Hi friends!
I wanted to compile a fairly lengthy list of resources that I have found the most helpful as a beginner homeschool mom. When we made the decision to take this route, I nose-dove into all the books, which lead to me finding out about podcasts, Instagram accounts, and YouTube channels. All summer long, I was swimming in all things homeschool. It felt good to read about it, be inspired by others, find our style, gain ideas, and just soak in all the wisdom and knowledge from veteran homeschoolers.
While there is an endless stream of inspiration, it is also hard for me to follow so many things at once because it is easy to fall into a comparison trap. This is especially true on Instagram… and not that it is bad, but it can get in your head a bit and you may feel like you need to buy all the things or line your shelves with every beautiful reference book (give me all the nature books). I did my best to only follow the accounts that gave me just enough inspiration and also closely align with my homeschool style (which I would currently describe as minimalist and eclectic… fairly relaxed with a dash of charlotte mason (all the literature for us) and unit study style). I am sure we will shift over the years but for now, that is what it looks to for us.
But anyways, I say all this because I want to reinforce the fact that all of the below resources are for inspiration… NOT a way to measure how you do things, or compare, or to feel bad if you are not taking all the pretty lay flat photos for Instagram. While these things are beautiful and nice to see, remember that most of it is staged and will not look like your typical homeschool day (I am mostly looking at you, Instagram).
So here are the books and accounts I have found the most helpful and most in line with my vision of our homeschool environment.
Books:
(affiliate links)
- The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life *
- The Call of the Wild + Free: Reclaiming Wonder in Your Child’s Education *
- The Read Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with Your Kids *
- Sage Homeschooling: Wild and Free *
- Adventuring Together: How to Create Connections and Make Lasting Memories with Your Kids
- The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction
- Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
- The Unhurried Homeschooler: A Simple, Mercifully Short Book on Homeschooling
- How to Raise a Wild Child
- Unschooling Rules: 55 Ways to Unlearn What We Know About Schools and Rediscover Education
- Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work
- Relaxed Homeschooling: How to Unlock the Secrets in Books and Life’s Hidden Curriculum
*My very favorites
Podcasts:
- The Brave Learner (I am just in love with Julie Bogart)
- Simple Homeschool (Jamie C. Martin is so calm and relaxing to listen to and her podcast is such a gentle and inspiring one) I also love her blog.
- Wild + Free
- Simply Charlotte Mason Homeschool
- Raising Arrows
Instagram Accounts:
- @thewhisperingglen
- @juliebravewriter
- @theogelsbyohana
- @naturalwellnest
- @ellenfisher
- @wildandfree.co
- @alittlegram_alotofmom
- @habitatschoolhouse
- @littlepinelearners
- @littlestwildlings
- @littlehouse_northwoods
- @chickieandroo
- @thepeacefulpress
- @treehouse_schoolhouse
- @siloandsage
- @greenurbancreative
- @bostonseedlings
- @jenriverabell
- @haley_addis
YouTube Channels:
- Ellen Fisher
- Jen Rivera Bell
- The Ogelsby Ohana – just LOVE her!!
- Hapa Family
- Real Family Journey
- Pursuing Peace
- Brave Writer
- alittleglam alotofmom
- The Good and the Beautiful
- Intentional Homeschooling
- Simply Charlotte Mason
- This Homeschool House
- Jady A.
