Great Books and Teacher/Parent Resources

There are so may great books that can really help shape the way we think, do marriage, parent, home-educate, and basically do life in general.  Reading is a great family activity that helps us grow, learn, and just experience many things, places, and time-periods.  Read at your own pace.  One chapter a night is sufficient and better then none.  Be sure to follow up with discussions that foster good thinking and understanding of the material read.  Don’t be afraid to share your experiences and growth, as developmentally appropriate, with your children.

Teacher/Parent Resources

1. “The Well Trained Mind” –A Guide to Classical Education at Home, By Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer –www.susanwisebauer.com Instruct your child from preschool through high school in all levels of reading, writing, history, geography, math, science, foreign languages, rhetoric, logic, art, music.  This priceless resource contains a plethora of book lists and curriculum suggestions.  A great resource, even if you’re not technically a classical home school.
2. “From Playpen to Podium” – Jeffrey L. Myers, Ph.D. is a leadership development coach and home-education father.  His training strategies have helped thousands of parents equip their children with positive social and communication skills, as well as leadership confidence.  www.noblebookstore.com
3. “Thomas Jefferson Education”, By Oliver Van DeMille , founder and president of George Wythe College.  He and his wife Rachel have eight children and apply these principles in their home-education.  www.gwc.edu
4. “The Seven Keys of Great Teaching” – Face to Face with Greatness Seminar Series by Oliver DeMille.  Do you want to raise leaders?  This is a great resource to incorporate into your home-education or any education.  It is a different approach to learning that will empower you to give your children and/or students a leadership education.  www.gwc.edu
5.   “Children of Character” by Bill and Marty Freeman – A great resource for parents that want to raise children of solid character, even if they are not home schooled.  Bill and Marty have seven children and have home schooled since 1986.  Bill served as the board of director for FPEA from 1998-2004.  www.thefreemans.org
6. “Parenting On Purpose” by Dr. Bob Barnes  (1) 101The Balance of Love and Discipline and (2) 201The Parent’s Training Wheel.  Dr. Bob Barnes is the executive director of Sheridan House Family Ministries.  He and his wife Rosemary live in Florida and have successfully raised their two children to be solid and responsible adults.  For other parenting and marriage resources visit: www.shfm.org.

Curriculum Resources

Spelling

1. “Excellence in Spelling – The Phonetic Zoo”: A Self-Teaching Spelling Program  By: James B. Webster and Andrew Pudewa, using ideas and material from the “Blended Sound-Sight Program of Learning” by A.G. Ingham, C.M.

2. Spelling Power –A well-known and effective sequential spelling program.

Writing/Grammar
The Institute for Excellence in Writing - “Writing Structure and Style”

 And “Student Intensive Writing” by Andrew Pudewa

 www.writing-edu.com

Communication

“From Playpen To Podium” and “Secrets of Great

Communicators”

      By Jeffrey L. Meyers, Ph.D.  noblepublishing.com
Vocabulary

“Vocabulary Cartoons” are mnemonics designed for learning new words.  The books have strong visual aids and are lots of fun.  The pictures help the child store the words and meanings in long-term memory.  www.vocabularycartoons.com

Reading

(The following three resources, when used together, make an effective beginning/emergent reading program.  This also works well as a remediation program for older children.)

1.     Reading Reflex- It’s not flashy or fancy, but is definitely effective for building strong readers.  ISBN 0-684-85367-1 Available at www.amazon.com and other book retailers. 

2.     Turbo Reader- an excellent, sequential, beginning to end, user-friendly reader.

3.     Explode The Code Series- sequential, simple and comprehensive

Organization

1. Managers of Their Home – by Steven and Teri Maxwell A well organized home-management system.  www.titus2.com
2. Edu-track- A computerized home school record keeping and lesson planning software.  This program keeps track of everything and is very user friendly.  Some of the features are:  lesson plans, unit studies, assignment sheets, book and movie logs, hour and grade tracking, progress reports, report cards, transcripts, awards and certificates, forms, Diplomas, and more.  www.Edu-Track.net.

Thinking and Reasoning Skills

“The Fallacy Detective” and “The Thinking Toolbox” By Nathaniel Bluedorn & Hans Bluedorn   The Bluedorn brothers have put together an awesome set of books to help your children and you see through propaganda, as well as, recognize bad reasoning.

Sites With Great Readers and a Few Family Favorites

1.   www.LifetimeBooksandGifts.com - For great books that put teaching character first. 
2. www.sonlight.com - offers great grade leveled language arts readers, with optional dictation and creative writing.  Check out the site, it is an education in itself and well worth the trip.
3. “Summer of the Monkeys”
4. “Where the Red Fern Grows”
5. “90 Minutes in Heaven”
6. “The Chronicles of Narnia”, By C.S. Lewis – All are great.
7. “Hinds Feet on High Places” Children’s Edition By: Hannah Hurnard
8. “Invitation To The Classics” Edited by: Louise Cowan and Os Guinness

Growing Up – and all the “stuff” that goes with it.

      1. “God’s Design For Sex” 

·         Book 1: “The Story of Me” (ages 3-5)

·         Book 2: “Before I Was Born” (ages 5-8)

·         Book 3: “What’s the Big Deal?  Why God Cares About Sex” (ages 8-11

·         Book 4: “Facing the Facts: The Truth About Sex and You” (ages 11-14) 

        The above are available from Focus on the Family, www.family.org or try www.focusonyourchild.org for other child rearing information and encouragement.

2. “The Princess and the Kiss” and “Life Lessons from The Princess and the Kiss” a companion guide. “The Squire and the Scroll” and “Life Lessons from The Squire and the Scroll” a companion guide.  By Jennie Bishop and Susan Henson.  Both are great resources for planting seeds of purity in the hearts of your children. www.ReviveOurHearts.com

3. “So You’re About to be a Teenager”, By Dennis and Barbara Rainey with Samuel Rainey and Rebecca Rainey.

     www.thomasnelson.com  or www.familylife.com

Devotions

There are lots of great devotions out there.  Here are just a few that take about 10 minutes to do.  These are great for a quick devotion in a pinch or as a regular before bedtime.

1.      “ Just For Kids” Series:  Forgiveness, Honesty, Patience, and Kindness are a few in this series.   www.familychristian.com

2.      “For Kids Only” Series   We found them at Family Christian Book Store.

www.familychristian.com 

3.      “My Utmost For His Highest” By Oswald Chambers There is also an updated

edition for that works well for pre-teens and teens.  We read the regular version the updated and ourselves with our kids each day, the days in both correlate.