This is one of my absolute favorite topics: books. More specifically, my favorite books for homeschool moms. Books and homeschoolers go together like peanut butter and jelly – and not just for our kids!
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Taking Time To Learn As A Homeschool Parent
Reading homeschool books is something that we moms can do for our own personal and professional development. We may not be paid to homeschool, but we are taking this on as our job. It is our professional development to study how to do it.
Reading these books will give you the inspiration and encouragement that you need. It may also teach you something new.
I have a number of suggestions for you today. These are certainly not all of my favorites, but I tried to choose the books that I felt have been most inspirational to me. They may not be the same books that you’re hearing about all over the internet. They may not even be the same books that you would choose, but these are certainly the ones that have had an impact on my homeschool.
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My All-Time Favorite Books For Homeschool Moms
So You’re Thinking About Homeschooling: 15 Families Show You How You Can Do It
The very first book that I want to talk about is a little volume called. So You’re Thinking About Homeschooling: 15 Families Show You How You Can Do It, by Lisa Whelchel. Lisa was Blair on The Facts of Life. Published in 2005, I think I read it for the first time in 2008. I do not have a copy of it because I got it from the library. This was the very first book that I read that showed me that this homeschooling thing was possible. It profiles 15 different families homeschooling in vastly different ways from each other.
It inspired me to give this homeschooling thing a try and helped me realize that it was doable. Years later, when I started my very first homeschooling podcast it was called The Homeschool Snapshots Podcast. I based the podcast on this book. It was exactly the same premise. I would go and spend about 30 minutes interviewing a homeschool mom to give you a snapshot of their homeschool day.
For the Children’s Sake
The second book that I probably read right about the same time as So You’re Thinking About Homeschooling is called For the Children’s Sake, by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay. This was the book that taught me schooling can look different than what you’ve always thought it had to be.
When I first started thinking about homeschooling, I very much had the school at home model in my mind. That’s what I thought we were going to do and thought we were going to recreate at home. This was one of the first books that showed me that there were other methods of education out there. There were other ways of educating a child that I had never been exposed to, even though I had an education degree. Reading this was very inspirational to me.
There are so many good ideas in this book. I’ve read it a number of times and so my copy is well loved and marked up.
For the Children’s Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School
Beauty in the Word
Now, the next book I want to talk about is geared more towards classical education, but I do think it’s a worthy read because it is about educating human beings. The main premise is educating for virtue as opposed to educating for utility. I’ve read it a number of times and I’ve used it as inspiration in a number of talks. It’s Beauty in the Word by Stratford Caldecott. I highly recommend this one.
Beauty in the Word: Rethinking the Foundations of Education
Mere Motherhood
Another one that I absolutely love is Mere Motherhood by Cindy Rollins. This is not a homeschool philosophy book and it’s not a how-to book. This is a memoir. I love the genre of memoirs and I love Cindy Rollins. It’s what makes this book one of my favorites.
It’s all about motherhood and Cindy’s journey as a homeschooler. It’s about morning time, including the story of how morning time got started for Cindy. She then inspired me, and thousands of other homeschool moms. to do morning time in their homes.
It’s so real. It’s raw and it’s delightful. Cindy doesn’t hold anything back when it comes to being inspirational, but also being practical and honest.
Mere Motherhood: Morning Times, Nursery Rhymes, and My Journey Toward Sanctification
Teaching From Rest
I’ve got my book stack teetering over here. I would be totally remiss if I did not mention another one of my favorites, Teaching From Rest . Full disclosure, Sarah Mackenzie is a good friend of mine, but this book is beloved by homeschoolers everywhere – not just me!
I’m type A, so the whole idea of teaching from rest is something I really struggle with. That’s why I need to go back to this book again and again. It’s a good reminder for me of what homeschooling can look like. It is practical and real.
I think something that weaves a thread through all of these books that I’m recommending. There is a realness to all of them. None of the pictures of what’s going on in here at any time seem unattainable or just too good to be true.
Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler’s Guide to Unshakable Peace
The Convivial Homeschool: Gospel Encouragement for Keeping your Sanity while Living and Learning Alongside your Kids
This is a newer book and I have not yet read it from cover to cover. I have only read bits and pieces of The Convivial Homeschool: Gospel Encouragement for Keeping your Sanity while Living and Learning Alongside your Kids.
This one is by my good friend, Mystie Winckler, and it’s set up like a devotional. There are a number of short chapters. There even questions that you could use with your book club. I wanted to mention this one specifically, because I think it’s a really great book, but also because it brings us back to that idea of self study. My free homeschool community online is doing a book study of this book right now. It’s not too late to join us!
Encouragement For Homeschool Parents
Why did I choose these particular books? Why did these end up being my favorites?
One reason is that I have gone deeper into these books with my book club. Now, all of these were done with my in-person book club, but I realized that sometimes it’s hard for homeschool moms to meet with an in-person book club. That’s why the online community is such a great place to connect with other homeschoolers.
Better Together and Plan Your Year
I am also so honored to say that I have also written a couple of homeschool books. If you’re looking for a read this summer, we have Better Together, which is a little handbook all about doing morning time. Then this one may be my favorite – Plan Your Year. I say, this one may be my favorite because this is the exact process that I use to plan my homeschool year.
These books have both made my homeschool a more peaceful place.
Gather: Exploring the Wonder, Wisdom, and Worship of Learning at Home.
I have a brand new book to add to this list as well!
Gather: Exploring the Wonder, Wisdom and Worship of Learning at Home takes you inside the world of nine homeschooling families through the stunning photography of Heather Tully. You will see for yourself that learning by gathering together is the key to efficient homeschooling. Families build relationships, share discoveries, experience joy and wonder, and model lifelong learning.
Heather Tully and I share our own stories along with inspiration, encouragement, and pages of practical advice to help you make whole-family learning viable in your own homeschool.
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