one hour of quiet time to read, sleep, pray, or think. I implemented that immediately, though I started with just 30 minutes because my younger two can’t read yet. I thought there would be complaints, but the kids loved quiet time and look forward to it. Even the two who can’t yet read enjoy looking at picture books during this time, and I love the break and the opportunity to get some of my own reading done. I also plan to take Seid’s advice and not introduce my younger kids to world history until 4^th grade. We’ll work on U.S. history until then.

There are some suggestions Seid has that parents likely won’t agree with. For instance, she recommends that children don’t use a math curriculum until 5^th grade and that they don’t formally study science until high school. Until then, they should learn science by spending time in nature and keeping a nature journal. While I appreciate the simplicity of this approach, many parents will likely want to start their children on math and science curriculums earlier.

Seid’s presentation is rich and can help any homeschool parent. While you may not support or implement all of her advice, there is likely much you can learn from her about quality homeschooling and raising Godly children.

--Product Review by Melissa Batai, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, January, 2016