by Phoebe Farag Mikhail

Not many people know that I have been homeschooling my children for the past five years. As our journey comes to a close and my children pursue a different educational path, I am reflecting on those wonderful five years with thanksgiving. I’m sharing those reflections with my Substack paid subscriber-only series about my family’s homeschooling journey. If you would like to subscribe, please click here. All email subscribers (free and paid) are eligible to enter the book giveaway for Homegrown: Guidance and Inspiration for Navigating Your Homeschooling Journey edited by Amber O’Neal Johnston.

Knowing that some of my readers might be considering homeschooling your children, or have friends who are considering it, who are simply curious, or who perhaps don’t know that this is a possible choice for you and your family, this blog post shares the homeschooling mentor resources that helped me along my path. All of these authors have homeschooled multiple children and led homeschool communities, providing amazing resources to other homeschool families.

The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessica Wise. Although I didn’t follow a structured classical education model in the ways described by Bauer and Wise, I learned a lot from this philosophy of education and especially enjoyed the lists of resources for different ages and subjects. This list is available in the Fourth Edition. The “Essentials Edition,” linked below contains the first half of the book, with the updated resource list now available online via an annual subscription. The Well Trained Mind website contains a wealth of resources for homeschool families, and the Well Trained Mind Academy provides live online classes build on the classical education philosophy. I used Bauer’s Story of the World series for history with my children, which I learned about from my brother, a public high school history teacher. Susan Wise Bauer and Susanna Jarrett also run a dynamic podcast on homeschooling that you can listen to here.

Purchase the Well-Trained Mind Essentials Edition on The Well Trained Mind | Bookshop | Amazon

The Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with Your Kids by Sarah MacKenzie is the book that officially convinced me that I could homeschool – that even if all I did was read aloud and do some math with my children, I would do well for them. The Read-Aloud Family not only explains why reading aloud to your children (even your teenagers) is so important for them educationally—it is also a wonderful way to forge connections with them through shared experiences and conversation. Before homeschooling, I was already implementing the ideas of this book, and I will continue to do so, even though we are no longer homeschooling. I’m a read aloud enthusiast (also see The Enchanted Hour for more on the importance of reading aloud to children, and my free ebook, a “Guide to Helping Children Love Reading” available to all email subscribers). The Read Aloud Revival website contains curated book lists for all ages and on different topics—I consult this website a lot. I used Read Aloud Revival Premium’s resources for reading and English Language Arts with my children, among other resources. Sarah MacKenzie also runs the Read Aloud Revival podcast.

Purchase The Read Aloud Family on Read Aloud Revival | Bookshop | Amazon

A Place to Belong: Raising Kids to Celebrate Their Heritage, Community, and the World by Amber O’Neal Johnston. I had been following Amber’s Heritage Mom blog and social media pages for several years before she published this important book.  A Place to Belong tells the story of her learning to provide “windows and mirrors” for her black children during their homeschool journey after a rude wakeup call. It also provides tools for families to help their children feel a sense of belonging and pride on their unique heritage. Amber’s website also contains excellent book recommendations for books that feature a diverse array of characters that I have consulted many times. While she doesn’t have her own podcast, you can hear her discussing her books and homeschooling on various podcasts where she has been a guest.

Purchase A Place to Belong on Heritage Mom | Bookshop | Amazon

Amber O’Neal Johnston is also the editor of a new book, Homegrown: Guidance and Inspiration for Navigating Your Homeschooling Journey. This book contains essays from some very well-known and respected leaders in the homeschooling field, making it a great place to start for new homeschoolers. I wish I had this book five years ago! Because of that, I am running a giveaway – one subscriber to my Substack Newsletter will receive a free copy of this book by simply commenting on my newsletter.

Purchase Homegrown on Heritage Mom | Bookshop | Amazon

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The post My favorite books on homeschooling – with a book giveaway! appeared first on Being In Community.