Home Schooling at
The Old Schoolhouse
by Darlene Schacht
It wasn’t until my husband started opening packages with such oddities as a license plate purse that I realized the effect a  company like eBay held for the modern family. Suddenly grown men were lost in their closets in search of Luke Skywalker dolls and Wayne Gretzky rookie cards, while women clicked at the keys bidding on the latest Dolce Gabbana purse. The Internet held potential for buyers and sellers alike, but for Gena Suarez, it held something more—much more.
While being a homeschooling mom, Gena looked for ways to supplement their income, that also fit into the lifestyle of a stay-at-home mom. One way she found to do that was by selling homeschooling material online as a small eBay business.
As the business grew, so did Gena’s rapport with her customers, and soon she found herself mentoring other homeschooling parents who had question not only about curriculum, but also questions and concerns regarding homeschooling life in general, such as: What other methods are there? Is there support for homeschooling families? and How can I possibly manage my time?
In order to reach out to the many inquiries she had, Gena sent out her first newsletter to 300 readers, and her second—a twelve-page black and white newsletter to a growing list of already 750 subscribers. The newsletter waschanged over to color printing  within a year, and shortly thereafter took shape into The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, which now holds approximately 200 pages per issue.
Reaching a vast audience of homeschooling families, TOS holds the title of being the largest Christian homeschooling magazine on the market with nearly 20,000 subscribers worldwide.
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine still fits into the lifestyle of a stay-at-home mom, or better said, stay-at-home parents now that Gena and her husband Paul both work together, teaching their four children at home. Since the headquarters of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is situated in their house, the Suarez children have an opportunity to learn the ins and outs of publication first hand.
While Paul Jr., Luke, Levi, and Julia Rachel are developing a relationship with their work-at-home parents, more importantly, they are developing a relationship with Jesus Christ through the principles and everyday lessons taught by Gena and Paul. Building upon a strong foundation and resting firm in their faith is a quality that the Suarez family has applied to both their family and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.
With an interdenominational approach, the goal of TOS is to encourage families to have a Biblically based education. The methods of teaching those principles are left to the choice of each family as TOS readers are awakened to several methods of homeschooling and the available  resources on hand.
If you are a homeschooling family, consider the following resources:
TOS offers a magazine, an online store, free
e-newsletters, and an entire blogging community. You can find Gena, Paul and the rest of The Old Schoolhouse family at:
 The Old Schoolhouse
And, if you haven't been to CWO's own "Home and School", you can find Ann Voskamp's monthly column here:
Home and School
___________________________
Founder
and Editor,
Christian Women Online Magazine
Read my column--DysFUNctional
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