Jump to content

Menu

What books should be required reading for homeschooling parents?


nancyb
 Share

Recommended Posts

Other books that I really liked were:

Family Matters, by David Guterson (sp?)

Why Children Fail and How Children Learn, both by John Holt

The first book in the Charlotte Mason homeschooling series

 

Those all gave me a lot of food for thought, and a lot of insight into childhood development.

 

And this is not specifically homeschooling related, but I think Mindset, by Carol Dweck, and to a lesser extent, NurtureShock, by Po Bronson, are pretty eye-opening, and should be read by any parent.

 

I recently read To Start a School by Margaret Skutch, and I thought it was great.

 

Hope that helps!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dumbing us Down by John Taylor Gatto - I love this because he talks so much about how capable kids are and how often adults underestimate students' ability to direct their own learning.

A Patchwork of Days: Share a day with 30 Homeschooling Families by Nancy Lande - It's so cool to see the different approaches taken by the families in this book. Very inspiring!

 

Teach Your Own: The John Holt Book of Homeschooling by John Holt

 

The Complete Home Learning Sourcebook by Rebecca Rupp - this book is over 10 years old, and many of the suggestions and links are out of date, but there is still a TON of useful info here. Also, sprinkled throughout the book are fascinating excerpts from Rupp's homeschooling journal.

 

Family Learning by William F. Russell - lots of great and fun ideas for learning together.

 

I also recommend going to the library and reading all the back issues of Home Education Magazine while taking notes. I did this, and over a few months I filled an entire binder with ideas and resources!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"The Power of Play" by David Elkind

 

"Better Late Than Early" by the Moores

 

"The Unschooling Handbook: How To Use The Whole World As Your Child's Classroom" by Linda Dobson

 

"How To Talk So Kids Will Listen, How To Listen So Kids Will Talk" (not really a homeschooling book per se but very interesting/informative, especially if you're going to be around kids basically 24/7).

 

I also like Holt and Gatto.

 

P.S. I don't unschool but I'm a pretty relaxed homeschooler and think it's good to have a balance of ideas instead of only very rigid ones in mind, especially if you're prone to being a perfectionist or pushing too hard and so on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

P.S. I don't unschool but I'm a pretty relaxed homeschooler and think it's good to have a balance of ideas instead of only very rigid ones in mind, especially if you're prone to being a perfectionist or pushing too hard and so on.

:iagree: The other way around too - I think unschoolers should read something like the WTM, even if they keep unschooling. It's good to understand other ways to do things, even if you decide they're not for you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I... think it's good to have a balance of ideas instead of only very rigid ones in mind, especially if you're prone to being a perfectionist or pushing too hard and so on.

 

:iagree:

 

Climbing Parnassus -- I thought the author was so condescending, but he's looking down from the ethereal heights, unlike the rest of us mere mortals.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Parnassus-Apologia-Greek-Latin/dp/1882926730

 

The Latin-Centered Curriculum -- The author used to homeschool and was (is?) a member of this board. I thought this book was much more down-to-earth in its presentation of Latin and Greek as central to classical education, and gave better advice on how to implement the same.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Latin-Centered-Curriculum/dp/1930953712/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291732287&sr=1-1'>http://www.amazon.com/Latin-Centered-Curriculum/dp/1930953712/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291732287&sr=1-1

 

The Great Tradition -- This books helps a parent-teacher become more familiar with what classical education aims to impart to those who go through its rigors. It's a resource I come back to again and again, but it isn't necessarily an "easy read." KWIM?

 

http://www.isi.org/books/bookdetail.aspx?id=c4d45504-162f-4bd3-89f6-f3fd0c6df207

 

For the Children's Sake -- I could not understand the popularity of this book when I first read it. The author seemed to ramble a bit. But now I value this book for the window it opens on what an actual, day-to-day homeschooling lifestyle can look like, how disciplined it can be, yet relaxed at the same time.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Latin-Centered-Curriculum/dp/1930953712/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291732287&sr=1-1

 

Also, these are not books, but websites that have influenced our homeschool:

 

Well-Trained Mind (the website, not the forum)

Memoria Press

Veritas Press

Charlotte Mason Education

Ambleside Online

Sonlight

Mystery of History

Winter Promise

My Father's World

Beautiful Feet Press

Tapestry of Grace

Trivium Pursuit

Circe Institute

Logos Press (not my personal favorite)

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute

 

These websites contain articles and ideas that have shaped the way we look at homeschooling. HTH.

Edited by Sahamamama
Link to comment
Share on other sites

:iagree:

 

 

 

For the Children's Sake -- I could not understand the popularity of this book when I first read it. The author seemed to ramble a bit. But now I value this book for the window it opens on what an actual, day-to-day homeschooling lifestyle can look like, how disciplined it can be, yet relaxed at the same time.

 

 

This looks intriguing. Would you think that a non-Christian could get something out of it?

 

My kids are young yet so I can't say what's been useful over time, but I've gotten a lot of out the two Nancy Landes books, and I found Kingdom of Children, by Mitchell Stevens, to be a fascinating overview of the homeschooling movement itself. I also recently read and very much enjoyed Love in the Time of Homeschooling, by Laura Brodie -- an account of her one year homeschooling her fifth grader.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Free Range Learning How Homeschooling Changes Everything by Laura Grace Weldon. The link is in my siggy. It has really changed my views as how children, and adults, learn. I highly recommend it!

 

Also Why Our Children Can't Read and What we can do About it The author does get a little long winded on the history of the English reading and spelling but it really helps to understand our langauge and why it is constructed the way it is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’ve obviously read WTM. I also read the Liping Ma book. Are there other books that really impacted you?

 

Charlotte Mason's Homeschool series.

The Wholehearted Child

 

I honestly learned tons about homeschooling through catalogues:

Sonlight

Sycamore Tree

Lifetime Books

Hewitt Homeschooling

Rainbow Resource

Timberdoodle

etc.

 

I learned about so many resources and materials from these catalogs...and also from Chris and Ellyn Davis's company which I can't remember right now.

 

Faithe

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A Natural History of Latin by Tore Janson very helpful.

 

I just got this from the library and it ROCKS. I really like it. I might have to put it on my 'high school required reading' list.

 

I always like to add Neil Postman's name to any reading list. I got quite a lot from "The End of Education" as well as his many other books.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow! We have almost the same list!

 

 

 

:iagree:

 

Climbing Parnassus -- I thought the author was so condescending, but he's looking down from the ethereal heights, unlike the rest of us mere mortals.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Parnassus-Apologia-Greek-Latin/dp/1882926730

 

The Latin-Centered Curriculum -- The author used to homeschool and was (is?) a member of this board. I thought this book was much more down-to-earth in its presentation of Latin and Greek as central to classical education, and gave better advice on how to implement the same.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Latin-Centered-Curriculum/dp/1930953712/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291732287&sr=1-1'>http://www.amazon.com/Latin-Centered-Curriculum/dp/1930953712/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291732287&sr=1-1'>http://www.amazon.com/Latin-Centered-Curriculum/dp/1930953712/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291732287&sr=1-1'>http://www.amazon.com/Latin-Centered-Curriculum/dp/1930953712/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291732287&sr=1-1

 

The Great Tradition -- This books helps a parent-teacher become more familiar with what classical education aims to impart to those who go through its rigors. It's a resource I come back to again and again, but it isn't necessarily an "easy read." KWIM?

 

http://www.isi.org/books/bookdetail.aspx?id=c4d45504-162f-4bd3-89f6-f3fd0c6df207

 

For the Children's Sake -- I could not understand the popularity of this book when I first read it. The author seemed to ramble a bit. But now I value this book for the window it opens on what an actual, day-to-day homeschooling lifestyle can look like, how disciplined it can be, yet relaxed at the same time.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Latin-Centered-Curriculum/dp/1930953712/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291732287&sr=1-1

 

Also, these are not books, but websites that have influenced our homeschool:

 

Well-Trained Mind (the website, not the forum)

Memoria Press

Veritas Press

Charlotte Mason Education

Ambleside Online

Sonlight

Mystery of History

Winter Promise

My Father's World

Beautiful Feet Press

Tapestry of Grace

Trivium Pursuit

Circe Institute

Logos Press (not my personal favorite)

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute

 

These websites contain articles and ideas that have shaped the way we look at homeschooling. HTH.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...