The Big Book of Home Learning: Preschool and Elementary

Rating:
Summary: Better, un-biased Books are Available
Review: As a homeschool parent, I do not begin a new school year without consulting this book. Mary Pride has done all of the hard work for you. She starts with Preschoolers in this book and takes you all the way to fifth grade. She lists every major subject and gives you a review of the many different curriculums avalible. She even lists the reviews alphabetically for you! I conduct an orientation program for new homeschoolers and I recommend all three volumes of "The Big Book of Home Learning" to every new homeschool parent that I talk to! Let's just hope that Mary Pride keeps producing these great resources.

Rating:
Summary: Very Critical and Condescending
Review: Don't waste your time or money. Mary Pride may be a homeschooler, but don't take her word as the "expert" she would like you to think she is. After insulting just about everyone, including other homeschoolers, the school system, parents who can't homeschool, parents that part-time homeschool, etc., she then "reviews" tons of books and "helpful" items you can use to homeschool or supplement education. She uses terms like "a joke" and "rinky-dink" to refer to curriculums for first graders and recommends skipping kindergarten and first grade curriculums altogether, but then goes on to review and recommend programs! Hello? What were you just saying? This book feels more like a big ad also, because included with her review are pictures, price, and where to find the books. I was hoping for a book with actual curriculum ideas, not someone's slanted reviews of someone else's curriculum. If you want to find good information, talk to other homeschoolers, and use your own judgement of the material. Mary Pride's negative attitude toward anything but what she likes in homeschooling gets in the way of her writing helpful, unbiased reviews.

Rating:
Summary: THE most helpful homeschooling book by far!
Review: Mary Pride does a fantastic job with this series. She reviews all the products so thoroughly. After having read MANY homeschooling books for over two years, this is by far the best. As a homeschooling parent of 11 or so children, she definitely knows what she's talking about. I appreciate the fact that she does not have a bias towards unschooling, unlike SO many of the homeschooling books out there. She is truly fair and does not "bash" the packaged curriculums. She also is fair about unschooling.
My only wish is that she would be more thorough about specific learning styles and specific products to match learning styles. She does this to a certain extent, but it's really only a cursory glance. I wish she would go into more detail on that.
Other than that - this is one of those books that I refer to time and time again, with lots of Post-It Notes and highlighted stuff!

Rating:
Summary: Superlative resource, but requires some intelligence to use
Review: Saddened at the thought that some might be dissuaded from using Mary Pride's terrific resource by the ill-informed reviews posted here, I will attempt to address the negative comments in previous reviews, specifically the review posted by "a reader."

Let me affirm what little I can from "a reader's" review. While it is not accurate that Pride "insults" "just about everyone," it's true that she isn't at all reluctant to point out the problems with institutionalized instruction in general and the public school system in particular. These problems have been well-documented in mainstream media, and are the reason why many of us are home schooling.

It is also accurate that Pride "reviews tons of books and helpful items you can use to homeschool." Our reviewer seems upset about this. He or she states, "I was hoping for a book with actual curriculum ideas, not someone's slanted reviews of someone else's curriculum." Let me gently explain to "a reader" that the Big Books were designed to be, primarily, a compendium of curriculum reviews. They were written to help the homeschooler evaluate the plethora of curriculum choices available. If you've ever wandered through a regional homeschool convention, with its acres of vendors hawking every variety of homeschool textbook, educational resources and widgets, you would understand just what a godsend the curriculum reviews in the "Big Books" really are.

Now, for the rest. Nowhere in her book - and I've purchased every edition of this series - does Mary Pride state that all first grade curricula are "a joke" and "rinky-dink." Pride used the phrase "rinky-dink" to describe the typical *history and science* curriculum for K through grade 3. She is not advocating ignorance of history and science, rather, that K-3 history and science would be better taught using non-textbook options, of which there are plenty.

It's true that Pride has definite opinions about which curricula are good, which are so-so, and which (in the case of one well-known phonics program) are good only for tossing in the trash. This will no doubt offend those who believe that only nice things should be said about every product. Though I don't agree with Pride on every review, her reviews are detailed enough that I can usually tell whether the product is going to fit my needs. Typically, curriculum reviews make every product sound like the perfect solution to your child's educational needs. The "Big Books" are different. Pride's zippy, opinionated reviews are precisely what make this book such a godsend to the over-offered homeschooler trying to sort the wheat from the chaff.

Those who have not had access to any of the "Big Books" may be misled by "a reader's" statement that "this book feels more like a big ad." As a service to her readers, Mary Pride has tracked down contact information for hundreds of curriculum sellers, in addition to pricing (up-to-date as of the publication date of each book). For those of us who are reading these guides in order to make purchase decisions, this information is invaluable, saving us countless hours hunting down suppliers.

In summary, our reviewer counsels, "If you want to find good information, talk to other homeschoolers, and use your own judgement [sic] of the material." Wonderful. Go ahead and "use your own judgment" to evaluate the hundreds of books and curricula now being marketed to homeschoolers. Purchase copies of it all so that you can take it home and give it more than a cursory flip-through. After you've spent the money and done the research, please publish your findings and share it with the rest of the homeschool community, most of whom don't have the time or resources to do this. Until that time, busy homeschoolers will continue to benefit from the thousands of hours logged in by Mary Pride and her team of evaluators.


Rating:
Summary: Very helpful and informative
Review: This is a great book. Really worth getting.
The only wish I had was that she would go into greater detail with regards to specific learning styles and specific products. She only gives cursory glance at this.

Rating:
Summary: Very Critical and Condescending
Review: This is a great resource for anyone who is considering homeschooling. There are suggested websites, reviews of curriculums with contact information provided. It was very inspirational to see the stories of people who have homeschooled and how successful their students were/are. Chock full of advice and suggestions and things to consider, this book is a wonderful resource.