5 Books You Need to Include in Your Homeschool Curriculum

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Gwen_Nicodemus]Gwen Nicodemus
Homeschooling is wonderful not only because you can help your kids maintain their interest and love of learning, but because your kids (and you) can control your own curriculum and take sideways turns when desired. Here are some books that are good and promoting critical thinking and should be included in your curriculum.
The Ten Things All Future Mathematicians and Scientists Must Know (But are Rarely Taught) by Edward Zaccaro
I love using this book in my science classes because it makes kids think. It made me think the first time through it and I catch little nuances here and there still. The book is set up with histories and then asks questions. One of the stories is about how engineers knew the Challenger could fail, but managers ignored them. Why?
The Richest Man in Babylon by George C. Clason
This country is filled with people who are in debt, spend more money than they earn, and think consumerism is the end all, be all. Most homeschoolers I know don't want to perpetuate those values, and this book is a great way to bring money into the kids' education.
Back before the Great Depression, George C. Clason wrote parables about the richest man in Babylon and other fictional characters. The parables were designed to teach people some common sense things like save money, spend less than you earn, invest, and if something is too good to be true it probably is. These parables were published as pamphlets and given away by banks to customers. Eventually, they were published in book form as The Richest Man in Babylon. Each chapter is one of those pamphlets/parables and each one of those chapters strives to teach good money habits.
Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink
From my observations, homeschooled children tend to eat healthier than their brick-and-mortar schooled peers. Even so, society promotes junk food and over eating all over the place. When I was a kid, a large soda at a fast food restaurant was about 16 ounces, and now that is a small. When I was a kid, kids were skinny. The "fat kid" was a rarity. Now, when I walk by a school yard or a park I often think "Wow, those kids are chunky."
Mindless Eating is a great book for food discussions. It's good because it is not a diet book. It's a psychology and science book. If someone is given a bottomless bowl of soup, will they eat more than someone with a normal bowl? Does the price of food effect how much you eat? Does the serving size effect how much you eat? How many choices do you need to make each day?
Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People
This book was published during the Great Depression as a response to the bad economy and the job market. Even so, this book remains a great read during any economy. It was one of the books my father made each of his children read before leaving home, in fact. This book has treasures in it like smile even if you don't want to. Before you know it, you'll be smiling for real.
The Odyssey
Every child should hear or read the Odyssey. It's full of great stories, and even though it was "written" thousands of years ago, the stories still show up in popular culture, albeit different forms.  I think the Odyssey (Odysseus' trip home from the Trojan War) helps foster a love of literature. My kids went around acting out Odysseus and the cyclops yelling "Nobody poked my eye out" for a few days after hearing the story the first time. If your child doesn't like the Odyssey, then consider another classic like Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, or Animal Farm.
Gwen Nicodemus is a freelance engineer/writer and a homeschooling mom. Visit her website, [http://notionnexus.com/index.php/homeschooling-menu]Notion Nexus, for unit studies, worksheets, notes, and educational videos.
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