As I mentioned in the introduction, new homeschooling parents should learn as much about homeschooling as possible by reading many different sources. Here continues my Homeschool Glossary of books parents should read.
If You’re Riding a Horse and It dies, Get off by Jim Grant, Char Forsten, and Nathan Bundy (Paperback – May 1, 1999)
This book is a short, concise, and humorous critique of public education. “Constructed around the old saying of “don’t beat a dead horse” this book illustrates that there comes a time when you must recognize that the proverbial horse is dead and you must move on to a new way of thinking.” While not everyone loves this book, especially education workers with no sense of humor, others say it is excellent for staff development and quite insightful. While you will get the whole point of the book just be reading the title, you certainly won’t have as much fun.
Learning All the Time by John Caldwell Holt (Paperback – Aug 1990)
Learning and education are not the same thing. In fact, education often gets in the way of learning. This book drives that point home the point that early learning should be as unstructured as possible.
Mary Pride’s Complete Guide to Getting Started in Homeschooling by Mary Pride (Paperback – Jun 1, 2004)
“This encyclopedic reference includes chapters on the ways kids learn, planning and record keeping, testing and standards, and special–needs and gifted children.” (amazon.com) Topics in this book include education 101, unit studies, how has homeschooling changes, my favorite, laptop homeschooling, and more.
Morning by Morning: How We Home-Schooled Our African-American Sons to the Ivy League by Paula Penn-Nabrit (Hardcover – Feb 18, 2003)
This is the book that helped make my decision to homeschool concrete. When I decided to homeschool, my only reservation was homeschooling possibly being the second strike to Ivy League Entry, with the first strike being our race. This book eliminated all of my fears. While book is a lot more about race than homeschooling, it does not place blame or show bitterness. Instead it shows how to move forward in a way that is best for the children.
*Have a question about homeschooling? Just ask.
*Want to know more about homeschooling? Start with the 2006 homeschool blog in review!
* Have you seen the homeschooling curriculum glossary?