Dixie asked me to start a thread where we could discuss books for children to supplement mediocre textbooks. I meant to get to it yesterday but got busy and never got to it. One disclaimer: I am rabidly anti public school. The fact that we would knowingly and deliberately put our children in (liberal) indoctrination centers that we all KNOW provides a substandard education boggles my mind. It doesn't matter whether your children are in the most affluent school in your district, they're getting the exact same education as the poorest. The playground equipment may be nicer and the desks newer but the curriculum will be the same. The teacher standing in the front of your child's classroom could've just as easily been assigned to teach at a less affluent school. So I applaud any effort by parents who want to help their children rise above mediocrity even if the best choice for their family is public school.
Before getting to specific topics books I recommend parents do some reading first. Before anything else you need to know what you're up against.
Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto is a good place to start. Mr. Gatto was an award winning teacher (including teacher of the year) in NYC. He taught in affluent schools in Manhattan and schools in Harlem and others in between so he knows what he's talking about. Some of his thoughts, essays, and speeches can be found here:
http://www.spinninglobe.net/gattopage.htm.
The next thing is to understand how your child learns best. The most appropriate supplement to enhance your children's education my not be books. Some children may get the most bang for your buck reading biographies and historical fiction, others would learn better planning a family vacation to historical sites (don't underestimate the value of a virtual tour).
How Your Child is Smart is a good one but there are plenty of others. Another great resource, which pretty much covers every learning style is called The Charlotte Mason Method (there's also a book by that name). Here's a jumping off point:
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/methods/CharlotteMason.htm. She believed in "living" books (books written by people with a passion for their subject) and considered textbooks to be "twaddle". She believed in getting children out in nature and sketching & writing about their observation.
OK, here are some specific recommendations of resources we used:
For science, Jan Van Cleave is fabulous. Here's the list of her books on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=504364.
A History of US is a fairly comprehensive, interesting, and well written series. It has a few PC moments but sometimes those places where you differ make for great discussions.
American History Stories ...You Never Read in School has some wonderful, patriotic stories.
Basic American Government (Sonlight is the only place I know to buy this) is an incredibly comprehensive resource. It formed the core of our Government/Civics course but it's an excellent resource to contrast with the crap public schools try to pass off as US History.
Oh, one of my personal favorites,
Discovering Great Artists doesn't just tell about artists but kids do a project very similar to the kind of art each master did. For Michaelangelo you actually do a fresco. Goes great with an evening with the family watching Charlton Heston in "The Agony and the Ecstasy".
I'll add more as I think of it or if someone has some specific topic they want resources for. Believe me, I've got websites, books, activities, etc. on everything from Art Projects to Pet Care.
Cindie
