From School at Home to Unschool, Good Books about Homeschooling
Since homeschooling isn’t the norm by far, and especially because our entire culture is immersed in a school-as-institution mentality, homeschooling can seem completely incomprehensible.
Whether you’re contemplating homeschooling, know some homeschoolers, or just want to understand more about schooling options, books about homeschooling are, in my opinion, absolute must-reads.
Without reading about the huge variety of homeschooling experiences of other families, I might never have understood that my daughters writing “rainbow words” with markers while sitting at the table as I drink my morning coffee is just as legitimate (not to mention fun, and basically no work for me) as sending them to school to learn to write. Without reading about how other families homeschool, the infinity of methods (and non-methods) that they use, I might have never learned that I, too, would be capable of this.
Here are five good resources that got me started thinking about homeschooling:
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- Fundamentals of Home-Schooling: This is the BEST book, in my opinion, if you’re wondering something like, “Yeah, homeschooling sounds good in theory, but what on earth would we do all day?” This book talks about the teachable moments that come naturally into a day, learning concepts and how to translate them into quick games and activities that can be easily incorporated into your agenda, and modifications of regular daily work and play that can be used to “teach” a wide variety of knowledge and skills.
- And the Skylark Sings with Me: A memoir written by a dad about homeschooling his two daughters, this is a story about what’s possible–not just the fact that his daughters excel academically, have myriad skills and interests, and live lives filled with meaning and purpose, but also the joy of their day-to-day existence, in which children are engaged in passions from opera to snakes to astronomy, and are given the tools and encouragement to explore these passions with depth (that the children often reach amazing heights of achievement is, of course, secondary, but also important to note).
- Home Education Magazine: I’m off and on about this particular magazine–it’s got the occasional typo, and I’m uninterested in the articles they run about religion-based homeschooling, but the other in-depth articles about homeschooling, written by homeschooling families, can be very insightful, and often very inspiring.
- Teaching Montessori in the Home: We’re unabashed Montessori-lovers in our family, and this is the book for implementing Montessori-style learning in a home environment (hint: Montessori-at-home is not just for full-time homeschoolers. It can also be a really nice way to organize any child’s space at home).
- The Unschooling Handbook: Wherever you stand on the homeschooling continuum, or even if you’re a fan of institutional schools, it’s fascinating to learn about the concept of unschooling, just because it’s so utterly different from our public school norm.
Do you have a favorite homeschooling resource?
Do not use Zion Academy. Their curriculum is outdated and pedantic… Additionally their policies are deceptive. For instance they do not explain to you that you will be responsible to pay the entire tuition even if you withdraw (because of sub-par curriculum). Apparently the fee for withdrawing is the entire years tuition. This is ridiculous especially since this is not told to you before hand and the contract you sign is worded in a misleading and deceitful manner which leads you to believe that when you withdraw you will forfeit monies already paid (which is logical). I am hiring an attorney because I refuse to be bullied by an organization operating under the guise of being “Christian.” This is a terrible way to conduct business. I feel lied to and taken advantage of. I caution everyone to insist on actual samples of curriculum and have your child do it… see if he/she would rather take a swim in acid than do the mundane workbooks. If you see Zion academy… think twice. Opt instead for Abeka Academy or Alpha Omega Academy.