The Best Books with Homeschooled and Home Educated Kid Characters #homeschooling #homeeducation #books #booksforkids #homeschooledkidsbooks
When you step outside the mainstream and become a homeschooling or home educating family, finding book characters who learn outside a school setting is crucial.
We all want to see ourselves and our people in books and films, after all!
There aren't that many books with homeschooled and home educated kid characters, but here's our pick of the best books that reflect our, and your, family's lifestyle.
Read on for a curated a list of engaging, beautifully written and illustrated books that feature homeschooling families.
The Best Books with Homeschooled and Home Educated Kid Characters
Why can't our kids just read 'normal' books? Well of course they can and, given the choice, kids will read widely and enjoy a whole range of genres, time periods and a variety of characters.
But representation matters in literature, especially for children who are homeschooled and may not see themselves in traditional 'school stories'.
Picture books featuring homeschooled or home-educated characters can help children feel understood, seen and celebrated.
They also serve as conversation starters with friends and extended family, showing that learning at home is just as rich, valid and exciting as traditional schooling.
So if you’re searching for the best picture books with homeschooled or home educated characters, you’re in the right place!
These books make wonderful read-alouds, gifts, or additions to a homeschool library.
Just click on the pink writing to read more, read the reviews, or to purchase.
The Squirrel Who Homeschooled introduces young readers to a lovable squirrel who learns at home.
The story gently presents homeschooling in a fun, nature-filled way that resonates with children who spend their days exploring, creating and learning outside of a traditional classroom.
It validates the curiosity-driven approach many homeschool families take and is especially delightful for nature-loving kids.
We love that it's a story that features animals, and helps parents to reinforce the idea that learning happens everywhere.
This STEM-themed book is perfect for bedtime stories or for your morning basket.
It captures the simple joy of learning at home in pyjamas - a cute nod to one of the most iconic homeschool stereotypes that is a definite ADVANTAGE of homeschooling, especially for ND kids!
Kids will see their own family life celebrated on every page!
Snuggle up and join Nina and her brother Wild as they imagine a week full of homeschool adventures.
It will even inspire some STEM learning and adventures of your own and shows that learning at home is as flexible, playful, and fun as we make it!
This could be your family’s favourite first day of homeschool or NOT back to school book!
Celebrate the BEST reason to homeschool: being together.
Kids will love reading this poem again and again as they recognize various aspects of their day home with you and the best part of all, that mom is teacher, too.
The catchy poem and beautiful illustrations capture the heart of homeschooling in a way your kids can understand and relate to.
Miss Teacher Mom highlights the role of mums as both nurturers and educators, celebrating the idea that moms (and dads) can be teachers too, making a unique homeschool experience to be proud of.
One of the beauties of homeschooling is that learning doesn’t just happen at a desk.
I’m Learning Everywhere captures this perfectly, showing children how maths, reading, science and creativity happen in everyday moments from cooking in the kitchen to exploring outdoors.
From grandma's house to the grocery store, this book encourages kids to see daily life and the world around them as exciting opportunities to learn.
Our kids education is rich, dynamic and everywhere, and for homeschool families, that's the very nature of being a lifelong learner!
With an upbeat tone and colourful illustrations, My Schoolhouse Rocks! celebrates homeschooling as something exciting, empowering and, most of all, fun.
Each beautifully illustrated page depicts an aspect of homeschooling that your kids can look forward to in real life.
From reciting poems in a bubble bath to finding bugs on a morning nature walk, this book is sure to give your kids the giggles and all sorts of ideas for the school year ahead!
Learning can be full of joy and adventure, and it happens all day long for the homeschool family because your schoolhouse ROCKS!
Children are naturally curious, and sometimes homeschooled kids wonder why their education looks different from their peers’.
This thoughtful book answers that question in a loving, reassuring way.
It validates the child’s curiosity while also affirming the parent’s intentional choice to homeschool.
The warm storytelling helps families open up conversations about values, goals and the unique benefits of homeschooling.
This Is My Home, This Is My School is an authentic and heartwarming look at learning at home where science can happen in the garden or in the bath; and snuggling up on the couch is the perfect way to learn history.
With lively illustrations and a cosy narrative, it captures the essence of home as a place of learning, creativity and family connection.
Blending warmth, humour and relatability, all home educating families will recognise their everyday school day in this book!
This book gently reassures children that learning isn’t limited to school hours.
Perfect for kids about to start homeschool that see all their neighbourhood friends heading off to conventional school, it’s a celebration of curiosity and the natural ways children learn throughout the day.
Kids will see how their everyday playing, exploring, chatting and creating is just as valid as sitdown lessons and that child-led learning outside school offers variety, learning and fun fun fun!
Told from the perspective of Allison, a homeschooled child, this book normalizes the homeschool lifestyle and showcases the benefits of learning at home.
Its personal narrative makes it highly relatable for kids, but one parent mentions the amount this family gets done in a day may be a little intimidating for the rest of us!
But it is wonderful to see a story in print that reflect real homeschool voices.
While not strictly about homeschooling, this beautifully illustrated classic highlights a life lived outside traditional schooling structures.
Its themes resonate strongly with homeschool families who embrace learning through life experience and a non-traditional learning journey.
Like Miss Rumphius and other Barbara Cooney books, we love the rich storytelling and beautiful imagery of this story.
Based on the author’s childhood experience traveling in Italy instead of attending school, this story shows how rich and valuable alternative educational paths can be.
The protagonist skips the second grade to go with her family on an adventure to Italy to perform in her family's theatre troupe, "The Mystic Paper Beasts", for a year where she gets the chance to play the part of a bear in a piazza and a stork in an open-air theatre.
This story validates the idea that school can happen anywhere, and is perfect for families who travel often or want to emphasize that education happens beyond classrooms.
Why These Books Matter for Homeschooling Families
Homeschooling often means carving your own path outside of mainstream narratives.
That can be empowering, but sometimes it also leaves children feeling left out when they don’t see their lives reflected in stories.
Traditional 'back to school' picture books are fun, but they don’t always resonate with a child who learns at home, and that’s where these books come in.
Books with homeschooled or home educated characters:
- Provide representation: Children see themselves in the stories, affirming that homeschooling is normal and valued.
- Spark conversations: Books like Mama, Why Am I Homeschooled? give kids the chance to ask questions and process their unique schooling experience.
- Boost confidence: Titles like My Schoolhouse Rocks! remind children that their education is something to be proud of.
- Support family identity: Stories like Miss Teacher Mom and This Is My Home, This Is My School strengthen the connection between home, family, and learning.
How to Use These Picture Books in Your Homeschool
Not only are these books wonderful read-alouds, but they can also be incorporated into lessons and discussions.
Here are a few ideas:
- Language Arts: After reading, perhaops as part of your morning basket at the start of the new school year, encourage your child to write or draw their own story about being homeschooled.
- Social Studies: Talk about different kinds of schooling around the world and compare experiences.
- Family Bonding: Use these books as bedtime stories to remind your child how special their learning journey is.
- Library Building: Make these titles part of your permanent homeschool collection so your child can return to them whenever they need reassurance.
These books help to remind kids that learning at home is not only valid but also exciting, enriching, and worth celebrating.
If you’re building a homeschool library, these picture books with homeschooled characters are must-haves as they’re perfect for giving your children stories where they can truly see themselves.
More books your kids will love:
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