HLC: Haystack Full of Needles

Homeschool Library Connection is a Yahoo Group similar to Pope St. Nicholas V, except that the focus is on general homeschooling books.

Check to see if this title is already in your library's catalog. If it is, put a hold on it and check it out. If not, fill out a patron request form right away. This can usually be done online at your library's website.

Title: Haystack Full of Needles: A Catholic Home Educator's Guide to Socialization
Author: Alice Gunther
Publisher: Hillside Education
Date Published: July 2008
ISBN: 0979846951
ISBN-13: 978-0979846953
Price: $12.95
Amazon link

Blog Reviews:
Mary Gildersleeve
Nancy Brown
Jenn Miller
Suzanne Temple


Product Description

Most of us at one time or another have had to wrestle with the issue of socialization, either when dealing with friends and family members who question our decision to home educate, or when in our own hearts we worry about our children's hopes for friendship. In this book Alice shows that "Socialization is not the weakness of home education it is its strength and joy." Alice chronicles her own path from skepticism about home educating's ability to provide sufficient social experiences for her children, to the flowering of a local home school group that provides its members with meaningful social experiences within the context of home educating. Full of examples and practical suggestions, this will be an extremely uplifting addition to your cache of home education resources.

Editorial reviews:

Haystack Full of Needles calls itself A Catholic Home Educator s guide to Socialization but in reality it is much more than that. This book is exactly what we need in our modern world where so many have lost all sense of the value of community. Gunther speaks from a mother s heart, recognizing the human need for community and for social support, especially among Catholic homeschooling families where feelings of isolation and not fitting in can be demoralizing and discouraging.
--Danielle Bean, Senior Editor of Faith and Family Magazine

What makes Haystack Full of Needles so compelling is that it is much more than an explosion of the myth that homeschoolers lack proper socialization it is a vivid, lively, and detailed account of how homeschooling families can build community and friendship. The perfect blend of personal narrative and practical advice, Haystack Full of Needles is an inspiring heartwarming chronicle of the growth of a lively homeschooling community. At first, readers will wish they could live in Alice s neck of the woods and be a part of all the marvelous events she describes, but by the book s end, they ll be overflowing with excitement to put Alice s ideas into practice in their own homes, parishes, and homeschooling communities.
--Melissa Wiley, author of The Martha Years series and The Charlotte Years series