When I was asked to join EHO’s editing staff about ten years ago, I knew I was embarking on an exciting new adventure. I did not know it would lead me to new and dear friends, enable me to meet (at least virtually) a wide range of wonderful people, or be so very much fun. I know that here I am clearly in the “smack dab middle” of God’s will for me, and I love it.

Eclectic Homeschool Online

In the beginning, Eclectic Homeschool was a newsletter, and then it grew into a print magazine. This was when I came on board as a columnist, offering our readers "TC's Two Cents." The editor (at that time there was only one, Beverly Krueger) eventually decided to take the magazine online and asked if I could come along for the ride, handling a chunk of the editing responsibilities. I did, and Eclectic Homeschool Online was born.

This was definitely a learn-as-you-go process, and we learned quickly. We had some wonderful columnists who continued to work with us online. Authors offered up their articles for our use. I eventually asked permission to start up an official Product Reviews department, because product reviews were the one thing I consistently read no matter what homeschool magazine I picked up, and my editing responsibilies shifted in that direction.

Beverly Krueger has proven to be one of the most gifted people I know. Not only has she always handled the bulk of the editing, but from the beginning she has done fantastic web design and... In truth, Beverly Krueger was, and still is, the chief cook and bottle washer. I handle the editing responsibilities for my department and we have some fantastic writers working with us, but she covers everything else - writing articles, acquisitions, web design, publication, advertising, scheduling, writing and publishing the bi-weekly email newsletter, all non-reviews department editing, creating databases for our behind-the-scenes work...the list goes on and on. If you've ever tried to keep up a huge, growing website, you have some clue. In point of fact, after 9/11, when she was caught in another country, unable to fly home for several days, we missed a publishing deadline or two - we literally cannot do it without her.

We still publish new articles, reviews, and more every two weeks. Beverly and I still volunteer our time, receiving no salaries for our work. We still get excited every time we hear from a reader who has been blessed by our efforts. We are still here to serve.

EHO is by far the best homeschooling site on the web. Biased? Me? Perhaps, but considering we have more than 100,000 readers spending time with us every month, I know I’m not alone. It's funny, really, to think back on those early days when having a hundred distinct visitors a month was thrilling; now we're at over one hundred thousand and still growing. We're obviously doing something right.

My favorite department is, of course, the Product Reviews Department (Every editor should prefer her own department, yes?), but we also offer access to wonderful articles, unit studies, downloads, an online store, only the Lord knows how many helpful links, and worlds more. EHO comes in two versions – EHO Lite, for those who are just starting out and might be intimidated by our full site, and EHO, which is, to put it mildly, massively helpful.