Best Resources for Homeschool Moms: A Vetted List -

We’re homeschool moms. We have piles of books on every available surface: books to be read, books in progress, books we’re reading aloud to our kids, and books we just finished.

But do you have a pile of books “every homeschooling mom should read”?

Here’s help sorting through the many available resources for homeschool moms

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Resources for Homeschool Moms: Recommended books

My oldest is turning 28 in a few weeks (That number is so large doesn’t even compute in my brain properly!) and my youngest is 8. We started homeschooling when my oldest was in kindergarten. That means that I’ve been a homeschool mom since 2001 and I’ll graduate my youngest in 2034.

So I’ve read a few homeschooling mom books over the years, although, there weren’t a whole lot of them even in existence in 2001!

Back then, my library did have the first edition copy of Lisa Whelchel’s book, So You’re Thinking About Homeschooling: Fifteen Families Show How You Can Do It. In it she describes 15 different ways to homeschool your kids and after reading it, I really really wanted to buy a big RV and spend one year traveling the country and seeing all the sites as a way to teach about American history and geography.

Sadly, my husband, who is pretty willing to go along with all of my other crazy ideas, did not think it was a feasible idea. But he did buy me a sweet little 1969 all-original vintage 12-foot Shasta camper (back beofre they were trendy and expensive) that we used extensively until kid #3 was born and we no longer fit in it. Anyway, it was a great introductory book to see that there are many other ways to homeschool besides “school at home”.

Nowadays, there are so many must-have books for homeschooling moms that it’s hard to know which ones are even worth picking up, right?

Well, I’ve done all of the background work for you so that you don’t waste your time with books that maybe aren’t the most helpful and I’ve complied several lists of the best resources for homeschool moms.

Get the whole list of Books for Homeschool Moms from my Amazon storefront or download the printable list of Resources for Homeschooling Moms from the Free Resource Library.

Resources for Homeschool Moms: General Homeschooling Philosophies

The next book that I read, really influenced my homeschooling style and changed it from a casual school-at-home style to a classical one:

We really embraced classical learning for about two years–and there were parts of it that my kids really enjoyed–but it became clearer as time went on that the Latin and the large volume of memorization that was required for a true classical education was not a good fit for my kids.

You’ve probably heard me mention before that I’m a total Nicki Truesdell fangirl. Her book, Anyone can Homeschool: Overcoming Obstacles to Home Education, will show you that no matter your circumstances, you can homeschool if you want it badly enough for your kids.

Modern Miss Mason: Discover How Charlotte Mason’s Revolutionary Ideas on Home Education Can Change How You and Your Children Learn and Grow Together by Leah Boden

And A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning by Karen Andreola

Or just read Charlotte Mason’s own book, Home Education.

Another homeschooling philosophy book that really influenced how we do school is Cindy Rollins’ Mere Motherhood: Morning Times, Nursery Rhymes, & My Journey Toward Sanctification This book really helped me move towards our family-style of homeschooling.

If you only have the resources (money and time) to get and read one “homeschooling momma” book, let it be Educating the Whole Hearted Child by Sally and Clay Clarkson. It originally came out in 1994, (that’s the version I read in 2001) but it’s been updated to a Fourth Edition, to still be relevant in today’s rapidly changing world.

Get the printable library list of Books Every Homeschool Mom Needs to Read from the Free Resource Library

Resources for Homeschool Moms: Best Motherhood Books

M is for Mama: A Rebellion Against Mediocre Motherhood by Abbie Halberstadt I first listened to the audiobook while walking on the treadmill for physical therapy following major back surgery. By the middle of the second chapter, I knew I needed to buy a physical copy of the book so I could highlight and revisit major sections! It is so good, ya’ll! In it she explains the Penny System she and her husband use to reward their children for “extras” things that her kids do that are above and beyond their regular chores and schoolwork. We’ve been using the system for over a year now, and it really works.

And her second book is just as good! Hard Is Not the Same Thing as Bad: The Perspective Shift That Could Completely Change the Way You Mother

More encouraging Motherhood books to check out:

Mother Culture ®: For a Happy Homeschool by Karen Andreola

The Convivial Homeschool: Gospel Encouragement for Keeping Your Sanity While Living and Learning Alongside Your Kids by Mystie Winckler

Resources for Homeschool Moms: Best Books about Unique Learners

You may have heard me mention that all of my kids (and actually, everyone in my family) have ADHD to varying degrees; and at least one has dyslexia and dysgraphia; another has a diagnosed learning disorder, and in addition to my own kids, I have many years of experience working as a speech-language pathologist.

I found that these three books are the best at helping you help your “out of the box” kiddos who have unique learning needs.

Jump over to this post to learn what my family does to help minimize our ADHD symptoms and to keep us on track.

Homeschooling Wildflowers: Bring Your Child with Dyslexia, ADHD, Dysgraphia, or Dyscalculia Back to Their Natural Environment by Shelby Dersa

Different: The Story of an Outside-the-Box Kid and the Mom Who Loved Him by Sally Clarkson

The Out-of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Processing Differences by Carol Stock Kranowitz

Resources for Homeschool Moms: Best Planners

Over the past 20-some years that I’ve been homeschooling, I’ve used a few different paper planners. I’ve even (briefly) tried digital planners, only to run back to the paper ones!

I never could really find one though that had all of the things I used in it, so I ended up creating my own.

After several years of trying different things, I’ve figured out what works and I’ve made it available for you to use too. I included several different variations of some of the forms, so that you too can use what works best for you.

Click on the picture below to find out all of the printables included in this 100-page Ultimate Homeschool Mom Planner.

The Ultimate Homeschool Mom Planner Bundle

$21.00

Add to cart

To learn how to use the curriculum planning components of this Ultimate Mom Planner, visit these posts:

Homeschooling High School

Family-Style Curriculum Planning

I’ve found that it’s just not cost effective to have my planner printed somewhere like an office supply store for two reasons. One, that is super expensive!! And two, because I use the generic ink cartridges in my printer (I’ve used the CMYBabee brand and the E-Z Ink brand) and it’s such a HUGE savings on ink and printing that I can print everything in color without any guilt! I think it probably does ‘void’ the printer warranty to use the generic, so you may only want to do that if your printer is out of warranty anyway. But I’ve been using it for years (like at least 10–honestly, I’m not sure how my printer has lasted so long!) without any trouble.

To make your planner look like the professional homeschool mom boss that you are, I recommend binding it like a Happy Planner. I bought a special “mushroom” puncher to use with the rings like in the Happy Planner (which I had leftover from an old planner, but you can buy them new).

With the ring-bound planner, I can just move stuff around as I need to, or add new pages really easily.

I laminated two pages of cardstock to create the covers. Do you already have a laminator? I love mine and use it all the time!

Here are some examples of the tools I use:

Planner Disc Rings
Mushroom Hole Puncher
Thermal Laminator (Amazon says I bought this one in 2010 and its still works really well!)

Alternatively, you could purchase an 8.5×11 planner like the Big Happy Planner and add the Ultimate Mom Planner pages that you need to it.

Resources for Homeschool Moms: Best Podcasts

There are so many high quality podcasts available to us as homeschool moms that help us grow and learn while we fold laundry. I am so thankful for these resources that just didn’t exist 15 years ago. I literally am just sharing my personal podcast library playlist with you. If you’ve found another podcast that you think is amazing and would like to see it added to this list, please shoot me an email.