Recommended Reading
Home Education Mall©

Here's a list of recommended books about homeschooling chosen by Diane Keith, your Homefires Editor, for their outstanding features and editorial excellence. As a result of a commercial relationship between Homefires and Amazon.com online booksellers, these titles can be purchased directly from Amazon.com by following the links below. (Note: Amazon.com is solely responsible for fulfillment of book orders placed through these links.)

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Homeschooling Almanac 2000-2001
Mary and Michael Leppert
Expect the unexpected from Homeschooling Almanac 2000-2001. As you might expect, Mary and Michael Leppert, the publishers of The Link Home-school Newspaper and producers of the The Link Homeschool Conference, have taken most of the knowledge currently available on homeschooling nationwide and condensed it into a digest that covers the why's and how's of homeschooling in every state, provides answers to frequently asked questions, and a directory of contacts for support groups and helpful homeschool organizations. In addition there are descriptions of different learning styles, information on varying methodologies, and personal interviews with homeschool parents.
1999 Paperback

Learning At Home: A Mother's Guide To Homeschooling, Revised Edition
Marty Layne
Reviewed by Diane Flynn Keith
Do yourself a favor and buy this book. The title is a misnomer. This isn't another book about "how to homeschool." This is a book filled with the wisdom of a mother who has children's best interests for education, growth and development at heart. I think it may well be the best book on parenting I have ever read. I guess I shouldn't be surprised since homeschooling and parenting are inextricably entwined. Marty Layne identifies 11 criteria for what makes a successful homeschool and she gives clear, demonstrative examples of what she means along with advice for how to develop these traits. She also addresses "burn-out." The author acknowledges its occurrence in homeschooling as a normal part of life and suggests ideas for combating it with wisdom and lightheartedness. This book is a gem.

Brighten The Day - songs to celebrate the seasons
Marty Layne

Teach Your Own
A Hopeful Path for Education
John Caldwell Holt
First edition inspire many to homeschool in 1981. This edition omits dated information about legal issues. Holt writes how homeschooling is different than just school at home.
1997 Paperback

Family Matters
Why Homeschooling Makes Sense
David Guterson
The best book for fathers to read, for it's very man-to-man. Guterson is a teacher, yet homeschools his own children.
1993 Paperback

The Homeschooling Book of Answers
Linda Dobson
The 88 most important questions aswered by homeschooling's most respected voices. This book has many thoughtful suggestions.
1998 Paperback

The Homeschooling Handbook
From Preschool to High School, a Parent's Guide
Mary Griffith
Takes you through all the steps to a complete lifestyle change.
1999 Paperback

The Unschooling Handbook
How to Use the Whole World As Your Child's Classroom
Mary Griffith
Called natural learning by some, unschooling utilizes a child's natural curiousity to propel him to love learning.
1998 Paperback

Home School: Taking the First Step
Borg Hendrickson
Resources to help you get started and get organized in a step-by-step fashion.
1994 Paperback

How to Write a Low-Cost/No-Cost Curriculum for Your Home-School Child
Borg Hendrickson
A resource you'll refer to time and time again.
1998 Revised Edition, Paperback

Dumbing Us Down
The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
John Taylor Gatto
How the heart is stolen out of our children by compulsory education.
1991 Paperback

The Exhausted School
The First National Grassroots Speakout on the Right to School Choice
John Taylor Gatto
1993 Paperback

Homeschooling for Excellence
David & Micki Colfax
Classic book about that inspires many to homeschool. Story of the Goat Boy who went to Harvard.
1988 Paperback

Hard Times in Paradise
An American Family's Struggle to Carve Out a Homestead in California's Redwood Mountains
David & Micki Colfax
How challenging the good life can be! How a boy's business raising prize goats led to his entry into Harvard.
1992 Hardcover

The Teenage Liberation Handbook
How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education
Grace Llewellyn
Written primarily for teens who need to convince their parents they can teach themselves.
1997 Paperback

Real Lives
Eleven Teenagers Who Don't Go to School
Grace Llewellyn (Editor)
Accounts from teens who got a real life and education.
1993 Paperback

Awakening Your Child's Natural Genius
Enhancing Curiosity, Creativity, and Learning Ability
Thomas Armstrong Ph.D.
Author suggests ways you can help your child reach their full potential.
1991 Paperback

Trust the Children
A Manual and Activity Guide for Homeschooling and Alternative Learning
Anna Kealoha
A book full of wondrous projects to inspire your homeschool.
1995 Paperback

A Field Guide to Home Schooling
A Practical Guide for Parents
Christine M. Field
Christian perspective on homeschooling, Christine offers sound advice, leading readers through the maze of teaching approaches, home schooling resources, and learning styles. From setting goals, schedules, and rules to organizing a home learning environment, keeping records, and doing chores, this practical guide leads the way.
1998 Paperback

Inside American Education
The Decline, the Deception, the Dogmas
Thomas Sowell
An indictment of the American educational system criticizes the fact that the system has discarded the traditional goals of transmitting knowledge and fostering cognitive skills in favor of building self-esteem and promoting social harmony.
1992 Hardcover

And What About College?
How Homeschooling Can Lead to Admissions to the
Best Colleges & Universities
by Cafi Cohen
This author has reassured many of us that we CAN homeschool through high school and enter college.
1997 Paperback

No More Nagging, Nit-Picking, and Nudging
by Jim Wiltens
Successful methods used by families, teachers, and coaches for inspiring, motivating, and influencing kids.

Homeschooling on a Shoestring: A Jam-Packed Guide
by Melissa L. Morgan and Judith Waite Allee
If you need ideas for cheap, inexpensive, free, and fabulous resources for curriculum, here is the answer! The authors not only target educational issues but give advice on financial planning, budgeting, and home-based businesses to supplement income. They present ideas and resources for low-tech and high tech learning. They tackle all grade levels including high school -- and even devote a chapter to budgeting for the college-bound.

Hothouse Transplants
by Matt Duffy
Matthew Duffy is the son of longtime Christian homeschool activist, author, and mom, Cathy Duffy. He graduated from his homeschool in 1997 and was inspired to collect a series of stories about what homeschoolers do when they are finished homeschooling. HotHouse Transplants is an account of what young Christian men and women do after homeschool graduation.

Living Joyfully With Children
by Win & Bill Sweet
We wrote this book to share the wealth of experiences and insights about children and families that we have been gathering for over thirty years. What a joy it has been to share this wealth! We are gratified to see the favorable reviews and comments the book is receiving; for example, the highly regarded author, Joseph Chilton Pearce, wrote: "Living Joyfully with Children is a gem in every respect, one of the best how-to books for parents I have read: lucid, unpretentious, straightforward, admirably easy to read, and absolutely invaluable. I was truly surprised at its depth and wisdom and think I shall lug boxes of it along on my speaking trips. I am thankful that such works do come along."