Se7en of the Best Books About Homeschooling…

People often ask me if I can recommend books about homeschooling – and I know why… there are so many many books written about homeschooling, where on earth do you start. When I was thinking about homeschooling I started reading and reading and honestly I had to wade through a lot of books before I found the gems.

I wasn’t looking so much for books that led folk down the trail towards homeschooling and I didn’t so much need to see how people homeschool day to day. What I was looking for was books that would inspire me and encourage me to learn more and seek more and to give me ideas that made me raise my game constantly. Yes, my kids could sit at a table and do a couple of worksheets everyday and yes we could call that school. But one of my main reasons for homeschooling was to give my kids the best possible education we can…

Needless to say I have narrowed my books down and I read these ones time and time again. Maybe not the best glossy pictures, maybe not thousands of pages long, maybe not intricate detail. However, just the fact that these ones are so well worn indicates that after sifting through lots of gravel these ones are the treasures.

• Book 1:

  

  I love this book. If I had to choose just one book that directed me to Homeschooling it would be this one. It is very opinionated, nothing wishy washy here and if you are undecided and leaning towards homeschooling then read this one. It is written from a Christian perspective and directs you to take to heart Deuteronomy 11:19.

  Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

• Book 2:

  

  This one is the ultimate resource of all things homeschooling, it is packed with different types of curricula, different teaching methods, homeschool products to distract you, but over and above that it is full of articles that are brilliant and will answer questions you didn’t even know you had. This is the kind of book you dip into and come away thinking wow! Even after se7en years of homeschooling I still love dipping into it. I still learn something new every time (no I do not have a short term memory problem – it really is packed!). This book is really the giant resource of all things homeschooling.

• Book 3:

  

  This book is lovely, reading it is so calm and peaceful. On those hectic days when I am doing nothing fast I grab this book and read a chapter and go away inspired to spend time with my kids studying a great artist, musician or exploring a whole lot of nature… It is packed with ideas on how to include all things classical into your day to day life and so incorporate these into your homeschool. It is all about encouraging and enabling your children to do great things by being their own curious selves.

• Book 4:

  

  Don’t for a moment think this book is the ultimate guide to making a nature notebook and scientific observation with your kids. It is nothing like that. It is the story, or rather the journal, of a mother who begins her homeschool journey with her small children, as they move to the country and start observing nature and living their lives closer to nature, exploring nature and observing nature. It is a sweet and encouraging book, it demonstrates that it can be done without having all the fancy equipment and without having manipulatives and fancy software, just plain school with a plain loving environment.

• Book 5:

  

  This book is a great read and more important a quick read. The point of that got me for this book was that if your child has a passion then regardless of you, it will out and they will find their way to express it. How much more so if you encourage it! I love that you don’t have to get your child into a million extra-murals in order for them to keep up with the crowd. How reassuring is that! I like that they offer lots of suggestions for you and your children to meet educational opportunities as you follow your day to day living.

• Book 6:

  
  

  These books are so great that I have blogged about them before. What I love about these books is that they are a true to life nitty gritty look at the life of a homeschool mom. Each of these daily devotions are only a page or so long – really quick to read. And while this book is unlikely to convince you to homeschool they will encourage you as you homeschool.

• Book 7: Well technically this is not a book! It’s the Sonlight Catalogue – Oh if you haven’t seen one then go and browse it online or order your own one for free! This is so brilliant that I spend months drooling my way through it. You will find tons of books that you read as a kid. You may even have forgotten them but as soon as you see them again they will jump to the front of your memory and you will have an ahhh(!) moment. I just love pouring through the books and seeing what we are going to learn about in the upcoming year. I find it inspiring to know what’s still to come – every year I think “Well this is the best year, it can get no better,” and guess what the following year is always better!

These are my se7en best homeschool reads, if you want to add yours in the comments then you are welcome… I would love to see what your favorite homeschool reads are!