Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

As far as homeschool reference guides go, this is the best I've seen. Its almost 400 pages cover scads of homeschooling issues: deciding to homeschool, choosing curriculum, organizing and planning, preventing burnout, what to teach-when and how, homeschooling teens, using computers in homeschooling, solutions to common problems, assessing progress, and a resource guide. What more could you ask for?

Ms. Bell's humor is delightfully interspersed throughout her "Ultimate Guide". She is unabashedly Christian, which I respect, although I don't share her religious views. Our different perspectives cast no shadow on the terrific value offered for all homeschoolers within the pages of her guide.

I ordered this book from the library, not knowing that the author was a devout Christian. All the more better! My husband and I were looking for a Christian-based homeschooling guide and were more than happy to have found this book. Some negative reviews have been posted, however, I'm here to tell you they are quite unfounded and actually insulting to the book and author. The book is not "fundamentalist Christianity" as some reviewers have stated. Rather, the author has used wisdom from the Bible to instruct the reader. This is a very solid, informative book. Anyone wanting to teach their children a God-based homeschool curriculum would do well to purchase this book.

This book does everything the cover says it does. IT presents four learning styles to help you determine how to tailor your program to your particular child. It gives very practical guidelines for each subject, breaking down the age ranges into primary, elementary and jr hi/high school. I particularly liked the way she began the discussion of every subject with it's role in real life--"where are we headed". It gave a perspective to all the activities that followed that was global and helped me remember the end point to the whole process--life skills!

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand it gave alot of info on homeschooling--and that info was valueable. However, I wish I had known from the start that it is written from a Christian standpoint and that Christian ideology and curriculums would be recommended. As you may be able to tell I am not Christian. I have done a lot of homeschool research and have (up until now) been very happy with the books written----all have identified themselves as Christian if that is the "bent" of their information/book. She does not (at least not anywhere I see---the book title itself does not give me the impression that it will be written from a Christian Missionary approach--which it seems to be). I don't want to give the impression that the info in this book isn't good---it is. Very good. It is just that, if you are not Christian, a LARGE proportion of time is spent wading through the ideology. Also, many of the curriculums/books/etc. she recommends are Christian as well. I would have preferred a more well rounded approach to listing resources (while understanding that her focus is on Christian sources as she is Christian).

I liked her information on learning styles. It was interesting and really gave me a direction to go in with my "difficult" child. The separate sections on content areas are very good as well.

Overall a good book with lots of good info. However, if you are not Christian I recommend getting (in addition to this book) The Complete Home Learning Source Book. Ms. Rupp does an excellent job of listing numerous resources and points out which have religious overtones/context/etc. I think with both books you would really be "set".

Having read several of the reviews I was encouraged to buy this book as my first home schooling book. I found the book excellent and even though many of the resources are designed for the US market, it inspired me to look into what is available locally. I thought their CHESS idea was excellent, why not pool different parent talents in teaching! Even though it is published in 97 there were still quite a few resources on the net for kids, imagine what it is like now...it certainly will make home schooling a much more viable option to those in smaller countries where the home schooling market is just not big enough for the publishers to really focus on. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who would like a well balanced resource on what your in for ...time, money and knowledge wise

I am in the process of exploring homeschooling (among my reasons, religious, but that is not the only reason), and found this book to be full of excellent resources.

For those of you who are non-Christian, this book is NOT dripping with Christian references in every paragraph, as another reader stated; in fact, there are ENTIRE CHAPTERS where there is no mention of her beliefs. Perhaps view Mrs. Bell as a homeschooler who is a Christian. I consider myself a devout Christian who holds moderate views, and at times was a little uncomfortable with her fundamentalist views; however, I commend her for standing by her beliefs.

I found the chapters on learning styles and library resources very encouraging (in fact, I was pumped up after reading all the resources that are available through the library!).

She does give recommendations for various books, videos/TV programs (including PBS, Discovery Channel, Learning Channel & A&E) and software -- both Christian and secular (although her reliance on Bob Jones University is a little disturbing). There are plenty of recommendations for resources that any family, regardless of religious beliefs, can use. She also gives good tips on weeding out the junk from the truly good stuff as well as resources for obtaining used curriculium.

This is a book that any prospective homeschooler can use, as there are several bases that any family needs, regardless of beliefs:
- Setting goals for your children (what is the ultimate outcome that you want for your child?)
- Determining whether homeschooling is right for your family (and it just isn't based on religious beliefs -- for example, if only one spouse supports it, or if your marriage is shaky, you may want to not do it)
- Determining your annual homeschooling budget
- Determining your child's learning style
- Preventing burnout
- Developing a curriculum/schedule
- Assessing progress

There are also paragraphs that reflect her beliefs that you could paraphrase to reflect yours. Here is an example from page 179:

"Besides that, becoming a team player is an important skill in the workplace and the church. Without this training, it is easy to produce selfish children who don't understand that God has given them gifts and talents to use for the mutual benefit of the body of Christ, not for their own glory or self-gratification."

Can be paraphrased to...

"Besides that, becoming a team player is an important skill in the workplace and other areas of life. Without this training, it is easy to produce selfish children who don't understand that they have been given gifts and talents to use for the mutual benefit of society, not for their own glory or self-gratification." Not too many changes, are there?

I got this book along with Linda Dobson's "First Year of Homeschooling," and combined, are an excellent resource.

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!!!!

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!

We have finally made the decision to homeschool and thanks to Debra Bell, we feel great about it. She lists the pros and cons in an easy-to-read format. Mrs. Bell doesn't hide the scary issues of homeschooling, just to make sure you understand exactly what you're getting into. The up-side of this issue is put in an upbeat and uplifting format that answers any and all questions you might have concerning homeschooling. Mrs. Bell has written chapters on reasons to choose homeschooling, religious convictions, curriculum, finding the learning habits of your children, dealing with state legal issues, building a support group and much more. I recommend this book to anyone who is deciding whether or not to homeschool. It has truly been a blessing for us find this book at the beginning of our "homeschool" adventure

I wish someone had told me about this book a year ago. WE just finished our first year of homeschooling and I found this book at the library. It is a well organized book which I love. It is very clear and give wonderful information on every aspect of homeschooling. Very easy to skip around and get info on anything you need out of the book. It is one I would recommend to anyone considering homeschooling or veteran homeschoolers as well! The best all around homeschooling resource out there for the christian family.