Reading Vicki Caruana’s books is like sitting down over a cup of coffee with a trusted, respected friend. A new home schooler would particularly benefit from her book, The ABCs of Homeschooling (Crossway 2001). She takes us through the journey of first checking our own attitudes and assumptions. The early chapters encourage us to ask if homeschooling is right for our family, help us to articulate why we should do it, how long to do it, how to respond to others about our choice and how to deal with our own doubts. An especially helpful feature of this book is the list of questions at the end of each chapter. Taking the time to actually answer these questions will help plot a course for success.

The middle section of this book is devoted to homeschooling basics, such as rules, planning, teaching and organizing. The last section is headed Character and Cooperation, and talks about the end result of our efforts and some of the ways we can engage others in this journey, such as co-ops, umbrella schools, and home-school partnerships.

If you are on the fence about homeschooling, this book will give you a gentle, knowledgeable, persuasive nudge.

The Organized Home Schooler (Crossway 2001) is a goldmine of encouragement and practical ideas to help get your homeschool in order. I figure this lady must be pretty organized because two of her books were published in the same year! I appreciated the fact that Vicki didn’t just say, “You should do such and such,” but also helps us to organize our own thinking about how we look at work areas, paperwork, and more. She recognizes that every family and each situation is unique and encourages us to look for solutions that will work in our situation. This book is thought-provoking and action inspiring!



-- Product Review by: Christine Field, Senior Correspondent, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine