You have to respect the people who school their kids at home. It's challenging enough being a parent to your child without being a teacher as well.
At present, there isn't much on this site intended for the exclusive use of school-at-homers. For that reason, I began to look at homeschool sites and blogs.
Like anything else on the web, most of them didn't seem to offer much.
Too many of the blogs tend to focus on day-to-day family life rather than actual education, and too many of the sites seem to focus on separating you from your money without offering much in return!
The purpose of this page is to introduce you to some of the few sites I feel I can recommend. I asked each of the site's authors to come up with a homeschooler's booklist.
Take a look at the list and then go ahead and link to their site!
I'm also providing a form at the bottom of this page for others with homeschool sites and blogs to bring to my attention. If I like your site I'll post your booklist! (And hopefully you can provide a return link to a page on this site that you like.)
Homeschooler: Maria Miller
Site: Homeschool Math
A comprehensive site for homeschooling parents and teachers: find free worksheets, math ebooks for elementary grades, extensive link list of games, interactive tutorials & quizzes, curriculum guide, and teaching tips articles. Maria keeps a blog as well.
Learn geometry by doing it, lots of it. Textbooks make geometry out to be a dull, disconnected subject matter that starts here and ends there as if there were nothing more to it. Here you study a complete course of geometry altogether, with plenty of fascinating tidbits, and learn it all by drawing. For middle school.
A series of math worktexts for elementary grades in electronic form so as to be very affordable. Great care is put into the explanations and understanding of concepts.
3) Mathematics: The Science of Patterns by Keith Devlin
4) The Adventures of Penrose the Mathematical Cat by Theoni Pappas
Offers encouragement, free worksheets, and practical knowledgeabout electives (especially p.e. and art), temperaments, discipline, recommended reading, holiday and co-op games and activities, gleaned from 19 years of homeschooling experience.
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Historical Fiction with Wholesome Heroes
1) The Silver Chalice by Thomas B. Costain
In ancient Jerusalem and Rome, Basil, a young Greek silversmith, struggles to complete an unlikely mission. On his quest, he encounters Caesar, Luke the Physician, Simon the Magician and other historical characters.
A homeschooling mom since 1997, Shirley's site focuses on the young ones, with an eye to activities that enrich. I never put the words "curriculum" and "preschooler" together until I visited Shirley's site!
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Best South African Picture Books
1) An African Christmas Cloth by Reviva Schermbrucker
Aunty Apples tours the South African countryside, taking readers on a scenic journey. On Christmas morning she presents her nephew and niecewith a beautiful handmade embroidered cloth, a crafted journal of her trip. The book is magnificently illustrated with highly detailed embroidered pictures, each 'painted' in thread.
2) Fly, Eagle, Fly! by Niki Daly
3) Jock of the Bushveld as retold by Phillida Brooke-Simons
Whether you have a question, need advice, or could just use some encouragement, Guilt-Free Homeschooling offers help, comfort, and advice to new or struggling homeschool parents, assuring them that homeschooling can be manageable, successful, guilt-free, and glorifying to God.
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Top 3 Reference Books for the Homeschool Library
1) The ABC's and All Their Tricks by Margaret M. Bishop
An invaluable resource, explaining the origins of spelling patterns and showing a wide assortment of words using each pattern. Don't teach phonics or spelling without it!
Benefit from Hilary's experience homeschooling four children. Find comprehensive curriculum summaries and reviews. Compare curricula in just a few clicks, not a few hours!
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Great Homeschooling Books You Probably Didn't Know About
1) Games for Writing by Peggy Kaye
This is a great resource to help those reluctant writers enjoy the writing process. I have found my child feels good about himself and his writing after doing one of these exercises.
Let Marianne show you how to design your own approach to learning by writing a tailor made program to fit your children's needs, abilities and personalities, an approach that fits you and complements your lifestyle.
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Favourite "How To Homeschool" Books
1) Educating the Wholehearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarkson
This book contains a wealth of information to help the homeschooling family use real books and real life and make their home a center of living and learning. Great to study in a homeschool support or discussion group.
Let Pat help you keep alive the three things you need to persevere in homeschooling: Passion, Commitment and Creativity.
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3 Fun Books to Spark Creativity and Enjoy a Laugh Together!
1) Runny Babbit: A Billy Sook by Shel Silverstein
A favorite at our house, our kids "talk runny babbit" all day after we read this book! Published posthumously, it's a shame Mr. Silverstein won't be writing any more...
by Maria Constantino
ed. Jack Prelutsky, illustrations by Marjorie Priceman
by Alan Katz, illustrations by David Catrow
