The Call of the Wild and Free: Reclaiming Wonder in Your Child's Education
- Downloads：1648
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-08 08:19:20
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ainsley Arment
- ISBN：0062916521
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Sandy
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4。5 starsPep talk for new homeschool parentsThis book is good if you are new to homeschool， or you just need words of encouragement to keep pushing on。 It gives you many interesting ideas that you can use in your own homeschool。 It also gives you clear picture of different homeschool approaches， and how it is ok to not follow them strictly， or use more than one approach。I don't mind about traditional school bashing like some reviews。 I decided to homeschool my kid because I had always hated scho 4。5 starsPep talk for new homeschool parentsThis book is good if you are new to homeschool， or you just need words of encouragement to keep pushing on。 It gives you many interesting ideas that you can use in your own homeschool。 It also gives you clear picture of different homeschool approaches， and how it is ok to not follow them strictly， or use more than one approach。I don't mind about traditional school bashing like some reviews。 I decided to homeschool my kid because I had always hated school for as long as I can remember。 I was gifted， I was a year ahead， and I got mostly A's。 Well， I hated PE， music and arts， so I didn't get A's for those subjects。 When I researched about homeschool， I wished homeschool was an option for me then。 。。。more
Joey Moser
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Perfect pep talk for the beginning of a new homeschool year！
Karen Nash
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More people need to read this！
Stephanie
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Great book， and fairly easy read on homeschooling。 I love the idea of being brave and weird and wild and free。 As homeschoolers we are charting a course through childhood and education that looks very different from the norm。 But does it？ Is it really？ Am I trying to run my homeschool like a school at home？ Or am I allowing my children to learn， to fly from subject to subject that interests them， to become experts in their own passions？ Thoughts for me to ponder。
Drinda
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"The beautiful part of homeschooling is that we get to keep reimagining the journey for our families and， more often than not， discover a better way。"We chose to homeschool in 2019， my oldest was preschool age。 We didn't really know what to expect， but we just knew there had to be a better way。 This book was absolutely lovely。 It gave a good overview of several styles of homeschooling。 I found it very helpful， as going into this I hadn't even considered there were different styles。 But more than "The beautiful part of homeschooling is that we get to keep reimagining the journey for our families and， more often than not， discover a better way。"We chose to homeschool in 2019， my oldest was preschool age。 We didn't really know what to expect， but we just knew there had to be a better way。 This book was absolutely lovely。 It gave a good overview of several styles of homeschooling。 I found it very helpful， as going into this I hadn't even considered there were different styles。 But more than just an overview， this book helped me see how beautiful this journey will be。 My eyes have been opened to all the possibilities。I made the mistake of reading some reviews of this book， and I was surprised to see quite a few people very against this。 I will say， the author definitely has her chosen style of homeschooling: and I think that's the point。 I don't think you have to be one kind of person to find the value of the insights of this book even if you choose a different method。 。。。more
Taylor Kundel-Gower
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3。5
Charlotte Alvey
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I absolutely loved this book。 It felt very timely and validating with this season we’re currently in as a family。
Kiersti Baxter
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I was happily surprised by this book。 I thought this was going to be all about a new homeschool method， but it's WAY more than that！ I'm not a huge fan of the author's voice and I could've done without the first chapter。 I've listened to a LOT of podcasts and YouTube videos before I read this book though， so if you're new to homeschooling， maybe it's more your thing。 I ended up skimming and then reading sections that interested me。 I got this from my library which I'm very grateful for so I can I was happily surprised by this book。 I thought this was going to be all about a new homeschool method， but it's WAY more than that！ I'm not a huge fan of the author's voice and I could've done without the first chapter。 I've listened to a LOT of podcasts and YouTube videos before I read this book though， so if you're new to homeschooling， maybe it's more your thing。 I ended up skimming and then reading sections that interested me。 I got this from my library which I'm very grateful for so I can check it out again if needed。 I'm still tempted to just buy it。 This author covers so many subjects from myths （like socialization， qualification， and college myths） to methods to "finding your rhythm" and "creating a family culture。" I loved how the author presented the methods too。 She went back to the roots of how they started。 This author also uses a million sources which I love！！ I thought this book would push one method， one ideal， but it's really so accepting and encouraging to all homeschool families of all types and styles！ 。。。more
Brandon
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Good review of the basic principles of home schooling， importance of nature， different schooling methods， and the pros and cons to homeschooling。
Tasja
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Listened to it in Audible。 For some reason I couldn't get into it。 Will try a later time again maybe reading the physical copy。 Listened to it in Audible。 For some reason I couldn't get into it。 Will try a later time again maybe reading the physical copy。 。。。more
Brianna B
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An entire experience。 The book itself is beautiful。 Chapters are well organized。 Eye opening book， I loved the information。 so many ideas to keep our children curious about learning。 Focused on play and enhancing childhood。 Even for families who do not homeschool， I think this book gives really good ideas on making family time more memorable。
Sarina Gunnerson
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I didn't actually finish this because the author lost me in the first chapter with "all of the feels"。 I can tell where this is going。 Even though I wanted the negative reviews to be wrong， this already reads like a bunch of Instagram mommy BS and I'm not here for it。 I didn't actually finish this because the author lost me in the first chapter with "all of the feels"。 I can tell where this is going。 Even though I wanted the negative reviews to be wrong， this already reads like a bunch of Instagram mommy BS and I'm not here for it。 。。。more
Sandie Bushey
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This book is easy to read and understand and has a lot of good tips。
Lara
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I just started this today and am only a couple chapters in and have already recoiled in horror several times。 I do not identify with Arment in a number of ways， and it’s always a big turnoff when an author presumes to tell me how I feel or what I think or how I respond in a given situation and books that are written in this way super piss me off。 But I’m willing to keep going and see if there’s any actually useful information further in？—————Okay， so。 Over all， this book has a lot of super helpf I just started this today and am only a couple chapters in and have already recoiled in horror several times。 I do not identify with Arment in a number of ways， and it’s always a big turnoff when an author presumes to tell me how I feel or what I think or how I respond in a given situation and books that are written in this way super piss me off。 But I’m willing to keep going and see if there’s any actually useful information further in？—————Okay， so。 Over all， this book has a lot of super helpful information， and is mostly inspiring and contains some really good ideas。 But I still found Arment’s voice irritating， and I wish it were more inclusive of fathers who might be involved in their child（ren）’s homeschooling （they get a brief note of thanks in the second chapter and then the entire rest of the book is all “Wild + Free mama” this and “Wild + Free mama” that。 Also。。。 Sometimes it seems very clear that her family has a lot more money than mine does when she’s like， “my kid loves piano and practices at the baby grande in our living room。” What the？ I do not know anyone who lives like this。 So that certainly made it harder for me to see myself in the homeschooling lifestyle she describes。 I dunno， all of this is theoretical down-the-line maybes anyway， but I guess I do feel like homeschooling might be possible after reading this book， just kind of in a different way than she describes it。 And I’m glad I finally （sort of） know what the hell a “living book” is （eventually defined after about ten previous mentions as if that’s a term just everyone should know）！ 。。。more
SJ West
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Inspiration for letting go of homeschool anxiety， encouraging play， and adventuring with children。 I prefer the episodic nature of the Wild and Free podcast to this long form book but overall found several good ideas and appreciated the breakdown of various homeschooling formats。 Definitely feels a bit aspirational in nature - would have appreciated a bit more “day in the life” examples。
Jennifer Martin
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I love the Wild and Free concept but didn't need so much of the book trying to convince me away from public school because even without COVID making us temporary homeschoolers， we do a lot of Wild and Free sort of parenting/family activities。 I love the Wild and Free concept but didn't need so much of the book trying to convince me away from public school because even without COVID making us temporary homeschoolers， we do a lot of Wild and Free sort of parenting/family activities。 。。。more
Suzy
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As someone who’s been doing this for a while and know many others who have done it for longer。 There is nothing remarkable about this book over any other book about homeschooling or being outside。 There are significantly better books if you’ve been homeschooling for a while。 “The Brave Learner”“Teaching from Rest: The Homeschoolers Guide to Unshakable Peace”“Homeschooling Bravely”And then also books for breaking the indoor mold:“Barefoot and Balanced”“The Last Child in the Woods”This is a skip。 As someone who’s been doing this for a while and know many others who have done it for longer。 There is nothing remarkable about this book over any other book about homeschooling or being outside。 There are significantly better books if you’ve been homeschooling for a while。 “The Brave Learner”“Teaching from Rest: The Homeschoolers Guide to Unshakable Peace”“Homeschooling Bravely”And then also books for breaking the indoor mold:“Barefoot and Balanced”“The Last Child in the Woods”This is a skip。 She tries to sound revolutionary but the other mentioned books are full of the statistics she quotes from other authors。 She started a movement for a new generation but there are multiple other generations of this movement to know that none of this is anything new。 。。。more
Kate Shivers
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Re-read
Karie Rice
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A great resource， especially for those wanting a more relaxed approach to homeschooling。
NonFiction 24/7
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I found this book to be more of a "you can do this" pep talk。 I wish it had more evidence about why homeschooling was good and was supported by more recent studies。 I also wish it went into clearer examples about how to teach your children at home。 I found this book to be more of a "you can do this" pep talk。 I wish it had more evidence about why homeschooling was good and was supported by more recent studies。 I also wish it went into clearer examples about how to teach your children at home。 。。。more
Bri Anderson
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A life changing view on the perception of what education should be。 Whether it be homeschool， private， or public。 This idea of instilling a love of learning is incredibly inspiring。 Can’t wait to implement some of these practices into my and my kids lives。 Some will definitely flop， but some will thrive and I can’t wait to see wonder and a love of learning prevail。
Lucy Stouffer
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Wild and Free is a beautiful book that affirms the why behind why families homeschool。 It's full of encouragement， but you won't find a lot of practical advice in this book。It's a valuable read for anyone relatively new to homeschooling （like myself） or when you're in one of those "blah" phases of the year when you question everything and can't see the joy。 Wild and Free is a beautiful book that affirms the why behind why families homeschool。 It's full of encouragement， but you won't find a lot of practical advice in this book。It's a valuable read for anyone relatively new to homeschooling （like myself） or when you're in one of those "blah" phases of the year when you question everything and can't see the joy。 。。。more
Janna Medina
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I really wanted to love this book， but I couldn’t。 It may be that my “why” for homeschooling is vastly different than the author’s。There is good in here; lots of great suggestions and ideas that I will implement。 I think the author was playing to different audiences and while she sprinkled mentions of using the Bible， she had no foundation for instilling a biblical worldview and that’s where she lost me。 She seemed more concerned with implementing educational techniques， even those of complete h I really wanted to love this book， but I couldn’t。 It may be that my “why” for homeschooling is vastly different than the author’s。There is good in here; lots of great suggestions and ideas that I will implement。 I think the author was playing to different audiences and while she sprinkled mentions of using the Bible， she had no foundation for instilling a biblical worldview and that’s where she lost me。 She seemed more concerned with implementing educational techniques， even those of complete humanists （Steiner）。 There’s a way to do both， but again…the audience of the book isn’t geared toward that。 Not a waste of time， just major disagreements （which I don’t think the author will care）。 Also， comes off as a bit snobby。 Field trips to London because you can actually experience Shakespeare there—-nice， but is that really for everyone？ Probably just the audience again… 。。。more
Natasha
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Needed a better editor。
Dori
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I loved this book！ I've been homeschooling for 18 years and I still found some new things to learn。 I think this book would be great for a person just exploring homeschooling all the way to veteran homeschoolers like me！！ We love being apart of the Wild+Free community and this book shared all the things that brought us to this way of life and more ！！ I loved this book！ I've been homeschooling for 18 years and I still found some new things to learn。 I think this book would be great for a person just exploring homeschooling all the way to veteran homeschoolers like me！！ We love being apart of the Wild+Free community and this book shared all the things that brought us to this way of life and more ！！ 。。。more
Stacey Cox
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Excellent starting point whine you’re trying to finalize and iron out why you’re homeschooling， how you will homeschool， and what methods you will follow。 Good for starting some brain storming sessions。 And she previews some other books that were on my suggested reading list。
Natalie Breedlove
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There is a lot of repeated information in this book。 It could have been 100 pages shorter。 Some of the information and ideas were good and new， but many of it repeated from other homeschooling books。 The authors tone is also quite smug and self interested。 She enjoys talking about all of the great things her children do， and the way she talks about them and their accomplishments and how many of them she mentions it moves from informative examples to flat out bragging。 After a while i just wanted There is a lot of repeated information in this book。 It could have been 100 pages shorter。 Some of the information and ideas were good and new， but many of it repeated from other homeschooling books。 The authors tone is also quite smug and self interested。 She enjoys talking about all of the great things her children do， and the way she talks about them and their accomplishments and how many of them she mentions it moves from informative examples to flat out bragging。 After a while i just wanted to be done reading the book。 。。。more
Gabby
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This is such a great introduction to homeschooling。 I learned so much， and walked away feeling more confident about choosing to homeschool。 I appreciated the wealth of useful resources and practical ideas she shared。
Carly Palmer
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4。5 stars
Maggie
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