[.ca] Homeschooling: The Early Years: Your Complete Guide to ... (ISBN 0761520287)

From Amazon.com:
Nothing beats seeking the voice of experience if you want to join the estimated 1 to 3 million parents who teach their children at home. Here's a guide that comes direct from the experts: a mother of two homeschooled, now-grown children and 83 homeschooling families she surveyed. Their stories make reading this starter kit on teaching ages 3 to 7 worthwhile. For those ready to take on what author Linda Dobson calls "a natural extension of being a good parent," the manual provides at-a-glance boxes of insightful anecdotes called "How We Did It," as well as lists at the end of each chapter of helpful books, magazines, Web sites, software, and computer message boards that connect homeschooling households. The straightforward writing covers the basics on reading, writing, and math; different teaching approaches; organizing a curriculum; even how to deal with skeptical relatives and spouses. There are no specifics on each states' homeschooling requirements, which vary widely. But as a primer for parents starting out, the book serves as a confidence builder and an inspiring how-to guide. --Jodi Mailander Farrell

Don't bother with this one.:
I was all excited to get Linda Dobson's books. This, as well as most of the others, have been a disappointment. I hardly ever refer to them now. They weren't all that helpful at all. Her books (including this one) lack "meat" and are way too vague. I suppose it's a good, VERY basic, rather shallow introduction. But that's about it. The main thing that I did not appreciate about the author is her heavy unschooling bias. Not everyone is into unschooling. To the new homeschooler, that can be a real turn-off.

a great early resource for beginning homeschoolers:
This book is subtitled "Your Complete Guide to Successfully Homeschooling the 3- to 8-Year-Old Child". It is a little less than that, since it does not contain information about specific knowledge your youngster "needs" to acquire (for that information, see The Core Knowledge series by E.D. Hirsch), but it is a marvelous book to impart the basics and instill in you a sense of confidence and enthusiasm regarding the adventure you are about to begin! Dobson begins with a survey of 66 homeschooling parents and presents continuum information about eight variables: motivation for homeschooling, financial expenditures, level of structuredness, assessment technique, technology use, physical space, parental involvement and outside assistance. I found this interesting just to see what others were doing and, though not reported in great detail, I thought it was a promising way to begin the book. Chapters include information on getting ready to homeschool, curriculum options, teaching reading, teaching writing, teaching arithmetic, teaching other subjects, tailoring your approach to your family, resources, computers, accommodating younger learners, running a household (and sustaining a marriage) while you homeschool, part-time homeschooling, dealing with naysayers and enjoying the experience. Each chapter ends with an outline of the major points and a list of resources, which may include books, programs, magazines, catalogues, web sites or organizations. Chapters include practical advice as well as a series of personal anecdotes from the survey respondents called "How We Did It" with specific ideas that might be helpful. It would be simplistic to say that much of the book is cheerleading, as the author spends a lot of time telling you why this is a good idea, the benefits of your choice, and the positive effects this decision will have on your child(ren). But considering how much grief you will probably get from relatives and acquaintances, someone to cheer you on isn't such a bad thing. You won't rely on this volume for specifics, but it is inspirational and contains a lot of information about where to find more specifics. I found this book very helpful.

Full of Information:
This book is full of information. It has stories from other families who homeschool about how they handled various situation. It has resources and confidence boosters and ideas. I think this would be a great book for those who are just starting out in homeschooling and have a lot of questions about homeschooling the younger children. Another book I would suggest would be the The Big Book of Home Learning by Mary Pride. My only problem with this book was that I thought I'd get more along the line of checklists of what your child should know when. Or more importanly what order some of these important skills should be taught in; for example, children who know their shapes tend to do well with recognizing letters which reads to reading. I thought this book was lacking in this type of important information. In fact, many of the books I have been reading as I begin homeschooling my preschool child are lacking in this information. If anyone has any suggestions of where I can find that info, email me. If I were just starting to homeschool and I had a young child at home I suggest you consider buying this book.

A Great Jumping Off Point:
This book was the first book I picked up on homeschooling and was an excellent place to start. It has a variety of information on the specifics of homeschooling including some applied ideas. However, it also is chock full of resources and destinations to help guide your journey. It's a great choice for someone who is trying to make the decision about homeschooling. It offers tips on how to boost your own confidence as a homeschooling parent, and even what to do in an "emergency" when you have suddenly withdrawn your child from a school setting. It's light on philosophy which I found refreshing. In other words it doesn't emphasize religious OR secular based learning. It even offers tips on convincing your parents or in-laws that homeschooling is a good choice for you. I highly recommend it!

A Fantastic Resource and A Great Inspiration!:
This is not yet another mere "your child should 'x' at 'y' age" handbook focusing on academics, but a traveler's guide to creating a family's own itinerary for the homeschooling journey. It offers an expansive view of the home education landscape, with mountains of ideas and personal experiences contributed by fellow explorers, wellsprings of inspiration, and stockpiles of resources. Like Linda Dobson's other books, "Homeschooling: The Early Years" takes parents outside the box of "school at home" thinking, encouraging families to use their whole world as a "classroom" and to recognize that learning happens all the time-even when not regimented according to grade level or chopped into subject areas. In addition, the book instills confidence in parents of children who don't "measure up" to grade level marks by providing lively pictures of children who developed at their own pace and turned out ok anyway. These facets can help parents find an individualized homeschooling style that is relaxed and enjoyable for the whole family. What could be better than that? The author invites readers to leaf through homeschooling's goodie basket, to taste the benefits that lie beyond academic measures. These include the luxury of spending "extra" time exploring areas of interest, homeschooling's power to strengthen the family bond and instill positive socialization and its flexibility in meeting the needs of any schedule or lifestyle, and the joy and pleasure of homeschooling while cuddling together in your jammies. "Early Years" maps a remarkably wide territory for one modest book. It covers how to tune into your child's unique learning needs, incorporating learning with young children's natural tendencies, and overcoming fears and doubts. Included in this volume are money-saving ideas, including discovering educational materials you already have at home; homeschoolers' favorite software, helping you make good choices from among the tremendous number of materials available; in-depth information on the 3 R's; information on a variety of homeschooling methods; resources, such as periodicals, other books, Web sites and more; help for parents of special needs children, single parents, ways to include younger siblings; organizing; and even "part-time homeschooling" as a supplement to school. Having homeschooled my now 13 year-old and 10 year-old children their whole lives, I believe "Homeschooling: The Early Years" is a fantastic resource, an inspiration, and even a quiet revolution. This book helps parents learn to trust themselves and their own perceptions, rather than always looking to "experts," because nobody knows a child better than does the parent-and that may be the most important homeschooling idea of all.