The Bible
“Matthew 22:37 has been my greatest inspiration for teaching classically: ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.’” “Isaiah 28:9-10 showed me that God had designed us to learn following an orderly progression, which the trivium defines: ‘Whom will He teach knowledge? And whom will He make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.’” “The Biblical examples of Daniel, Joseph, and Paul were an inspiration that a man can be well-versed in VAST areas of knowledge and still be godly.”

Catalogs
“The Elijah Co. catalog helped me immensely by telling me what to teach and when to teach it. Greenleaf Press and Great Christian Books catalogs were also good. The Veritas Press catalog does the same thing.”

The CE Loop
“What could be better than asking a question about Latin pronunciation, an ancient Greek resource, or a forgotten Bible verse, and having your question answered within hours by seven different people?!!” Support for Classical Educators lists the many classical e-lists and their subscription information currently taking new members which are now available to homeschoolers.

The Death of Christian Culture by John Senior
“The Reading and Literature page is based on the 1000 Good Books / 100 Great Books theory of John Senior, introduced in this book. John Senior helps us understand what we have lost, and shows us how we can reclaim it. He follows up this gem with The Restoration of Christian Culture.”

Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum by Laura Berquist
“This resource provided excellent practical help. After my curriculum was planned for the year, I checked mine against Laura’s to see if I had forgotten anything.”

Discussion Boards
“The PHS boards (now the COHS boards) on AOL answered homeschooling questions that I didn’t even know I had!” There are several boards available for discussing classical education, all listed at Support for Classical Educators.

For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaualey
“This book gave me the courage to take off the textbook training wheels, and begin to include “living books” and real literature in our curriculum. It has been wonderful for our homeschool.”

Good & Great Books
“All the beautiful and thought-provoking poetry, literature, and great books I have had the privilege to read since beginning, especially, classical education, have introduced me to beauty of language and thought that is not commonly found in modern reading material.” (See The 1000 Good Books List and The 100 Great Books List for suggestions of good and great books.)

The Home Schooling Series by Charlotte Mason
“These books invited me to keep my standards high, and provided motivation, inspiration, and love for the Lord and my children when the going got rough. She helped me to use real books instead of only textbooks, and began our homeschool method of “reading and writing back.” This series continues to be a blessing.”

Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt
“I was raised a reader and loved books, but in the first church we went to after my husband and I were married, anything “secular” was looked on as dangerous. I never realized how deeply this philosophy had been ingrained in us until I read Mrs. Hunt’s book. This book set me free from that bondage. I am reminded again of the beautiful quote from C.S. Lewis, about the heart of praise finding what is worthwhile, while others merely lengthen the list of books to be banned. Amen to that.”

How Should We Then Live? by Francis Schaeffer
“This and other theological works by Francis Schaeffer showed me that philosophy could be explained in a Christian framework.”

Invitation to the Classics by Louise Cowen & Os Guiness
“This book has certainly provided the catalyst for my own continued reading.”

The Lost Tools of Learning by Dorothy Sayers
“This essay has been the number one influencer for me in understanding and implementing classical theory.” The speech can be found online at The Lost Tools of Learning.

Marva Collins’ Way by Marva Collins and Civia Tamarkin
“This book was an inspiration for teaching classics even in difficult situations. Hers was the first reading list I collected.”

The Narrated Bible
“This chronological Bible helped me to begin teaching history in a chronological manner.”

Poetry As a Means of Grace by Charles Osgood
“This book showed me the connection between beautiful literature and the Lord.”

Practical Homeschooling, The Way Home by Mary Pride
“Mary Pride is a pioneer, and her books and magazines shared much wisdom with me.”

Putting Amazing Back into Grace by Michael Horton
“Michael Horton’s works helped me to put my focus on the Lord and off of me in my life and homeschool.”

Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning by Doug Wilson
“This book provided the initial motivation to a passion for excellence in education in our home and grew within me a curiosity as to *how* it could be accomplished.”

Why Johnny Can’t Read by Rudolf Flesch
“This book explained the theory and practical wisdom of a true systematic phonics method, and was all I really needed to teach my sons to read.”

You Can Teach Your Child Successfully by Ruth Beechick
“Ruth Beechick tears down the veil that separates us parents from the educational establishment’s holy of holies, and explains the mystery of education so that us regular joes can tackle it. Full of common sense, this book gave me the courage I needed to continue homeschooling, something I knew God was asking of us, when the world was saying, “But you aren’t qualified!”