cover image The Brainy Bunch: The Harding Family’s Method to College Ready by Age Twelve

The Brainy Bunch: The Harding Family’s Method to College Ready by Age Twelve

Kip and Mona Lisa Harding. S&S/Gallery, $21.99 (240p) ISBN 978-1-4767-5934-0

Motivated by their Christian faith and dissatisfaction with the lack of personal attention children receive in the classroom, plus being a military family who moved frequently, the Hardings chose to homeschool their children—all 10 of them. Starting with early reading, writing, and math workbooks from Christian homeschooling enterprises and tutorials from Mom in Spanish, social studies, read-aloud literature, and Bible study, the Hardings then added music lessons, individual reading, and AYSO soccer to a year-round curriculum later enhanced with online university offerings, Internet courses, and, eventually, classes at local community, state, and private Christian colleges. Dedicated to teaching their kids “to love Jesus first and others second,” the Hardings believe accruing knowledge and faith is better facilitated at home until kids reach a level where college classes are appropriate. Their program is heavy on practicality and light on intellectual rigor, but the work ethic and family bonding are impressive, as are the children’s career successes: an engineer, an architect, the youngest female surgeon in the Navy; an entrepreneur, a musician and a historian still in college; and little ones just learning to read. The book includes the Harding children’s essay about why they preferred and appreciated homeschooling, as well as suggested resources and basic reading lists. Eight-page photo insert. [em]Agent: Steve Troha, Folio Literary Management. (May) [/em]