Homeschooling: Getting Started- Popular & Favorite- Books, Resources & Methods
Successful homeschoolers are constantly learning about child development & educational methods.
Almost every homeschooler I know is on a constant growth and educational discovery journey! As they go through the years, their constant companions are those wonderful, popular homeschooling books that you see over and over again on homeschool blogs, web sites and in alternative education magazines.
Here is a compilation of all the best resources you will find on veteran homeschoolers book shelves...
Anything by John Holt, Charlotte Mason, Oliver DeMille, Susan Wise Bauer , David Albert, Charolette Mason, Ruth Beechick, Raymond Moore & books and webs sites on Waldorf Education-(Rudolf Steiner) & Maria Montessori...
"We're not trying to do "school at home." We're trying to do home school. These are two entirely different propositions. We're not trying to replicate the time, style, or content of the classroom. Rather, we're trying to cultivate a lifestyle of learning in which learning takes place from morning until bedtime, seven days each week. The "formal" portion of each teaching day is just the tip of the ice-burg!"
Popular Books & Homeschool Web Site Resources Links: :
A Thomas Jefferson Education
Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning
A Thomas Jefferson Home Companion
The Student Whisperer
Here's a web site that explains the phases of learning and different educational systems that can help you choolse the direction you would like to educate your children in. www.TJEd.org
Awesome subscription web site that keeps you and your family learning! www.TJEdOnline.com
Charlotte Mason Original Homeschool Series: http://www.amazon.com/Charlotte-Masons-Original-
Homeschooling-Mason/dp/1889209007
The Well Trained Mind, Susan Wise Bauer www.welltrainedmind.com/
Waldorf Education-You Are Your Child’s First Teacher & The Christopherus
Waldorf Curriculum Overview for Homeschoolers http://www.christopherushomeschool.org/home.html
The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook by, Raymond Moore,
Raymond Moore Foundation: http://www.moorefoundation.com/
Homeschooler resources, where you can purchase books by home schooling‘s founding father John Holt: http://fun-books.com/
Ruth Beechick: The 3 R’s & You CAN Teach Your Child
Successfully http://www.mottmedia.com/pages/publications.asp?Pub=beechick
The Unschooling Handbook, Mary Griffith and here's a web site to explore: http://anunschoolinglife.com/john-holt/
David Albert Have Fun. Learn Stuff. Grow. Homeschooling and the Curriculum of Love And the Skylark Sings with Me: Adventures in Homeschooling and Community-Based Education http://www.skylarksings.com/
Rainbow Homeschool resource center: http://www.rainbowresource.com/index.php
Homeschool Philosophy Reviews: http://www.homeschool-curriculum-for-life.com/Homeschool-
Philosophy-Reviews.html
Montessori Homeschooling:http://www.montessori.edu/homeschooling.html
Homeschool Buyers Co-op: http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/?source=hcomh-h#topchoice
Popular Curriculum:
Simply Charlotte Mason: www.simplyschrlottemason.com
Sonlite Curriculum: http://www.sonlight.com/
Calvert: http://homeschool.calvertschool.org/?gclid=CM-U-7uitZ0CFRyfnAodMk_Niw
Oak Meadow: http://www.oakmeadow.com/
5 In a Row: http://www.fiveinarow.com/
A Beka: http://www.abeka.org/
Classical Conversations: http://www.classicalconversations.com/
Alpha Omega Homeschool: http://www.aophomeschooling.com/homeschool-catalog.php?gclid=CM3ky5artZ0CFYNX2godGkRAyw
Free Online Charolette Mason Curriculum: Ambelside Online: http://www.amblesideonline.org/
Here’s a good website that can be a little overwhelming at first but a great resource. They go into detail about the different methods of home schooling. http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/
And another is Jon's Homeschool Resource:http://www.midnightbeach.com/hs/
The Old School House Magazine & web site: http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/
The Link, The Nations Homeschooling Magazine: http://homeschoolnewslink.com/index.asp
Homeschool Methods
* Charlotte Mason
* Classical Education
* Correspondence Schools
* Eclectic Homeschooling
* Montessori Homeschooling
* Tutoring
* Umbrella Schools
* Unit Study Method
* Unschooling
*Literature Based
* Waldorf Method
*Montessori Method
* Traditional School at Home
* Community Based/Learning Co-ops
Christian Homeschooling
Some of the best curriculum out there comes from a Christian perspective. These are the founding fathers and mothers of the homeschooling movement and their efforts paved the path for all of us to be able to take control of our children's education. Christian Homeschooling is over thirty years old, so you'll find an abundance of resources out there that fits this perspective.
My Father's World: here's a site that can direct you to some of the more popular Christian curriculum .http://www.mfwbooks.com/
Jewish Homeschooling:http://www.chayas.com/homeschoolcurric.htm#cat
Secular Homeschooling:
http://homeschooling.suite101.com/article.cfm/secular_homeschool_curriculum
Finding homeschool curriculum without references to religion can be a challenge.
Secular homeschooling curriculum shopping can be done even amongst religious resources. Several online vendors specialize in non-religious educational supplies. Even some religious catalogs distribute a few non-religious materials and even more vendors distribute books which are both religious and non religious.
Calvert Homeschool offers a classroom-in-a-box type curriculum that doesn’t teach religious ideas as facts. Calvert is popular for the challenging student work and the ease of use for parents. Calvert offers a program where students can call their study questions in to a teacher and have their work looked over, too. Calvert gives families the option of using their internet homeschool program or their more traditional textbooks.
Sonlight is a popular literature based Christian curriculum that many secular homeschoolers enjoy. They have created a homeschool message board to discuss how they’re adapting the program to suit their needs.
Classical homeschooling methods like A Thomas Jefferson Education, Leadership Education, Charlotte Mason, The Well Trained Mind and Sonlite curriculum are easily adapted simply by not presenting religious perspectives or by deliberately presenting a balanced mixture of perspectives for the purpose of discussion. By using timeless high quality literature instead of traditional texts, a classical education claims to teach students how to think instead of teaching them what to think, this idea is popular with secular homeschooling families.
Unschooling is a popular method of homeschooling. In unschooling, parents provide the child access to stimulating resources, and allow the child to follow their natural learning interests and desires, without pushing academic studies.
Internet Homeschooling
Online homeschooling programs like Williamsburg Academy, K-12, Laurel Springs School, Keystone High School and Oak Meadow offer internet homeschooling courses where work is completed online and students interact with teachers through a social networking interface, like a secure chat room, instant messaging program, email and bulletin board service. It might sound confusing to parents but kids can catch on surprisingly fast.
If you’re more of an eclectic homeschooler, Rainbow Resource Center offers homeschooling curriculum products that are both religious and non religious. The catalogs for Oak Meadow and Calvert also distribute other non-religious homeschooling resources.
The homeschool review website, Choosy Homeschooler registers users by religious preference, among other things, so you can check out the profiles of the curriculum reviewers you’re reading. Knowing the perspective of the reviewer can help you make informed homeschooling decisions.











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