Homeschool Books

Your Child's Growing Mind (Jane M. Healy 2004) - This is what I really needed during the hardest part of homeschooling: the first three months. Talks about learning styles, limitations, and how to work with children. I found it to be a bit too broad, but that may be its strength. It seems to cover every problem and every age, so you'll find that the portions that are relevant to your kids at any one given point in time are pretty small. However, those portions tend to be pure gold and certainly worth the cost of the book. The 12-page bibliography is impressive. I read this near the end of our first year of homeschooling and I was kicking myself for not having found this book when the children were born. Many of the things that I had to learn the hard way could have been learned from this book. A parenting "must-read".

The Myth of Laziness (Mel Levine 2003) - If you have a kid who's having trouble with writing, this is the book to get. While it is designed for public/private schoolers, it's actually more useful for homeschoolers who will have less trouble putting the ideas to work. Highly recommended.

Homeschoolers' College Admissions Handbook (Cafi Cohen 2000) - I've started reading this one. A good portion of the book covers the same ground as Heuer's "The Homeschooler's Guide to Portfolios and Transcripts". However, this book covers the entire admissions process, rather than just focusing on portfolios and transcripts. I would recommend reading both as you prepare to send your kids to college. If you could only afford one, this is the one to get.

The Homeschooler's Guide to Portfolios and Transcripts (Loretta Heuer) - Excellent and comprehensive guide. It inspired me to produce online transcripts for my kids (a good fit for me since I already have an extensive website). Parts of the book were targeted at dealing with homeschool portfolio reviews, and fighting with the reviewers. Luckily, I haven't had to deal with that at all. Very highly recommended along with Cafi Cohen's "Homeschoolers' College Admissions Handbook".

Homeschooling: The Teen Years (Cafi Cohen 2000) - I need to read this one again to form an opinion.

Homeschooling Handbook (Mary Griffith 1999) - I need to read this one again to form an opinion.

Countdown to College: 21 To Do Lists for High School (Valerie Pierce 2003) - Cafi Cohen's "Homeschoolers' College Admissions Handbook" already has checklists similar to these, but more relevant for homeschoolers. I would stick with Cohen's book over this one.