5 Refreshing Summer Reads for Homeschooling Moms (and Dads)

Today I’m linking up with my dear friend Kelly over at Mrs. Disciple for her weekly #FridayFive series. Join me over there for more encouraging reading to start off your weekend on an upbeat note.

Also, to my sister Carla: this post is for you.
I’ll just begin with this disclaimer: I am not a homeschooling mom.

However, I have been reading a lot of homeschooling materials lately. Call it curiosity. Call it research. Call it dreaming of a life I don’t have. Call it what you will.

Regardless of the reason(s), I know a lot of homeschooling parents, and I also know many of them–many of you–feel burned out at this time of year, just like public school teachers do. If I were one of you at this time of year, I would be craving a shot in the arm, I think, of refreshment, hope, and encouragement. Something to make me want to continue down the challenging but oh-so-valuable road of homeschooling. Something to remind me that we choose to homeschool for very specific reasons, and that one of those reasons is that we don’t want to mimic public school. With that in mind, I want to offer up some of my recent finds, because their messages were refreshing to me, a non-homeschooler who is embarking on a little bit of experimental summer weekend “homeschooling” with her preschooler–and I haven’t even begun yet!

Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler’s Guide to Unshakable Peace by Sarah Mackenzie. This lovely book encourages homeschooling parents to seek out not physical rest (which isn’t always readily available to busy parents with tinies) but spiritual rest, and to come at homeschooling from a place of peace. I am also loving Sarah’s blog, Amongst Lovely Things, and her podcast, Read-Aloud Revival.

Called Home: Finding Joy in Letting God Lead Your Homeschool by Karen DeBeus. Karen encourages homeschoolers to center their days around God, seeking to please him rather than worrying about state standards, testing, or completing rigorous curriculums. She reminds homeschoolers why they wanted to homeschool in the first place–to provide their children with a loving, nurturing environment in which they will come to love learning. Karen is also the author of Simply Homeschool: Have Less Fluff and Bear More Fruit and Real Homeschool: Letting Go of the Pinterest-Perfect and Instagram-Ideal Homeschool. Karen writes about living simply at simplylivingforhim.com.

The Unhurried Homeschooler by Durenda Wilson. This short book is filled with nuggets of wisdom about taking the slow road in homeschooling, allowing yourself and your children to think of learning as an adventure to be enjoyed, not a race to be run. Durenda offers more resources about homeschooling in an unhurried fashion on her website, simplenourishinghome.com.

The Confident Homeschooler: How to Thrive in the Day-to-Day by Pam Barnhill. This inexpensive e-book is worth every penny, I believe. Pam offers cheerful assurance that any homeschooling parent can not only survive, but thrive by creating an environment that is simple, pressure-free, and tailored to their unique family. Pam is also the author of Plan Your Year: Homeschool Planning for Purpose and Peace, is a frequent contributor at simplehomeschool.net, and has her own homeschooling podcast, Your Morning Basket.

The Life-Giving Home: Creating a Place of Belonging and Becoming by Sally & Sarah Clarkson. This is not a book about homeschooling per se, but Sally Clarkson, who homeschooled her children before homeschooling was popular, knows the positive impact a life-giving home can have on a family, and will give you the tools–and the encouragement–to do it yourself. If I were a homeschooler, this is exactly the kind of environment I’d want to create for both my own and my children’s benefit. As a non-homeschooler, I also want this kind of home.

Happy Beginning-of-Summer, homeschooling friends! I hope you get the rest and refreshment you deserve over the next couple of months!