Some of Joanne’s favorite
homeschooling books
Overall – on the subject of General Homeschooling
Teenage Liberation Handbook, by Grace Llewellyn
When I read this one I wished I could have been homeschooled! It’s perfect for early teen years, but also good for adults who have come up through the school system, for broadening minds as to the possibilities out there.
Home School Source Book, by Donn and Jean Reed
There are many source books out there, many are specialized according to certain belief systems. I found this one to be very open minded about the world. It actually is a catalog and you can order the materials directly from them, but I honestly use it to figure out what to look up in the library!
Learning All the Time, by John Holt
This one really opened my mind to what a child can do if we just get out of his way! Holt uses the examples of a baby learning to walk and to talk, and how this inner drive to learn and to join the world around, carries over into “educational” things like learning to read and the inner drive to study. All Holt’s stuff is good, but this selection is especially great if you have pre-reading age children.
Dumbing Us Down, by John Taylor Gatto
Gatto’s subject is the hidden agenda of the school system. This book is an eye opener about what the system is really about, and why people fear homeschooling. Our choice to homeschool our children means we have actually sat down and considered, thought about, something that most people accept and take for granted. By our very actions, we are calling into question the premises that most of society avoids thinking about.
Trust the Children, by Anna Kealoha
Unfortunately, this marvelous book is out of print. But if you can find it, it’s a gem. It has terrific and simple ideas about just about every aspect of educating children. Reading Kealoha gave me the confidence to proceed. I return to this book when I get overwhelmed by the volume of material out there. This book shows me how very possible homeschooling my children is.
Help Your Child Learn to Read, by Betty Root
This tiny little book is a wonder. It is a Usborne book, and would seem to be a piddly nothing compared to the massive merchandising volume of phonics materials, computer programs, fat volumes, etc on the market on this very basic subject. But between this little book and the Holt book mentioned above, (plus a few Dr Seuss!) we are well on our way to literacy. I like the title. It’s indicative of the approach. Not “teach your child to” but instead it says “help”. Your child could actually learn to read by himself, says Holt. But Root shows me how to invent little games to make the process fun and easy and interactive. We have fun with this book. I rarely do the exercises in it “straight up”, but looking at this little book always inspires me to create something fun. Our best craft materials by the way are the Vons and Ralphs grocery ads that arrive in our mailbox free every week. A is for apple …
Patterns in Arithmetic, by Suki Glenn
From the UCIrvine Farm Elementary School
Contact info: [email protected] (760) 728-3731
I just started on this one. I personally pronounce this to be the Betty Root equivalent in math (Usborne’s math publication notwithstanding!!). It begins by stating that patterns are at the heart of all that is mathematics. This 3 ring binder of loose sheets is written for homeschooling families with kindy to about 3rd grade children. The idea is to lay a solid foundation of comprehension, prior to doing any of the math drilling that I remember so painfully as a child. From their introduction: “The first few years of learning about mathematics are important years. Think of them as a stone wall. If the foundation is not strong the whole wall will come tumbling down.” The exercises I have tried thus far have been fun games, easy, well written; they even planned for a child who likes to find the holes in the rules!!
A library card, a good dictionary, a really good look-up-the-cool-bug-we-just-found book (same for birds, rocks, flowers …)
Los Angeles (city) public library has their catalog online at http://catalog.lapl.org/index.html from here you can place holds on books and have them sent to your nearest local branch – for free!
The LA County library system has a catalog online at http://catalog.colapl.org/ however I believe they charge for holds placed.
Michael Olaf 800 429 8877
This
claims it is a Montessori catalog but don’t let that dissuade you. There are plenty of things here I saw in
Waldorf classrooms, and tons of things for homeschoolers! Plus, I often read their reviews and find
the books in the library. I have the
age 3-12 catalog (I’ve forgotten what their other catalogs cover) but it is
great for early primary education.
Great ideas for science books, lots of earth science, life science. They are online at http://michaelolaf.com/ but this site has
none of the pictures the print catalog does.
The print catalog has marvelous essays about education; all these are available free online at
http://www.michaelolaf.net/
Chinaberry www.chinaberry.com
The reviews in this catalog are positively dreamy. If I were to typify their offerings I would say they try to recapture the innocence of childhood. From classic books we remember with warm fuzzies, to contemporary ones with beautiful illustrations and wonderful themes … I love to give gifts from this catalog too!
The Lakeshore catalog
Lakeshore is a chain store of high priced educational items, often purchased by teachers armed with school district purchase orders. But their catalog is free, and any home crafter can figure out how to make more than half of the things they have displayed oh-so-well photographed within the pages of their catalog!
Timberdoodle www.timberdoodle.com
disclaimer: this is a very Christian catalog. That said, nowhere else have I found such a great assortment of things for math and for the techno-side of science. By that I mean, there’s a lot available out there for earth science, but little for those kids who (like mine) love nothing more than to get out a screwdriver and get down to work. Timberdoodle is run by a family, and they must have had a techno-kid like mine. Also, math manipulatives are cheaper here than anywhere else I’ve found them.
Bookmark the websites of Amazon.com and Bookfinder.com (invaluable for used and out of print titles)
Last
updated October 25, 2001