What's a great book(s) to get from the library, for a newbie hs'er w/ young kids?

[Guest Xapis10]

I'm hoping to find one by Beechick (sp?). What else would be worth my time, and why?

[LillyMama]

Personally, I'm a big fan of The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. ;)

 

In all seriousness, for the ages of your kids, I would also recommend some books by and about Maria Montessori. I loved her approach to teaching young, pre-schooled and early-schooled, children. I did a lot of montessori-type activities when my kids were pre-K and we had tons of fun. It also helped me watch them in a more child-directed environment, to get a feel for their learning styles and interests.

 

Personally I appreciate a little more mom-directed structure, like in The Well Trained Mind, once kids are 6 and older. But for younger kids, Montessori can be great.

[Guest Xapis10]

Personally, I'm a big fan of The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. ;)

;)

Thanks for your recommendation!

 

I forgot to mention that it would also be interesting to check out actual homeschool materials - does anyone know of some that are in libraries?

[Dinsfamily]

I've found Story of the World, Phonics Pathways, Alpha Phonics, and The Writing Road to Reading at our library. It was nice to compare phonics materials before deciding what to use. I check Story of the World out every few months to read along with CHOW. There are also many great books that you can use to teach certain subjects like Ruth Heller and Brian Cleary for grammar and Stuart Murphy for math.

 

Happy hunting...

[morosophe]

I checked out Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum so many times that I ended up buying my own copy. I think the first few chapters are invaluable for a new homeschooler: she goes through the different "schools" of homeschooling (Charlotte Mason, classical, unit studies, etc.), and different styles of teaching and learning. She manages to keep it comprehensible and simple, though, unlike the loads of homeschooling books I've checked out that I've returned mostly unread. And then, of course, her curriculum reviews can help a homeschooler learn what's out there.

 

The other thing I checked out from my library was Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I ended up buying this program, too. I might make a different choice now, but honestly, it taught my oldest son to read and my second is progressing along pretty swiftly. Since I'm using All About Spelling as my spelling program, I'm not all that worried about them missing out on phonics instruction.

[my2boysteacher]

You could ask the librarian if there is a homeschool section in your library. I live in a small town, but we have some great resources for homeschoolers. I have seen Phonics Pathways (a favorite here), Sing, spell, read, & write, Bob Jones, Saxon, and more. I also recommend The Well Trained Mind very highly!

[SebastianCat]

I would recommend borrowing Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum and Lisa Whelchel's So You're Thinking About Homeschooling. Those two books helped me identify some learning styles, gave me a look at different options available, and helped me see that homeschooling comes in LOTS of different shapes & sizes. No one curriculum or set up will "fit" every family, so I felt free to choose based on what I thought would work for MY family, not what worked for others.

 

Those books gave me a lot of confidence as a brand new homeschooler, that I wasn't going to mess up my kids.

[Five More Minutes]

Personally, I'm a big fan of The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. ;)

 

:iagree: I checked it, along with about 10 others, out of the library when we were first considering homeschooling, and it was THE one that I finally had to have on our own shelves. I refer to it often.

 

I was able to check some curricula out before ordering them -- Story of the World texts were available through the library.

[heidirenata]

Jim Trelease Read Aloud Handbook

 

What Your ____________ Needs to Know (Preschooler, Kindergartener, 1st Grader etc)

 

Homeschooling The Right Choice by Chris Klicka

 

Cathy Duffy's Books and of course

 

WTM

[BakersDozen]

WTM, of course. Things We Wish We'd Known is a yearly read for me as well as The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling.

 

I haven't read any others because I tend to get overwhelmed with too many options/opinions/methods. :)

[ErinE]

You've received great advice from everyone, but I'd add one bit more. If you don't know any homeschoolers in real life, get to know a few. More than anything, this helped me learn about different curriculum. Our homeschool is nothing like anyone I know, but talking with a variety of people (and following certain posters on this board) helped guide my education choices.

[twoxcell]

Some books that I have enjoyed:

A Charlotte Mason Companion

For the Children's Sake

Pocketful of Pinecones

Educating the WholeHearted Child

When Children Love to Learn I'm reading this one right now and am about half way through. So far it is pretty good.

Our library carries the original Charlotte Mason series and so far I have read the first one.

[Kathryn]

I checked out Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum so many times that I ended up buying my own copy. I think the first few chapters are invaluable for a new homeschooler: she goes through the different "schools" of homeschooling (Charlotte Mason, classical, unit studies, etc.), and different styles of teaching and learning. She manages to keep it comprehensible and simple, though, unlike the loads of homeschooling books I've checked out that I've returned mostly unread. And then, of course, her curriculum reviews can help a homeschooler learn what's out there.

 

:iagree: I did the same thing. Now that I've been HSing and have been on HSing boards for a few years, I may not find that her "top picks" are the right ones for us, but I found that book invaluable. I think it's the reason we had so few curriculum mistakes, and actually when I look at the mistakes we made, they were where I veered from what my results from the quizzes showed.

[Guest Xapis10]

I would recommend borrowing Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum and Lisa Whelchel's So You're Thinking About Homeschooling. Those two books helped me identify some learning styles,

 

Side note - is Lisa Whelchel the daughter of Mary Whelchel?

 

 

Thanks for the great list of recommendations!! It's ok to keep them coming! The recommendations so far have brought up another question for me: if you were to read one book (or one web article) about Charlotte Mason, what would it be?

I've read through the "list" that summarizes the principles she advocated, and I agree with maybe 3/4 of them. So I'm a bit intrigued to know a little more, but in the end I'm going to be the eclectic type.

[Kathleen in LV]

I agree with all the recommendations for The Well Trained Mind. But I would suggest also reading something by John Holt (an unschooling advocate) as a contrast. I'm not pushing unschooling, as I personally prefer a more classical approach, but some aspects of different approaches may appeal to you or at least get you thinking about their pros & cons.

 

I would also second The Readaloud Handbook.

 

Best of luck!

[ClassicMom]

You have received some great recommendations here. I have read numerous homeschooling books over the past 19 years of homeschooling. The Well Trained Mind, The Charlotte Mason Companion and When Children Love to Learn are all great books.

 

I have also found these to be very helpful and easy to read:

 

- Home Learning Year by Year by Rebecca Rupp

- Homeschooling By Heart by Kristina Sabalis Krulikas

[Guest Xapis10]

Such wonderful suggestions, and... the library had none of them :001_huh:. I was told that I can feel free to mention something to them that I'm interested in, and they might order it. So if you were to pick ONE book, what would you pick? Perhaps something that is very unique from online sources? (BTW, what are your favorite online sources for homeschool info?)

[Time for Chocolate]

If I had to pick one book for my librarian to order it would be the WTM!

 

Try Ambleside Online for more ideas.

 

Wish you the best!

Judy

[Kathryn]

If I had to pick one book for my librarian to order it would be the WTM!

 

:iagree: My #2 pick would be Cathy Duffy's book. I think those would do best in a library's collection.