Maybe it's different for second generation homeschoolers, but for the rest of us, the rest who chose this crazy lifestyle out of the blue - that blue was dripping with books. I mean, most of us read a lot of books before we took the plunge. First we had to get curious. Then we had to get information. Then we had to get inspiration. Finally we had to figure out how to convince our husbands to go along with this crazy idea!
I've read a lot of books about homeschooling over the past, oh, 25 years (yikes!). Obviously I can only comment on the ones I remember and I won't bother listing the dozens that didn't inspire me in some way. But where to begin? I really have no idea where I began.
First I think I'll tell you the WRONG books (for me). One that sent me waaay off the in wrong direction was Homeschooling for Excellence by David and Micki Colfax. It was a nice read. The problem was that it convinced me that what we needed to do was go off to the woods somewhere (which we did) and raise our children with as little outside influence as possible. Don't get me wrong. We had some good times living in the woods and we met some wonderful people and made lasting friendships BUT I also realized that where we belonged was in the middle of the libraries and dance studios and music studios and book stores and nice restaurants and and and . . . Yeah. So sue me. I like reading about pioneers but I don't like living like one. Just because something works gangbusters for one family, it doesn't mean it's going to work for you.
Under the same category (nearly) I will include The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. I believe in this book 100%! - for somebody else. I read the first two chapters, stamped my forehead with "L" for "loser" and took the thing back to the library. Not on your life. Not on your tintype. I can't do it. I can't say it. I won't chew it.
Whew. Okay. Now that we've discussed my failures, let's move on to happier topics.
My favorite homeschool author is John Holt. His views on children and their ability to learn is similar to Shinichi Suzuki's. How Children Learn is a good place to start with John Holt. And while we're on the topic of Suzuki, try Nurtured by Love. It's a good read even if you don't want to enroll your children in music lessons (though I think you should).
John Holt also leads us into unschooling territory. Summerhill School: A New View of Childhood by A.S. Neill was a book that I read early in my homeschooling days and it certainly influenced the way I view education. It's been many years since I read the book (I keep thinking I'll remember to pick it up and read it again) so I can't really offer any useful memories of the book other than the overall impression it made on me. It was the start of my thinking that school didn't have to be what we all think school is.
Another fine example along the same lines and one of my favorites is a book written by a 17 year old girl called The Day I Became an Autodidact. The author's name is Kendall Hailey. It's a wonderful diary of a girl who decides she's had enough of school and will finish her high school career on her own terms. The book has been criticized for Kendall having had educated parents or something. Fine. She comes from a family who appreciates education and not every child can be an autodidact. Now that you've had that disclaimer, feel free to enjoy the book.
I do have some favorites that are nearer center (not so near the lunatic fringe where I'm ever so comfortable). I really love Karen Andreola's book, A Charlotte Mason Companion. I went to far as the get the Charlotte Mason books themselves but decided that I liked Mrs. Andreola's summaries much better and I eventually sold Charlotte down the river - I mean - to some other ambitious homeschool mom (I wonder if she read them?) This is one of those books I think all homeschoolers should take a look at. My kids are not good narrators, but there are still lots of ideas and perspectives in the book that I felt added to my education as an educator.
Oops, now nearing that fringe once again. If you discover that you don't have a table sitting, pencil mastering offspring, do take a look at Right Brained Children in a Left Brained World (Jeffrey Freed). It's another to have on the shelf. I think the name says it all. Read this one before you start piling up books on how to wrangle your "difficult" or "hyperactive" or "learning disabled" child. You might still need some of those books (there is a time and a place perhaps) but this book shows you how to mold the education to the child instead of vice versa.
Another fave that's nice to have around is The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. Who doesn't love a book *about* reading that's mostly a book list that's as long as a book?! What's not to love?
That's it. That's the list of books that is always at the surface of my thought process for the how and why of homeschooling. If you're new to this game they may crack your "how to" of homeschooling wide open.
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