My Favorite Homschool Books

When I first started thinking about homeschooling, I read all the books I could get my hands on at the library. Some were good, but some were GREAT! Most of the books I read started out with the author telling the story of how they began homeschooling. Next, learning styles and teaching methods were discussed so that you could get an idea of how your child learns and what type of materials would best fit their needs and yours. From there I learned about curriculum, organization, scheduling, teaching ideas, etc.

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell

This was an all encompassing homeschool book. It's good for a first-timer as well as the novice homeschooler. I really enjoyed the format of the book. It is organized so that you can easily flip between topics and pick out specific information that you might be looking for with the use of bullet points and multiple sub-chapters with-in each chapter. Most of the topics are accompanied by examples by real homeschooling moms. It is always interesting to me to hear how other homeschoolers implement different teaching methods and address various learning styles in their families.

The First Year Homeschooling Your Child by Linda Dobson

This was an excellent book. Every few pages advice is given from veteran homeschoolers in the form of "What I Wish I Had Known When I Began Homeschooling". This was perfect for me since I love to hear about other peoples experiences. This is a great book for anyone just starting out, whether at the preschool level or later on with older children. It follows the same standard set-up that I mentioned previously.

Teaching with TLC in the Elementary Grade by Tamara L. Chilver

I purchased this book from Amazon.com after reading such great reviews about and I have never regretted it. I am constantly referring back to it for ideas and advice. Its probably better to read this book after reading a book like the ones above so that you have a general idea about how homeschooling works. Though not a very long, this book is packed full of ideas and advice for the elementary years. The format is different from the other books I have read in that the chapters are organized by subjects such as reading, spelling and math. This makes it very easy to flip to a topic when you are struggling one particular area or are looking for curriculum advice. The author, who has a degree in elementary education and masters degree in curriculum, refers to many different curriculum products and gives idea for games that kids will enjoy. Read it, you will love it.