Top Five Books On Homeschooling

  So, you've made the decision to begin homeschooling your child(ren) at home. The first big question, which is very important, is "Where do we start?!"

Where you decide to start depends on your lifestyle, your child's personality and just how structured you want to be.

Here are five excellent books worth reading to help you with your decisions. I have personally read #1. And then listed the others in the order that I would consider purchasing and reading. It is not advised to read all five. Pick the one that seems the most interesting to you.

1. Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School

2. The Complete Homeschool Planner and Journal: A 180-Day Record Book for Homeschoolers and Involved Parents

 This is a simple, straight forward planner that will help with daily record keeping by you and your student, making the recordkeeping a less stressful chore. 

3.  Don't Waste Your Time Homeschooling: 72 Things I Wish I'd Known - Kindle Edition

 Some practical pointers from a veteran homeschool mom! 

4. 101 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum

Curriculum expert Cathy Duffy walks you through the curriculum selection process: goal setting, figuring out which educational approach to use, developing your own philosophy of education, determining your teaching style, and identifying your children's learning styles. 

Review comment by A.W. "Very helpful for someone new to homeschooling. This is a great resource to help new homeschooling parents move from overwhelmed to confident."

5. Plan To Be Flexible: Designing A Homeschool Rhythm and Curriculum Plan That Works for Your Family

 Review Comment by Brandi Michel "This is a book that brought me freedom and clarity to our homeschool. I recommend this book to ANYONE who is or planning to homeschool!"

Why We Chose To Home-School

It was a difficult decision to begin home-schooling our son. We had so many concerns and worries. Would we be able to provide the right kind of structure? Was I intelligent enough to consider myself a "teacher"? It was one of the most frightening decisions we ever made.

It was the best decision we ever made! I don't want to say anything negative about public schools. In our particular situation, and the particular public school our son was going to, just didn't work out well. My son has always been overly curious, very busy, absorbing info faster than it could be given to him. He's hyper. 

With some parents, a hyper child is a challenge that is met with medication to tone the child down. I didn't want to go this route. He was so incredibly intelligent. I had no desire to curb that curiosity.

A small public school with combined grades (First and Second Grades in the same room) only added to the problem. He got bored, he got in trouble.

After Third Grade, I had finally made the decision to home-school when I found out Fourth and Fifth would be combined. This setting simply didn't work for my son. I have no problem with this if it works for others.

That first year was so frightening and intimidating. 

If you are a parent of a "unique" child and are considering home-schooling, there are more and more options available to you that can help get the ball rolling. You don't need to struggle with difficult situations!

There are online public schools, which I have heard rave reviews about. Then there is the Khan Academy, also online learning that we are utilizing. Our son learns what he is ready to learn, not based on "grade level".... but that's another story for another article!