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mama251ders
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Has anyone read this book? I got it from he library and then decided to order it from Amazon. I would like to hear the opinions of anyone else who has read this book. I am really liking it so far, but I am only 3 chapters in!
Betsie
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KerryK
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I haven't read it, but I'd love to hear what you think when you're done - it looks interesting!
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mama251ders
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I am trying really hard to get it read, but I am also incredibly focused on a sweater I am knitting for myself! I'm torn! I'll post a review as soon as I have finished reading it!
Blessings,
Bets
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KerryK
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To knit or to read....ooooh...that's always a hard one! 
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KerryK
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Actually, I just checked out the sweater you are knitting - beautiful!! I didn't know that pattern had an adult size. I also love your Wallaby! I've been wanting to do that one.
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Carmie
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Thanks for the suggestion! I just put this book on hold at my library. thanks!
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Carmie
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SallyT
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I just read and reviewed it for First Things -- I've still got to send in the review (being a perfectionist!), but I think the plan is to run it on their website as a "daily article" sometime soon.
In a nutshell, I liked it a lot. It reminded me in many ways of David and Micki Colfax's Homeschooling for Excellence, but in a (for me) more accessible way: they're not goat farmers in the California mountains, but a family of six in a fairly urban environment doing a bookish-but-eclectic home-education thing. What impressed me was first of all their articulation of objections to the institutional school as a model for education -- they are Catholic, but their reasons for homeschooling have more to do with how children learn than with religion per se -- and also the way that they balance an unschooly, out-of-the-box approach to learning with realism about standards, things that have to be learned, etc.
Anyway, I found it to be a really inspiring read.
Sally
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Carmie
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I just finished this book the other night and it's a quick read. They cover a lot of territory in a pretty short book. It got a little overwhelming for me when they addressed the whole college application process at the end of the book, but thank goodness I'm not there yet! I liked their eclectic approach to homeschooling. They see opportunity for learning everywhere be it mundane or extraordinary. I wouldn't call them unschoolers, but they definitely have some elements of the unschooling philosophy. As I gain more experience homeschooling, I realize that most homeschoolers blend elements of many different educational theories (ie Charlotte Mason, Waldorf, unschooling, Classical, etc.) I think the important thing to take from this book is that learning is something that happens all the time and it's not confined to the classroom.
One thing that really struck me is the story the authors tell of their daughter attending a public school English class for a short time. She was assigned to read The Great Gatsby. I believe she was preparing for a AP test or something and the teacher discussed all the color symbolism of the novel. Okay, this struck me because I read The Great Gatsby in high school and I vividly remember discussing all of the color symbolism as well. The daughter proclaimed that..."sometimes a color is a just a color." I believe that she felt that the book was being over-analyzed in class and perhaps it sucked the joy right out of the novel. The interpretation of the novel seemed to be a paint by numbers of the Cliff's Notes or something. Anyway, I felt in this small anecdote about the daughter's public high school experience demonstrated quite nicely the confines of the school experience.
The Millmans demonstrated their interest in just about everything from their eclectic collection of cookbooks to their travel adventures to collecting books from used library sales. They find opportunity everywhere!
All in all, there's nothing really new here except for the message to keep curiosity alive. The gift of giving one's self to one's children is the greatest gift that can be made.
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Cay Gibson
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I want to thank Sally and Carmie for their enhancing reviews.
To be honest I didn't give this book a chance. I saw it at our bookstore when it first came out and I leafed through it. But it seemed to be a repeat of all the other numerous hsing books I've read in the past dozen yrs. I kept asking myself, what is it about this book that makes it different from the rest? Why should I read it?
I couldn't answer those question justifiably so I didn't purchase the book.
Your reviews have me wanting to take a second look at that book. Thank you!
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Mary G
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Cay -- check your library -- ours didn't have it when this first came up but has since rec'd some copies and one is being held for me ....
I've gotten burned in the past by buying what sounds good and then having to pitch it cuz it just doesn't measure up! So, now I get as much as I can from the library first!
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SallyT
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The college stuff was very interesting to me, actually, partly because I have a high-schooler, and partly I guess because their experience is fairly current, and they do a good job of explicating what really does and doesn't carry weight, in terms of preparation and presentation, with college admissions boards.
I was attracted to their experience mainly because at this stage, I can't see us going with any kind of prepackaged curriculum or school -- there's literally nothing out there (and I've looked!) that does for us precisely what we want to do, which is balance traditional study with outside-the-lines ways of learning (and our literary study never seems to line up with anybody else's schedule, either) -- or at least, not the way we want to do it. So I was very interested in how they went about their high-school studies and how they translated what they'd done to credible-enough-sounding paper trails that made sense to admissions people at selective schools. We're already trying to put together a paper trail for our daughter . . . anyway, that section of the book, and it's a big one, was of great interest to me.
Sally
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Carmie
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I'm with MaryG on the library thing! I used to buy way more books than I do now and sometimes would be disappointed. I now get almost everything through our great library system first. I'm always amazed that our libraries have so much. Also, you can request your library to purchase something. My library usually comes through with those.
As far as this book is concerned, I did not feel the need to purchase this one at all. I felt some sections of the book ran longer than others and overall it could have used a little more editing to sharpen its narrative a tad, but then again, most of the info (aside from the college section) is not new information for me. It is only affirmation to keep on doing what I'm doing.
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Carmie
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4Real Forums : Philosophy of Education
Topic: Homeschooling; A Family Journey
