crazyforlatin Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 (edited) I can think of three books that transformed my views on education: 1. WTM, which I read a couple of years, introduced me to classical education. I haven't wavered at all in my decision to provide DD with one. 2. The Latin-Centered Curriculum (second edition) by Andrew Campbell fine-tuned the definition of a classical education. 3. Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics by Liping Ma opened my eyes to the way math should be taught at the elementary level. I was rushing through fundamental arithmetic operations with DD until I read the book and started from the beginning again to give her a solid foundation for higher mathematics and a different way of viewing numbers. If you have any books that shed light on the way you teach, please share them with me. I'm new to homeschooling and would love to have a list of books that transformed the hive members' way of approaching education or even child-rearing. Edited August 20, 2010 by crazyforlatin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 For me, books have been far less influential in changing how I home school than certain posters on this board. There are posters who ask hard questions, make solid curricula recommendations that fit our situation and then put the wind back in my sails. So by extension, I guess I could say SWB's generosity in providing this board has been most influential in affecting our home schooling in addition to providing much-valued friendships.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted August 20, 2010 Author Share Posted August 20, 2010 For me, books have been far less influential in changing how I home school than certain posters on this board. There are posters who ask hard questions, make solid curricula recommendations that fit our situation and then put the wind back in my sails. So by extension, I guess I could say SWB's generosity in providing this board has been most influential in affecting our home schooling in addition to providing much-valued friendships.:D You are so right! This Hive has veered me in the right direction each time - without it, I never would have found Math Mammoth or even have known about LCC or Ma's book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie in VA Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Teacing the Trivium by Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn. I don't do everything as they suggest, but it was life-changing. Hearing Leigh Bortins (at a Classical Conversations practicum years ago) opened my eyes when she mentioned that we ALL learn via the classical model whether we realize it or not. First we must know the grammar of a subject, then we move on to the logic stage, and then the rhetoric. I had to have that articulated for me. Also, I'm reading The Well Educated Mind right now. I hope it changes me and helps me regarding how I homeschool! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alte Veste Academy Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 WTM Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics by Liping Ma :iagree: If you have any books that shed light on the way you teach, please share them with me. I'm new to homeschooling and would love to have a list of books that transformed the hive members' way of approaching education. Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschooling Series, When Children Love to Learn and, in fact, all my CM books for science, Nurturing Inquiry for history, Social Studies That Sticks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aoife Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Liping Ma's book - I got this on a recommendation from here and man oh man did this ever help me see the light with math and how it should be taught. The well trained mind - This was a huge eye opener to me. it really helped me to feel confident in my choice to homeschool my kids and gave me a place to build off of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 I'll just use an opportunity to promote Liessmann's book again, for everyone who reads German or some of the languages it was translated to... A brilliant, short and sharp analysis of the state of modern education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Boys Adrift really opened my eyes in regards to my son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherGoose Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Although I'm not an advocate of unschooling, per se, John Holt's writings persuaded me towards homeschooling and away from the public schools. And "Hard Times in Paradise" by Micki and (her husband's name escapes me) Colfax. Also, "The Case for Make Believe" by Susan Linn (not really about homeschooling, but about childhood & VERY life-changing--got me to get rid of electronic toys & Disney--at least while my kids are small), A Thomas Jefferson Education, by Oliver van DeMille, and The Dumbest Generation by Mark Bauerlein. My philosophy is to read everything I can find and draw my own conclusions. Thanks for the recommendations from others for books I haven't heard of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 "The Underground History of American Education" by John Taylor Gatto. This book made me a homeschooler to the core. I would have done ANYTHING to homeschool through 4th grade after reading it. Before that I was homeschooling as an inclination and a cozy, superior, attachment choice. After that I was a convert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 For me, books have been far less influential in changing how I home school than certain posters on this board. There are posters who ask hard questions, make solid curricula recommendations that fit our situation and then put the wind back in my sails. So by extension, I guess I could say SWB's generosity in providing this board has been most influential in affecting our home schooling in addition to providing much-valued friendships.:D :iagree: I've found the writings of SWB, ED Hirsch, and Liping Ma to be most helpful to me in developing my own philosophy of (home) education, but I find that the posters on these boards are instrumental in helping to to fill in the myriad of details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RecumbentHeart Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 (edited) LCC and also The Three Rs by Ruth Beechick have been the 2 most influential books for me. I keep them both close by. I would love to read Liping Ma's book but, in lieu of being able to do so yet, the forum has been influential in shaping me in that specific arena. Edited August 20, 2010 by RecumbentHeart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Thank you for posting this. For me - SWB and Liping Ma, thus far. I still have a lot of reading to do. A huge thank you, Starrbuck, for mentioning Boys Adrift. I saw the title, and simply knew it would be a good read... Just checked it out on Amazon, read reviews, and have ordered it. I have an adrift young adult at the moment, and am not only struggling with how to help him, but how to help our younger son (6) to avoid that fate. Awaiting delivery of that book with excitement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Pocketful of Pinecones by Karen Andreola led me to value my child's innocence and realize I wanted to help her preserve it by homeschooling. WTM provided a framework to do that. Creative Art For The Developing Child taught me how, as a preschool teacher, to value process over product in early childhood. Real Learning by Elizabeth Foss made me want to foster gentleness and build relationship with my children (and made me wish I'd been baptised Catholic :D) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarcyB Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Ruth Beechick, WTM, Teaching the Trivium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherGoose Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 :iagree: "The Underground History of American Education" by John Taylor Gatto. This book made me a homeschooler to the core. I would have done ANYTHING to homeschool through 4th grade after reading it. Before that I was homeschooling as an inclination and a cozy, superior, attachment choice. After that I was a convert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paintedlady Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 (edited) WTM, The Dumbing Down of America, and A Thomas Jefferson Education Edited August 21, 2010 by Paintedlady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 The Having of Wonderful Ideas by Eleanor Duckworth -- on the importance of exploration, guessing, and messing about in science. Critical Lessons by Nel Noddings -- crucial aspects of thought and life we usually omit from academics And the Skylark Sings With Me by David Albert -- annoying as he can sometimes be, this book is great for moving away from the idea of homeschool as taking place on paper and from textbooks, even away from "alternate curricula," out into the larger community Out of the Labyrinth: Setting Mathematics Free by Robert and Ellen Kaplan -- discusses the exploratory, collaborative nature of the original Math Circle, and takes math out of the purely computational, makes it exploratory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama2two Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 a very easy question-- Real Learning by Elizabeth Foss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Another vote for Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschooling Series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbielong Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 WTM LCC Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Make Sense, by David Guterson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 WTM WEM LCC Einstein Never Used Flashcards Why Gender Matters (and Boys Adrift, and Girls on the Edge, all by the same author) Failure to Connect The Knowledge Deficit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 :iagree: I've found the writings of SWB, ED Hirsch, and Liping Ma to be most helpful to me in developing my own philosophy of (home) education, but I find that the posters on these boards are instrumental in helping to to fill in the myriad of details. I think of the books as a bit like doctors or pediatricians. They tell you your child has the latestickium virus. However, it's the nurses (the board) that tell you how to deal with all the effluvium; how to manage your day-to-day life.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann@thebeach Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 When I was first starting to hs and wondering if I was doing the right thing, Dumbing Us Down validated everything for me and I haven't looked back since. Marty Layne wrote Learning At Home : A Mother's Guide To Homeschooling I had read so many books with kids that were brilliant and gifted and graduating high school at 15 that my kids looked pretty dumb. Reading this book made me realize we were FINE and "normal" and not to compare to others. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland_Mom Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 A sweet friend's well adjusted, bright children made me curious about homeschooling. I would see these sweet kids and think to myself, "She's doing something right." She recommended that I read, "Educating the Wholehearted Child" and that hooked me on homeschooling. TWTM has been a source that I refer to over and over. Once I decided to homeschool, TWTM educated me about HOW to do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Educating the Wholehearted Child by Clarkson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 For me, books have been far less influential in changing how I home school than certain posters on this board. There are posters who ask hard questions, make solid curricula recommendations that fit our situation and then put the wind back in my sails. So by extension, I guess I could say SWB's generosity in providing this board has been most influential in affecting our home schooling in addition to providing much-valued friendships.:D :iagree: The biggest influences on how I currently homeschool, and the four resources I would recommend every homeschooler read, are: The Well-Trained Mind Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics The LCC website (I haven't read the book, but the less-is-more philosophy was a light-bulb moment for me) The breadth vs depth thread :D Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 The Having of Wonderful Ideas by Eleanor Duckworth -- on the importance of exploration, guessing, and messing about in science. Critical Lessons by Nel Noddings -- crucial aspects of thought and life we usually omit from academics And the Skylark Sings With Me by David Albert -- annoying as he can sometimes be, this book is great for moving away from the idea of homeschool as taking place on paper and from textbooks, even away from "alternate curricula," out into the larger community Out of the Labyrinth: Setting Mathematics Free by Robert and Ellen Kaplan -- discusses the exploratory, collaborative nature of the original Math Circle, and takes math out of the purely computational, makes it exploratory Thank you for reminding me that I have the Nel Noddings book! I think it got buried in a pile somewhere, I'll have to hunt for it. I haven't read David Albert's books, but I used to be on a forum where he posted a lot and I've read his blog and other things he's written online. Knowing that his girls turned out to be exactly the sort of passionate, accomplished, successful adults he expected them to be, gave me a lot of inspiration to follow a more creative path with my own kids. I'll have to check into the other 2 books as well! Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama2cntrykids Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 I want to go read all the responses and come back with an answer. I opened this thread and immediately opened another tab for the Amazon website, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 For me... I read The Teenage Liberation Handbook as a teen and decided I would homeschool my future kids. It doesn't represent where I am today exactly as a home educator, but it's definitely what started me on a path to education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 The War Against Boys is the book that convinced me to home school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 latestickium virus :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Educating the Whole Hearted Child by Sally Clarkson The Well Trained Mind by SWB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama2cntrykids Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Ok, I'm back! Educating the Wholehearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarkson The Harried Homeschooler by Christine Fields Hold onto your Kids by Nufeld Homeschooling for Eternity by Skeet Savage I'm not done reading books about Education and/or Homeschooling either ;). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threeturn Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Real Learning by Elizabeth Foss made me want to foster gentleness and build relationship with my children (and made me wish I'd been baptised Catholic :D) Actually that book and her blog started my conversion -- been Catholic for two years now. :001_smile: Real Learning Educating the Wholehearted Child Moving a Puddle (I don't subscribe to pure unschooling, but the book was eye-opening in methods of using life to learn.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Educating the Whole Hearted Child by Sally Clarkson and TWTM... I read the Clarkson book before I began my homeschooling journey, right as I was making the decision to do so. It was a very sweet, nice introduction to the concept of homeschooling and helped me to wrap my brain around a different way for kids to learn.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlaskaGrownFamily Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Educating the Wholehearted Child by Clarkson. Yes! ^^^^ that! Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschooling Series A Charlotte Mason Companion - Andreola For the Children's Sake - Susan Shaeffer Macauley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2jjka Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 When You Rise Up: A Covenantal Approach to Homeschooling by R.C. Sproul Jr. This book completely solidified my desire and my reasons to homeschool. I re-read it at least one a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cindie2dds Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 For me, books have been far less influential in changing how I home school than certain posters on this board. There are posters who ask hard questions, make solid curricula recommendations that fit our situation and then put the wind back in my sails. So by extension, I guess I could say SWB's generosity in providing this board has been most influential in affecting our home schooling in addition to providing much-valued friendships.:D :iagree: For me it's been Audrey. Without her generosity in answering all of my many questions, I wouldn't have had the courage to try the curricula that has completely transformed our homeschooling. For SWB keeping this place open for everyone is a huge blessing!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 The End of Education by Neil Postman Mindset by Dweck Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 The breadth vs depth thread :D Jackie :iagree:plus it's almost book length. :D LCC (1st and 2nd edition) - multiple light bulb moments. I reread them every year. Dreamers, Discoverers, & Dynamos also known as The Edison Trait. Opened my eyes to the way dh, ds, and I learn. I'm reading Critical Lessons right now. It's given me some good ideas. And by default these forums, all of these books were recommended by forum members. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheBugsMom Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 The Read A-Loud Handbook Deconstructing Penguins The Well Trained Mind Simply Charlotte Mason For the Children's Sake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 When my oldest was a toddler, I began reading TWTM, For the Children's Sake, several books on Montessori, Dumbing Us Down, http://www.amblesideonline.com in addition to several books on how/why to homeschool....I read a TON! (it was my escape from diapers and nursing;)) As I've actually gotten my feet wet in HSing, this forum has been invaluable!!! :iagree: The teacher's manuals to certain currics have put the "meat" on the skeleton of my grand and glorious ideals(:tongue_smilie:). SWR and WRTR, Recipe for Reading, Miquon, Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics (not a curric, but...), and I'm sure the list will grow as my dc do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Wow, hard to answer as there have been so many: the works of E. D. Hirsch; Diane Ravitch; John Taylor Gatto; Susan Wise Bauer (books and talks); Cafi Cohen; Inge Cannon (not books; talks); Michael Gurian.... and I'm sure I'm leaving out many others.... But over the longterm, on a daily/weekly basis, I'd have to say that these boards have provided a huge sum of information for me to sort, collate, summarize, and otherwise chew on for thought. I'm not sure what my hsing journey would have looked like without all the brainstorming that goes on here. I'm not sure I could even attempt to separate ideas that I've come up with alone from ideas that I've come up with because of things I've read here. So I think the general discourse here tends to be invaluable - at least for those of us who are sparked through brainstorming.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 The book that led me to look at alternative educational models was Charles J. Sykes, "Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why American Children Feel Good About Themselves but Can't Read, Write or Add." It's not a homeschool book, though he makes a very brief mention of homeschooling as a solution for some parents. He summarizes previous educational research and extrapolates where the trends are going. I first read the book in 1997, and it's disturbing how accurate some of his predictions have been. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 (edited) Multiples Intelligences, Howard Gardner Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv various books/articles on Waldorf Education Core Knowledge articles ETA Teach Your Children Well and Getting It Right with Children, Madelyn Swift Edited August 21, 2010 by Alessandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swirl Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Understood Betsy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Not about HS per se but very relevant to it: Hold On to Your Kids by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate Einstein Never Used Flashcards by Kathy Hirsch-Pasek & Roberta Golinkoff The Hurried Child and Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk by David Elkind Reclaiming Childhood: Letting Children be Children in Our Achievement-Oriented Society by William Crain Alfie Kohn's books especially Punished by Rewards HS/Education Books: TWTM The Well-Educated Child by William Bennett The Paideia Proposal and sequels by Mortimer J. Adler Climbing Parnassus by Tracy Lee Simmons Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics by Liping Ma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imhim Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Thank you for the recommendations. What is LCC please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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