7 Books With the Power to Re-Inspire Your Homeschool
Whether you’re a brand-new homeschooler looking for guidance, an experienced homeschooler stuck in a rut, or just a homeschool mom in need of a little reassurance, a smart book can be your best friend. These are some of our favorites.
Whether you’re a classical-inspired homeschooler or have any intention of using this book’s detailed curriculum plans, you’ll find The Well-Trained Mind a homeschool book worth going back to again and again. It’s not so much the specifics of curricula and scheduling—though those can be helpful—but the way that the book makes academic homeschool seem not just theoretically possible but practically doable.
If you’re a new homeschooler or a homeschooler struggling to find a rhythm for your days, this book is just what the doctor ordered. Though it’s written for unschoolers, its homeschool-as-lifestyle philosophy and advice for making learning part of everyday life is inspiring.
This book is designed to supplement Miquon Math’s elementary curriculum, but reading it offers insight into how children learn math and different strategies for explaining basic math concepts. It could be easily be subtitled “How to feel more confident when you’re homeschooling math.”
Khan—whom you may know as the founder of Khan Academy, a favorite online resource for homeschoolers—takes on traditional education in this establishment-rocking book. His ideas about personal instruction and working to mastery especially will resonate with homeschoolers.
Grouping reading recommendations by grade level and subject (language arts, world history and geography, math, science, etc.), this resource makes getting started on those endless homeschool reading lists a little easier. You wouldn’t want to stop here, but it’s a great place to start.
Perhaps the classic book of modern homeschooling, Holt’s treatise on education is reassuring, encouraging, and exhilarating. Particularly if you’re feeling uncertain about whether homeschooling can give your kids a thorough education, this book will kick your homeschool motivation into high gear.
This one’s for the research nerds: Gaither’s examination of homeschooling through U.S. history offers a researched, balanced (though ultimately positive) look at the educational project we’re all participating in.
This was originally published in the spring 2017 issue of HSL.
