Hi, and welcome to Confessions of a Homeschooler!

Please allow me to introduce myself:

Welcome to Confessions of a Homeschooler! My name is Erica Arndt, I’m a Christian mom with a wonderful husband and 4 precious kiddos! We’ve been homeschooling since 2006, although I was previously opposed to the idea. But I have learned through this journey, that when the Lord calls us, we are to be obedient! You can visit this post to see why we homeschool now. After a few early years spent getting into our groove, I can say that I am blessed to have the option to homeschool these kiddos, and that my husband and I can be the primary influence in their lives!

About our blog:

Confessions of a Homeschooler is a blog full of homeschooling ideas, resources and printables. I began the site in August of 2009 with the start of a new school year. It started off as a way for my husband to ‘see what we do all day’. And has really helped him interact with the kids about what they’ve learned each day. It quickly morphed into a place for sharing ideas and resources with other homeschoolers! And now we’ve even added in our cooking, quilting, and crafting adventures too!

About the Players:

This sweet girl is my first born! I’ve homeschooled her since the beginning! So she’s my guinea pig, and mini-me. She’s now 16 years old and currently in 11th Grade. She likes horses, cooking, animals, and all things light blue.

Next we have Sam. He’s my second born, 15 years old and currently in the 10th Grade. He’s the only dude in this group of all girlies (except my husband of course). He loves hockey, motocross, video games, and anything that I’ll let him take apart. He’s good at just about everything he tries, and he has a laugh that is contagious!

Olivia is up next. She’s my 3rd born baby, 13 years old and currently in 8th grade. She’s a girlie girl and loves choir, playing guitar, worship, and sewing. She’s a total “mama’s girl” and spends most of her time hugging and kissing me :o).

Last but not least is our baby. She’s the sweetest kid and is always up for a challenge! She’s crazy as can be, loves to try new things, and does her best to do literally EVERYthing that the big kids can do. She loves motocross, knitting, weaving, sewing, and hockey. And don’t let her size fool you, she can keep up with the big kids just fine!

We also added a few furry friends in to the mix! Check them out on instagram below 🙂

About Our Homeschool:

Similar to many moms, I face the self-inflicted frustration of self doubt.
“Am I doing enough? What am I missing? Am I a good teacher? Should they be in school?” But I’ve found over the years that my frustration is outweighed by the tremendous joys of seeing my family grow closer together and watching as the kids grow and learn new things.

I think homeschooling is one of those slow payoffs, but each day I can see little things that inspire me to keep going! The Lord has really confirmed our decision to homeschool each year and truly brought us joy through our obedience! You can read why our family chose to homeschool here. And more about my own struggle with it in my Candid Conversation with God, and my thoughts on Plate Spinning 101!

I have found great inspiration for our homeschool from fellow homeschoolers. Joining the blogging community has been a HUGE help, and frankly I’m not sure how I ever did school before! There are so many talented and creative moms out there, and I love that everyone is willing to share their ideas and inspiration so freely! It’s truly been a blessing to us over the years.

I hope you enjoy this blog, and that it would be a blessing to your family! Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions feel free to contact me, I’d be happy to help!

114 Comments

  2. Hi Erica
    I’ve been following you for years.
    I need a little advice.
    I would like to make a quilt for each of my 5 grandchildren .
    Starting with 2 for now
    Do you have ideas about:
    Size to make – thinking not bigger than a twin maybe a throw
    Simple quilt pattern- thinking something girly girl for 8 year old.
    Simple for 6 year old boy loves video games
    —both love camping
    What fabric quilt pack, designer would you go with

    I know I’m asking a lot but thought you’ve probably already made several similar quilts. I am really good with color but have trouble picking everything out. Thinking to use quilt packs that are already coordinated . See you use fat quarter shop. Maybe designers you love that I can check out. Id love to have your input
    Catie

    Catherine Reno
    Reply

  3. Thank you Erica for all you do Watching your you tube channel has inspired me immensely You have a lot of talents and lots of energy that are so appreciated It says in the Bible we are here to help others And you have really done that You put things together concisely, short and sweet so we, your audience can actually do a good job making things You really are a good teacher. I love your quilting patterns , too. Thank you again! You will be in my prayers.

    victoria miller
    Reply

  4. Hi Erica, I am so glad I found you. I watched your video on how to save a bleeding quilt but have an extra question
    that I hope you can answer. I made a memory quilt for my Great Neice and the red fabric bled onto the white
    transfer photos. When I soak the quilt will that do anything to the transfer photos (fade or eliminate them all-together)?
    I hope you can help me with this. Thank you. Carol

    Carol Gehris
    Reply

      1. Erica
        I am new to quilting and love how you teach and make everything so easy. I have two questions 1: how could you make these quilts into baby quilts? (Maybe use your6 1/2 squares but how many squares? 2: my templates slip so easily any suggestions? Even in the middle of cutting they slip it’s so frustrating. Any help you can give me and thank you so much for teaching us.

        Karen
        Reply

        1. Hi Karen,
          I’m not sure which “these” you are referring to for a baby quilt, but you can definitely do an easy patchwork quilt for a baby using any size squares you would like. Baby quilts usually measure approx. 30″ x 40″ or crib size is about 36″ x 50″ so you can just do a little math to figure out how many squares you’ll need to get somewhere around those measurements based on the size of squares you use. I hope that makes sense! If you’re templates are slippery, you can purchase the little ‘non-slip’ pads online to put on the backs. I also had a friend suggest putting a dot of hot glue in a few places on the back and then smushing them flat with freezer paper. When you peel off the freezer paper the hot glue sticks to the ruler making it non-slip! I haven’t tried it but it sounds like a good idea! 🙂 If you need more help feel free to send me an email 🙂

          erica
          Reply

  6. Hey Erica! I bought the letter of the week kindergarten curriculum a few years ago and don’t have the files any longer as they were on an old computer I no longer have. Is there a way I can still see my files? Or redownload? Thank you and God bless ❤️ Ps love your quilting and homeschooling videos!

    Bridget
    Reply

  7. I just love all your creations you put out on YouTube. Even the ones that you did not come up with first. It’s great to see them get credit and to be able to see others do great work as well.
    Yes I’m great at run on sentences. So that is my talent. Ha ha
    Take care and keep up the good work. God is always with us so we are never alone.
    Leslie

    Leslie
    Reply

  8. When I try to access my cart to purchase the Lion, Witch and Wardrobe unit study, it repeatedly gives me a ‘site can’t be reached’ message. Is this unit study still available for purchase? Thank you!

    Alissa
    Reply

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