“If you read only one book on educating children, this should be the book.… With a warm, informative voice, Bauer gives you the knowledge that will help you flex the educational model to meet the needs of your child.” —San Francisco Book Review Our K–12 school system isn’t a good fit for all—or even most—students. It prioritizes a single way of understanding the world over all others, pushes children into a rigid set of grades with little regard for individual maturity, and slaps “disability” labels on differences in learning style. Caught in this system, far too many young learners end up discouraged. This informed, compassionate, and practical guidebook will show you how to take control of your child’s K–12 experience and negotiate the school system in a way that nurtures your child’s mind, emotions, and spirit. Understand why we have twelve grades, and why we match them to ages. Evaluate your child’s maturity, and determine how to use that knowledge to your advantage. Find out what subject areas we study in school, why they exist—and how to tinker with them. Discover what learning disabilities and intellectual giftedness are, how they can overlap, how to recognize them, and how those labels can help (or hinder) you. Work effectively with your child’s teachers, tutors, and coaches. Learn to teach important subjects yourself. Challenge accepted ideas about homework and standardized testing. Help your child develop a vision for the future. Reclaim your families’ priorities (including time for eating together, playing, imagining, traveling, and, yes, sleeping!). Plan for college—or apprenticeships. Consider out-of-the-box alternatives.

So you've decided to homeschool but don't know where to start? Don't worry, Homeschooling 101 offers you a step by step practical guide that will help you get started and continue on in your homeschooling journey. Erica will walk you through all of the aspects of getting started, choosing and gathering curriculum, creating effective lesson plans, scheduling your day, organizing your home, staying the course and more! This book is a must read for new homeschoolers who need tangible advice for getting started! It also includes helpful homeschool forms, and a FREE planner! Erica is a Christian, wife, and a homeschooler. She is author of the top homschooling website: www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com

Your home is the perfect place for learning, fun, and sibling bonding!The Happy Learning Book for Siblings features 50 hands-on activities you can conduct in the comfort of your home. They are divided into five learning areas (Literacy, Numeracy, Discovery of the World, Motor Skills and Sensory Play, Arts and Crafts), and are scaled for children of different ages to experience together. Spark hours of joyful learning and playful moments for your children, from toddlers to preschoolers and school-aged kids!

The National Bestseller, Featuring a Brand-New Introduction by Karen Santorum As a mother, Karen Santorum grew frustrated by her inability to find a book of manners that instructed through engaging stories and poems rather than by dull lists of dos and don'ts. She set out to solve the problem. The result is this wonderfully rich and instructive anthology. A national bestseller, Everyday Graces has become a beloved feature in homes, schools, churches, and libraries across America. It speaks to the fact that manners are seldom discussed anymore—and are practiced even less. Good manners are a prerequisite for the growth of moral character; they are the habits of conduct by which we express in the most ordinary circumstances our fundamental respect for others, whether parents, friends, colleagues, or strangers. Under such headings as "Honor Your Mother and Father," "Please, Thank You, and Other Kind Words," "Be Considerate at the Table," "Good Sportsmanship," and "Respecting Our Country," Everyday Graces gathers stories and poems that will develop and enrich the moral imagination. This marvelous anthology features classic selections from such well-known authors as Hans Christian Andersen, Beatrix Potter, Mark Twain, Frances Hodgson Burnett, C. S. Lewis, Max Lucado, and Arnold Lobel, as well as forgotten gems that deserve a new hearing. Find out why Everyday Graces has struck a chord with tens of thousands of families. Both inviting and informative, this book helps instill good manners in our children—and takes a stand against the decline in civility and the coarsening of our common life.

A must-have for all homeschooling families, this charming and funny picture book explores the special rhythms and routines of home education, inspired by award-winning author-illustrator Jonathan Bean’s own childhood. For young Jonathan and his sisters, home and school are one of the same. Mom is their teacher, and Dad is the best substitute a kid could ask for. From math, science, and field trips, to recess, show-and-tell, and art, an average school day with this lively, loving family is both completely familiar and totally unique. This Is My Home, This Is My School draws inspiration from Jonathan Bean’s own homeschooling experiences and includes a note from the author as well as a selection of real-life family photographs. “Sure to become a classic on homeschoolers' bookshelves all over the world.” —Sarah Mackenzie, Creator, Read-Aloud Revival and author of Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakable Peace Did you love This Is My Home, This Is My School? Then don’t miss Building Our House, another autobiographically inspired picture book from Jonathan Bean about a family building their new house from the ground up.