Like most homeschooling families, the walls of our house are lined with books. We turn to them for ideas, answers, solutions, inspiration, entertainment, and reassurance. During this brand new school year, here are a few we recommend.
NOTE: Although this list emphasizes homeschooling, (since that’s what we do) it’s not limited to information only useful to homeschoolers. Regardless of the form of “school” you’re using, your kids are learning all the time — and so are you.
Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense
The author is not only a wonderful novelist, but also a public school teacher who teaches his own children at home. Inside this slim and beautifully readable volume are thought-provoking insights from the both perspectives.
Guerrilla Learning: How to Give Your Kids a Real Education With or Without School
Author, Grace Llewellyn, is a go-to guide for those with a bent toward “unschooling”. Even if you weren’t previously inclined, this might change your mind.
The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education
The same author as above — helpful information for people homeschooling/unschooling with teenagers.
The Natural Child: Parenting from the Heart
A beautifully simple parenting guide that encourages you to follow your instincts and common sense. If you’re tired of “methods”, this might be for you.
The Unschooling Handbook : How to Use the Whole World As Your Child’s Classroom
The title says it all.
Teach Your Own: The John Holt Book of Homeschooling
This list would certainly be incomplete without some wisdom from John Holt (aka: The Godfather of Homeschooling).
Instead of Education: Ways to Help People do Things Better
In this more recent and lesser known book, John Holt once again challenges the educational status-quo and offers ideas for how to give your kids a creative and self-motivated love of learning.
The Continuum Concept: In Search of Happiness Lost
This book just might change the way you think about EVERYTHING. (If that doesn’t spark your curiosity, you deserve a life of monotony.)
Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How Our Children Really Learn–and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less
Memorize less, play more, and emulate Einstein? Sold! The authors (also psychologists) of this book validate what many parents know by instinct (but can forget): kids need to play and explore; kids are learning all the time; hurrying intellectual development doesn’t work out in the long run and can actually be counter-productive. Don’t make your kids’ learning about scores and tests, as these provide only a narrow view of learning and development.
A Child’s Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play
From the inside flap: “Even for very young children, unstructured creative time in the classroom is waning as teachers and administrators are under growing pressures to measure school readiness through rote learning and increased homework. In her new book, Vivian Gussin Paley decries this rapid disappearance of creative time and makes the case for the critical role of fantasy play in the psychological, intellectual, and social development of young children.”
Beyond the Rainbow Bridge : Nurturing our children from birth to seven
A Waldorf-inspired guide for living happily with young children. Even if you don’t know a lot about Waldorf education and/or don’t completely subscribe to all the principles, the ideas in this book can be helpful for any parent who wants to provide a peaceful environment and learning that goes hand in hand with “the natural rhythms of everyday life”.
Heaven on Earth
A wonderful Waldorf guide from a teacher/author in our own hometown of Charlottesville, VA.
How to Talk so Kids Can Learn
The author of classics “How to Talk So Kids Will Listen, and Listen So Kids Will Talk” and “Siblings Without Rivalry” presents ideas on communication specific to education.
The Well-Adjusted Child: The Social Benefits of Homeschooling
A book that dares address the “S” word. Buy this for your skeptical in-laws.
Real-Life Homeschooling: The Stories of 21 Families Who Teach Their Children at Home
One of the most valuable sources of information for homeschoolers is other homeschoolers. Hearing the wildly varying tales of how other people homeschool can be inspiring and reassuring to newbies and old pros. The author of this fun collection of family profiles focused on DIVERSITY — if you think homeschoolers are all alike, think again.
During the coming year, Family Hack will be presenting a series of profiles on homeschooling families. Let us know what you would like to hear about from these families.
