The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling (3rd Edition) (ISBN 1400305667)

Ought to have a warning label.:
All homeschool books that are hardcore Christian need a warning label - right on the front cover and probably on every page too. Meaningful church involvement is a necessary ingredient for homeschool success? I have to have a biblical conviction that God has called me to homeschool? I guess I have to forget about homeschooling then, since neither of those apply to me. Then she gets into curriculum and tells you to save yourself some time and settle on a traditional curriculum (if I wanted a traditional curriculum I might as well leave my kid in public school) designed for Christian or public school use. That's great if you want a traditional curriculum. But there are FAR more curricula out there than the Christian and traditional curricula she suggests. And a great many kids have been successfully homeschooled using other than the "traditional" method. Seems like she could at least have mentioned that fact. On the last page I read before I could read no more, (which was about a third of the way in), she notes that instead of attempting to meet any state-mandated objectives, one should strive to realize God-given directives. However let me warn you - if your state requires certain criteria such as standardized testing that you fail to do since it was not a divine directive, be sure to get a lawyer because the state will take you to court. If she had only titled this book The Ultimate Guide to Christian Homeschooling, I think it would have been great. All of us non-Christians would have avoided it and Christian homeschoolers would probably get a lot out of it. There is a tremendous amount of information in it that is of value - if you approach it from a hardcore Christian point of view. But if you DO NOT believe (as I DO NOT) that children are in desperate need of training if they are to grow up to bow their knee to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, then give this book a pass.

"Chalk"-full of information:
While it is true that Mrs. Bell writes her book from her Christian perspective, everyone who is interested in homeschooling can get loads of valuable information from this book. She discloses early on that she will be speaking with a Christian voice and background so with that in mind it seems a pity to skip this well written resource. Two thumbs up! Love the resource guide and all of the fantastic further reading suggestions!

Don't know where to begin? Begin HERE!:
I would give this book 100 stars if I could. Like another reviewer, I found this book at my library (quite accidentally) and ended up loving it so much that I am now here to get a copy for my own home library. If you pass up on this book because of all the hype about it being geared toward a Christian audience, then you will be doing yourself a HUGE disservice. Ms. Bell gives incredible advice to rookie homeschoolers like me that don't have a clue as to where to start ..... no matter what your religious background or beliefs. I am pulling my kids out of a traditional private Christian school because my son is just not able to keep up with the rest of the class. He is very bright and inquisitive, however, and I have been banging my head on little school desks for several years pleading with his teachers that there is nothing wrong with him other than they are not teaching him the way he learns! They all sort of look at me with that look of pitiful sympathy in their eyes though and just keep telling me they will keep him and us in their prayers. Prayers are great but he needs to be educated HIS way in order to achieve his full God-given potential. He has also been labelled with this decade's favorite dumping diagnosis of PDD-NOS (autistm spectrum disorder) with a touch of A.D.D. He is, however, what the doctors and other experts have labelled "high functioning." My kid is very smart and inquisitive and traditional schools were all but going to kill that spirit in him by labelling him in this way and basically giving up on him. I truly believe that, given the chance, the sky is the limit for him and this book enhanced that thinking beautifully. The chapter on finding out your child's learning style is worth the price of the book alone. I was actually jumping for joy and yelling at the book .... "YES, YES! Someone actually understands what I have been trying to tell my son's teachers all this time!" THANK YOU Ms. Bell!!!!

Thinking of homeschooling? Read this book:
I was given this book by a friend who already homeschools. I read it in a week while on vacation at the beach and loved it. It was very informative, answered a lot of my quesitons and was very easy to read. She packs it full of web links, references and websites to go check up on and other books to read. I would definitely recommend it if you are thinking about the homeschool adventure. Other books I recommend are "The first year of homeschooling" and "Christian Unschooling" for other approaches.

Yes, you can!:
I love this book and it will always hold a special place in my heart. I just learned Mrs Bell passed away a while back. Thank goodness her book is still in print. This book convinced me I could do what I knew was the best for my kids. It's a bit overwhelming at times, but that's expected for someone so new to the homeschooling world. I read Lisa Welch's introductory book before and I'd recommend other mother's considering homeschooling to do the same. God bless you for serving your family as God intended.