Some time ago, I wrote a series on building a homeschool library. They included History Videos and DVD’s The classics, Part 1 and Part 2, and educational videos and DVDs. To this list, I would also like to add important reference books that no homeschooling family should be without.
Dictionary: Learning to look up and find answers is one of the most important skills a student can learn. A high quality family dictionary such as Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, which is an excellent choice for children 3rd grade and older. For younger children I recommend Merriam-Webster Children’s Dictionary.
Thesaurus: A thesaurus is an excellent tool to help expand your child’s dictionary and to make their writing more interesting. A quality thesaurus is Webster’s New World Thesaurus.
A root word dictionary is imperative to helping students grow their vocabulary in a way that will help them tackle new words easily. I suggest Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms.
Kingfisher History Encylopedia: You may have noticed that I mention this book a lot. This is because it is great to go to if you ever have any question about a historic event, culture of the history, and even art of the history.
Kingfisher Science Encylopedia is also a great reference book for any science question your child may come up with.
Atlas of the modern world and of the ancient world Atlases are important to teach geography in a visual way that children understand. It is very important to combine atlas use in history lessons.
Basic math through Pre-Algebra books such as Homework Helpers: Basic Math And Pre-Algebra:Master Math and Basic Math and Pre-Algebra
A solid guide for grammar and punctuation such as Webster’s Grammar and Punctuation Handbook and Grammar made Easy.
A good guide for writing essays, stories, and papers such as Scholastic Guide: Writing Winning Reports And Essays.
An interesting thing about having a good set of reference books in your home, particularly across these subjects is that your child can learn practically everything they need to know through middle school using just these books, if necessary. With these books and an internet connection, a parent can easily write their own homeschool curriculum through 7th or 8th grade.