10 Books Every Homeschool Parent Should Read

Homeschooling In The North Woods: a homeschooling podcast

With so many books for homeschool parents out there, which ones are worth your time to read? Since we know that your time is limited, we have rounded up our top 10 picks so you don’t have to! Psst… ENTER GIVEAWAY BELOW!!! From homeschool and educational theory, to parenting, sibling, and family dynamics, we are sure that you one of these books will be your new favourite. (this post may contain affiliate links, using this links does not cost you anything extra but does help support the podcast. Please read full disclosure policy)

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Here Are The 10 Books Every Homeschool Parent Should Read

Hold on to Your Kids by Dr. Gordon Neufeld & Dr. Gabor Mate – GET IT HERE

In this phenomenal parenting book Dr. Neufeld explains how to keep your children looking to you for guidance as they grow. Using attachment principals he encourages parents to “connect and then direct” and to be the “soft place to fall” in the child’s life. Explaining the concept of “peer orientation”, Dr.Neufeld teaches parents how providing a proper hierarchy in the home leads to more security, and warmth in the family home.

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber & Elaine Malish – GET IT HERE

In this bestselling book by Adele Faber & Elaine Malish parents will learn practical, and innovative ways to solve common problems that happen between siblings. Sprinkled with real world scenarios, provided by real parents, How To Talk explains exactly the steps to take in order to regain harmony in the family.

Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Education by John Taylor Gatto – GET IT HERE

Highly praised as one of the must reads for parents who choose to home educate, Dumbing Us Down, is a collection of essays that explains how public school is failing our children. Many of the current issues surrounding the school system are discussed in this thought provoking book. Over 100,000 copies have been printed.

Peaceful Parent, Happy Siblings by Dr. Laura Markham – GET IT HERE

From the author at AHA Parenting, Dr. Markham speaks to parents on how to teach their children healthy emotional self-management and conflict resolution skills. This helps your kids to work things out together, get their own needs met, all while respecting the needs of others. Dr, Markham’s goal is for parents to help their children develop a close lifelong sibling bond, as well as acquire the skills that they need to live a life with healthy relationships at work, with friends and family.

Punished by Rewards by Alfie Khon – GET IT HERE

Drawing on a wealth of psychological research, Alfie Kohn points the way to a more successful strategy based on working with people instead of doing things to them. “Do rewards motivate people?” asks Kohn. “Yes. They motivate people to get rewards.” Teaching educators about intrinsic learning and how to get children motivated to learn, Khon takes a progressive approach to education that is relevant for both school teachers and home educators.

The Whole Brain Child by Dr. Dan Seigel – GET IT HERE

“In this pioneering, practical book, Daniel J. Siegel, neuropsychiatrist and author of the bestselling Mindsight, and parenting expert Tina Payne Bryson demystify the meltdowns and aggravation, explaining the new science of how a child’s brain is wired and how it matures. The “upstairs brain,” which makes decisions and balances emotions, is under construction until the mid-twenties. And especially in young children, the right brain and its emotions tend to rule over the logic of the left brain. No wonder kids can seem—and feel—so out of control. By applying these discoveries to everyday parenting, you can turn any outburst, argument, or fear into a chance to integrate your child’s brain and foster vital growth.” ~ Goodreads

The Gardener and the Carpenter by Alison Gopnik – GET IT HERE

“Drawing on the study of human evolution and her own cutting-edge scientific research into how children learn, Gopnik shows that although caring for children is profoundly important, it is not a matter of shaping them to turn out a particular way. Children are designed to be messy and unpredictable, playful and imaginative, and to be very different both from their parents and from each other. The variability and flexibility of childhood lets them innovate, create, and survive in an unpredictable world. “Parenting” won’t make children learn—but caring parents let children learn by creating a secure, loving environment.” ~ Goodreads

The Element BY Dr. Ken Robinson – GET IT HERE

Finding out what drives you as a person is essential for how you learn, and what you want to do as an adult. Dr. Ken Robinson the mind behind the TED Talk – Do Schools Kill Creativity, looks at the conditions that enable us to find ourselves in this excellent book. Not everyone fits into the square peg, and in this book the outliers are celebrated and used as examples of real life success outside of the conventional school system.

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder BY Richard Louv – GET IT HERE

“In this groundbreaking new work, child advocacy expert Richard Louv directly links the lack of nature in the lives of today’s wired generation—he calls it nature deficit—to some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as rises in obesity, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and depression. Some startling facts: By the 1990s the radius around the home where children were allowed to roam on their own had shrunk to a ninth of what it had been in 1970. Today, average eight-year-olds are better able to identify cartoon characters than native species, such as beetles and oak trees, in their own community. The rate at which doctors prescribe antidepressants to children has doubled in the last five years, and recent studies show that too much computer use spells trouble for the developing mind.” ~ Goodreads

Teach Your Own: The John Holt Book of Homeschooling BY John Holt & Pat Farenga -GET IT HERE.

Commonly referred to as the book for homeschool parents, this is a must read for all homeschooling parents. “Rather than proposing that parents turn their homes into miniature schools, Holt and Farenga demonstrate how ordinary parents can help children grow as social, active learners. Chapters on living with children, “serious play,” children and work, and learning difficulties will be of interest to all parents, whether home schooling or not, as well as to teachers.” ~ Goodreads

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Heard On This Episode

“So even if you don’t have all the answers, just listening to your kids and being able to support them and ask the right questions to make them feel like there is a secure relationship there will make them less likely to become what he calls peer oriented, because you want them to be parent oriented.” ~ Alisha

“For a lot of I think, that’s the end goal. [To] have great relationships with our kids, and for our kids to have great relationships with their siblings. As a family unit to just be a really strong family unit. At least for us that is why we homeschool. I think that’s the end game.” ~ Amanda

“Sometimes we feel that we can shape a child in the way that we want to, and sometimes that doesn’t happen.” ~ Alisha

“We just started a family nature journal. A 11 X 14 sketch pad book, and then we all draw in it together. Just on one page. Whatever that page is that day. And then everybody {draws]. The two year old just scribbles. The 5 year old tries to draw stuff, and then I sketch out whatever it is. It’s a family thing. And we are pretty excited about it.” ~ Amanda

Resources and Show Notes

Neufeld’s Videos on YouTube AHA Parenting Unconditional Parenting Happiest Toddler on the Block Do Schools Kill Creativity