January is a wonderful opportunity for a fresh start—a time to step back, reflect, and reassess your homeschooling goals and intentions for the year ahead.
One of my personal favorite ways to kick off the year is by setting a new reading goal. Whether it’s diving into a new book series, exploring a different genre, or challenging yourself to read a certain number of books, it’s a simple yet powerful way to inspire a love of learning and inject some fun into the days ahead.
What reading goal will you set this year to turn the page on your best year yet?
I slacked a little in 2024 but I’ve been getting back into the habit of reading for 30 minutes before bed each night (eliminating blue makes a big difference in sleep quality!) and strive to continue through 2025!
For me, finding quality books to read is the hard part. Looking at your TBR list to see if anything stands out, browsing your favorite authors, scrolling through reviews for highlights, hunting down a copy, second-guessing if you really “need” the book afterall… it can be a lengthy process! I did most of that for you here…
I wrote up a short blurb of why I think you’ll love each book and even compiled an Amazon list to save you time searching for them.
This list includes books I am reading, plan to read, or have read and can wholly recommend to you! The books are sorted into three main categories for ease of digestion:
- Methods and Philosophical Approaches
- Strategies & Tips
- History of Education
Explore My Curated Collection of 25 Must-Read Books!
Methods and Philosophical Approaches
1. The One World Schoolhouse: Education Reimagined by Salman Khan
I loved this book! The author is creator of popular (free) online curriculum Khan Academy. Khan believes the environment we learn in is critical, and that technology has the power to make education far more portable, flexible, and personal.
Khan believes in mastery learning and following the students pace instead of an arbitrary calendar of deadlines like is the standard in public school settings. This book is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to education and how to restructure it to work for YOU.
2. Modern Miss Mason by Leah Boden
This is a great book to start with if you haven’t read much about the Charlotte Mason style, and a bit of a review if you have, but still a worthy read!
Boden presents the idea of “freedom within the Charlotte Mason method” for those new to homeschooling or wanting to learn a relaxed, more approachable overview to Charlotte Mason. Boden interprets Charlotte’s first principle, “Children are born persons”, as as child-led or child-centered learning in a contemporary environment. She offers guidance and practical how-to’s. Boden also has a podcast called Modern Miss Mason if you’re looking for something new to listen to!
3. Teach Your Own by John Holt
I am a big fan of John Holt’s work. I’d have to give this book a near perfect score because it contains so much useful, and practical information about child-led learning.
Holt explains there are differences between jobs, careers, and work (meaningful contribution, vocation, or calling; something you would do even without pay) and suggests public school prepares you for jobs, but we are left on our way to find out what meaningful work needs to be done that we could take part in.
Holt has a controversial viewpoint when it comes to learning disabilities: they may be caused by stress, anxiety, distrust, fear of failure, and fear of wrong answers. If you take children out of the standard system and let them lead, learning in a way they enjoy, so-called learning disabilities fall away. Fascinating stuff.
4. Deschooling Our Lives by Matt Hern
This book is rich in information about unconventional schools and systems, like Sudbury Valley School and Leo Tolstoy’s Yasnaya Polyana. Editor Matt Hern believes any person no matter their background or circumstances can homeschool their children.
He includes words by such educators as Ivan Illich who warns monopoly and institutionalization of values (such as health turned hospital, learning turned school) leads inevitably to physical pollution, social polarization, and psychological impotence.
5. The Unschooling Unmanual: Nurturing Children’s Natural Love of Learning by Jason Hunt
This book contains a collection of personal stories, examples, and essays to offer inspiration and encouragement for newbies considering dipping their toes into the less structured learning style of unschooling. If you are seeking guidance from both homeschoolers and education philosophers to help decide if this is the approach for you, look no further.
6. The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life by Julie Bogart
Bogart is the creator behind the popular writing curriculum Brave Writer. If you’ve never heard of her, her style and philosophy could be summed up in two simple words: family connection.
Even if you’ve used her curriculum, read her blog, listened to her podcast, and watched her videos, there is something new and interesting to try in this book for everyone. She encourages, she cheers, she gives you permission to be who you are, and parent and homeschool your children as they need to be parented and homeschooled.
7. Raising Critical Thinkers: A Parent’s Guide to Growing Wise Kids in the Digital Age by Julie Bogart
In an age of overwhelming information from online media, parents and teachers are concerned about how students interpret what they see and read. It’s crucial to help children approach different perspectives with curiosity and discernment, but how can parents teach these critical thinking skills?
Bogart has created an insightful book that combines research and personal experience, driven by her passion for teaching, learning, and parenting. The book highlights the impact of poor critical thinking on society today. Each chapter ends with age-specific activities that offer engaging and thought-provoking ways to develop critical thinking skills in children.
8. Shorter: Work Better, Smarter, and Less by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
The global economy defines success as always being “on,” constantly working harder than peers. However, long hours are unsustainable, leading to costly mistakes and burnout, which harm both companies and employees.
What if there’s a better way?
Shorter shares how leaders worldwide have reduced the workweek without sacrificing pay or productivity. By cutting distractions and fostering focused collaboration, 4-day workweeks can boost retention, improve work-life balance, and create sustainable success. Alex Pang uses design thinking to offer a step-by-step guide for redesigning your workdays, inspiring homeschoolers to rethink time management for a more balanced life.
9. Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life by Peter Gray
In Free to Learn, Peter Gray argues that children thrive when allowed to guide their own learning. Through play, they develop essential life skills like problem-solving, emotional resilience, and social cooperation.
Gray challenges the traditional school system and encourages parents to rethink education, focusing on fostering curiosity and independence. This inspiring book offers homeschoolers practical insights on creating an environment where children can truly learn and grow on their own terms.
This book is nearing the top of my TBR pile for 2025!
Strategies &Tips
10. How Children Learn by John Holt
I give this book a solid 4.5 stars, my only complaint is that there isn’t more of it! This was the first John Holt book I picked up, which led me to read more of his work.
In How Children Learn, John Holt explores the self-directed learning process of children “learning is as natural as breathing,” and provides a wealth of strategies for parents to nurture this process. Drawing from real-life examples, Holt highlights the importance of trusting children’s curiosity and providing an environment where they can explore freely.
The book offers numerous practical tips, from encouraging hands-on experiences to fostering a love of learning without pressure. It’s a must-read for homeschoolers seeking inspiration and concrete ideas to support their child’s innate desire to learn.
11. Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills by Beverly J. Wolf
This comprehensive resource is perfect for homeschoolers looking to build a strong reading foundation. Recommended by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), it covers phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension with explicit, systematic strategies.
The book offers fun, engaging activities that reinforce essential skills, using a proven, multisensory approach to make learning more memorable. While dense and ideal for those who appreciate detailed research, it may not be suitable for parents new to dyslexia, as it assumes prior knowledge.
12. The Three R’s by Ruth Beechick
This is a practical guide for homeschooling parents, focusing on teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic (the “three r’s”) to young children. Beechick offers clear, easy-to-follow strategies that emphasize a natural, child-centered approach. Her tips include simple, effective ways to introduce foundational skills, using real-life experiences to make learning meaningful.
This book is short, only 120 pages, making it ideal for busy homeschoolers seeking a straightforward, effective method for teaching the essentials while fostering a love of learning.
13. Let’s Read: A Linguist Approach by Leonard Bloomfield and Clarence Barnhart
I was first introduced to this book by John Holt, who recommended it in Learning All The Time (see below).
This book offers a structured method for teaching reading, grounded in linguistic principles. Bloomfield emphasizes phonics and the systematic relationships between sounds and letters, helping children understand how language works. His approach is focused on developing strong foundational skills in reading through clear, step-by-step strategies.
This book is valuable for homeschoolers looking for a research-based, linguistic approach to teaching reading, ensuring children develop strong reading skills from the ground up.
14. The Workshop Survival Guide: How to design and teach educational workshops that work every time by Bob Fitzpatrick
This book provides practical strategies for designing and teaching successful educational workshops. Fitzpatrick emphasizes clear objectives, interactive teaching methods, and adaptable lesson plans that engage participants. He includes tips for managing group dynamics, ensuring active participation, and creating a supportive learning environment.
While aimed at educators leading workshops, the strategies and tips are highly applicable to homeschoolers, helping parents design effective, engaging lessons and foster a dynamic learning atmosphere at home.
15. Teaching from Rest by Sarah Mackenzie
For such a short book this was sure packed with useful, practical information! I rate it a solid 9/10. Mackenzie believes our true task in life is the raising of children, the teaching of truth, the sharing of life, the nourishment of imagination, and the cultivating of wisdom, and that curriculum helps with that but is not the be all and end all. She suggests committing to a curriculum for just 6 weeks to ensure it’s working for you, and to schedule in a “margin” or extra block of time to focus on challenging topics or subjects so you aren’t cramming and burning out.
Mackenzie says teaching is the art of imitation, and as parents we are saying “imitate me.” Make yourself worthy of imitation. Cultivate intellectual growth, nurture your creative side, dive into good books, learn a new skill, work relaxation into your busy routine – and I love that!
16. Learning All the Time by John Holt
Holt advocates for a child-centered, experiential approach, encouraging parents to foster an environment where children can explore, ask questions, and learn at their own pace. The book offers strategies like observing children’s interests, providing resources, and allowing for plenty of free play and exploration.
This approach is ideal for homeschoolers, as it encourages a flexible, supportive learning environment where children thrive by learning through real-world experiences and hands-on activities.
I’ll have to read this again with a pen and paper to take notes, there are lots of strategies for helping children learn at home that can be put into action immediately!
A personal testament:
My oldest liked to take his number magnets off the fridge and drop them into the top of the empty water jug nearby. I told him “those don’t go there,” and re-directed him back to the fridge. After reading this book I realized just because he wasn’t playing with the magnets “the right way” doesn’t mean he wasn’t learning from this type of play. It doesn’t harm me any to let him do this. At the very least he was practicing hand-eye coordination while trying to fit the magnets into the narrow top of the water jug. After that, my perspective changed and I encouraged this game, plus I showed him how to tip over the jug so the magnets fell out, and he placed them all on the fridge to do it again!
17. How Children Fail by John Holt
Heavy on the math, including a few tricks and “games” for teaching children arithmetic. Holt insists children are able-bodied and able-minded if given the opportunity.
Holt emphasized the use of mental models and how we (teachers, adults, well-meaning friends) often try to input our mental model into other people’s minds by summarizing information, as if that would be the same as learning everything themselves. This actually hurts learners because they miss out on the essential building blocks, intuitive experimentation and “ah ha” moment that helps the explanation make sense in their mind later. This is why using manipulatives like cuisenaire rods alongside paper worksheets is so useful in early math classes, they give kids a chance to experiment and round out their mental model
18. The Read Aloud Family by Sarah Mackenzie
This one highlights the powerful impact of reading aloud on children’s development.
Mackenzie offers practical strategies for making reading a daily family habit, from selecting the right books to creating a cozy reading environment. She emphasizes the importance of reading aloud for building vocabulary, fostering imagination, and strengthening family bonds. The book includes tips on how to engage children at different ages and keep them excited about stories.
For homeschoolers, this book is a valuable resource to incorporate reading aloud as a key part of their educational approach, enriching both learning and family life.
19. The Writing Revolution: A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in All Subjects and Grades by Judith C. Hochman
This book provides a clear framework for teaching writing that enhances thinking across all subjects and grade levels. The book emphasizes explicit, step-by-step strategies for developing writing skills, including sentence-level instruction, structured writing tasks, and techniques for building critical thinking through writing. Hochman’s approach focuses on helping students organize their thoughts, improve clarity, and communicate effectively.
Be sure to grab the updated 2.0 version! This book is thick but it isn’t just page after page of text, it includes tons of colorful pictures, graphs, sample assignments, breakdowns, and summaries to make the information more palatable.
Here are some videos about The Writing Revolution model and how to implement it in your classroom.
20. The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling Ideas: 500+ Fun and Creative Learning Activities for Kids by Linda Dobson
Because sometimes we just need a fat book of hands-on projects, games, and exercises that make learning fun and interactive. This comprehensive resource is filled with over 500 creative and engaging learning activities for ages 3-12, and covers a wide range of subjects, from math and science to art and history.
Dobson emphasizes the importance of fostering creativity and curiosity, providing homeschoolers with practical, easy-to-implement ideas to enhance their children’s education. This book is an invaluable resource for parents seeking to make learning more enjoyable and effective at home.
21. Homeschooling for College Credit: A Parent’s Guide to Resourceful High School Planning -by Jennifer Cook DeRosa
Get a head start as early as middle school! Learn how to earn college credits in ways you might not have considered including dual-enrolment and testing out of the first two years of college. This book is a wonderful companion for learning how to plan your child’s future and choosing a path that will help them succeed in their choice of field. The Facebook page is also a treasure trove of information.
History of Education
22. Dumbing Us Down: the Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto
Gatto is a libertarian author and award winning public school teacher. He is an advocate for homeschooling, unschooling, and open source learning.
This book explains social engineering with regards to education, the difference between education and schooling, and the benefits of educational reform.
Compulsory schooling ensures a workforce will not rebel, and will be physically, intellectually, and emotionally dependent upon corporate institutions for their incomes, self-esteem, and stimulation, and they will learn to find social meaning in their lives solely in the production and consumption of material goods.
23. Separating School and State: How to Liberate American Families by Sheldon Richman
The concept of education being free of governmental influence goes against everything most of us have been told, have accepted, and have grown up with. Yet the case is made, and the evidence is overwhelming.
This is a must read for anyone who supports families’ rights to choose and direct their children’s education without government interference. Educating one’s own children is a fundamental right, and Mr. Richman elegantly explains the principles of this. He also shares valid solutions for fixing those problems. This is also good starting point for anyone interested in researching the merits of fully privatized education.
24. The Underground History of American Education by John Taylor Gatto
This book is a groundbreaking critique of the traditional schooling system, exposing the flaws in short-answer tests, bells, uniform time blocks, age-grading, standardization, and other aspects of the “school religion.” Every parent should read it.
Gatto will single-handedly transform the way you think about public education. The book explains how public schooling was designed with links to Prussia, which is alarming on its own. He also examines the impact of compulsory schooling, drawing on historical data and over 30 years of teaching experience to highlight alarming declines in education, literacy, and more.
25. Democracy and Education by John Dewey
This book explores the idea that education is essential for a functioning democracy, emphasizing the need for education to be active, experiential, and relevant to real-life situations.
Dewey argues that learning should focus on problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration, rather than rote memorization. He stresses the importance of creating an environment where students can explore, interact, and learn through experience. For homeschoolers, Dewey’s ideas offer a framework for fostering an engaging, student-centered education that encourages independent thinking and prepares children to participate thoughtfully in society.
In conclusion, these 25 books offer invaluable insights, strategies, and inspiration for homeschooling families in 2025!
Whether you’re looking for practical tips, philosophical guidance, or creative ideas, each of these books provides unique perspectives to help you navigate the homeschooling journey. By diving into these resources, you’ll find the tools and confidence to create a personalized, enriching learning experience for your children, empowering them to thrive both academically and personally.
Happy reading, and here’s to a successful homeschooling year ahead!
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