Basic Formula for Parents:
Stay out of child’s way +
Don’t try to be a teacher +
Don’t hijack your child’s learning +
Wait….wait…wait (and be patient) +
Don’t stress (talk to other unschoolers when you worry!) +
Read lots of books out loud when your child wants to +
Have lots of interesting books available +
Be ready as a resource when you child asks for it
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= A child that reads. Eventually. On his own timetable.
Last night, as the whole family sat down to watch another downloaded episode of The Amazing Race, DS7 pulled out a sketch …

My neighbor’s child, Z, age 11, takes a trip to the library with M and I the other day. We spend about 45 minutes at the library, and Z wanders around and doesn’t pick out a single book. M get’s a stack together that is about 24 inches tall. Z is shocked that we would pick out so many books at the library. Z then tells me that every single book he reads is boring.
Z says: What usually happens is that I’m assigned a book, I …

I was reading in the paper just this morning that a Nancy Drew movie is going to be released very soon. To say that I’m excited would be an understatement.

I’m curious if anyone has heard of a series of illustrated abridged classics from the 80s. I wish I still had this set , a series of small (5″ square) paperbacks that was available in B.Dalton (a subsidiary of Barnes & Noble). It was my first introduction to a number of great tales, including Robin Hood, Moby Dick, Heidi, Sherlock Holmes, Treasure Island, Edgar Allen Poe (Tale of the House of Usher, The Cask of Amontillado and The Gold Bug) and others. What made it fun was …

Reading to M has always been one of most enjoyable aspects of parenting, and now that he’s getting a little older, I’m getting the joy of revisiting some of my all-time favorites books. This past week involved the welcome return of Beverly Cleary with The Mouse and the Motorcycle. I had forgotten how wonderful her characters are, but it didn’t take long for me to get sucked into the tale. I’m honestly not sure who’s enjoying the story more! Now I’m curious to see how long before …