The Call of the Wild and Free: Reclaiming Wonder in Your Child's Education

by Ainsley Arment

Allow your children to experience the adventure, freedom, and wonder of childhood with this practical guide that provides all the information, inspiration, and advice you need for creating a modern, quality homeschool education.

Inspired by the spirit of Henry David Thoreau-All good things are wild and free-mother of five Ainsley Arment founded Wild + Free. This growing online community of mothers and families want their children to receive a quality education at home by challenging their intellectual abilities and nurturing their sense of curiosity, joy and awe-the essence of a positive childhood.

The homeschool approach of past generations is gone-including the stigma of socially awkward kids, conservative clothes, and a classroom setting replicated in the home. The Wild + Free movement is focused on a love of nature, reading great books, pursuing interests and hobbies, making the entire world a classroom, and prolonging the wonder of childhood, an appealing philosophy that is unpacked in the pages of this book

The Call of the Wild and Free offers advice, information, and positive encouragement for parents considering homeschooling, those currently in the trenches looking for inspiration, as well as parents, educators, and caregivers who want supplementary resources to enhance their kids' traditional educations.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Education, Audiobook, Nature, Childrens, Family

Audio CD

First published September 1, 2019

About the author

Ainsley Arment is the founder of Wild + Free, co-founder of Wild Explorers Club and the Wild + Free Farm Village, and host of the weekly Wild + Free podcast. She and her husband Ben are raising their five children, Wyatt, Dylan, Cody, Annie, and Millie, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. | IG: @ainsl3y | bewildandfree.org

Reviews

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t love this book. Perhaps it’s because this is my 9th year of homeschooling and I’ve already read or heard or learned everything the author lays out in this book. Yes, don’t push early academics. Yes, let them play a lot, especially when they’re little. Yes, read living books as much as possible. Yes, do what works for your family, not for everyone else’s family. Yes, all of life is learning and education. Unfortunately, the author’s tone came off as smug, self-satisfied, and superior to me, which was very off-putting. Different families do school at home different ways during different seasons for many reasons. It irked me how often she told me what HER family did, as if it were the gold standard and all other ways of doing school were inferior. I guess I didn’t realize what I was getting when I grabbed this book; had I know, I would have skipped it. In fact, I did skip whole sections of information that regurgitated the same stuff others have been saying for years and years in books, articles, blog posts, and conferences. Honestly, if you’ve been homeschooling for more than a few years, you’ve probably heard all this before in a more condensed, less grating tone. Save yourself time and money by skipping this book. If you are new to homeschooling, this will probably all seem new and wild and free and worthwhile. And much of it is, but know that life happens, seasons of home schooling call for different approaches, our kids don’t always follow our plans, and you just take it day by day, month by month, and year by year, adjusting what works for your family as you go. Maybe nature outings won’t work for a season for some reason - you are not ruining your child’s childhood or academic success! Textbooks have their place and sometimes they’re useful. A few thrown into the mix from time to time won’t kill your child’s love of learning and curiosity. If read alouds don’t work out for a season, audiobooks are great and you’re not a terrible parent for outsourcing that part of schooling. We have a lot of freedom in our homeschooling - more than I think this book acknowledges - and we need to give ourselves grace to do what the Lord leads us to, even if it doesn’t look like the picture so many of these homeschooling movements paint for us.

[Margo Rae Skywalker · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a big fat DNF for me.

Here are some direct quotes:
••"Some people need systems and programs to feel secure. They want prescriptions to follow so they can feel that they've accomplished something. This is why families come away from homeschool conventions with arms full of boxed curriculums. This fear of missing out (FOMO as we call it) drives an entire industry of educational products, and it's all completely unnecessary."••

Okay, Judgy McJudgerson. What happened to all your talk about inclusion for all types of homeschooling methods? I, for one, am super appreciative for all that "completely unnecessary" stuff. I've heard it referred to as curriculum.

"As a homeschooler, you don't have to calculate how many gallons of theoretical milk a herd of cows can produce, you can actually milk them yourself and ask the farmer about sustainable farming while you're at it." -- But how does that help you with math?!?!

No thanks. I'll stick to my completely useless textbooks, student quizzes and teacher guides. Then, when we're done with our studies, we'll go on a hike through the forest and play in the river.
Boom.
Wild, Free + Educated.

[Mischenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I've been homeschooling for 14+ years, this book still had a lot of helpful information for me. I just happened to open it up to a random page and was instantly hooked. Then I wanted to rip out pages to post near my desk. It's positive and uplifting. Just what I needed as we round up another year.

5*****

[Sarah Clews · Rating 2 out of 5]

Warning—this review is going to be rather harsh. I was actually expecting a lot from this book although I suspected it would not completely align with my own homeschooling philosophy. What I found as I read was a book much more repetitive, cliché, and “my way or the highway” than I expected.

First—the good. I do think the author’s main point (which she probably could have made in one chapter) is that we don’t have to subject our children to hours of workbooks to homeschool them. She touts the value of being in nature and letting childhood curiosity and wonder lead the way. I think these are good ideas.

Whenever she actually refers to Charlotte’s Mason’s ideas, I found that I resonated with it. The ones that stood out would be the concepts of born persons, the value of free time and play in a child’s life, and meaningful work.

My first objection to this book is the idea that the only way to give your child a wonderful childhood is my homeschooling in the “Wild and Free” fashion. I think that’s pretty narrow minded. I know lots of public schooled children who are having a fine experience and a good childhood, not to mention homeschoolers.

She also says that “homeschooling isn’t for everyone,” but she makes the strong insinuation that this type of “Wild and Free” homeschooling is the only way to give your child a magical childhood. So…homeschooling isn’t for everyone but if you don’t do it this way, you’re doing it wrong.
My second objection is the idea that we should never make our children do anything. That’s the strong impression I got from what she said. If our children are struggling with a subject, we shouldn’t push them to get through it because that’s harsh. I think that’s ridiculous. In order to get better, smarter, or do any type of learning, pushing through a challenge is necessary. On page 30 she quotes Peter Gray talking about “pure math” or “playful math.” She poses this in opposition to drilling a child to learn math. I just could not resonate with that idea at all.

The part I was looking forward to the most was the descriptions of different homeschooling styles. I found this to be very disappointing and did find myself learning anything new. The writing style was very muddy and confusing. I still cannot tell you the difference between the styles.

Objection #3. Chapter 15—Creating a Family Culture. I choked when I read this first paragraph. “Every family has a culture, even if it’s not intentional…Some families are rigid and strict; others are freewheeling and fun. Some are full of joy and tradition; others are full of sadness and brokenness.” The contrasts here are so extreme. As though a family can’t have both sadness and tradition? I resented the implications here.

Let’s jump all the way to page 285. “Begin the day with gladness. Make seriousness forbidden.” Again, another statement I just think is ridiculous. Some parts of life and learning and childhood are just work and require seriousness. This is ok! This is real life training for being an adult. Nothing wrong with having play and joy and fun things too but I just take issue with this concept.

Oh…and page 294, where she speaks against letting your baby cry it out. What place does that have in this book?

This book barely resonated with me and I found myself in a state of constant irritation from the flow of dogmatic statements and cliché phrases in it. Overall, I actually found it boring and repetitive. It was hard to bring myself to finish it.

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. The tone of this book came off as smug and inconsistent. Some of the chapters were like a pep talk and others felt like passive condemnation. The author was insistent she was inclusive of all homeschooling types, yet her own personal anecdotes and those of her “tribe” she chose to include did not communicate inclusivity and acceptance of all types. I would recommend reading the extensive library of books by the authors whose quotes she sprinkled throughout the book (Charlotte Mason, etc) rather than reading this. It would be very overwhelming for a new homeschooler and is probably nothing new to anyone who has been homeschooling for any amount of time.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I follow Wild + Free on Instagram, so I was excited to read this book by the founder of the community. While some parts of the book were good, helpful, and encouraging, my overall feeling after reading it was that I wasn’t homeschooling the “right” way. I don’t believe this is the author’s intent, but so much of the book felt like, “there’s no right or wrong way to do it, but this is how I do it (and that’s really the right way).” Bummer that it didn’t strike a chord with me, but it seems to be great for other people.

[Cara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a traditional school mom who tends to read a lot of homeschooling books. Why? Because so many of their philosophies resonate with our values about childhood and adventure. And when I need encouragement as a stay-at-home mom, I can often replace the word 'homeschool' with 'stay-at-home mom' and it reminds me why our family makes the choices we do.
This was an excellent read to inspire curiosity and imagination as well as a balm to sooth the constant pressure we all feel to do 'enough'. It gives us the much needed permission to do things differently than the rest of society and not be ashamed of it or question whether how we are or aren't spending every minute of every day is ruining our kids. Freedom from expectations. Wild + Free.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been homeschooling for twenty years and I have to say this is one of those books I would recommend to other homeschool educators. If you are a new homeschooling parent then I would say read Susan Schaefer Macaulay’s book For the Children’s Sake first, Charlotte Mason’s six books on education second (even if you don’t plan on using her methods exclusively), and while you are wading through those six books read this for inspiration and some practical advice and you should be caught up and ready to go.
This is also good for the burned out mom or dad who needs some hints and ideas on how to get the joy of life with kids back.
I had not heard of the Wild + Free website or movement and do not believe you need to have seen it to find this book useful.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A homeschooling book for the new homeschooling mom who is maybe not confident in her ability to educate her child. This is more of a jumping off point, read the books by the authors quoted in here if you want the nitty gritty of how to homeschool. This is probably not the first book I would give to someone thinking about homeschooling, but I would include it on a list if the mom was leaning toward unschooling or a more child led education.

As a side note the Kindle version has some typos, not so many that it takes away from the book but enough that I hope they are corrected in the future.

[Dani Paige · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am neither an educator or a mom and yet I felt insulted by the tone of this book. xD

Here is a ~*~dramatic~*~ summary of what I read:
-If you have your children going to a traditional school, you don't really love them
-If you don't make your entire existence dedicated to your child playing outside in nature, you don't really love them.
-If you are worried about the expense that goes into providing a well-rounded education for your child, you need to magically make everything work (supplies, potential tutors, no second income, etc.) or else you don't really love them.
-Buy my Wild + Free program, or else you don't really love your children.

On a more serious (and less sassy) note, I did not feel there was a lot of practical application and advice given; it felt more like I was being talked down to by a pushy salesman. If I was a parent seeking out different forms of education for my child, this book would've just made me feel very sh*tty about myself.

I am 100% sure that was not the intention, but again, the tone really put me off.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a huge fan of Ainsley Arment and her Wild + Free lifestyle/movement for a few years so when I heard about her book coming out, I immediately put my request in at the library. Reading this book felt like I was being wrapped in a cozy blanket or a big hug from a close friend...familiar and comfortable. Arment’s words reinvigorated my passion for homeschooling and made me feel empowered. I will be ordering my very own copy of Wild + Free because not only is it filled with wonderful resources and ideas, but it will serve as a reminder when doubt creeps in. AND this book is absolutely beautiful...they way it’s put together, the words, and pictures (both photos and artwork).
It is so easy to get caught in the comparison traps or what other people think and this book helps to reaffirm your reasonings and beliefs. It helps to bring back the joy and magic AND beauty of homeschooling. It’s all about finding your style (yours and your child’s) and rhythm...and if that means testing out various methods so be it. Keeping the love for learning alive and the sense of wonder strong...and letting kids be kids!

I loved this book SO MUCH and highly recommend it to all homeschooling parents and to anyone on the fence about homeschooling.

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book like cheesecake. I savored it bit by precious bit. It is beautifully written and right on point in every area. I highlighted on every page and underlined and drew and made smiley faces. I told all my homeschool mommas about it and told them they must read it! If I could buy this for all my friends that aren’t currently homeschooling, without them hating me for it, I would. It will blow your mind if your kids are in a school and make you want to bring them home....and for those mommas i DARE you to read this. If you already homeschool like I do, it will just reinforce your “why am I doing this” on your lowest and hardest days. Now that I’ve read it, my husband needs to read it so he can be in my head....but maybe after I’ve digested it a second time. It’s truly a gem of a book. It will make you hug your kids a little tighter for sure.

[Maijabeep · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reads more like an internet manifesto instead of an interesting book. Few ideas that I really disagree with but lots of repetition. Probably good as a general overview for people who have done very little reading on home educating.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should begin with the fact that if you saw my family on any given Friday, you’d assume we fit right into the authors world. And you’d probably be right. We have some similar priorities and goals. But, as a mama who appreciates arguments being given logically with solid proofs, this book fell off the pedestal that the Instagram and lifestyle it promotes remains upon. It simply came across like a series of mommy-war style blog posts. The tone is very condescending and the author does not come across as a humble learner or teacher. The things Wild + Free stands for are wonderful and many elements are well proven, but I think you’d spend your time better in some other books to discover them (like For the Children’s Sake, or Echo in Celebration, or 10 Ways to Destroy the Imagination of your Child, or However Imperfectly, to name a few).

[Mandy Crumb · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do you ever wish you had a remote control and could use it to rewind, pause, or fast forward life? I do! I would use it to recoup the hours I wasted reading this book.
This book showcases one specific way to homeschool and strongly implies that all others are incorrect. I am a veteran homeschooler and had hoped to learn something new from this book. I didn't.
The author comes off as though "her" way to homeschool is the best. It's not. Whatever way works for you and your family IS the best way!
Her tone implies if you don't want to spend six hours a day outside nature journaling and slinging mud, you're doing it wrong. You're not.
Her tone implies if you buy a boxed curriculum, you're doing it wrong. You're not.
Her tone implies if you and your children like textbooks and workbooks, you're doing it wrong. You're not.
Her tone implies that if you use schedules and don't want to unschool, you're doing it wrong. You're not.
If you like spending time with your children and want to learn alongside them, you'll be fine. Don't let someone steal your confidence and shame you into schooling in a way that is not the best for your life. Dear mammas, you are the expert on your children! You were born for this! You can do hard things!

[Joanne | wellreadcoffeeaddict · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I got out of this book was different from my expectations going into it. I expected a homeschooling how-to book but instead, it's more of a pep talk / strong encouragement for mamas to keep going.

It does have strong bias towards homeschooling - but really, what homeschooler doesn't? After all the years of justifying a non-conformable upbringing to the conformable, standardized public, I have a pretty strong bias against the school system, myself. So just know going into this book she has a method to her schooling that works for her and so many others, and that's what she's talking about. You won't find her straying into other ways of schooling very often.

She highlights the benefits of homeschooling and I loved all her 'outside' research. She also stresses the importance of childhood, and not racing our children into being mini adults before they're ready. That's something I've always thought so I'm happy to see it prioritized here.

Basically, if you need someone to give you permission to jump off the edge and start homeschooling, read this book. I'm very happy I picked this up, and now I'm off to check out some of the titles she recommends!

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve got some thoughts. The first half of the book is a hard sell on the beauty of homeschooling- and it can be tempting to put a glossy IG filter on it.

But it’s a lot of hard work and only as healthy as the parents who are teaching their children. It is not the best choice for everyone. Some kids need the care of professionals, parents need breaks, and some kids thrive in a classroom.

Second half was more interesting, talking about homeschooling in practice and how literature-based education can provide a deeper love of learning.

Is a bad book? No.

I read Sally Clarkson’s book on nurturing wonder in children and would recommend it over Wild + Free. While Ainsley can get people excited, Sally’s kids are all adults and launched into their careers. It’s a longer view of education.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Dear friend, don’t let the bustling culture determine the needs of your own children. You get to choose how they grow up. You can protect their time, energy, and imagination. You are the gatekeeper of the garden of their childhood.”

I’ll just let this quote from the book speak for itself. This book was a balm for my soul as we enter into our 6th year of homeschooling. A reminder to make more time for the things that matter and to spend less time worrying about the things they can catch up on later. Inspiration to finally start nature journaling. Ideas for how to help my kids pursue their individual passions. Freedom to listen more closely to some of the whispers I’ve pushed down over the last few years in fear of comparison. Renewed inspiration for my kids to be raised Wild + Free.

[Amanda Gregg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am of two minds with The Call of The Wild + Free:

1) I was pleasantly surprised that the bulk of the content wasn’t recycled from the Wild + Free content bundles, and Arment made some strong points in the first quarter of the book.

2) BUT overall, the content was light and a rehashing of the works of others. Arment quotes a lot of great thinkers and writers on alternative education options and nature education, but having read those books already I didn’t learn anything new from her work.

This book would be great for a new homeschooling mother, but didn’t offer much for those of us who have been homeschooling for years. And it was especially light fare for those of us who are active in Wild + Free groups, have attended the conferences, or have subscribed to the content bundles.

[Sarah Robbins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book but it was medium to me. I've been homeschooling for quite a few years and already have my style so those sections weren't as informative to me. I don't know the author but I listened to the audiobook and the tone just made me a little uncomfortable. If I weren't secure in my own choices, I think it'd made me feel judged or guilty for making different choices than the author. I also found all the quotes throughout the book as off-putting and kind of "name dropping" of popular homeschool Instagram accounts. There were some key passages I noted but the majority were from the quotes of other homeschool resources. This wasn't a bad book; there are just other, better books for I'd recommend first.

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Such a good reminder of why we homeschool. Inspired to add journaling and more nature exploration into our days 💗 will recommend to all friends beginning this journey.

[T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

UPDATE 2: This book can be summarized quite nicely in this marvelous passage from Mary Oliver:

Teach the children. We don’t matter so much, but the children do. Show them daisies and the pale hepatica. Teach them the taste of sassafras and wintergreen. The lives of the blue sailors, mallow, sunbursts, the moccasin-flowers. And the frisky ones—inkberry, lamb’s-quarters, blueberries. And the aromatic ones—rosemary, oregano. Give them peppermint to put in their pockets as they go to school. Give them the fields and the woods and the possibility of the world salvaged from the lords of profit. Stand them in the stream, head them upstream, rejoice as they learn to love this green space they live in, its sticks and leaves and then the silent, beautiful blossoms....

Full-length review essay in progress.

UPDATE: Finished. Really enjoyed this winsome read. I can think of many friends for whom it would be freeing, encouraging, and inspiring in many ways, as well as friends and family who are already old hands at many of the “wild and free” principles that would take especial delight in seeing them presented in an accessible, winning manner.

The primary yearning of the book's author is to in-courage: to inspire moms especially to take courage in pursuing the path they've chosen, but also to free them to change course and to reclaim wonder themselves, as well as for their families.

My hope is that Arment's work can contribute to some much-needed paradigm shifts and in opening up conversations amongst people who care about loving the world well, whether involved in public schools, charter schools, private schools, homeschool co-ops, curriculum development, academia, agriculture, business, politics, or the arts (performing, fine, manual).

I hope to write a full-length essay reviewing this book alongside a few others, before too long.

----

I’m really enjoying this book so far—nothing mind-blowing yet, since I’m already pretty simpatico with the idea—and I hope to write an actual review after I finish it. But I want to note something very briefly that has been nagging at me.

Near the beginning of the book, the author evinces an attitude toward infant sleep scheduling that I’ve come across before in the homeschooling world. The basic setup is this: Mom author has been judged by friends who do sleep scheduling and/or let their kids cry it out. Mom author yearns to follow her “mothering instincts” (or her heart) instead. Mom author wants to comfort and affirm other mothers who have felt that same pressure. But here’s the sneaky implication: Those parents that let their children “cry it out” or have a rhythm are the ones who are misguided, who are resisting their loving “mothering instincts.” (Although doesn’t it seem strange when we think rhythms are good for kids and not for babies?)

I appreciate that Arment is trying to encourage mothers to trust their own instincts more over the experts, a refreshing corrective in a lot of ways, but it's important, if only for the sake of some struggling mothers I've known, to note that this particular issue cuts both ways. In my own life I’ve encountered, personally and through other friends, the reverse situation: mothers who are miserable, sleep-deprived, and terrified of having another child because they’ve tried to follow what they think is the “natural” way, who are weighted with guilt that is only compounded whenever their friends tell them in a shocked or supercilious voice, “You let your kids cry it out?”

So, friends, let’s take a step back (and here we're taking a detour from Arment; what follows does not apply to her work): First, I get that we all want to assuage misplaced mom guilt (though I would argue that there can be well-placed mom guilt). And there’s more of it nowadays I suspect because more and more of us just haven’t grown up with kids around, and don’t know what’s normal. Second, we should be wary of overcorrecting an extreme version of whatever we’ve witnessed or experienced with another extreme: e.g., there’s rhythms and then there’s regimentation; there’s loving your child and there’s using them as a prop for your own “natural mother” image.

The long and short of it: If you don’t use a rhythm for your infant or you nurse your baby to sleep, that’s okay. If you have a rhythm, that's okay too. (One is just as “natural” as the other!) But don't be miserable and feel guilty about wanting to find another way than the one you have. It's okay to find a way that works for you.

[Amanda Erdman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am really sad I didn’t like this book more, because I have really enjoyed Ainsley Arment’s podcast and I know she has a lot of great ideas and advice. I read this because I wanted to find out more about Wild + Free, unschooling ideas, etc. But right away she was quoting Charlotte Mason, Susan Wise Bauer and others that would not be classified as unschooled. Which is fine; I guess if you’re wild and free you can choose what you like. But then time and again she digs into Charlotte Mason, even quoting someone who really said some rather offensive things about her and then “did her own thing,” which was…wait for it…. Train her kids in healthy habits….LOL! Wow, a Charlotte Mason strategy. I guess this “British woman who never had children” DID know what she was talking about?

“““I was about 8 months pregnant with boy number four when I lost my mind. I didn’t stop to ponder ‘What Would Charlotte Mason Do?’ At that moment, Charlotte Mason was simply a childless British school teacher from the 1800s who didn’t have cankles and sciatic pain flaring up every time she had to wipe pee off the floor. So she pretty much sat this one out. “I lined the boys up on the couch, their little feet barely clearing the edge, and I lowered myself onto the coffee table and gave them a good dose of pregnancy stink eye before unloading on them. Not my best moment. I think I ended the tirade by crying. They instantly huddled up around me and stroked my swollen hands and patted my cheeks with concern and kissed me, which made me cry more. “‘ Boys, we get to bless our family today. We are going to clean our little apartment together. We are going to clean the bathroom and sweep the floors and put away dishes. We are going to work together to get everything beautiful so that when Daddy comes home we can spend lots of time playing with him. Now, let’s go around, and you can each say a job that you already know how to do and one job you want to learn how to do.’ “This was how the Blessing Hour was born. It evolved slowly but steadily. I realized that as long as I took the time to teach a skill well, they were capable of handling a great deal.””

Arment goes through these types of dilemmas again and again, as though a classical homeschooler doesn’t know how to properly mourn the loss of a parent, or a mom who uses Abeka won’t be able to let her kids go outside and play or go for hikes. I wish she had just laid out what her Wild and Free philosophy is, given examples or ideas for this as a lifestyle, and saved the cheap shots, because it’s insulting to us as mothers that we don’t know what to do or know how to love or be human unless we are totally Wild and Free. But then on the other hand she quotes and supports many of the ideas of these other educators. And is a huge, huge Morning Time fan…which is a very common thing in the CM community. And while I’m glad it works for her family, why is she so set on insisting we get our mornings off to a good start when it seems as though being Wild and Free could mean that, hey, maybe a lot of families can actually do a lot of “school” type activities at bedtime? Or around the dinner table?

After all was said and done, I got maybe one or two ideas for our home from this book that were actually not even the author’s original ideas. The other hours I spent reading it were a waste of time or they just made me kind of angry. Or very, very bored.

[Staci · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not going to finish this one. While I definitely agree with the beauty of homeschooling (we began homeschooling this year), I did not like the author's tone of voice. She comes across as pompous - that homeschooling is the only valid form of schooling. I disagree. There are people I highly respect who have their kids in public or private school - and the kids are thriving there. She probably has a lot of great things to say, but I couldn't get past her condescending tone.

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. I highlighted and underlined and wrote in the margins. Though my son will be in preschool outside the home this year, I have my misgivings - and this book made me question even more. I’m planning to read the books listed in the appendix and explore further. This book won’t be for everyone, but for those to whom it speaks, you’ll get a lot out of it.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 🌟
There were some great ideas and stories. She had a lot of stats that "backed up"what she said. It made me think about things that I haven't before. There were some things that didn't jive with how we live and school but I guess that's kind of the beauty of homeschool.

[Mary Salas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a re-read. I decided to listen to the audiobook because as I have been talking with SO many homeschool and homeschool curious families, it’s always been my first book recommendation for anyone starting out. It was the first homeschool book I ever read back in 2019. I cannot recommend it enough. I’m years into my homeschooling journey, and fully confident in where we are at with how we foster a life of learning and wonder… but this was such a sweet encouragement to me and timely for the season we’re in. If you’re at all intrigued by home educating, but not sure or have questions — I HIGHLY recommend starting here!

[R. C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Folks, this book is so buyable. Go buy it.

There have been many excellent books on homeschooling as a new and wild thing to wrap one's head around. Tons of books about specific methods, groundbreaking methods. (I'm looking at you, The Well Trained Mind.) Usually here and there in these texts, the author will break for a moment to remind parents to focus on relationship or to switch up what they recommend to match their own family culture. Then it's back to prescriptions or at least descriptions, and the frequently asked questions and the necessary debunking of myths (this is legal?!).

Sometimes books have started with the philosophy and the feelings in the minds and hearts of the parents, and never get into details of how-to. They remind you to let the baby be the lesson, that the wiggle is in your preschooler for an important purpose. But they don't tell you what to do about teaching science. (Ahem, Sally Clarkson.)

This book is different. It's not a general how-to or intro to homeschooling. It's too passionate and in-depth for that, too specific and quick. It's not a prescription for a methodology, either.

This book issues out the secrets in the hearts of homeschooling parents, those for whom homeschooling is their jam, their lifestyle. If you've ever thought it was over-the-top to make homeschooling your identity, maybe don't read this, or especially do. This book issues out the secrets in the hearts of people who identify with "once a homeschool mom, always a homeschool mom," and then it tells you what you can do to teach science. With relationship, rhythm, and family culture in mind, here is what this method and this method and this method look like. Like: 'Here is what we love. And here are eight ways that love manifests when choosing rhythm, or creating a family culture, or setting boundaries with life and kids and inlaws. Here are why these specific moms chose this, and here are four ways other parents do it. Look what this dad did. Here are so many ways this value of the heart could play out.'

This is the book the starts by saying relationship comes first, and ends by saying, notebooking, pre-1900 arithmetic texts, nature study, and morning time. It says all the methods, and then it says how it fit into the family culture of thoughtful, intentional parents who are putting their hearts on the line for their kids.

We have needed this for a long time. I am annotating my copy so my children will be able to see my heart for their education after I am gone. I am also going to keep an extra copy at home so I can literally put it in the hands of the noobs who come to me wondering how to do this thing.

What a treasure.

[Kathrine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only made it 15% through before I DNF. I have an MA in Education and am the mother of 4 children of my own- and just wow. Her tone is superior and smug, I disagree with some of her premises and conclusions, and my goodness, isn’t she just the best mother? Her child who struggles with speech and reading is creating books! Yeah, definitely don’t want any of those “assessments” or “therapy” to address that poor kid’s struggles to communicate, do we?
When she compared successfully homeschooling to RUNNING A MLM SCHEME (an ironic comparison, where cognitive dissonance is crucial to survival), I couldn’t take it anymore. If you aren’t an extremely privileged 2-parent, dual-income household with a disdain for public education and child development professionals, good luck with this book. But just know that you don’t love your kids as much as the author loves hers!

[Evelyn Reads Books · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have nothing against homeschooling, but this book is not written by an educator. It is anecdotal and subjective and misses a lot of information about different kinds of schools that include benefits that homeschooling also has. It wrongfully attributes certain qualities to parents and teachers alike. It doesn't address the positives of regular schooling or alternative schooling. This book is akin to talking to a friend's friend and not an expert. If you are thinking about homeschooling, please do your actual research because there are good reasons to do it, but as every parent's life and child is different, there are alternative programs that might be a better fit if your child is struggling with the traditional system.