Product Review: The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling

The title says it all.

This amazing book from Apologia Press is The ULTIMATE Guide to Homeschooling.

The author, Debra Bell, covers a wide range of homeschool-related topics and answers just about any question a potential or current homeschooler could have.

Here is what you will find inside:

• Homeschooling: Is it for you?
• Choosing a Curriculum
• Organization and Planning
• Preventing Burnout
• What to Teach- When and How
• Homeschooling Teens
• Computers in the Homeschool
• Creative Solutions
• Measuring Your Success
• Resource Guide
  
  

What I Thought
This is an all-inclusive book that I could ramble on about all day. So… to keep you from having to read a War-and-Peace-sized review, I chose the chapters that cover what I consider to be my strength as a homeschool teacher (Organization and Planning) and the section that covers what I consider my greatest weakness (Preventing Burnout).

The chapters on Organization and Planning contains step-by-step instructions on setting goals and writing objectives. It was like Ms. Bell took everything I learned in 3 years of teachers' college and condensed it into thirty fluff-free pages. This section is chocked full of valuable advice to help you set a good course for your school year. She also includes a number of additional resources to help you find the materials you need and a section on homeschool philosophies to help you find a way of "doing" school that works for your family.

For the section on burnout, let me just say Hello, my name is Dawn, and I'm an overachieving perfectionist. Ms. Bell offers valuable insight for homeschooling moms like me. She offers suggestions from her experience and seems to know us type A's pretty well. She writes about raising independent, responsible learners, field trips, sharing the load (something I don't do well), and getting plugged into a support group. I have made a few changes in my approach per her advice and will let you know how things go in later posts.

I also intend to delve into the section on Teens soon. I am not there yet, but the time is quickly approaching and am pleased to have such an invaluable resource to guide me. Michael and I are particularly interested in the section on college from home.

I give The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling two thumbs up and highly recommend it. You can purchase a copy of The Ultimate Guide from Apologia for $20.

I received one copy of The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling for free in order to complete this review. I have received no other compensation and have provided my honest opinion.

For more reviews of this book, please visit the TOS Homeschool Crew blog.