Free Range Learning: How Homeschooling Changes Everything [Anglais] [Broché]

Free Range Learning is born from the idea that a child learns best naturally. If one is able to harness a child's natural bent toward learning then one can instill not only a love for learning but a curiosity about the world. Children and teens blossom academically when the restrictions are lifted and they are free to learn. This book also emphasizes how homeschooling takes center stage in allowing this type of academic freedom. While Laura does an excellent job explaining her position she is backed up by an array of experts from neurologists, historians, child development experts and more. The book is filled with hundreds of stories from the experience of homeschoolers around the world.

So what did this homeschooling mom think? Well, let me start off by saying that I ascribe to a Charlotte Mason/Eclectic method of homeschooling. I am by no means an unschooler or a free range parent. I am a bit of a free spirit and a rule breaker yet it is tempered by a desire for organization and routine. I also believe in a firm hand of discipline when raising children.

Am I doing a good job keeping you guessing? Well....ahem....I have to say...that...well....Laura Grace Weldon's book is RIGHT ON! I was not sure what to expect but when I opened those pages to read how a child learns and how to encourage a child to retain a curiosity and a love for learning, I was hooked. This book is NOT about some free willy nilly way of spending your days in the sun in hopes it teaches your child science. This book promotes the freedom to learn and express yourself naturally and creatively. A child is free from restrictions of traditional means of learning which has been proven to be less than educational. This book teaches you how a child learns and how to nurture a child through his learning experiences. No matter what your homeschooling style is, this book can benefit you as an educator. This my friends should be required reading for those who consider themselves teachers. Once you understand how a child learns you will better understand how to teach. This book is not intended to take you off your Charlotte Mason, Classical, or Unit Study, etc. method of homeschooling but to guide the path to a deeper understanding of how to educate your child. It may prompt you in a unschooling direction or it may not....the information is presented, examples given, practical exercises given, and stories to read from other homeschoolers experience. I have found a wealth of information in this book which is well written and presented. Free Range isn't for chickens anymore!

i am new to the homeschooling community and had some difficulties finding a book/movement that spoke to me and the way that i want to school my children. luckily, this book did just that. i wanted a happy medium between unschooling and the classical method. i can't be too loosey goosey, but the idea of a rigid, orderly system wasn't for me either. this book gave ideas, explanations, and examples for a very organic form of homeschooling. i would recommend this book to anyone with children, homeschoolers or not. it portrays a beautiful way to raise and educate children.

I am a public school teacher who has, over several years, become more and more disenfranchised with public education as a means for truly opening childrens' minds and allowing them to reach their potential. I have arrived at the point in life where I am thinking of having my own children, and have realized that despite my love of teaching, I don't want my kids to grow up in a "traditional" classroom where conformity and test taking are key elements. So I began to look at alternative options.

I fell in love with Laura's book right from the onset. Her book is an excellent combination of real-life "case studies" - home-schooled kids and their parents talking in their own voices about their experiences - and scientific data gathered over a number of years to support this style of learning and teaching.

In addition, as a foreign language educator, I have spent a great deal of time working to understand "learning" versus "acquiring." Learning, in this context, is what we do in a controlled classroom environment. Acquiring, on the other hand, most closely resembles how babies and children learn about the world - not only speaking, but all modes of behavior. They are immersed in experiences and take everything they can from it. Why is it that in traditional schooling, we reach a point where we decide that tests and worksheets should replace actual experience? Acquisition has been shown over and over to be a far more effective means of conveying any subject matter. Homeschooling offers far more opportunities for students to acquire the knowledge they need, and this book is an excellent place to start.

In my opinion, the ultimate goal of any educational experience should be to learn how to think - to analyze, synthesize, and create novel ideas and world concepts. Free Range Learning is an excellent guidebook for helping our children achieve this goal.