The Best Books for Homeschool Moms Just Starting Out

When you finally make the decision to homeschool, it’s time to move forward and start the research and preparation phase. Today I’m sharing my very favorite, very best books for homeschool moms who are just getting started. These are the books I have loved, worn thin, and recommended since I began my own homeschool mom journey fourteen years ago. They are the cream of the crop, and the books that can help you find your own path in homeschooling.

The Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola is one of the most encouraging and exciting homeschool books ever written. In the book, Karen walks you through what the Charlotte Mason method looks like and what the philosophies of this method are. You will find many gems of information, encouragement, and ideas to use in your homeschool no matter which method of homeschooling you choose. I’ve read this book through cover-to-cover several times and still come back to it for reference or encouragement to stay the course.

The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer will inspire you to work harder and do more in your homeschool. Ms. Bauer will teach you how to implement the Classical Method of homeschooling with great detail. The classical method places a heavy emphasis on rigorous academics, an early introduction of foreign language with a goal of mastering several, and a chronologically-based approached to history. This book remains our point of reference when discussing whether or not to choose Latin as a foreign language, and is one that continues to inspire me even though we are not technically classical homeschoolers.

The Big Book of Home Learning by Mary Pride is out of print now, but is what I pored over in so much detail before we started homeschooling that by the time we reached year two it was in shreds and had to be replaced. It is a three-volume series. I had all three. In these books Mary goes through each and every available curriculum and extra-curricular product available to homeschoolers and provides a detailed review.

I used to think I had read so many of these reviews over and over that I could tell when Ms. Pride didn’t like a product even though on the surface she appeared to love everything. The bottom line is – this three book series includes a volume that will help explain all the methods of homeschooling which has been re-published as Mary Pride’s Complete Guide to Getting Started in Homeschooling. It doesn’t have the reviews in it – but the information about homeschooling is incredible.

A Mom Just Like You by Vicki Farris and Jayme Farris Metzgar came into my possession when my oldest was eight and we had several years of homeschooling under our belts. It became an instant favorite – and continues to remind me that our homeschool does not have to be perfect, our day needn’t start at 8:00 a.m. after a freshly-cooked breakfast, and our children can and will thrive. Two years after reading this book, we were privileged to attend church with this family (including ten grown children) for several years. They are real, honest, and live what they claim. And knowing that, the book will encourage you even more.

There you have it – my best books for homeschool moms starting out list – the best of the best and the ones I would buy again in a heartbeat. In fact – I’ve replaced two of these books already!

And now . . .