So...for September...here's what I've read...
Guerilla Learning by Grace Llewellyn & Amy Silver
The Unprocessed Child by Valerie Fitzenreiter
Learning All The Time by John Holt
Homeschooling The Early Years by Linda Dobson
These were all very informative books. The most inspirational book for me was The Unprocessed Child & I would recommend this book to any parent. The author's parenting & schooling (rather, unschooling) methods may not be for everyone...but her core message of "listen to your child & let them lead the journey" spoke volumes to me. I have tried to incorporate her message in how I spend my days with Reese. If it's 95 degrees outside & Reese wants to wear a jacket, fine. Let him make that choice. He'll realize soon enough that it's WAY too hot for a jacket & will decide, himself, to take it off. Just avoid the whole power struggle...if I had tried to convince him of no jacket, was it REALLY worth the fight? Or would he use his own judgement in choosing clothes & then realize his own choice maybe wasn't the best & decide to take it off? I am trying, each day, to really put more decisions in Reese's hands (a grilled cheese sandwich for breakfast is perfectly fine, wearing Wiggles slippers to the grocery store is OK, running around the house naked isn't hurting anything, taking an extra 2 minutes to crawl into the carseat himself is great). I am giving him power in knowing that the decisions he's making for himself are important...he doesn't need me telling him every step of the way what to do, what to wear, what to think, etc. Of course, safety is paramount & I step in when necessary. But I am really trying to embrace Fitzenreiter's message of letting your child lead the way.
If you're curious about any of the other books...send me an email! I'd love to share my thoughts!!
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