The Homeschooling Handbook: From Preschool to High School, A Parent's Guide

by Mary Griffith

Homeschooling has become one of the fastest growing educational movements in the country. Most experts agree that, as of 1995, at least 500,000 school-age children were being educated by their parents, outside of schools, and that ten times as many parents consider the idea of homeschooling their children.
Author Mary Griffith is a homeschooler, and she knows the answers to the important questions parents ask themselves before deciding to homeschool. She also understands the challenges they face along the way. The Homeschooling Handbook guides homeschoolers through the decision-making process, to creating an effective study program. Parents will learn how the best resources and materialsdiscover their child?s learning stylefind the best program for their childmaintain a productive learning atmosphere at homedeal with legality issuesand much, much more . . .Full of practical tips and valuable insight from other homeschoolers who share their experiences, this book is a must-read for anyone who is currently homeschooling or considering the possibility.
About the Author
Mary Griffith is a long-time board member of the Homeschool Association of California, and edits its monthly newsletter. Her two children have always been homeschooled. She lives with her family in California.

Genres: Nonfiction, Education, Parenting

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 8, 1997

About the author

Mary Griffith is a longtime nonfiction writer who is stepping less and less gingerly into fiction. After pondering and discarding mystery plots and characters for the past two decades, she finally swallowed hard and tackled her first novel for the 2009 National Novel Writing Month. During her seemingly endless revision process since then, she's seen major improvements in her story, to the point where she expects to finally let other people read Absence of Blade later this spring. To her surprise, she's discovered she likes writing mysteries almost more than she likes reading them, so she's looking forward to moving on to the next two or three books in the series.
Not surprisingly, Mary's interest in writing about fencing grew out of her years as a parent of two competitive saber fencers and her (so far) 15 years of national tournament staff work with USA Fencing. Even though she herself has never fenced (and never plans to), she's become addicted to fencing tournaments. She is currently (though August 2015) a member of USA Fencing's Board of Directors.

Before her fascination with fencing and fencing people took over her life, Mary wrote extensively about homeschooling and alternative education. The Homeschooling Handbook: From Preschool to High School, a Parent’s Guide, Mary's first book for new and prospective homeschoolers, was published by Prima Publishing in January 1997, and went to four printings within its first year of publication. The revised 2nd edition was published in the spring of 1999 and went to a second printing within 8 days of its release.

The Unschooling Handbook: How to Use the Whole World As Your Child's Classroom was released in May 1998. Focusing on the idea that children learn best when they pursue their own natural curiosity and interests, it offers plenty of useful ideas and resources for an informal, unstructured approach to education.

Since the Random House conglomerate purchased Prima a few years ago, both books have been published by Three Rivers Press, an imprint of Crown Books. In addition to their print editions, both The Homeschooling Handbook and The Unschooling Handbook are available as ebooks.

Mary published her last homeschooling book, Viral Learning: Reflections on Homeschooling Life, in August 2007. It looks at homeschooling—and learning and life in general—from the perspective of long-term homeschoolers, including many who contributed to her earlier books. Viral Learning is available from Lulu.com in both print and epub editions, and can be ordered from your favorite bookseller.

Mary is a proud member of Sisters in Crime, both the national organization and the Sacramento chapter, Capitol Crimes.

She was also long-time activist with the HomeSchool Association of California (HSC), the state's oldest secular homeschooling organization. She served several terms on HSC's board of directors, and was editor of its bimonthly California HomeSchooler for four years. She has been a frequent speaker at homeschooling conferences and other events, on such topics as unschooling, learning to live with homeschooling, parental panic attacks, and homeschool advocacy.

Reviews

[Abby Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this read quite a bit. It was my first book on homeschooling so, I don't have very much to compare it to. I will say the book is a tad outdated; however, it was written over 20 years ago. Griffith includes passages in nearly every chapter which were written by homeschooling families across the states which I thought was especially insightful. Fair warning: the author has a very clear and strong bias toward "unschooling." Not necessarily a must-read.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The good news: this book will help any parent anxiously coming into homeschooling. I admit that a lot of the real life scenarios helped me see how I don't need to worry if I'm doing it right. That load off my shoulders is invaluable before I start with Kindergarten in 2 years.

The bad news: it is clearly edited to indicate a BIAS for unschooling, virtually no testing, and not pushing your kids for higher education. Coming from a public school background (as a student AND a former teacher) I can only handle so much of that.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some helpful information, but a great deal of generalities. This may have suffered simply because it wasn't the first homeschooling book I've picked up and so a lot was review, but it felt like it tried to cover too much too quickly. Maybe good for an overview and then read additional books to get more into the nitty-gritty.

For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent overview for homeschooling Use as an introduction only. Anyone who has read more or has more experience will likely not get much from the book... only really for homeschooling/unschooling/de-schooling noobs.

If you read it looking for specific points and research about homeschooling you'll be disappointed. If you read it as the experience of other homeschoolers and for a general insight into the variety and options out there, then you'll like it.

[Talea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great information for those that are considering homeschooling. The resources are a bit dated but a few of them are still pretty starting points.

[LynnG]

(1999 edition). Was somewhat outdated, but written in an easy to read manner. Didn't provide much new information I hadn't already learned from other books.

[Katie Stratton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fluffy, outdated, oh well.

[Margaret Chind · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fine. I skimmed it, nothing entirely new, but good for new to homeschool people.

[Kelsey Helmick · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s bit outdated. So some of the companies mentioned have been purchased by other companies and certain websites are no longer in use. But overall, it was very educational on the topic.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Homeschooling Handbook is a good read for parents considering homeschooling. The first book I picked up on the subject, it have me a fairly decent idea on various homeschooling methods and things to consider before you decide on a course. The author does make her favoritism toward a method known as "unschooling" well known, showing a bias on the method in my opinion. That one nitpick aside, it is an interesting and informative read if homeschooling is a subject you'd like to learn more about.

On a side note: There are also "letters" through out the book from parents of homeschoolers. They discuss their daily routines and the decisions and consequences their actions have had on their lives. Some are pretty decent and uplifting. A few, however, I found a bit disturbing by the parents opinions on various subjects. It was as if some of the parents took the subject of the state guidelines and other aspects as a joke (whether or not they are are aside from the point) but their disrespect for the rules that allow them to homeschool was a bit troublesome.

[Bobbie Grob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent guide for those who are thinking of homeschooling. It is a bit out of date, having been published in the late 90's, but the answers still hold true. The author doesn't try to point the reader in any direction, but instead offers information on all the different directions so that the reader can pick and choose and then pick and choose again if necessary.

Unless you have children that run the gamut of ages between K - 12, this is probably not a book you will read cover to cover. Rather, it will be a reference book that you read most of when you pick it up and then put it away to take it out as needed.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good primer for home-schooling theories, how-to's, and pep talks to reassure readers through the parental anxieties, doubting relatives, and obnoxious others who don't get it. This is a great reference book, with lists of great references: other books to read, magazines, lists to join, support groups, etc. I took some notes and was inspired to plan more field trips to local business plants, theatre and ballet dress rehearsals, and even nursing homes. Or, maybe I'll just visit Grandma more and teach my kids how to interact with older generations...

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still like the Complete Guide to Homeschooling, but this one is good in different ways. I'm not really fond of it's bias toward unschooling, but that's a personal choice. It has a few other things I wasn't impressed with, but it had some things that the other book didn't have, like pages & pages listing colleges that have accepted homeschoolers, lots of internet & otherwise resources, etc. I'd use the Complete Guide for setting up & this one for additional resources, if I had the option.

[Mary Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read about homeschooling. I found it helpful in becoming aware of what I need to consider when deciding if homeschooling is really for my family, and what approach would be the most affective. The book is a bit outdated (brought to my attention especially when naming AOL as a viable connection option) but I think some of the resources listed by the author will still be helpful as I continue my research into homeschooling.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a review of a lot of things I've already read. Perhaps if I'd read it first, I would have liked it more. However, it was still helpful to me as a brand-new home-educator, as I muddle my way through the beginning stages of this experience. I especially liked the appendices: lists of resources with short descriptions of each, including web sites.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good and thorough book on homeschooling, but I found it didn't add a lot to what I already had read in other books. It also has several sections that apply to the US reality only, and not to ours, which probably made me find it a bit less interesting than I might have.

[Jane H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was definitely a great beginner guide to homeschooling and raised some interesting questions and gave a wide range of information. A lot of it I'd already seen on blogs but I did read most of the sections. Quick and easy, and I did add some notes into my files.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great introduction to homeschooling. Author is biased about her preferred method of homeschooling; however, that bias does not interfere with her ability to explain key concepts regarding homeschooling.

[Brittanyshapiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seemed a bit dated since it was published in 1997. It was a good first book to read on the subject. I enjoyed reading the examples given by some homeschooling families.

[Bunga Petualang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in order to nurture my children. I learned so many practical things in educating children at home.

I hope my children found learning is interesting and fun. Enjoy your reading!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had lots of information about homeschooling. it is great for someone trying to decide if they want to teach their children at home and what information you will need.

[Karyn Tripp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thinking about homeschooling my kids. This book gave some really great resources. I kept a notebook handy while reading. I especially enjoyed the personal accounts.

[Deanna Sutter · Rating 2 out of 5]

This probably would have been more useful to me if I would have read it 5 years ago when I started.

[Kyra · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good first book for those investigating homeschooling.

[Sonja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't rock my world, but good. Practical. Pretty common sense.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A helpful introduction to homeschooling especially for someone is clueless as where to start!

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not one of my favorite homeschooling books, but I still found it very useful.

[Amylouise Adira · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read. I gobbled it up in a couple of days. Covers the whole spectrum with resources so the reader can choose where to delve for greater detail. Definitely recommend.

[Heather Tabares · Rating 1 out of 5]

A big bore. Not much info you wouldn't already have known or would have considered.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Answers a lot of basic homeschool questions