Homework Advice from a Canadian Homeschooler

The most heavily referenced book in our collection is Human Body! This book is opened on almost a daily basis by my young learners, who are fascinated by how bodies work. The chance to see exactly what's going on inside their bodies with the beautiful, larger-than-life photographs and artwork has been a great source of discussion and discovery.

It's a new book to us, but already has been referenced several times. Over a family dinner, my kids crowded around the book, flipping pages and talking excitedly about what they were looking at. Spiders seemed to be a popular topic, likely because the pictures were amazing and offered a safe way (i.e. no bugs jumping unexpectedly on anyone) to learn more. When my 4-year-old asked about what kinds of food gorillas ate, we went to the book for answers. She loved to learn that they ate mostly fruit.

My older kids are getting into more complicated topics in their schoolwork—especially math. When one of my kids was struggling with understanding fractions and how to use them, I needed a quick refresher before I could do it with him. I pulled out my copy of Help Your Kids With Math and quickly got a reminder on how exactly the steps go. It helps my kid too, who sometimes needs to see things to get a clearer idea of how it works.

The last year or so, we've been studying ancient world history. History Year By Year is one book we keep on the table for quick reference while we are reading our curriculum. This book is essentially a huge timeline, allowing kids to see the development of history page by page. Plus, it includes other events that are going on in the world at the same time as the topics we're covering. This means kids get a wider understanding of history.

DK has so many outstanding books for science that it is hard to pick a favourite. The newest one in our collection is Explanatorium of Science. The pictures and artwork offer an up-close and personal view of experiments in progress which, even if you tried to recreate them yourself, you could never really capture. It's beautiful and educational, and gets kids thinking about how things work, such as volcanoes, kidneys, flight, and combustion. It's a terrific resource for our homeschool.

Lisa Marie Fletcher is a homeschooling mom of 5 kids ranging from preschool to high school. When her homeschooling journey began, she searched for Canadian homeschooling resources and started to share them online. That was the beginning of The Canadian Homeschooler - a mission that today is about helping Canadian homeschoolers connect with each other and with resources to help them on their journey. In February, she hosts an online homeschool conference which is open to anyone who could use some encouragement and ideas. Find out more at CanadianHomeschoolConference.com