Rating: 
Summary: Loved the author, wanted to hear more from her
Review: I am a homeschooling mother of 3 children (with number 4 on the way), and I learned about Vickie Farris by attending a recent Christian homeschooling conference in Idaho where her husband was a featured speaker. Her husband was a fascinating, funny, interesting, and informative lawyer and father of 10, so I figured that his wife would have alot to share that would be of interest to me on many levels! I was right about that! The two chapters that Mrs Farris actually writes are exactly what I wanted to hear - her own honest experiences shared in a heart-to-heart manner. I was disappointed to realize that her daughter (who was not yet married or a mother herself) wrote the majority of the book. I am sure it was a bonding experience for both of them, but the "voice" of the author gets lost and it would have made a much better read if the mother could have taken the time to write the book herself (even if it took longer). I understand she was busy with her family, which I respect, but perhaps the project should have been put on hold until she was able to have the time to devote more time to it.My favorite part of the book is the chapter on birth control, and how she and her husband came to trust the Lord in that area. That is something that my husband and I have dealt with and came to the same conclusions as the author, so for that chapter, it was worth buying the entire book (so long as it was at a discounted price!)
Rating: 
Summary: Rave reviews from another home school author...
Review: I confess. The real reason I bought A Mom Just Like You is because I just self-published a book on the same topic, and I wanted to check out the competition! It's an awesome book! Vickie Farris may be one of the most famous veteran home school moms in the world (she has 10 kids and is the wife of the President of the Home School Legal Defense Association) but I don't detect any conceit in her at all. She tells you what she has struggled with, what she has done about it, and most importantly, how our Gracious God has brought her through. Her second oldest daughter, Jayme, co-wrote the book with her. This team did an excellent job. When I received this book, I noticed a section where Vickie describes the tough challenges presented by her oldest daughters, and I read these paragraphs to my own oldest daughters. One of them shouted out, "That's me! She's writing about me!" It was such an encouragement to her. The whole book was a boost to me. It's so great to know I am not alone in all I face. All home school moms will appreciate this book but I think it will especially meaningful to those who are educating a whole houseful.
Rating: 
Summary: A Mom Just Like Me????
Review: I eagerly purchased Vicki Farris's book because I am the homeschooling mother of nine children. Just like all homeschooling moms, I struggle with keeping up with the housework, the laundry, trying to teach multiple levels, dealing with "the littles" while trying to teach. I was looking forward to the encouragement I would find from "a mom just like me" I was most definitely disappointed. I agree with another reviewer that too much of the book was spent on the Farris's personal conviction of "letting God plan their family" (hinting that those that use birth control are NOT letting God plan their family). However, I was most disappointed with finding out that the way that Vicki Farris "survived" teaching and mothering such a large family is the Mommy helper that she hired to watch the younger ones and help out with laundry, the cleaning lady who comes once a week to do the deep cleaning, the lawn service that takes care of the yard. There was no encouragement to be found here for me . . . even down to to the DIScouragement I felt by hearing that Vicki Farris lost all of her pre-pregnancy weight with each child. Most of the homeschoolers I know can't afford outside household help, yard help or Mommy's helpers. Most of the the homeschoolers I know don't have large families. Most of the mommies I know are still struggling with losing pregnancy weight. When will a REAL homeschool mother write a book to encourage other REAL homeschool mothers? Maybe I should write one myself.
Rating: 
Summary: A Mom Like Who?
Review: I have a smaller family than the Farris' however, the book gave me ideas and insights to how I might better my homeschooling time and efforts. It enlightened me and gave me a sense of eagerness to begin my homeschooling year. It also gave me encouragement to become a better mother and wife in a Godly direction.
I however, did not particularly enjoy the many pages on family planning, birth control, and loss of unborn children. I understand that this is a way that maybe Mrs. Farris has been able to put a closure to these unforunate occurances however they don't help with homeschooling questions, needs and desires.
I also know that they are not a divorced family or raising two families due to divorce. However, I am homeschooling two children that are my stepchildren. Their mother has not had contact with them since the divorce nearly 10 years ago. The children are now 14 and 12. This has been a task that I am still seeking help with not only homeschooling but also with being a step parent of homeschooled step children. They do call me mom as I have been the only mother in their life and they were so young at the time of the divorce. However, the older one is and has given me a time with homeschooling, changes in our lives through God's desire for our family, and normal teenage problems faced by most of which are in public school.
If there is a book to help me with homeschooling step children I would like to know of that book.
The younger one doesn't know anyone else and is fully appreciative of me and my efforts. He has fully adapted to the homeschooling ways and accepted the way that God has directed our family.
My two children are 7 and 3 and they both enjoy being at home to school and eager to learn to ways God directed our lives. Homeschooling overall has brought our family closer and the encouragement that I did recieve from the book was wonderful and greatly appreciated.
Rating:
Summary: Answering the basic questions
Review: I picked up Vickie Farris' book on a whim and laughed and cried my way through it. Farris' very personal book touches on the subjects of curriculae and scheduling, but if that's where you're at, there are probably better, more detailed reading materials out there. This book deals with the step before that; the point where you feel maybe home schooling is for you, but you're lacking confidence that you have what it takes to do it. Farris lets you follow the path that took her to where she is, a home schooling mother with 10 kids (3 of which are now adults!). Her honesty, vulnerability, and straightforwardness is very encouraging and moved me from being terrified to being excited about home schooling our son. Couldn't have done it without her!
Rating: 
Summary: Save your money
Review: If you're looking for a resourceful read for homeschooling moms, keep looking, this is NOT it. Especially the chapter on keeping our homes as well as teaching our children, Mrs. Farris' answer to that question is to hire a housekeeper as she does. If my husband were an attorney, like hers, that may be a solution, but in the real world, HS care for their homes themselves, we can't afford to have someone else do it for us. We are looking for real answers and real solutions, not just hiring someone else to do the job God gave us as wives and mothers. So if you need hard answers to keeping organized with homes and children that are HS, don't waste your money on this one.
Rating:
Summary: The Home Schooling Mother : A Mom Just Like You
Review: No mother thinking of homeschooling and especially those mothers already homeschooling should go without reading this book. It was well written and inspiring. We loved it!
Rating:
Summary: This book was misleading
Review: This book is more of a bio of the author's life and her brood. There was very little homeschooling information in it. The author spent many pages talking about not using birth control and while I found this topic interesting, many probably will not. If you're looking for a book about homeschooling, don't get this one, but if you're looking for a book about what God says about contraception (or what the author believes about this issue in relation to Christians), then you'll be in luck. I was looking for both, which is why I did like the book a bit.
Rating:
Summary: Mis-Named, But Still Interesting!
Review: This book isn't really about "A Mom Like Me", nor is it really about homeschooling. The author is an apparently wealthy mother of 10 homeschooled children. [I say apparently wealthy because her husband is a well known lawyer and she employs a weekly housecleaner, yard person, and mother's helpers - not something most of our budgets will cover]. The book also has really very little to do with homeschooling - extremely little practical advice and only a couple of the chapters are even about homeschooling. There IS a chapter on the religious beliefs that led this family to homeschool, and a very general, superficial [and not so useful] chapter on "homeschooling a housefull". Instead, this book is a very personal story of the author's life, her faith journey, and her religious beliefs. She is strongly in favor of homeschooling, which one would expect, but she is also very strongly in favor of some other ideas - such as foregoing all family planning [including natural family planning] and "letting the Lord determine her family size" as well as the idea of the wife submitting to the husband. The book includes a very detailed and personal story of her reproductive history, as well as how she and her husband came to their beliefs. She includes very appropriate scriptural references for everything she suggests and puts forth very intelligent arguments. While this book was not at all what I expected, I did find it interesting, easy to read, and compelling. I may not agree with all of the author's viewpoints, but I can certainly see how she arrived at them and I can follow her spiritual logic. I enjoyed the book thoroughly. There was a slight shadow of arrogance running throughout the book that was a little annoying. It was sort of a sense of "this is how *I* do things and my way is the right way". Sometimes it felt a little like the author was saying "see how wonderful I am!" I didn't agree with all of her suggestions or the way her family handled everything, but I still found the book very interesting and thought provoking.
Rating:
Summary: Mis-Named, But Still Interesting!
Review: This book isn't really about "A Mom Like Me", nor is it really about homeschooling. The author is an apparently wealthy mother of 10 homeschooled children. [I say apparently wealthy because her husband is a well known lawyer and she employs a weekly housecleaner, yard person, and mother's helpers - not something most of our budgets will cover]. The book also has really very little to do with homeschooling - extremely little practical advice and only a couple of the chapters are even about homeschooling. There IS a chapter on the religious beliefs that led this family to homeschool, and a very general, superficial [and not so useful] chapter on "homeschooling a housefull". Instead, this book is a very personal story of the author's life, her faith journey, and her religious beliefs. She is strongly in favor of homeschooling, which one would expect, but she is also very strongly in favor of some other ideas - such as foregoing all family planning [including natural family planning] and "letting the Lord determine her family size" as well as the idea of the wife submitting to the husband. The book includes a very detailed and personal story of her reproductive history, as well as how she and her husband came to their beliefs. She includes very appropriate scriptural references for everything she suggests and puts forth very intelligent arguments. While this book was not at all what I expected, I did find it interesting, easy to read, and compelling. I may not agree with all of the author's viewpoints, but I can certainly see how she arrived at them and I can follow her spiritual logic. I enjoyed the book thoroughly. There was a slight shadow of arrogance running throughout the book that was a little annoying. It was sort of a sense of "this is how *I* do things and my way is the right way". Sometimes it felt a little like the author was saying "see how wonderful I am!" I didn't agree with all of her suggestions or the way her family handled everything, but I still found the book very interesting and thought provoking.
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