(Book Reviews)

How to Home School by Gayle Graham

This book has probably been the one I've used the most in organizing myself for homeschooling. Mrs. Graham deals with everything from home organization to lesson organization with many suggestion and forms to compliment. She offers many ideas of what should be accomplished each academic year that is much broader and easier to understand than many objective I've seen. She also offers a variety of unit ideas and personal testimonies of her homeschooling endeavors.

What Your Child Need to Know When by Robin Scarlata

Ms. Scarlata's book is divided into four sections. Section one deals with philosophy of education from a Christian standpoint. She compares that with the states' view of education and gives a very impressive graph of test scores before and after public prayer was taken out of school. I was amazed at the dramatic decline. In section two, she discusses state a achievement tests and answers frequent questions most often asked on such. In section three, she lays out her Heart Of Wisdom approach in which the Bible acts as the textbook for most of her core subject curriculum. She has a year's Bible lessons planned for you and a suggested daily schedule included. Section four offers what many rely heavily on - evaluation check lists for grades K through 8^th grade. She also includes a list of Dolch Sight Words in the Appendices.

Educating the WholeHearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarkson

This book is jam packed with suggestions and information. The Clarkson's stress discipleship of our children and focusing on that aim with academics only being one part of that. Their educational suggestions offer a more relaxed academic structure than the more traditional methods, and they encourage living books as a core of the subjects taught. Every area of homeschooling one can imagine is addressed. They've completed the books with a selection of the forms they use. So that you don't get to overwhelmed with their well laid out plans and thoughts, they also share tidbits from their house that well assures their readers that they too experience days like we all do.

A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola

This book acts as a nice overview of Charlotte Mason's approaches to education. Ms. Mason lived in the late 1800's in England. She stressed the idea that children were spirits that needed to be nourished and encouraged to flourish instead of vessels that needs to be filled. Some suggestions are offered here on how one might accomplish that. I especially like the nature notebook idea.

Season's of a Mother's Heart by Sally Clarkson

What a wonderful book! Mrs. Clarkson's book is divided into four sections each titles with a different season. She speaks so eloquently to all mothers, encouraging us all to relax and remember the greatness of our Savior. She invites us to not get so caught up in textbooks and state standards and to depend more on our own instincts of what our children need to learn, knowing that God's grace covers much in the lives of His children. She shares many of her own family testimonies and once can not help walking away from this book with renewed motivation and conviction. This is a book that really addresses every mother's heart.

Tend Your Own Garden First by Nancy Eichman

This is not a book you often see with the homeschooling recommendations, but I think it should be. Ms. Eichman stresses that we as parents should teach our children of God and the Bible and not depend on the church or any other entity to do this for us. Her vision mirrors the majority of homeschoolers. She offers a large variety of teaching strategies, games, tips, and notes of encouragement. I have used this book many times in my homeschooling days. I love her down to earth and tangible ideas. Everything she gives in this book can be used immediately to improve the homeschooling day and the learning process.

If you have a book review that you would like to offer, please email me.