If there is ONE book for someone considering homeschooling what would it be?

[TranscendentalMom]

and why? thanks! Whitney

[NocturnalDaze]

I'd say, "Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling"
by John Gatto

It just made me see exactly what is wrong with the system.

[smocklets]

Hard to choose just one, but I think I'd start with Real Life Homeschooling,
by Rhonda Barfield. It is not a how-to book, it describes 21 families who homeschool. They share why they chose it and the approach they take, including favorite resources and curriculum. It is encouraging to read, learning how varied homeschool life can be!

[NoCalMomOfTwo]

I agree with Gatto and read that 2nd, but for me the first book was David Guterson

http://www.amazon.com/Family-Matters...7043805&sr=8-3

for all the reasons mentioned in the first review.

I had also read Snow Falling on Cedars and felt that I respected him as a writer who could bring a balanced argument to me.

A good intro for someone who is fairly mainstream, but *gasp* considering pursuing an educational choice that is out of my own experience/comfort level (and that many friends/family will seriously question). Now, it is just all starting to make sense and I look back and wonder why I even needed to convince myself!

[branwyn]

i cant pick just one!
teach your own: the john holt book of homeschooling (actually anything by holt imo)
or
homeschooling our children, unschooling ourselves

[Lillian J]

Maybe The Homeschooling Book of Answers: The 88 Most Important Questions Answered by Homeschooling's Most Respected Voices, by Linda Dobson and 39 contributors. She put that book together to give people who can't attend a conference some of the content they would get at one. Never mind the few ridiculous comments in the Amazon readers' reviews that try to write it off as an "unschooling" book. Linda was stunned and baffled at those kinds of comments, as was I. She hadn't even thought of herself as an unschooler, much less the 39 other homeschoolers who contributed to it. She simply asked a variety of seasoned homeschoolers she respected for one reason or another to contribute - and I know a number of them personally who are most definitely not unschoolers. Maybe the problem is that seasoned homeschoolers do tend to be less highly structured than beginning homeschoolers expect - so some beginners don't find their expectations met, don't find step-by-step instructions on how to teach all the school "subjects" or whatever. .

- Lillian

[phoebemommy]

I second the Homeschooling Book of Answers. It was like Homeschooling 101 for me, and gave me plenty of ideas on what to read next. Ds is just 8 months, so I haven't gotten to the next stuff yet...

[AnnR33]

Originally Posted by NocturnalDaze

I'd say, "Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling"
by John Gatto

It just made me see exactly what is wrong with the system.

DITTO

Next would be something by Linda Dobson

[UUMom]

I'd love to have some recommendations.

We've been hsing for several years (my 8 yr old has never stepped foot in a school), and I have yet to find a book that speaks to me.

I read Summerhill when I was 12, and that is the one that stays with me, more than anything. I have so many questions. I wish A S Neill was still alive to speak with me!

I've read Hoilt, and his books are interesting, but nothing there that says WOW to me.

I think I've read it all, gone to many hs & un conferences, and poured through their conference bookstores, and I am still searching for the Great Book. I have read some fun things, of course, but nothing I think is 'meaty'.

[Hera]

Homeschooling and the Voyage of Self Discovery by David Albert.

[Lillian J]

Originally Posted by Hera

Homeschooling and the Voyage of Self Discovery by David Albert.

I LOVE ALL OF DAVID ALBERT'S BOOKS! And you can read excerpts from some of them online:
His website
Distinguished Visitors
Just Do the Math!
A Travel Excursion of the Mind

A criticism that keeps coming up is that he talks so much about his own gifted daughters - but the point is that everyone has unique gifts, and they can be nurtured in a homeschooling environment.
Lillian

[AllieFaye]

Marva Collins' Way. It's not explicitly a homeschooling book, but her method can easily be applied to homeschooling.

http://ww.amazon.com/Marva-Collins-W...7171261&sr=1-1

http://www.marvacollins.com/philosophy.html

[UUMom]

Originally Posted by Hera

Homeschooling and the Voyage of Self Discovery by David Albert.

Is that the one where the cover design is of a clay rainbow or boat or something? That didn't speak to me.

I do recall a book I really enjoyed, although I can't recall the title. I read it years and years ago. The children were musicans. The authot was a good friend of John Holt's and the kids and he would jam together. I liked her writing style. I wish she had written more.


I know the details will come to me...

[Lillian J]

Originally Posted by UUMom

Is that the one where the cover design is of a clay rainbow or boat or something? That didn't speak to me.

I do recall a book I really enjoyed, although I can't recall the title. I read it years and years ago. The children were musicans. The authot was a good friend of John Holt's and the kids and he would jam together. I liked her writing style. I wish she had written more.


I know the details will come to me...

Nancy Wallace - Child's Work, I think...

Running off to catch a plane soon - better get back to work! Lillian

[Hera]

Originally Posted by Lillian J

A criticism that keeps coming up is that he talks so much about his own gifted daughters - but the point is that everyone has unique gifts, and they can be nurtured in a homeschooling environment.
Lillian

You know...it was a bit of a turn-off at first, and that's why I chose this one over Skylark. I actually really respect how he talks about his own kids, because he could easily say "this is how everyone should do things" in a really general way, but instead he only talks about his own experience and that seems more respectful to the readers. I think his point is that all kids have something that is very important to them that they will do. Anyone is "gifted" in some way or another.

[papayapetunia]

Originally Posted by NocturnalDaze

I'd say, "Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling"
by John Gatto

It just made me see exactly what is wrong with the system.

I second (or third, fourth) this.

[rsps]

I vote for "Family Maters: why homeschooling makes sense" by David Guterson. It's the first book I read, and provides a nice introduction for people who aren't sure/don't know much about HS. Guterson was a public high School teacher homeschooliong his children when he wrote it, so it is a good one for people who think all homeschoolers are radical loonies

[Brisen]

Hmmm... if I could only choose one book for myself, it would be "A Thomas Jefferson Education" by DeMille. It's an interesting mix of unschooling & sort-of-classical ed that was right for me. It is general enough that you can take the principles and apply them to a lot of other styles. But it's more of a "so you're homeschooling? here is some advice" book, not so much a "why you should homeschool" book -- though he does talk a lot about the problem with public or "conveyor belt" schools.

"The Teenage Liberation Handbook" by Grace Llewellyn is probably the book I would recommend if the person had older kids.