[.ca] Homeschool Open House: Interviews With 55 Homeschooling ... (ISBN 0965130312)

Just what I needed...:
Having decided to homeschool but needing a pep-talk, I chose this book because I wanted to know about the day-to-day of what homeschool life was like. This book was exactly the thing because it's like being a fly on the wall in 55 homes. The things I took away from it are: (1) homeschooling, however you do it, is as much work as you think it will be so get ready, and (2) there are infinite ways to homeschool so go ahead and craft a lifestyle that is right for your family-- your kids will learn and thrive even if you don't do it exactly like the curriculum specifies. A very inspiring, very useful, very truthful book. Buy it and recommend it to your friends!

getting a glimpse:
If you're considering homeschooling, but have no idea how it might work on a daily basis, take a look at Homeschool Open House and Patchwork of Days. Even though I had a hard time relating to the families who chose homeschooling because of religious reasons (many of the featured families), I enjoyed their honest accounts of daily life. Both books give a great look into routines, philosophies, success and failures and, in Open House, how homeschooling has fared for them over the years. I especially enjoyed the accounts of non-American familes and Nancy Lande's family.

The two faces of homeschooling:
As a homeschooling parent myself, I devour books on homeschooling. The idea of looking into a homeschooling day for many different families attracted me to this book. Some of the families are wonderful, showing the sacrifice and love that is involved in homeschooling. The children are thriving in a wonderfully rich cultural environment. Other families disturbed me, especially some of the unschooling ones. Their leave-and-let-bloom attitude looked to me as bordering on educational neglect. I saw mothers more worried about chores than about math. I saw kids more worried about their next TV show and with little structure. I saw too many hours gone by with little to account for. The parent that used the TV show WISHBONE to jot it down on her journal as having done "American Indian Legends" with her kids is blatantly disguising her children's educational experience. This book is a wonderful introduction to the homeschooling lifestyle but it can also be a powerful weapon for those in the educational establishment (myself as a teacher included) who are gearing their claws for attacking homeschooling. On the average, homeschooling children perform above their otherwise schooled counterparts but we also know that there must be exceptions. The book was interesting but it disturbed me as well.

Revealing, insightful and thought-provoking:
This is a superb book for three groups of people: Anyone who's THINKING about homeschooling, anyone who is ALREADY homeschooling and anyone who wants to KNOW more about it. It gives a detailed look at 55 very different families who homeschool. The families have VERY different approaches. The author doesn't try to espouse one particular technique, rather, she lets the viewer see the realities of how homeschooling looks with the individual overlays of each unique home life. This is not sanitized; it's a honest view of how different families have made it work or are struggling to make it work. The author is not judgemental about the vast differences that occur among families, and she includes more than just the standard "conservative" perspective on the subject. Homeschooling is NOT for everyone and this book helps readers determine whether they're cut out for it, or gives new ways of handling challenges. The author does ask some penetrating questions in the first few chapters. The book is full of innovative ideas and specific techniques from families all over the world who share their hard-earned 'secrets' to the thorny problems that arise. I found it compelling and think this is a 'must read'.

Even better than the first...:
I'll keep it simple...if you liked Homeschooling:A Patchwork of Days, you will at least like, if not love, Homeschool Open House. Not only does it do a five year follow-up on the original homeschooling families, but it has interviews with many more homeschooling families, from Alaska to Zimbabwe, some with one child, others with seven. I was inspired by some families, while I cringed at some of the unschoolers' choices. I am certainly looking forward to the next five-year follow up!