Homeschooling Our Children Unschooling Ourselves

Rating:
Summary: A great read for any unschooling family!
Review: <font color=red>I found this book inspiring -- a great story of an unschooling family's journey through their children's development!</font>Having been through the controversial practice of unschooling (and now with two grown, successful children to show for it) the author has much wisdom and insight to share. I couldn't put this book down and read the entire thing in one weekend (no small feat with 3 small children!). I borrowed this book from a friend to read initially, but promptly bought my own copy. I'm happy to have it as a resource -- I've already re-read sections and am sure I will re-read much more as I embark on our own unschooling journey.

Rating:
Summary: Not quite what I had hoped for
Review: As someone spanning the bridge between unschooling their own children and working in the school system, Allison brings great insite into why the school system can't, by its very nature, provide the flexibility and nurturing qualities of home education. However, I wish the book had been a little more well-ordered, not subject-wise, but chronologically, so that we could more easily join the family on their journey through the unschooling process. Still, a worthwhile and enjoyable read, and a good book to share with others to help explain why we homeschool out children.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect Timing
Review: Being a former public school teacher who wanted to unschool my own child, I found great difficulty letting things happen at their own time, in their own way. Alison McKee's book helped me breathe again and appreciate my child's pace and interests in a way no other homeschooling book was able to do. While I was reading it, I felt that it was perfect timing for me to find this book. I felt ready to hear what it had to say. I attributed that feeling to my own set of curcumstances at the time -- former teacher, resistant child/student. As it turned out, everyone who I have talked to about it, felt the same way. It was perfect timing in their lives to read this book. Thanks go to Alison McKee for sharing her family's story in such a clear and honest way.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect Timing
Review: Being a former public school teacher who wanted to unschool my own child, I found great difficulty letting things happen at their own time, in their own way. Alison McKee's book helped me breathe again and appreciate my child's pace and interests in a way no other homeschooling book was able to do. While I was reading it, I felt that it was perfect timing for me to find this book. I felt ready to hear what it had to say. I attributed that feeling to my own set of curcumstances at the time -- former teacher, resistant child/student. As it turned out, everyone who I have talked to about it, felt the same way. It was perfect timing in their lives to read this book. Thanks go to Alison McKee for sharing her family's story in such a clear and honest way.

Rating:
Summary: Very Instructive
Review: The most convincing evangelist is a reformed sinner, and Alison McKee, herself a practicing teacher, comes across as a most credible proponent of homeschooling in this consistently insightful book. No vapid cheerleading here. Like many another anxious parent, McKee and her husband suffer from uncertainties while seeking that elusive balance between structure and free exploration as their two children progress through the elementary and high school years. Readers of this book will come to understand how great a gulf lies between the initial decision to school ones children at home - which for many parents simply replaces one set of rigidities with another - and the real leap off the precipice to unschooling. Whether or not one is prepared to go all the way, as McKee ultimately does (with successful results), the book will undoubtedly bring the reader face to face with one of the most fundamental, and generally unasked, questions of education: what (if anything) does what children learn have to do with what they become? This is a great pick-me-up for home-schooling parents, and a thought-provoking explanation for those who seek to understand homeschooling. But anybody who is interested in learning will find grist for her or his own mental mill here.

Rating:
Summary: Very Instructive
Review: The most convincing evangelist is a reformed sinner, and Alison McKee, herself a practicing teacher, comes across as a most credible proponent of homeschooling in this consistently insightful book. No vapid cheerleading here. Like many another anxious parent, McKee and her husband suffer from uncertainties while seeking that elusive balance between structure and free exploration as their two children progress through the elementary and high school years. Readers of this book will come to understand how great a gulf lies between the initial decision to school ones children at home - which for many parents simply replaces one set of rigidities with another - and the real leap off the precipice to unschooling. Whether or not one is prepared to go all the way, as McKee ultimately does (with successful results), the book will undoubtedly bring the reader face to face with one of the most fundamental, and generally unasked, questions of education: what (if anything) does what children learn have to do with what they become? This is a great pick-me-up for home-schooling parents, and a thought-provoking explanation for those who seek to understand homeschooling. But anybody who is interested in learning will find grist for her or his own mental mill here.

Rating:
Summary: Superb book!
Review: This is a wonderful inspirational story of one family's journey through unschooling beginning at their decision to homeschool. This book is not really about the hows of homeschooling, but more about the whys. Reading this book completely reaffirmed our decision to homeschool. It helped us see that a traditional mode of education isn't necessary to help our children become happy well-rounded educated people. This would be a great book to give to others who wonder why we homeschool.

Rating:
Summary: Superb book!
Review: This is a wonderful inspirational story of one family's journey through unschooling beginning at their decision to homeschool. This book is not really about the hows of homeschooling, but more about the whys. Reading this book completely reaffirmed our decision to homeschool. It helped us see that a traditional mode of education isn't necessary to help our children become happy well-rounded educated people. This would be a great book to give to others who wonder why we homeschool.