If you have teens and you homeschool, or if you have pre-teens and want to be prepared for the teen years, this book is for you! You don’t even necessarily have to homeschool to glean a lot from this book.
The author describes how she went from trying to control everything her kids did in their homeschool program to letting go of control and allowing them more autonomy. She realized that her requirements of her children were based on her fears and lack of understanding. She said, “They were all templates that just did not take my kids’ needs, learning styles, interests, and natural talents into account.”
She talks a lot about unschooling, but this book is good for all homeschool parents (actually all parents) because she also talks a lot about parenting and getting to know our kids. She also emphasizes freedom and exposing our kids to all kinds of experiences. She encourages us to discover the passions of our children.
And a great quote from her to describe her role as a facilitator instead of a teacher is,
“Like a band instructor, I don’t play the instrument for my kids. I show them how to play their own instrument.”
And speaking of quotes, she has included many great quotes from educators and experts on unschooling and on best educational practices. People like Peter Gray, Charlotte Mason, and John Holt.
If you are looking for a book to help you motivate your teens to develop their skills and discover their passions, this is the book you’re looking for.
You can find it here.
I hope you find this helpful!
Penney Douglas, B. S. in Ed.
Safe Haven Homeschooling
"Oh that God would give every mother a vision of the glory and splendor of the work that is given to her when a babe is placed in her bosom to be nursed and trained! Could she have but one glimpse in to the future of that life as it reaches on into eternity; could she look into its soul to see its possibilities; could she be made to understand her own personal responsibility for the training of this child, for the development of its life, and for its destiny,--she would see that in all God's world there is no other work so noble and so worthy of her best powers, and she would commit to no other's hands the sacred and holy trust given to her." -JR Miller
