Teraisa1's Full Review: Teri J. Brown and Elissa M. Wahl - Christian Unsch...
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when they sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ~Deuteronomy
When it really comes down to it, it doesn't matter what "others" think. Realistically, however, what others think can cause you to think, grow and change. Or, what they believe (and feel they must let you in on) can damage your self-esteem and cause you to question your own beliefs, values and judgements.
Homeschooling is one of those subjects causing such a diverse stirring of attitudes, know-it-all-ness, and other good and bad feelings. Unschooling is worse.
Why? There is a miscommunication--or non-communication--over what unschooling is. Many are under the impression unschooling is sitting around collecting welfare and eating bon-bons while yelling at your kid to "move out of the way" when he/she interrupts the mom/dad's soap opera (while still in dirty and scroungy pajamas, of course).
Teri J. Brown (with Elissa M. Wahl) dispells the myth and invites you to take a closer look at what Christian Unschooling is and is not. She aptly subtitles the book, Growing Your Child in the Freedom of Christ, further reminding you her book is about GOD-LED LEARNING.
Believe it or not this book can help unschoolers who are already practicing, as the advice is subtle and the anecdotes reinforce how an unschooler feels. Christian Unschooling: Growing Your Children in the Freedom of Christ inspires the parent to allow your child, with God, to educate. It endorses spirit-led and "child-led" learning.
For those of you who are considering unschooling--perhaps you need an alternative way to homeschool, or you are attempting to school at home for the first time ever--the book is insightful and helpful, without telling you what to do (organization is good and needed always, but too much organization is a no-no). You'll find the stories give you pause to think, and to reconsider, how you are currently schooling and how changing that method to another worked for others.
You might believe the "me, too" stories are irrelevant, but the truth is, those stories are the meat of the book. They don't tell, they show.
This book I recommend for those already homeschooling, but needing to get out of the mindset of book and workbook after book and workbook at set times during the day each week. Even homeschoolers tend to get caught up in the idea of public education and how it's done (though at home). Ah, a breath of fresh air.
Other parents will appreciate and value this book, as well, though if you are completely new to any type of non-traditional education, should read SEVERAL books on unschooling, including Christian Unschooling: Growing Your Children in the Freedom of Christ.
What's inside: Introduction What is Unschooling?
~~The Dream and the Reality
~~The Possibilities
~~What Unschooling DOESN'T Mean
~~Different Meanings for Different Families
Why Unschooling?
~~The Lord Made Us Unique
~~How Children Learn
~~The Environment Factor
~~Can Christians be Unschoolers
~~Original Sin
~~A God of Order
~~Teaching Diligently
~~Jesus as Our Model
Getting Started
~~Deschooling VS. Starting Right
~~Journaling
~~Bridging the Gap Between Structure and Unschooling
~~Unit Studies
~~The Charlotte Mason Method
~~When Are You Ready?
Children and Choices
~~By Example
~~By the Book
~~By Prayer
~~By Consequences
The Worth of a Day
~~Examples
~~What Will Your Day Include?
A Round-Up of Ideas
~~Language Arts
~~History
~~Math
~~Science
Teaching VS. Facilitating
~~What is a Facilitator?
Learning to Lean on Spirit
~~Unschooling Christianity?
Records and Record Keeping Why We Unschool
~~What I Want for My Children (Taylor-Hough)
~~Journeys (Wickwire)
~~A Long Road (Flem)
~~Our Family Unschool (Kronz)
~~Our Journey into Unschooling (Hastings)
~~Unschooling Unchristian? (Muncy)
~~The How and Why of our Homeschool (Moon)
A Day in Our Life
~~Our Own Paths (Chorpinning)
~~A Working Unschool (Rusk)
~~Behind the Mask (Hollingsworth)
~~So What About Prepared Curriculum (Shelton)
~~Unschooling Christianity (Simms)
~~A-Mazing Unit Studies (Goldman)
Guided by the Lord
~~Thoughts on Unschooling the Faith (Ward)
~~Fending Off the Fears (Jeffrey)
~~Our Unschooling Family (Smith)
~~Many Celebrations (Timura)
~~Time Spent with God (Schermerhorn)
What About Support Groups?
~~Start an Unschooling Support Group
~~Your First Meeting
~~Activities
~~Existing Groups
Homeschooling on the Web Resources
BTW: Seven kids love and live here, the oldest recently began college and has gained straight A's her first time 'round. She was homeschooled from four years to about twelve, with only a month and a half stint at a private religious school, and unschooled the rest of the time. We did (and do) use books and workbooks and a changeable schedule, but we are in no way opposed to changing any and everything that doesn't work. And that's the beauty of unschooling.
Finally, a Christian homeschooling book that allows you to think outside the box. Christian Unschooling: Growing Your Children in the Freedom of Chris...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.