1st Edition
This is Homeschooling Stories of Unconventional Learning Practices On the Road and In Nature
The number of homeschooling families has grown in recent years, along with the number of methods for learning at home. In this timely book, you’ll meet diverse families that are engaging in the day-to-day work of a variety of approaches, including self-directed learning, unschooling, nature-based education, farmschooling, wildschooling, and worldschooling.
Chapters and interludes are written by scholars and families engaged in this work, who show how their approaches take a balanced, slower-paced, and nature-minded approach to learning, nourishing the child’s heart and brain. They also address common critiques of homeschooling and show how it is something that can be normalized and encouraged as a positive educational tool, helping families bond and live life to the fullest. Each chapter includes practical applications you can use right away in your own journey.
Simultaneously inspirational and practical, this book will help guide and motivate those who are either considering or already homeschooling to see the possibilities of what learning and education can truly be.
Preface: A Battle Cry from the Homeschooling Community
Chapter 1: From Structured to Stepping Back Ginny Yurich
Chapter 2: The Greenhouse Effect Joel Salatin
Chapter 3: A Unique Education: Unschooling to Adulthood Ben Riley & Gina Riley
Chapter 4: The Parent–Child Apprenticeship: Navigating Learning with Little to No Curriculum
Katie Rybakova Mathews
Chapter 5: Self-Directed Education: An Interview with Dr. Peter Gray Katie Rybakova Mathews
Interlude: The Science Behind Nature-based Learning Michael R. Barnes
Chapter 6: Wildschooling Nicolette Sowder
Chapter 7: The Journey of a Soulful Artist Monet Poe
Chapter 8: Weaving Unschooling and Forest Schooling in Australia: How it Works for Our Families Nicki Farrell & Vicci Oliver
Chapter 9: A Balance of Screentime and "Green-time": An Interview with Linda McGurk Katie Rybakova Mathews
Interlude: Shared Lessons for Democracy? Robert Kunzman
Chapter 10: Trust in Your Journey: Lessons from a Worldschooling Family George Kaponay
Chapter 11: The True Advantage of Worldschooling: Time Alyson Long
Chapter 12: From Surfing to Schooling: There is More to Homeschool Than Worksheets
Robyn Robledo
Interlude: Mindfulness for Home Educators Hunter Clarke-Fields
I Am Isabelle Robledo
Conclusion Katie Rybakova Mathews
Biography
Katie Rybakova Mathews is a city-turned-country girl with a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Florida State University. She is an Associate Professor of Education at Thomas College and owns a homestead with her husband Eddie where they are raising two girls in the beautiful state of Maine along with Nigerian Dwarf goats and Salmon Faverolle chickens. Her expertise lies in literacy, technology, and young adult literature.
With contributors Nicolette Sowder, Hunter Clarke-Fields, Joel Salatin, Robert Kunzman, Ginny Yurich, Gina Riley, Ben Riley, Robyn Robledo, Monet Poe, George Kaponay, Michael R. Barnes, Nicki Farrell, Vicci Oliver, and Alyson Long.
