Podcast: Play in new window | Download
If you’re a homeschool mama wanting to show up on purpose in your homeschool, you want to choose your influencers.
I offer you a Homeschool Reading List (& a Homeschool Mama Book Club too).
And join the Homeschool Mama Book Club to create community & connection too.
Introducing the Homeschool Reading List…
What else will we read in the online homeschool mama book club?
Here’s a list of my favourites from the Homeschool Mama Reading List.
But make sure you bring your current read to the online Homeschool Mama Book Club too!
The Homeschool Reading List includes some of the following but is always expanding…
1. Gretchen Rubin, author of the Happiness Project.
One rainy afternoon, while riding a city bus, Gretchen Rubin asked herself, “What do I want from life, anyway?” She answered, “I want to be happy”—yet she spent no time thinking about her happiness. In a flash, she decided to dedicate a year to a happiness project. The result? One of the most thoughtful and engaging works on happiness to have emerged from the recent explosion of interest in the subject.
2. James Clear, author of Atomic Habits.
The author presents a surefire approach to building habits and gaining clarity in what you actually want to include in your life: kinda handy for the homeschool mama who can’t find quiet time, eat the right foods, or exercise.
3. John Holt, author of How Children Learn.
A thirty-year schoolteacher who watched his students engage in their learning has taught me about how my children learn. This author shifted my approach to my kids and their learning.
4. Rachel Gathercole, author of The Well-Adjusted Child.
Does anyone ever ask you about homeschool socialization? (Well, right now they would understandably be concerned, but what to do about that? Thank goodness there’s Zoom.
Listen to the podcast episode on Rachel Gathercole’s book, The Well-Adjusted Child.
5. John Holt & Pat Farenga, authors of Teach Your Own.
Want to be certain that this home learning thing will actually benefit your child? This book will undergird you with certainty.
6. Julie Bogart, author of The Brave Learner.
A veteran homeschool mama of five, Julie, will show you how to engage your kids so that you ALL will be brave in your approach to your homeschool lifestyle and find the freedom you need to enjoy this lifestyle.
Listen to the episode where Julie Bogart & I discuss the Brave Learner.
7. John Taylor Gatto, author of Dumbing Us Down.
This spitfire of an author and powerhouse of a book will blow your socks off. Everything you subconsciously knew about your conventional education will be reflected in this book. This celebrated and award-winning teacher spent thirty years analyzing the very educational system he was celebrated for teaching in.
8. Lisa Rivere, author of The Homeschooling Option: How to Decide When It’s Right for You.
This is the book I picked up on a lark, read in a week, and changed my family’s fate…we homeschooled because of this book. Kinda a landmark for me.
9. Julie Bogart, author of A Gracious Space (series).
She’s the homeschooling cheerleader from the sidelines. She has lived the twenty-year journey of homeschooling and for some of those years, she was a single parent to her five kids. She’ll make sure you feel equipped for this journey, challenging your preconceived notions, and encouraging you alongside every struggle or concern.
A Homeschool Reading List for personal growth, homeschooling, and learning about learning.
10. Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear.
She tells me how to let go, create, and commune with the Spirit that seeks to manifest itself in the tangible world. She reminds me to be confident that all my creations have inherent meaning.
Listen to the podcast episode on Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear.
11. Judy Arnall, author of Unschool to University and Parenting with Patience.
She frees me from homeschooling like my home is a school. I can rest assured that my unschooled child can even get into university. And she teaches me HOW to be patient with my children. Umm, where have you been all my homeschool life?
Listen to the podcast episode where Judy Arnall and I discuss both her books.
12. Sarah Susanka, author of The Not So Big Life: Making Room for What Matters.
She reminds me to draw from the simple life, creating space for the essential things. She teaches that less is truly more. That we are “playing our part in the concert of manifestation, simply experiencing firsthand the brilliant orchestration and choreography of the one who teaches us, our music master.”
Listen to the podcast episode with Sarah Susanka and I as we discuss her book, Not So Big Life book.
13. Brene Brown, author of Braving the Wilderness.
She reminds me to stay vulnerable, to not respond to shame messaging around me, to analyze why I want to belong at the expense of being the real me, and to stand alone in courage. She also reminds me to build community by having a soft front, strong back, and wild heart.
14. Barbara Oakley, author of Learning How to Learn.
She empowers me to understand learning and how the brain absorbs and processes it. This learning about learning is a fundamental must-read that has helped me understand my children’s learning process and how to support it.
15. Brendon Burchard, author of The Charge.
He gets me excited about the life I’m living. “The charged life, then, usually calls to us after we have done what we were supposed to do, become who we thought we were supposed to be, lived as we thought we were supposed to live. Then the safety and comfort and compromise get to us, and a stirring of restlessness and revolution sends us off in search of greater adventures and meaning.”
Listen to the podcast episode where I discuss the benefits of Brendon Burchard’s The Charge book in the homeschool mom life.
A Homeschool Reading List with deep thoughts that get homeschool moms to think outside the box…
16. Maya Angelou, author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
She teaches me all the wise truths. She’s inspirational and comes up with inspirational quips like these: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” And this: “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”
Learn how Maya Angelou helps us understand the benefits of solitude in the homeschool.
16. Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now.
He reminds me to live in the now, in the present. “Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.”
17. Dr. Joe Dispenza, author of Breaking the Habit of Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One.
He teaches me to accept that my internal state is mine to choose. “Can you accept the notion that once you change your internal state, you don’t need the external world to provide you with a reason to feel joy, gratitude, appreciation, or any other elevated emotion?”
18. Rolf Dohelli, author of The Art of Thinking Clearly.
He reminds me, “Whether we like it or not, we are puppets of our emotions. We make complex decisions by consulting our feelings, not our thoughts. Against our best intentions, we substitute the question, ‘What do I think about this?’ with ‘How do I feel about this?’ So, smile! Your future depends on it.”
19. Atul Gawande, author of Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End.
A deep read that gets me thinking about death and the hard stuff but, so useful: “In the end, people don’t view their life as merely the average of all its moments—which, after all, is mostly nothing much plus some sleep. For human beings, life is meaningful because it is a story. Measurements of people’s minute-by-minute levels of pleasure and pain miss this fundamental aspect of human existence. A seemingly difficult life may be devoted to a great cause. We have purposes larger than ourselves.”
Introducing the Homeschool Mama Book Club…
How our favourite authors inform our homeschools…
If you want a homeschool mama book club where you can show up with other homeschool mamas who want to show up on purpose in their homeschools & lives, then this is the book club for you.
Who are your homeschool influencers?
The greatest influencer is YOU!
What you allow yourself to think influences how you feel which influences how you act and engage in your homeschool.
And I know you want to SHOW UP in your homeschool intentionally.
We have to be intentional about who influences us in our homeschool…
I read a lot (I know so many of us homeschool mamas do!)
I have read a bajillion readalouds, I continue to read with my thirteen-year-old son (the oldest three girls are all grown up), but I read books from the homeschool world, books about self-development, and books about people and stories, just for fun!
Join monthly to engage in book club discussions from important influencers that can shift how we show up in our homeschools. The books we read together help us show up on purpose in our homeschools.
Read the book in advance, or don’t.
(If you don’t have time, don’t worry, because I will be reading the book for sure!)
Engage in authentic, vulnerable conversations that enable your community & connection.
Because we’re building a community of authentic, kindhearted, real homeschool mamas who want to show up for our homeschools and offer a community for others like us too.
Frequently Asked Questions…
When will I see the Book Club Zoom link in my email?
You’ll see the zoom link in your email the morning of your Book Club. Make sure your email provider hasn’t thrown it into Junk Mail.
Where can I purchase the book?
You can find all the books from our Book Club above. When you purchase here, you support me!
Does this Book Club cost?
The nominal $5 purchase enables the Zoom group platform. Oh, and time, it costs you time. You’ll have to find a quiet hour and a half away from the kids and responsibilities to spend time on YOU!
How long is the Book Club?
Usually about an hour and a half.
Can I ask questions about the book and its applications to my homeschool?
Absolutely! I’ll share my insights from the book and how they apply to our homeschools, but the best part of this book club? You sharing your thoughts and how it applies to your homeschool. If you have thoughts, insights, or questions, we want to hear them.
What homeschool mamas are saying about this book…
What homeschool mamas are saying about the book…
A veteran homeschool mama…
“Clearly, Teresa writes from years of valuable experience, and so generously shares them with new homeschool momma for their benefit. If you’re trying to figure out how to get started taking the stress out of your homeschool day, the section where she shares her own story of overwhelm is pure gold! You’ll find solid, experience-tested examples from her own life on creating an environment that is conducive to real education. Also, take note of the authors she recommends as her influencers. If you have to pick a section to start somewhere, there it is!”
~ Pat Fenner, BreakthroughHomeschooling.com
A homeschool mama of four…
“My homeschooling journey has included a growing pile of books that I have read, browsed, or barely got past the first chapter. This book is just delightful and a gem! It’s not only helpful and inspiring but also funny. The author is like that no-nonsense brave friend who is looking out for you and your well-being as a homeschooling mama. We all need that friend, and I am taking my time as I work my way through the chapters and enjoying it all. I love the section on overcoming overwhelm, grappling with perfectionism and minding and working through our emotions. This book is worth its weight in gold. Find a quiet place to read, bring a warm cup of tea, and enjoy!”–Sonia, Homeschool Mama in S. Jersey
Homeschool mamas who understand the big emotions of a homeschool mama life…
“I was just reading through the chapter in this book last night about anger and failure. Whewww, like you’re speaking right to me. Thank you for being so honest about those things. Every night I can’t wait to jump back into your book. Thank you for so authentically sharing about the moments and feelings we all experience, but rarely go into detail about.”–Bacci
“Wonderful book. Down to Earth and relatable. A must-read for homeschooling moms.”–Celeste Tio
“Parents take on homeschooling with gusto, but often find themselves burning out in the first year by trying to do too much and being the ultimate educator. Teresa takes on the topic with a book overflowing with ideas to make a parents and child’s day go smoother. Letting go of unrealistic expectations and the school model of education goes a long way in acquiring serenity in home education. Understanding how the uniqueness of home education unfolds and why children never stop learning, no matter how much teaching is done, is key to success. Homeschool Mama Self-Care: Nurturing the Nurturer, with a cup of tea, is essential for all new-to-homeschooling parents and guardians.”–Professional Parenting Canada
“This book is a must-have for any homeschool mom. Full of practical tips and lots of encouragement. I love how Teresa is open and honest, sharing her story along the way.”–Meghan, Joyful Mud Puddles
Other Book Club discussions we’ve held:
- Hold Onto Your Kids by Gordon Neufeld in Homeschool Mama Book Club
- Raising Critical Thinkers: A Parent’s Guide to Raising Wise Kids with Julie Bogart
- How Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo Informs my Homeschool
- How does Brene Brown’s Atlas of the Heart Influence my Homeschool
- 13 Things Mentally Strong Don’t Do: Amy Morin influences my homeschool
- the not so big homeschool life by Sarah Susanka
- How Can You Live a Charged Homeschool Mom Life? with Brendon Burchard
- who are your homeschool influencers?
- Dive into 10 Helpful Books for Homeschooling Moms!
- The Homeschooling Option: How to Decide When It’s Right
Tell me what book you’d include in your homeschool reading list…
Join the Homeschool Mama Book Club