Flourish ~ Balance for Homeschool Moms by Mary Jo Tate {A Review}

Okay – I have to admit I absolutely begged for this book when I saw Apologia Educational Ministries offering it for review.  All that begging definitely paid off. This book is everything I had hoped and more.

You know if you are a blog reader that Balance is my word of 2014.  You know that I have been struggling to find this so called balance.  Well, after reading Flourish: Balance for Homeschool Moms by Mary Jo Tate ($15), I am one huge leap closer to achieving it.



About The Company:

Apologia has been a well known company in the homeschool world ever since I have been homeschooling. They offer everything from curriculum to books and resources to online classes to retreats and more. They are worth checking out.

About The Product:
Flourish is a 289 pages that is full of simple yet genius ways to balance your life. Each of the 16 chapters is divided into smaller subsections.  They are labeled in such a way that if you need to review a section it is so simple to find.

At the end of each chapter is a take action section. This is where you apply what you have read and learned into your own life. These are not always simple tasks and often require quite a bit of thinking and contemplating on your part. I mean, think about it.  Balance is an ongoing process.  It is not just boom, fix it and done.  It is something you have to constantly work on.  The author realizes that and she makes sure you realize it too.
Sometimes to do the Take Action items a worksheet would be nice.  You got it!  There is an appendix in the back of the book with the lay out of all the papers she refers to. Also once you purchase the book you will have access to some bonuses on the authors website.
My favorite part of the book is the Take Action section.  The very biggest eye opener for me was the Time Log.  Now here I will really show you my real one!  No Judging!
I completely realized my waste of time on my phone, either playing games, checking Facebook, moderating a moms group, searching the web, etc. I knew I’d want my time log to last, so I laminated it and wrote on it with wet erase markers.  I knew this would be key in finding out where all my time goes when I feel off balance. I knew I’d want to use it again after each season of my life changes.  Like say, around September, when we start back to school. I know that time management is one of my weaknesses and I will constantly have to work on it.
The whole book is based around the Time Log, there are actually many concepts that you can put into place in your own life to make huge differences.  This Time Log was just so eye opening and life changing, as in my day to day life, for me!

You can see what is tipping your scales to one side or the other and reevaluate which item or area things need to change in.
Our thoughts and feelings:
I am certain that I will read this book again and again, even if it’s just a chapter here and there to refresh my memory on how to stay balanced. I feel like Mary Jo Tate was writing this book with me in mind the entire time.


Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FlourishAtHome
Twitter: https://twitter.com/maryjotate

To see what others think of this check out this post. To see a wide variety of reviews check out our crew blog.