10 Homeschooling Books to Encourage and Equip

It’s time for another Top Ten post and the topic this week is homeschooling books.  I am by no means an expert in this area and still wish I could take a month off just to read more books about homeschooling!  In fact, that’s what I’ve been doing since we officially finished our school year about a week and a half ago.  I want to share some of my favorites, which fall into two categories:  the books that encouraged me to homeschool and those that equipped me to do it.

By the way, the book titles are Amazon Affiliate Links, but these are books I truly enjoyed.

#1 The Well-Adjusted Child: The Social Benefits of Homeschooling by Rachel Gathercole

Don’t laugh, but one of my arguments against homeschooling (you know, before I became one of those weirdos) was that kids had to go to school for socialization.  My husband ordered several books when I was hyperventilating over the prospect of homeschooling and this was the first book I read.  It opened my eyes to the fact that a bunch of same age kids in a room doesn’t lead to the kind of social skills I’m looking to create.

#2 Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto

This was my second book, and my second a-ha moment.  This was the one that I kept stopping as I was reading and remarking to my husband that we had to homeschool!  It’s a fairly quick read at around 100 pages but really highlighted for me the negative aspects that can be found in public schools.  (For example, changing subjects to the ringing of a bell makes no sense whatsoever in the real world.)

#3 The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child  by Linda Dobson

Now that the first two books had convinced me that I did, indeed, want to homeschool my children, this was the first book I read that made me think I could actually accomplish it.  My favorite parts of the book were many stories from homeschool families and the examples of different homeschool philosophies so I could begin to formulate my plan for educating my children.  The book also deals with a lot of practical newbie help like taking a child out of public school (and the de-schooling that can be necessary) and learning styles.

#4 Home Learning Year by Year by Rebecca Rupp

This is another very practical choice.  There is a chapter for each grade from preschool through high school, and each one details a course of study and even lists resources for covering the subjects.  I continue to refer to this book, especially for math concepts to see that we’re covering age-appropriate skills.  I appreciate the wide range of resources listed, from books to manipulatives to games to standard curriculum.

#5 Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt

Okay, so this isn’t actually a homeschooling book, but it had an impact on my homeschooling style and continues to be a reference I turn to so I wanted to list it here.  Like the Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease (which I also enjoyed, but comes in second to this book) it encourages reading aloud to children and sharing books as part of your family life.  The first portion of the book discusses books and their importance, how to encourage your children to read and choosing books.  The second half of the book contains book lists organized by age and topic.  I have come to really trust her choices and the paragraph describing each book.

#6 Charlotte Mason’s Original Homeschooling Series

Though I am fairly eclectic in my homeschooling I admire many of Charlotte Mason’s philosophies and incorporate as much of them as I can.  I have to admit I have not finished reading all six books in her original series.  This is reading I save for when my brain is fresh and focused.  I purchased the Kindle version once when it was available for around a dollar on Amazon so it was very little to spend to have her writing easily accessible.  When I get a chance I read a few pages and I also use the highlight feature to keep track of particularly interesting or beneficial sections.  Her original series and modern paraphrases are available for free online at Ambleside.org.

#7 For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

This book gave me an tremendously helpful overall idea of Charlotte Mason’s philosophy and helped me better understand the primary focus areas of her method.  Understanding those primary areas gave me direction in planning my homeschool priorities.

#8 A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola

This book is quite a bit longer but filled with practical advice on implementing every part of a Charlotte Mason style education.  I read a copy from the library but intend to add it to my bookshelf so I can highlight and stick sticky notes in it and refer to it.

#9 Educating the WholeHearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarkson

I’d had my eye on this book for a while after reading many accolades, but was holding off because it wasn’t available at the library.  I finally bought a copy and am glad I did–it is a large book loaded with information on many aspects of child-rearing and homeschooling.  It is very much Christian-focused, which would come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the Clarksons.  Their homeschool method has much in common with Charlotte Mason, and this book has a very practical modern-day focus for raising children today.  My favorite parts are the focus on living books, natural and gentle education methods, and making your home work for your in your goals.

#10 The Three R’s and You Can Teach Your Child Successfully by Ruth Beechick

These are my newest reads and they easily joined my list of favorites.   I found myself getting a little bogged down this year in long to-do lists and obsessing about curriculum choices and schedules.  Ruth Beechick’s advice is so very practical and down to earth it would be hard not to be calmed by her style.  The Three R’s covers Kindergarten to 3rd grade, while You Can Teach Your Child covers grades 4-8.  Going over these books has already helped me simplify some of my plans for next year.

I love reading homeschooling books to fine-tune my style and encourage me in this lifestyle.  What books have you loved that I should add to my summer reading pile?

 I can’t wait to read the book lists of the other bloggers of iHomeschool network.  Every Tuesday for the next 10 weeks I’ll be participating with the other bloggers of iHN in a blog hop of top ten lists.

This blog hop series was inspired by Angie of Many Little Blessings where you’re welcome to link up, too!