Although I’ve homeschooled my children for almost twelve years now, I hardly ever talk about it. It’s one of those things like politics or religion where people can have some pretty strong opinions about the “right” way to do it. So I’ve kept my thoughts to myself and just focused on my own kids and tried to not tell everyone else how to raise theirs.

Now that I’m nearly done with raising and schooling both of my children, though, I might stick my hand up a couple of times to share certain things that I enjoyed about homeschooling.

Of course, the first and most life-changing aspect of homeschooling was my re-connection with children’s book authors and illustrators. The most striking moment came the day that I checked out the Little Bear series of books for my children to read at our local library. Seeing those titles on a list brought to me the memory of the same titles written in my mother’s handwriting on my completed Summer Reading program sheet from the ’70s.

These books were still around and the beautiful illustrations and sensitive stories were just as appealing to my own children as they were to me when I was little. I began to collect all of the books from the I Can Read series and found the Science I Can Read books to be the most fun because I was able to share good stories, great illustrations, and actual knowledge with my children.

I still haven’t found all of them, but I’ll share a few that are available in my shop.

Red Tag Comes Back by Fred Phleger with pictures by Arnold Lobel (Harper & Row, 1961)

Seeds and More Seeds by Millicent E Selsam with pictures by Tomi Ungerer (Harper & Row, 1959)

Terry and the Caterpillars by Millicent E Selsam with pictures by Arnold Lobel (Harper & Row, 1962)

Greg’s Microscope by Millicent E Selsam with pictures by Arnold Lobel (Harper & Row, 1963)

Let’s Get Turtles by Millicent E Selsam with pictures by Arnold Lobel (Harper & Row, 1965)

Prove It! by Rose Wyler and Gerald Ames with pictures by Talivaldis Stubis (Harper & Row, 1963)