Customer Reviews

The Big Book of Home Learning : Preschool and Elementary (vol. 2)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Mary Pride does a fantastic job with this series. She reviews all the products so thoroughly. After having read MANY homeschooling books for over two years, this is by far the best. As a homeschooling parent of 11 or so children, she definitely knows what she's talking about. I appreciate the fact that she does not have a bias towards unschooling, unlike SO many of the homeschooling books out there. She is truly fair and does not "bash" the packaged curriculums. She also is fair about unschooling.
My only wish is that she would be more thorough about specific learning styles and specific products to match learning styles. She does this to a certain extent, but it's really only a cursory glance. I wish she would go into more detail on that.
Other than that - this is one of those books that I refer to time and time again, with lots of Post-It Notes and highlighted stuff!

When I received my copy, I read it from cover to cover. I hightlighted what I liked. It is a great resource and I am sure that it will save me a lot of time, money and frustration. I, too, really trust Mrs. Pride's recommendations. She includes contact information, prices (many products can be gotten cheaper), and web sites. I did not give it 5 stars because some of the curriculum/products/books which interested me didn't make it into the book (they may be in another edition or volume). Also, Mrs. Pride wasn't the only reviewer. I didn't know any of the other reviewers and their reviews didn't feel the same (too"sugary" maybe?)-maybe it was that they almost always liked the product, and if Mrs. Pride has any reservations about a book, she lets you know. Overall, well worth the money, as is her Practical Homeschooling magazine.

This is a great resource for anyone who is considering homeschooling. There are suggested websites, reviews of curriculums with contact information provided. It was very inspirational to see the stories of people who have homeschooled and how successful their students were/are. Chock full of advice and suggestions and things to consider, this book is a wonderful resource.

As a homeschool parent, I do not begin a new school year without consulting this book. Mary Pride has done all of the hard work for you. She starts with Preschoolers in this book and takes you all the way to fifth grade. She lists every major subject and gives you a review of the many different curriculums avalible. She even lists the reviews alphabetically for you! I conduct an orientation program for new homeschoolers and I recommend all three volumes of "The Big Book of Home Learning" to every new homeschool parent that I talk to! Let's just hope that Mary Pride keeps producing these great resources.

This is a nice big, thick book that I checked out from the library as I ponder homeschooling my son. The first few chapters were moderately helpful, as many preschool and kindergarten curricula were reviewed, but to my frustration, only Christian curricula was explored. I'm a Christian, but I've been considering other curricula such as Oak Meadow, which only received a one-liner in this book. Also, I was hoping that the reviews would be organized by grade level, but it's not. It's organized by subject, which means I have to flip through this huge book, scanning for items that might be good for my son's age level. Who has time for that? I also didn't appreciate the condescending comment in the first chapter: "Plopping in front of the TV with your baby in your lap may be cozy, but it's not very instructive." Please! What Mom doesn't become so exhausted at some point during the day that all she can do is plop on the couch with the baby? As I said, this is an "ok" book, maybe something handy to have as a reference, but I'm sure there are better resources out there.

I understand that if you are homeschooling because of strong Christian beliefs and you do not want your child to fit in with mainstream society at all that this could be a helpful book. It could have been helpful to me, if I could have gotten passed some of the small-minded, bigoted comments that Pride had in some reviews. But comments like some in the science section literally turned my stomach. I felt ill that this was the viewpoint that people were teaching their children.

For instance: in the Science Curriculum chapter, there is a subsection labeled SQUIRMY SCIENCE that Pride obviously dislikes. These are the science kits like "terrariums with crickets and cockroaches, which will subsequently become food for the frogs or chameleons they intend to introduce." I thought - cool! My kid would love that! Her opinion? "It's not that Squirmy Science lessons aren't instructive. Dear me, no. The children learn a /great/ deal. They learn to handle creation disrespectfully, to both magnify life and death... and ignore it.... Plants grow or die in the laboratories to no purpose. Animals give birth and are eaten.... Scientific jargon is bloodless, loveless, uninvolved, irresponsible. You can do anything you want with "organisms" and "objects" or even... "clients" and "populations." Who cares what happens to an "organism"?" (Internal quotes are Pride's)

So I guess the triops that we've got hatching on the shelf right now are totally taboo. Oh, wait, they're prehistoric, so of course they're taboo. My favorite quote of all time: "Dinosaurs are a special subject. If you believe in frogs turning into princes, you will naturally want books and games that stress and evolutionary outlook. If not, you'll prefer creation science resources. If you haven't made up your mind one way or the other, the unbiased truth is that the creation science materials are much more interesting...and now you'll know where to get them!"

UNBIASED TRUTH??? Then follows a list of science resources from creationist publishers on dinosaurs. From what I can gather, the "Flood of Noah's day" wiped them out. Who knew?

That's just the science, which for anyone who is not planning on teaching creationist theory, this would be a problem. But Pride goes so far as to say that everyone should own their own business and no one should work for another (p355), investors are horrible for the country (p357, yuppie Wall Street investment bankers), and learning physical geography is a waste of time (p359).

If you are an isolationist/creationist, this is the book for you. If you would like you child to one day be able to go out in the wide world, attend college (which Pride deems unnecessary since all her children will have their own businesses before they leave the house), or interact with anyone in a positive manner who doesn't believe exactly as they do, I'd find something else.

Her reviews of everything are so skewed towards the creationist and isolationist ideals to be virtually useless without a huge filter for sorting through the biased muck.

I gave this two full stars, instead of one, because at least now I know what curriculums to stay away from. If she likes them, there's a good chance they would not work well for my family. I'm just glad I bought this second hand. 1, I didn't pay much for it, and 2, she didn't make anything off my purchase.

*note, I have the 1991 edition, no edition number listed but the cover is different from the pic on amazon.

This is a great book. Really worth getting.
The only wish I had was that she would go into greater detail with regards to specific learning styles and specific products. She only gives cursory glance at this.

If you can order books online, then you have greater resources available to you (via internet) than what this book offers. This book is essentially a list of OTHER books you can buy on home learning/schooling.

If there is anything "extra", it is the author's attempt to offer words of encouragement to would-be homeschooling parents, as quoted from page 18--"...mothering hormones make every woman a genius when it comes to keeping her baby happy, if she can keep away from those Madison Avenue types who keep urging us to "have it all" (meaning large paychecks, emaciated bodies, fancy hairdos, STDs, guilt, and heart attacks)."

There are numerous opinions offered along these lines. Maybe I'm sensitive, but I don't see how STDs could POSSIBLY merit a mention in a book of homeschooling, and makes me leery of other homeschooling books written by Mary Pride, and the editor/publisher of this book. For a mom who is simply looking for some great resources to start homeschooling her children so that they become well-educated, well-rounded, tolerant adults, this book could not be less helpful.

I enjoy Mary Pride's personality in her writing. If you do not like her Christian worldview, may have to overlook some things. This shouldn't distract from the helpfulness of the book. It is a nice place to look for ideas from an experienced homeschooler.

How anyone could write a negative feedback on Mary Pride's books are beyond me.
As a newbie homeschooler, this book has been a Godsend! It has every possible piece of information you could possibly want & answers every question you could possibly think of. Mary Pride has 2 or 3 degrees, has homeschooled her NINE children and is a pioneer for the homeschool movement. Who better than to get advice from?
There are hundreds and hundreds of curriculums, unit studies, homeschool books, activities, & manipulatives. How could a newbie possibly buy and or research everything? There's no way. That is where The Big Book of Homeschooling comes in. It covers everything from reading to art appreciation to bible to math to keyboarding to physical education to engineering to the constitution! It goes on and on. I couldn't put the book down. For "the reader" who claims that she wishes it was by grade level: number 1, Pride's 1st book is for preschool/elementary, her second book is for the middle school years and the last one is for the high school years so it IS by age and as we all know, when you homeschool, grade level is non-existent basically. Grade levels were devised for the public schools. I teach my children without worrying about grade level! The other person who left a negative review obviously is too sensitive. Yes, Mary Pride tells it like it is, but isn't that what you want when you are researching something? I wouldn't want to read a homeschooling book that sugar coats EVERYTHING. How would I ever make a decision? I already know that EVERY curriculum isn't perfect. That's unrealistic. When you read Pride's books, just highlight what might interest you and then go back and decide what curriculum and ideas fit your budget, your child's learning style and what you want to accomplish. This book is a fantastic starting point! I highly recommend this book and all the others by Pride.