Linda’s Books
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The Art of Education: Reclaiming Your Family, Community and Self
Available here as 254 page eBook PDF
The Learning Coach Approach
Available here as 274 page eBook PDF
The Write Way To Have Fun
Available here as a FREE eBook PDF
The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling Ideas
The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child
The Homeschooling Book of Answers
Homeschoolers’ Success Stories
What the Rest of Us Can Learn from Homeschooling
Best-Selling Homeschooling Books
By Linda Dobson
Books* are available at Amazon by clicking the title links unless otherwise noted. However, if you order by clicking through Parent at the Helm’s Amazon ad link (on all post pages), Linda receives even a few more pennies per book. Either way, Linda is grateful for your purchase and hope it helps you and your family experience the joy of homeschooling.
* The Art of Education: Reclaiming Your Family, Community and Self and The Learning Coach Approach are available right here as eBooks in PDF format. Immediate download. Go to book details for more info and an “Add to Cart” purchase button.
15th Anniversary Edition of
The Art of Education: Reclaiming Your Family, Community and Self
 |
Now Available right here
in eBook PDF format $4.99
If you click the continue shopping link |
Product Description
The 15th Anniversary Edition has the same content as the original, bestselling homeschooling paperback. Linda has added a new “Authors Update” section as well as a facelift to the cover for her new eBook version of this “must read” homeschooling classic! You, too, can find the courage to trust your child and yourself to take the homeschooling journey and create a stronger, happier, well-educated family along the way.
The Art of Education
by Linda Dobson
“Dobson’s basic premise is that ‘the public school system in this country is based on a false definition of education. We are not educating our children at all. We are conditioning them.’ Eleven chapters explore the “wisdom’ of the art of education, comparing public education practices with what we now know about natural education and with individual families’ values and priorities. The next five chapters suggest the benefits of this art for individual parents, children, communities, and the larger society. Includes ‘A Dozen Simple Starting Points’ for parents who want to get more involved in their kids’ education. Dobson’s sources are a complicated blend, but she argues her case for family-centered education effectively.”
-American Library Association’s Booklist, February, 1995
Is your child unmotivated, bored, or stressed by attending government schools? Is your child gifted or special needs? Are you worried that what passes for education today appears to little more than test-taking and political agendas? Are you tired of the school schedule dictating your family’s lifestyle?
The Art of Education: Reclaiming Your Family, Community and Self provides a profound and thorough explanation for why homeschooling is so desperately need by so many families today. Fifteen years after it was originally written, educational problems Dobson warned about have reached crisis proportions. The Art of Education clearly shows the changes that need to take place in the way we rear our children in order to stop the unraveling of our spiritual and intellectual fiber.
A bonus: Includes a thought-provoking Foreword by John Taylor Gatto, New York State Teacher of the Year and author of The Underground History of American Education.
“The Art of Education has stood the test of time as one of the best homeschooling books of the last two decades,” says David Albert, whose latest book is titled What Really Matters.
“Everything about this work is just as relevant as the day Linda wrote it,” adds Laura Grace Weldon, author of Free Range Learning: How Homeschooling Changes Everything. “In fact, time proves the prophetic nature of her words. For homeschoolers and those wondering if homeschooling might be an option, this book is a classic.”
Inside The Art of Education – 15th Anniversary Edition you’ll discover:
• Meet Your Makers
• Is That All There Is?
• The Education Pyramid
• Addicted to Experts
• Birds Don’t Go to Flight School: Artificial Learning vs. Natural Education
• As You Sow, So Shall You Reap
• Examining Priorities
• Creating Your Family’s Personal Education Philosophy
• Exploding the Top Five Myths About Homeschooling
• Imagine
• Coping with Being a Pioneer on the Road to Freedom
• I am the Captain of My Soul: Benefits for You
• Suffer the Little Children to Come Unto Me: Benefits for Your Children
• It Takes a Village: Benefits for Your Community
• A Dozen Simple Starting Points
• Implications for the Greater Society
The Art of Education extends to the Art of Living, leading you to reconsider priorities to discover how you and your family may travel toward more meaningful and happy lives. Homeschooling restores the vital role of family as you realize that delivering knowledge and information to young minds is not a secret art, but can be an act of love between parent and child that produces better scholastic and developmental results in the familiar setting of the family home, using your entire community as your family’s “classroom.”
Your family has nothing to lose, and much to gain. With this book, you can begin your homeschooling journey today.
About the Author
Dobson’s family started homeschooling in 1985. Since then she has coordinated support groups, provided keynote addresses and advocacy, written dozens of articles, and authored eight books, including the classic The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child. She continues offering news, information, resources, and book giveaways via website, Parent at the Helm.
FORMAT: e-book PDF
From Scientific American
From The New Yorker
The Learning Coach Approach: Inspire, Encourage, and Guide
Your Child Toward Greater Success in School and in Life
 |
Now Available right here
in eBook PDF format $2.99
If you click the continue shopping link |
For parents who worry that their child lacks a love of learning, or has been falling behind in a rigid “teach-to-the-test” classroom, here is an ultra-practical guide to help restore joy and independence to education. Linda Dobson is an educator and parent who has been at the forefront of the homeschooling boom. The Learning Coach, however, is not a homeschooling book, but rather a useful guide to honing in on children’s unique needs and inspiring them to learn. Her fresh approach, supported by current educational research, defies conventional wisdom by declaring that when it comes to learning, less is more: less pressure, more fun. Less scheduling, more free time. Dobson believes that success, in its many forms, results not by pushing children into activities but by creating an environment that encourages exploration, discovery, and curiosity. The role of the learning coach is to inspire and guide children’s experience to bring out their natural, unique “genius.”
FORMAT: eBook PDF
The Write Way To Have Fun
by Debbie Harbeson
FREE eBook PDF click on link below
Yeah, I know you think I must be crazy but I have another free item for all of you homeschoolers out there. Well, wait a minute, really this free item is for any parent, not just homeschoolers. No, hold on, this free item is actually for everyone, child or adult, who wants to free themselves from schoolish ways of thinking about writing.
I have written an e-book titled “The Write Way To Have Fun.” In this book, I explain some of the ideas our family used as we learned to relax and play with words. The book includes real examples of writing my kids did when they were elementary age. As a bonus, the e-book even includes directions to a wildly energetic game for kids.
Guaranteed fun for your family!
I am quite excited about releasing this project because I know this book will motivate at least one person in your family to write. As a matter of fact, I am so confident of this that I am offering to pay $100.00 to anyone who claims this book did not accomplish that goal. You have to admit, that’s a confident offer! Since the book is free and you will even be paid for your time if you feel the book didn’t live up to its promise, this is a case where you really have nothing to lose. The instructions for collecting the money are included at the end of the book.
So go ahead and click here to download your very own free copy of Debbie Harbeson’s “ The Write Way To Have Fun.”
Click title to purchase from Amazon.com
The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling Ideas:
500+ Fun and Creative Learning Activities for Children 3 – 12
Fun and Effective Home Learning Activities for Every Subject
As a homeschooling parent, you’re always looking for new and creative ways to teach your child the basics. Look no longer! Inside this innovative helper, you’ll find kid-tested and parent-approved techniques for learning math, science, writing, history, manners, and more that you can easily adapt to your family’s homeschooling needs. And even if you don’t homeschool, you’ll find this book a great teaching tool outside the classroom. You’ll discover fun and educational activities for kids ages 3 to 12, including how to:
·Create maps based on favorite stories, such as Treasure Island or The Wizard of Oz
·Make letters out of French fries as an alphabet learning aid
·Explore architecture by building igloos, castles, and bridges with sugar cubes and icing
·Review spelling words by writing them on the sidewalk with chalk
·And many more!
This comprehensive collection of tried-and-true—and generally inexpensive—ideas provides the best-of-the-best homeschooling activities
FORMATS: Paperback, Kindle, Library Binding, iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, PC and Mac
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic for ANY Mum, child worker or just person that loves playing with kids!!
5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for quick ideas
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The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child:
Your Complete Guide to Getting Off to the Right Start
Homeschool the right way from day one.
Are you considering homeschooling for your family? Today, many parents recognize that their child’s school options are limited, inadequate, or even dangerous, and an increasing number are turning to homeschooling. But where do you start and how do you ensure the highest-quality educational experience, especially in that pivotal first year?
This comprehensive guide will help you determine the appropriate first steps, build your own educational philosophy, and discover the best ways to cater to your child’s specific learning style, including:
·When, why, and how to get started
·The best ways to develop an effective curriculum, assess your child’s progress, and navigate local regulations
·Kid-tested and parent-approved learning activities for all age levels
·Simple strategies for developing an independent child and strengthening family and social relationships
·And much, much more!
“To the thousands of requests we receive for help from families new to homeschooling, we will now recommend this warm and knowledgeable book. It will ensure that all families make it to the second year—including yours!” —Elizabeth Kanna, editor in chief, Homeschool.com
“Linda Dobson addresses all the issues facing parents as they consider the task of homeschooling over other educational options. Those who wonder whether they really can or want to do the job will find unique perspectives in this well-researched work.”—Beverly K. Eakman, author and cofounder, National Education Consortium
FORMATS: Paperback, Kindle, Library Binding, iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, PC and Mac
Most Recent Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars Encouraged!
. NOT overwhelming in the least. I’m really enjoying it!
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Homeschooling The Early Years:
Your Complete Guide to Successfully Homeschooling the 3- to 8-Year-Old Child
Discover the Rewards of Homeschooling Your Young Child
Young children are full of curiosity, imagination, and a sense of wonder. They’re willing to try new things and possess a natural joy of discovery. Yet in a traditional school, these natural behavior traits are too often squelched. That’s why more and more parents just like you are choosing to teach their children at home during these critical years—the years that lay the foundation for developing learning skills that last a lifetime. Inside, respected homeschooling author Linda Dobson shows you how homeschooling can work for you and your young child. You’ll discover how to:
·Tailor homeschooling to fit your family’s unique needs
·Know when your child is ready to learn to read
·Teach your child arithmetic without fear—even if you’re math-challenged
·Give your child unlimited learning on a limited budget
·And much more!
“Brings dazzling clarity to the otherwise nerve-wracking confusion of early learning—and the adventure of becoming fully human. Highly recommended.”—John Taylor Gatto,former New York State Teacher of the Year and author of Dumbing Us Down
“Provides a much-needed introduction to living and learning with young children
—Helen Hegener, managing editor of Home Education Magazine
“An information-packed delight; I only wish it had been around when our three boys were three to eight years old.”
—Rebecca Rupp, author of The Complete Home Learning Sourcebook
“This book brings together the experience and wisdom of a great variety of homeschooling families—tied together with warm encouragement and wonderful simplification of processes that can seem so mysterious and daunting to the beginner. A very solid resource!”
—Lillian Jones, homeschooling activist, writer, and reviewer
FORMATS: Paperback, Library Binding
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Linda Dobson’s book, Homeschooling The Early Years: Your Complete Guide to Successfully Homeschooling the 3 to 8 Year Old, is a wonderful resource for parents of young children. It is a celebration of children’s innate curiosity and eagerness to learn about their world. She has captured the essential wonder of early childhood learning.While the book is full of parents’delightful stories about how children learned one thing or another, the theme Linda deftly brings forward into the spotlight is that learning is the natural pursuit of any child – “little learning machines,” she calls them.
The book is unique right from the beginning – an interesting brief overview of homeschooling diversity, building up to the comforting reassurance that “It doesn’t matter where you begin – just begin!” This is a fairly radical notion for may of those in the first stage of comtemplating the move. New and prospective homeschoolers often want to have it all planned and orderly before they jump in. And yet, as Linda points out, you can expect a lot of perfectly comfortable change and admustment as you learn to tailor the homeschool to the child, rather than the child to the homeschool – it’s just an onging process.
“Because it’s so easy to change any aspect of homeschooling when necessary,” she reassures the read, “you can get started with a minimum of worry and preparation. Once you’re on the road, you’ll constantly discover new information, resources, and friends to help you fine-tune your journey into the most rewarding and fun possible.”
Linda provides helpful insight into the nature of young children as learners, and the way they gather information as physical, sensory beings. This leads into an inspiring discussion of the importance of play, imagination, and creativity. “With schooling so firmly established in our culture and in our personal experience as the method for learning, it’s often hard to grasp and accept the idea that, for the early years, play – unadulterated by adult ‘good intentions’ – is a powerful learning method…If we can bend our own thinking processes far enough to give play its rightful due, we could even call creativity the play of the mind.”
This is where the delightful stories start to come in – stories that capture the essence of how beautifully natural learning is for children. The stories highlight the magic that happens when a child has the opportunity to learn beyond the box.
One very helpful chapter, The Joy of Learning With the Early Years Child, deals with tuning in to notice how your child learns. Again we find stories from other parents about their experiences with their children. Being able to share the revelations these “aha!” moments can go a long way in leading to one’s own insights. The chapter also goes into building on strengths, and sensitively shoring up weaknesses. Socialization and relationships are discussed, as well as the ways families pass on their important values. Some interesting points are made about health and how it relates to schooling – and last, but not least, tips for making the transition from school and “getting started.”
Parents of young children sometimes want to homeschool, but don’t have any idea how they’ll go about teaching the important basics – the three Rs and related academic subjects. A lengthy section provides detailed practical tips, solid information, and referrals to favorite resources used by a variety of families. This is really a wonderful resource for those who feel ill-prepared to tackle all this – and it’s an inspiring resource even for those who already feel confident. Again, the point is made that there are many successful ways to learn, and that “The methods used are as individual as fingerprints.”
That’s such a captivating line: “The methods used are as individual as fingerprints.” No one style of homeschooling is promoted in the book, but the constant theme of respecting and supporting individuality comes through loud and clear. “Once ready, homeschooled children learn to read at age 3 – or thirteen. They learn to read in one hour – or over the course of three years. They use workbooks – or comic books. They begin with easy readers – or Dad’s Louis L’Amour novels. Their preparedness includes phonics or whole language or both or none – or their parents don’t really know what they use, because they’re too busy reading and learning to worry about naming it.”
The general styles of homeschooling are illustrated through parents’ personal descriptions of the way their chidren go about learning, woven together by Linda’s insightful running commentary. This is rich material, because it becomes obvious that the commonly used classifications of homeschooling “styles” are realistically referring to fairly amorphous processes. Ideally, a parent will be alert and sensitive to each child, nurturing interests, and being comfortable in making changes when something doesn’t seem to be working. This is good for beginning homeschoolers to realize – that it can all be mixed and matched, and that it can, and probably will, keep changing and evolving. Too many people get frustrated and anxious, sometimes deciding homeschooling isn’t for them, because of not being aware of how this dynamic can work. Homeschooling The Early Years should be quite effective in calming the beginners’ anxieties that are based on limited expectations.
Many other topics are covered, from financial challenges, single parenting, special needs, large families, to computer and internet resources, and much more. This is a solid resource – it touches the heart and provides bountiful food for the mind. I wish it had been available when I began the homeschooling journey.
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The Homeschooling Book of Answers:
The 101 Most Important Questions Answered by Homeschooling’s Most Respected Voices (Second Edition)
Up-to-date answers to all your homeschooling questions!
More and more families today are turning to homeschooling to teach their children. But where do they go to find honest, practical answers to questions such as: Can I afford it? Or, how will my child make friends without going to school? Look no further. This invaluable guidebook—completely updated to include the 101 most important homeschooling concerns—answers all those questions and more. Inside, you’ll learn:
·Methods of motivating, teaching, and testing homeschooled children
·The latest on the growing use of distance-learning tools
·Ways to homeschool your special-needs child
·The differences between homeschooling younger children and teenagers
Drawing from the collective wisdom and experience of homeschooling’s most respected voices, The Homeschooling Book of Answers is your essential guide to this widely popular—and flexible—educational approach.
“I can’t imagine a more helpful book on homeschooling—a happy marriage of the realistic with the idealistic, the passionate with the practical.”
—George Leonard, author, Education and Ecstasy
“Of the many books on home education that have come across my desk, this is the most usable for the beginning homeschooler
—Jerry Mintz, Director, Alternative Education Resource Organization
“Provides useful information that demystifies and makes accessible the homeschooling experience.”
—Marty Layne, author of Learning at Home: A Mother’s Guide to Homeschooling
FORMATS: Paperback, Kindle, iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, PC and Mac
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Homeschoolers’ Success Stories :
15 Adults and 12 Young People Share the Impact That Homeschooling Has Made on Their Lives
Pro football player, bestselling author, entrepreneurial millionaire . . . these successful people all have one thing in common: They were all homeschooled as children. Inside, you’ll discover their inspiring stories, along with the stories of a dozen other homeschooling “graduates” who have achieved success on many levels. In addition, you’ll meet 12 younger people already well on their way to personal success.
Jedediah Purdy, Yale law student and author of For Common Things
Kitty Gilmore, Arkansas State Trooper and U.S. Marshal
Rikki Scandora, homeschooling student and naturalist”This beautiful book resonates with a feeling for how things really happen. It will make you smile, stimulate your spirit, chase away your fears. Read it today! Then read it as often as you need to to revive your courage. What a gift!”—John Taylor Gatto, former New York State Teacher of the Year and author of The Underground History of American Education
“Once again, Linda Dobson has blazed a trail for us all. This book confirms that honoring children, families, and communities is, in the end, the greatest testament to homeschooling’s overall success.”—Richard J. Prystowsky, professor of English and Humanities, Irvine Valley College, and editor of Paths of Learning
“This is not a how-to book. It’s better. It’s a ‘how-it-was-done book.’ These exclusive profiles of incredible, homeschooled teens and young adults prove to the world that homeschooling works!”—Elizabeth Kanna, editor of Homeschool.com
Despite their growing numbers, many homeschoolers still find their experience somewhat isolating. This collection of short biographies aims to alleviate some of that loneliness. While the stories profile modern-day homeschool grads and students, famous homeschooled personalities from the past are offered up early in the book for historical inspiration. John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, photographer Ansel Adams, poet Robert Frost, and songwriter Irving Berlin join the long list dug up by author Linda Dobson. And just in case there were any doubts that fame has eluded today’s homeschooled, Dobson throws in actresses Whoopi Goldberg and Jennifer Love Hewitt, the Hanson singer siblings, and conservative commentator William F. Buckley Jr. The people whose stories are told here are successful entrepreneurs, Ivy League students, and athletes, such as Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor and U.S. ski team member Todd Lodwick. But to Dobson’s credit, she unearths a healthy array of “regular folk” as well. Their stories are no less interesting and, most importantly, they dispel the notion that homeschooled children are over-the-top achievers and freaks of nature. Among the subjects here are an Arkansas state trooper, a private chef, an art gallery owner, and a Cost Guard Reserve seaman.Each chapter begins with a photo and yearbook-style sketch of the personality, complete with favorite areas of study and a memorable quote. The biographies are short and insightful, with the author often injecting her own thoughts. Dobson, the mother of three homeschooled children, has written numerous books on the topic (The Homeschooling Book of Answers and Homeschooling: The Early Years, among them) and is a news editor and columnist for Home Education Magazine. In her casual, succinct writing style, she brings to life personalities that have little in common beyond their method of education. Some were taught at home completely; others for only a few years. They offer advice, warnings, and fond memories. And their overriding message is that homeschooled people are just as diverse and interesting as the students found in traditional schools. “We are not alone,” is the cry heard from these pages. –Jodi Mailander Farrell
FORMAT: Paperback out of print; must be purchased used
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What the Rest of Us Can Learn from Homeschooling: How A+ Parents
Can Give Their Traditionally Schooled Kids the Academic Edge
Now, traditionally schooled children can reap the same benefits as homeschooled children.
This essential book for all parents and teachers offers practical ways to nurture individual growth, foster high self-esteem, and ensure academic success for every child, regardless of age, type of school, or religious background. Readers will discover what homeschoolers quickly find out—that life can be one big adventurous educational opportunity, even for kids who attend conventional schools. Inside, readers explore:
• The six principles of successful learning: curiosity, fun in learning, desire for success (not fear of failure), practice (not study), applying learned material to life, and intrinsic motivation
• How to put the “child” back into childhood by providing children with the opportunity to perform fun activities that enhance their abilities
• Why the community is a child’s best classroom, and how to take advantage of it
• How to discover and honor a child’s unique learning style and encourage his or her teacher to develop it
• And much, much more
Homeschooling is changing the face of education, and now parents and teachers can effectively use its principles and techniques to develop brighter and happier children.
FORMAT: Amazon currently has paperback bargain price; otherwise, out of print; must be purchased used
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