Rating: 
Summary: Not great but not awful
Review: On the most important subject to homeschoolers---teaching beginning reading--the Moores give poor advise. Read page 107. They advise you to be wary of "intensive" phonics but they don't define intensive phonics. They say that young children who have problems with reading are usually "just not ready." My experience has been that most such children have simply not had effective phonics.
The book's advice: If you have a weak background in phonics go out and get a book or program.
The idea is repeated from prevous books that many bright children devise systems of phonics and other attack skills largely by themselves. But a bright child might have got into useful reading much sooner had he been gently introduced to phonics. And what if you wait and wait and your bright child never does figure out the complexity of word decoding. Because the early years are so important to language acquistion, starting phonics two or three years later could limit the child's future potential and cause the parents (and child) much needless heartache and stress.
Don't, as the Moore's recommend, delay and wait for the light "to click on." When the child can name the letters of the alphabet gently start teaching systematic phonics. The bright students will move forward quickly, the slow ones will move slowly but none should experience failure if being taught by patient parents.
On page 105 he suggests "watching for opportunities" to teach. As in teaching the sound of o in oats. Most experts would say teach the sound of oa in oats.
The book condemns "zealots" who rush little children into formal reading. It says that development principles opposing this are as unchangeable as the Rock of Gibraltar. OK, I don't want to "rush" my child. My child wants to read. Tell me how to do it gently!!
This reviewer was concerned only with Chapter Three of this book.
Rating:
Summary: Poor reading advise.
Review: On the most important subject to homeschoolers---teaching beginning reading--the Moores give poor advise. Read page 107. They advise you to be wary of "intensive" phonics but they don't define intensive phonics. They say that young children who have problems with reading are usually "just not ready." My experience has been that most such children have simply not had effective phonics.
The book's advice: If you have a weak background in phonics go out and get a book or program.
The idea is repeated from prevous books that many bright children devise systems of phonics and other attack skills largely by themselves. But a bright child might have got into useful reading much sooner had he been gently introduced to phonics. And what if you wait and wait and your bright child never does figure out the complexity of word decoding. Because the early years are so important to language acquistion, starting phonics two or three years later could limit the child's future potential and cause the parents (and child) much needless heartache and stress.
Don't, as the Moore's recommend, delay and wait for the light "to click on." When the child can name the letters of the alphabet gently start teaching systematic phonics. The bright students will move forward quickly, the slow ones will move slowly but none should experience failure if being taught by patient parents.
On page 105 he suggests "watching for opportunities" to teach. As in teaching the sound of o in oats. Most experts would say teach the sound of oa in oats.
The book condemns "zealots" who rush little children into formal reading. It says that development principles opposing this are as unchangeable as the Rock of Gibraltar. OK, I don't want to "rush" my child. My child wants to read. Tell me how to do it gently!!
This reviewer was concerned only with Chapter Three of this book.
Rating: 
Summary: describes "The Moore Formula" for homeschooling
Review: The Moore's homeschooled their own children many years ago, when they were living overseas. Both Dr. and Mrs. Moore have careers in the education field and so are well aware of what goes on in primary and secondary education in America. They don't spent time bashing the schools in this book but instead promote homeschooling as a superior education.My short summary:
This book encourages children to be at home with a stay-at-home mother from infancy through school-age (avoiding preschool). Then they recommend not teaching reading until the child is ready, and that can fall between 8 and 12. They discourage forcing learning to read before age 8 citing eye problems and other problems may occur. Formal lessons in other subjects are to begin no sooner than age 8. There is no one right curriculum or method. The most important lessons in the early years are character formation and to form a close knit family bond. Don't run your home school just like a government (public) school. And lastly, have the child to volunteer work and be of service to others on a daily or weekly basis starting at a very young age. This they call "The Moore Formula" for success. Be forewarned: anyone who doesn't agree with these ideas will dislike portions of the book or the entire book. My longer summary:
First off the book jacket states the book will help you pick a curriculum. Whether that is something you want or something that turns you off please know that I could not find that information anywhere in the book and I did read it cover to cover. The book starts of with the most convincing argument I have found anywhere (including in general parenting books) as to the value of young children staying home with their mothers rather than attending preschool. In "Miseducation: Preschoolers At Risk", author David Elkind speaks to the problems that can occur when children go to preschool instead of staying at home with a parent but he doesn't spend a lot of time stating the true value of a strong bond with the at-home mother and Elkind doesn't focus hugely on the value of an intact and close knit family. The Moore's book does cover the value of a close-knit family in extensive detail. Character formation, instilling values and ethics and good social skills are the main goal of raising young children, according to the Moore's. This can only be accomplished when the children have a close relationship with their parents and when they are physically with their parents so the parent can guide them. Separation at young ages (i.e. going to preschool) prevents the parent from seeing the bad or inappropriate behavior and therefore not being able to correct it. I also feel that this separation can actually cause problems that then need to be fixed. The authors have spent years researching child physiological development, cognitive development, and reading readiness. The Moore's feel that children should not be taught to read before the age of 8 as a minimum and possibly until 12. For more on this topic. Read their book "Better Late than Early". If reading instruction begins too early, whether at home or at school, if they have difficulty they are labeled learning disabled and they feel other problems crop up such as self-esteem issues, acting out with bad behavior, etc.. How you feel about this opinion on reading will heavily influence how you like the book. If you are looking for proof that waiting a bit to teach reading is OK then you will like this book and also "Better Late than Early". If you have strong opinions against this idea then you will not like that portion of the book! In lieu of formalized lessons and reading instruction before age 8 or so, the Moore's recommend character formation as the main goal of home educating your child. Television viewing is to be kept to a minimum of quality programming if not banned entirely. Reading aloud to young non-readers is strongly encouraged. Being of service by volunteering is recommended on a weekly basis from a very young age. Parents should also model being of service to others by doing volunteer work themselves. The bottom line is that if we as parents spend time raising children with good personalities and social skills they will be fun to be around and well liked by others. By delaying reading and formal teaching until at least age 8, a lot of stress is avoided. The Moore's are Christian and I am guessing there are about 10 religious references overall made by the authors. Their faith is not noted on the book jacket. I mention this as some people seek out books written by Christian homeschoolers and other people prefer non-secular homeschooling books. There are 17 essays written by homeschooling families using the Moore method and some of those are laden with religious references such as saying that the Lord called them to homeschool or that they feel homeschooling is a responsibility dictated by the Bible. I have read other books where religious references outweighed the content, such as saying "to get the best curriculum for your child pray to the Lord and he will guide you". This book does not do that. The book is loaded with ideas, opinions, and references to studies, which provide substance. The most confusing thing to me was that throughout the book they reference using "the Moore formula" to have a stress-free home school but they don't say exactly what it is until the last chapter which is only 5 pages long. This short chapter really belongs at the beginning. I advise reading this chapter first and then as they go on to explain their formula in detail throughout the book you will understand the references they continually make to "The Moore Formula".
Rating:
Summary: Things you need to know if you are planning on homeschooling
Review: This book is full of great idea's and real stories. It gave me a lot to think about and helped me evaluate my reasons for wanting to homeschool. Throw out the flash cards and live "learning" with your children
Rating: 
Summary: What a Relief!
Review: This book was such a blessing! I had been practicing a lot of the Moores style of teaching and didn't even know it. I had a fifth grader reading a second grade level. I had been praying for guidance and felt it would be wrong to pressure her into reading. I followed her lead and we went to the library alot. She got started reading some Harry Potter books and before either of us knew what was happening she was hooked. She can now read fluently and is gaining confidence daily. I thought I had been doing things wrong and had no idea that I had been doing things right. What a relief to find all the information to back up what I was doing.
Rating:
Summary: borrow it if you can
Review: This book will help you to relax about homeschooling if you're stressing about it, but other than that, i was pretty dissapointed. If i could do it again, I'd try to borrow it from someone rather than spending money on it. In fact, I'm going to donate my copy to my local library. The Moores promote their way of homeschooling as the best way and encourage you to buy their 'Manual' to learn how. If you really want to know about their method, skip this book and get their manual. Do keep in mind that they were Seventh-Day Adventist, so if you're going to order from their catalog, just know that there are Adventist books in their Bible section.
Rating:
Summary: here's how to teachby living with your children
Review: This is the first book I read when looking into homeschooling. I had no intentions of actually homeschooling, but by the time I had finished reading what Dr. Moore had to say, I was thinking, "How could I NOT do it?" This book has a balanced approach that is reassuring and our children have responded to beautifully. It was written as very much against early formal schooling and pressuring children before they are ready, but it also does not swing to the other extreme by being too permissive and not teaching anything at all. In fact, being a person who tended to be far too permissive, I was convinced to work harder at being self disciplined for my children's sake. Laying down good habits is a large part of what Dr. Moore teaches. Having an orderly home is the first step to successful homeschooling, and once that is in place, teaching follows naturally. He shows how learning is part of life, and how to teach especially small children by our warm response to their questions. Covering everything from teaching reading,and preparing unit studies, to healthy eating, we get a good idea of how learning is a lifestyle and not something we just add to our regular day. The Moores have truly been a blessing to our family.
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