Homeschool Textbooks - Information, Pros, and Cons

Homeschool textbooks have been around since the beginning of homeschooling although there are many more books available now than when homeschooling first began. Since there are so many to choose from it can be difficult to know which textbooks or resources to choose.

Features of homeschool textbooks and why parents think they need them:

1. They want to be sure to “get it all done” and they believe that textbooks will accomplish that goal. Since public schools use textbooks, homeschoolers think that they need to use them too.

2. They think that they are not qualified to teach their children and want someone or something to guide them through what they should say and do.

3. Textbooks help you stay on track with your homeschool year. If you follow a textbook, you know how far you have come and how far you still have to go. If you get to the middle of the school year and find that your child is not half way through their books, you know that they have some catching up to do.

The only thing you need to watch with textbooks is that people who use them have a higher burnout rate for homeschooling. Sometimes the material in a textbook can become boring and difficult to finish, not to mention the fact that children might not retain what they read. If you use textbooks and find that the material is too difficult or too easy or doesn't fit your child's learning style, you either need to adapt the curriculum or plod through the year and finish the book.

If you vary the teaching methods you use, you might be able to avoid burnout if your child shows signs of struggle. Children who like workbooks will probably enjoy sitting and filling them out for and hour or more a day. Children who are hands-on learners, may struggle. In this case, you can find ways to reinforce the material in the textbook without having to read the text and answer the questions.

Some examples of reinforcing the material you read in a textbook would include:

• Act out the war or period of history that you are studying.
• Take field trips related to the material you are reading.
• Draw pictures or do art projects related to the text.
• Do experiments or find hands-on activities about what you are reading.
• Find games, virtual tours, activities, and information on the Internet to reinforce what you are reading. 

Resources can be purchased from other families at www.homeschoolclassifieds.com