Asalaam ‘Alaikum:
First of all I want to say something that should be common knowledge – but I know many people have not been educated about one wonderful resource (and the homeschooling parent’s best friend) – the library. Usually, when I hear anyone recommend a book, or I hear about a book that sounds interesting – I go straight to the library and look for it. In our library system, if the library doesn’t have the book, we can also search through other libraries in the state – if they have the book, we can loan it. This is where I find many of my great resources for homeschooling and general knowledge.
Instead of just going out and buying a book that someone recommends, I highly recommend that you first take it out of your local library and see if it meets your needs. Put pieces of paper in each page that has something important to say – something that you want to remember. In my case, if I have a lot of those pieces of paper sticking out of the book, I know that it probably is a book that I should keep on my shelf. Some books have no pieces of paper – and others have a few. For those that have a few, I usually jot down the important points and return the book.
So, I just wanted to give you the following advice: go to the library first, check out the book and see if it’s right for you. I have taken out plenty of books that were “highly recommended” only to find that I didn’t care for the book or that it didn’t meet my needs.
This will save you a lot of money in the long run – even if you do buy a lot of your books used. There’s nothing I hate more than buying a book and finding out that it was a waste of money and it just sits on my shelf. I made this mistake quite a few times during the early part of homeschooling – perhaps you can learn from my mistake.
Homeschooling: Take a Deep Breath – You Can Do This! By Terrie Lynn Bittner
I highly recommend this book to any homeschooling parent, but especially to any who are new to homeschooling or contemplating homeschooling. I borrowed it from the library and decided to purchase my own copy – I felt it was an important resource.
I think that every one of us who homeschools needs to be reminded sometimes – why are we doing this? Sometimes we may have a bad day and wonder if it was a good idea. Sometimes we have doubts and burnout just like everyone else. This is one good book that I want by my side when I go through such times. It really is a good reminder of why I am homeschooling and has a lot of good advice and information about resources also. For anyone who is just starting out – I find this to be one of the most helpful books out there.
The Hurried Child: Growing Up Too Fast Too Soon. By David Elkind, Ph.D.
I found this to be an insightful book – especially if you are a parent wondering when you should start homeschooling. Sometimes we undergo a lot of pressure as homeschoolers to follow the model of school – our friends and family keep asking, why don’t you send them to school or they ask your child “Do you know how to read yet?” I thought the first part of the book was quite interesting and was pretty easy to read. However, for some reason as you get to the last part of the book it starts to get a bit scientific and quite dry – so I skipped a lot. While this is true, I still do recommend this book. You can find a further write-up about this on the following blog page: The Hurried Child.
Home Schooling on a Shoe String. By Melissa L. Morgan & Judith Waite Allee
I also found this to be an excellent resource. Has a lot of information on how to homeschool on a limited budget, has small excerpts about different types of homeschooling, learning styles, etc. It also has recommendations about books to use for further study on these and other issues. This book not only tackles ideas related to homeschooling, but living a more frugal life in order to homeschool. They have a lot of good recommendations.
I do recommend reading the book; and I will probably eventually be adding this one to my homeschooling library.
** More recommendations will be added as I have time, insha’Allah **
