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Home Grown: Adventures in Parenting off the Beaten Path, Unschooling, and Reconnecting with the Natural World
The charming story of one family's mission to build a deeper, lasting connection to land and community on their Vermont farm
When Ben Hewitt and his wife bought a sprawling acreage of field and forest in northern Vermont, they were eager to start a self-sustaining family farm. But over the years, the land became so much more than a building site; it became the birthplace of their two sons, the main source of family income and food, and even a classroom for their children. Through self-directed play, exploration, and experimentation on their farm, Hewitt’s children learned how to play and read, test boundaries and challenge themselves, fail and recover. Best of all, this environment allowed their personalities to flourish, fueling further growth.
In Home Grown , Hewitt shows us how small, mindful decisions about day-to-day life can lead to greater awareness of the world in our backyards and beyond. In telling the story of his sons’ unconventional education in the fields and forests surrounding his family’s farm, he demonstrates that the sparks of learning are all around us, just waiting to be discovered. Learning is a lifelong process—and the best education is never confined to a classroom.
When Ben Hewitt and his wife bought a sprawling acreage of field and forest in northern Vermont, they were eager to start a self-sustaining family farm. But over the years, the land became so much more than a building site; it became the birthplace of their two sons, the main source of family income and food, and even a classroom for their children. Through self-directed play, exploration, and experimentation on their farm, Hewitt’s children learned how to play and read, test boundaries and challenge themselves, fail and recover. Best of all, this environment allowed their personalities to flourish, fueling further growth.
In Home Grown , Hewitt shows us how small, mindful decisions about day-to-day life can lead to greater awareness of the world in our backyards and beyond. In telling the story of his sons’ unconventional education in the fields and forests surrounding his family’s farm, he demonstrates that the sparks of learning are all around us, just waiting to be discovered. Learning is a lifelong process—and the best education is never confined to a classroom.
224 pages, Paperback
First published September 9, 2014
144 people are currently reading
3136 people want to read
About the author
Ben Hewitt
39 books37 followersBen Hewitt writes and farms in Northern Vermont. His work has appeared in numerous national periodicals, including the New York Times Magazine, Wired, Gourmet, Discover, Skiing, Eating Well, Powder, Men's Journal, National Geographic Adventure, Outside, Bicycling, and many others. He lives with his wife and two sons in a self-built home that is powered by a windmill and solar photovoltaic panels. To help offset his renewable energy footprint, Ben drives a really big truck.
His book The Town That Food Saved, published by Rodale, tells the story of a rural, working-class Vermont community that is attempting to blueprint and implement a localized food system. Ben is currently working on a book about food safety, to be published by Rodale in 2011.
His book The Town That Food Saved, published by Rodale, tells the story of a rural, working-class Vermont community that is attempting to blueprint and implement a localized food system. Ben is currently working on a book about food safety, to be published by Rodale in 2011.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 228 reviews
September 22, 2014
Hmmm, how can I put this nicely? The author talks more about himself than anything else in this book. I did not think this was helpful to anyone who wants to homeschool or unschool their child(ren) whatsoever. It is about how he perceives the world, their daily chores, bits about his wife, mostly about himself and how he thinks and what school was like for him, and how his two sons run the woods and complete their chores on their little farm, it doesn't provide anything about homeschooling. It does notate how he teaches his son the basics in reading, writing and arithmetic. They learn biology first hand by trapping animals and eating those same animals, how he and his wife talked their eldest son out of little league baseball and a lot more about himself and then more about himself and lastly, about himself. He should have just written a memoir or called this his memoir of unschooling...it was a waste a of my time honestly.
February 13, 2015
A thought provoking read which brings into focus a number of issues surrounding education, expectations of kids and parents alike, and life in general. Hewitt neatly highlights the box that our culture has drawn around education and our daily rhythms, then questions why that box is necessary. It has made me rethink what may be best for our kids and ourselves.
October 30, 2017
"I am freer than I was told as a child; I am freer than I was led to believe."
This book is the Walden's Pond of parenting--a call for a return to simplicity, connection and presence in our children's lives. It is a reminder that our children are whole, unique beings with insatiable curiously and intense passions. It is a call to trust in our children's instincts, to trust in their intelligence, to trust in the time-honored method of educating through the world around us, the community we belong in, the mentors that can teach our children more than a Google search, and the bond between parent and child.
If only I too had a 40-acre livestock, vegetable and berry farm upon which to turn my two boys loose! But, in lieu of that, simply reading this book helped me embrace the cries from our tree swing of, "Push me again, Mommy!"and calm my fretting to-do list thoughts when we'd been reading long enough for my voice to ache. It helped me ask the question, "What is an education?" and also, "What do I want for my children?" and even, "Do I trust that what they want for themselves will bring them to the best version of themselves possible?"
For me:
"We have become emotionally dependent on school. After so many decades of being socialized to that notion that child's learning must be structured, measured, and mandated, we find it nearly impossible to believe otherwise. In the process, our innate love of learning was wounded, and our connections to nature and the community and world beyond the classroom became frayed."
"I am often struck by the extent to which not adhering to rigid planning has freed me to live as I want to live now, rather than living in a manner intended to serve my assumed future interests."
"Addition, subtraction, writing reading: all of these and more are necessary for a child--not to mention an adult--to communicate with his family and community. But the truth is that they can be learned with surprisingly little effort, and in a surprisingly scant amount of time, and always in the context of a child's true interests and passions. "
"It has always bothered me to see how some parents chases their children away from productive jobs. I have seen it many times, and while I understand the impulse, I have little empathy for the shortsightedness of it, because the truth is that long before they are capable of truly helping, kids desperately want to contribute.
Like all of us, children just want to be needed. It's our job make sure they actually are."
"Many parents aren't all that accustomed to being patient and present for their kids anymorm if only because they're simply not given the opportunity to be patient and present. Jobs get in the way. School gets in the way. After-school activities get in the way. As I have learned--as I am still learning--patience and presence are muscles that must be developed and exercised regularly."
This book is the Walden's Pond of parenting--a call for a return to simplicity, connection and presence in our children's lives. It is a reminder that our children are whole, unique beings with insatiable curiously and intense passions. It is a call to trust in our children's instincts, to trust in their intelligence, to trust in the time-honored method of educating through the world around us, the community we belong in, the mentors that can teach our children more than a Google search, and the bond between parent and child.
If only I too had a 40-acre livestock, vegetable and berry farm upon which to turn my two boys loose! But, in lieu of that, simply reading this book helped me embrace the cries from our tree swing of, "Push me again, Mommy!"and calm my fretting to-do list thoughts when we'd been reading long enough for my voice to ache. It helped me ask the question, "What is an education?" and also, "What do I want for my children?" and even, "Do I trust that what they want for themselves will bring them to the best version of themselves possible?"
For me:
"We have become emotionally dependent on school. After so many decades of being socialized to that notion that child's learning must be structured, measured, and mandated, we find it nearly impossible to believe otherwise. In the process, our innate love of learning was wounded, and our connections to nature and the community and world beyond the classroom became frayed."
"I am often struck by the extent to which not adhering to rigid planning has freed me to live as I want to live now, rather than living in a manner intended to serve my assumed future interests."
"Addition, subtraction, writing reading: all of these and more are necessary for a child--not to mention an adult--to communicate with his family and community. But the truth is that they can be learned with surprisingly little effort, and in a surprisingly scant amount of time, and always in the context of a child's true interests and passions. "
"It has always bothered me to see how some parents chases their children away from productive jobs. I have seen it many times, and while I understand the impulse, I have little empathy for the shortsightedness of it, because the truth is that long before they are capable of truly helping, kids desperately want to contribute.
Like all of us, children just want to be needed. It's our job make sure they actually are."
"Many parents aren't all that accustomed to being patient and present for their kids anymorm if only because they're simply not given the opportunity to be patient and present. Jobs get in the way. School gets in the way. After-school activities get in the way. As I have learned--as I am still learning--patience and presence are muscles that must be developed and exercised regularly."
January 22, 2015
Loved the day-to-day descriptions of life off the grid in Vermont, but felt condescended to and preached to, even though I basically agreed with everything he had to say!
June 14, 2019
Maybe my expectations for this book were too high. I was quite disappointed in the book. The author starts off saying that in no way is he trying to attack the traditional education system but instead tell his family's story. The book instead doesnt reflect much on the children and the unschooling aspect per se.
He talks of himself quite a bit and often says that it is so much better to unschool the way they do as the average child wouldn't have time for family or down time due to school and TV watching. My kids nor do many kids I know watch television to the extent he seems to assume or say that children who are not unschooled do which is an odd statement I find.
One point that he made that made me really wonder was when he was telling of his son who wanted to play little league and had asked. Instead of supporting their child and allowing him to try it, they instead talked their child out of it as they essentially felt it affects family time too much. The fact that both parents are stay at home parents means these kids are 24/7 together with their parents. Surely it wouldn't hurt to allow a child to interact socially with other children through an activity they were very keen to try. The author went on to say that his wife had been very heavily involved in extra curricular sports growing up and how she had really enjoyed it.
I was honestly hoping for insight into unschooling and ways to make it work, why it is becoming a more popular idea etc. I didn't get any if this from this book.
He talks of himself quite a bit and often says that it is so much better to unschool the way they do as the average child wouldn't have time for family or down time due to school and TV watching. My kids nor do many kids I know watch television to the extent he seems to assume or say that children who are not unschooled do which is an odd statement I find.
One point that he made that made me really wonder was when he was telling of his son who wanted to play little league and had asked. Instead of supporting their child and allowing him to try it, they instead talked their child out of it as they essentially felt it affects family time too much. The fact that both parents are stay at home parents means these kids are 24/7 together with their parents. Surely it wouldn't hurt to allow a child to interact socially with other children through an activity they were very keen to try. The author went on to say that his wife had been very heavily involved in extra curricular sports growing up and how she had really enjoyed it.
I was honestly hoping for insight into unschooling and ways to make it work, why it is becoming a more popular idea etc. I didn't get any if this from this book.
September 12, 2014
LOVED this. I'm not a parent, but I nevertheless enjoyed this peek into the lives of a family that's bucked just about every societal convention and is doing their best to live in keeping with their own vision of a meaningful life. It raises many good questions about our current childhood educational system--not in an accusatory or negative way, but rather in a mind-opening manner.
I just got done reading one of Ben Hewitt's previous books, 'Saved,' and the writing/narrative style of both books is very similar--articulately written, many beautifully wrought anecdotes, a lot of meandering personal reflection, and the feeling, when you reach the end, that you've just had the most wonderful, thought-provoking conversation with a good friend. (If you're looking, on the other hand, for a comprehensive, journalistic examination of the pros and cons of the "unschooling" approach, with studies and science to back it up, look elsewhere. This book is not that.)
Also, notably, this book had many overlaps with 'Saved' in terms of theme and sometimes even specific anecdotes--sometimes, it seemed, almost word-for-word identical paragraphs or sections, several of which (my only complaints!) seemed a bit tangential to the rest of the book, like Hewitt just needed to include the detail for his own personal catharsis, rather than the benefit of the reader (OK OK, I get it ... the first midwife he and his wife used was not a friendly person!) Other than that, though, fabulous book--a quick read (a few hours at most) but one that will challenge your assumptions, stick with you for long after you put it down and keep you thinking critically about how we structure family life and childhood education in our society.
I just got done reading one of Ben Hewitt's previous books, 'Saved,' and the writing/narrative style of both books is very similar--articulately written, many beautifully wrought anecdotes, a lot of meandering personal reflection, and the feeling, when you reach the end, that you've just had the most wonderful, thought-provoking conversation with a good friend. (If you're looking, on the other hand, for a comprehensive, journalistic examination of the pros and cons of the "unschooling" approach, with studies and science to back it up, look elsewhere. This book is not that.)
Also, notably, this book had many overlaps with 'Saved' in terms of theme and sometimes even specific anecdotes--sometimes, it seemed, almost word-for-word identical paragraphs or sections, several of which (my only complaints!) seemed a bit tangential to the rest of the book, like Hewitt just needed to include the detail for his own personal catharsis, rather than the benefit of the reader (OK OK, I get it ... the first midwife he and his wife used was not a friendly person!) Other than that, though, fabulous book--a quick read (a few hours at most) but one that will challenge your assumptions, stick with you for long after you put it down and keep you thinking critically about how we structure family life and childhood education in our society.
March 10, 2019
"Ya bütün mesele mümkün olan her şeyi bilmek değil de mümkün olan her şeyi hissedebilmek ise? Peki ya kendimize her gün hava nasıl olursa olsun -yağmurlu, güneşli, karlı, sıcak ya da soğuk- küçük veya büyük, düz veya kıvrımlı, yapraklı ya da yapraksız bir ağaç bulmaya söz vermiş olsak? Ve sırtımızı en az 10 dakika gövdesine dayayıp otursak? Ağacın nefesini duyabileceğimiz öğretilmiş olsa bize? Ve bunu gerçekten yapabiliyor olsak?
Ve son olarak; bunu çocuklarımıza da öğretsek dünya nasıl bir yer olurdu?"
Ve son olarak; bunu çocuklarımıza da öğretsek dünya nasıl bir yer olurdu?"
December 14, 2014
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's a meandering kind of book, at times almost magical. Each chapter is followed by a different sort of piece, a meditation I guess? They're like a reflection or experience that crystallizes the rightness of all Hewitt's decisions that got him to the place (literally and figuratively) where he is today.
For a while it seemed to me that the book wasn't really very much about his kids' education. It was at least as much about Ben's own education and ideas and experience. But about a third of the way in, I realized, that IS unschooling. It's a whole family living, in the place and time they're in, with parents reflecting critically on their own experiences and using that reflection to support their kids' lives and interests.
All in all, I heartily recommend Home Grown to anyone interested in alternative education or kids in nature, or for that matter any kind of DIY stuff. It's just a great book.
For a while it seemed to me that the book wasn't really very much about his kids' education. It was at least as much about Ben's own education and ideas and experience. But about a third of the way in, I realized, that IS unschooling. It's a whole family living, in the place and time they're in, with parents reflecting critically on their own experiences and using that reflection to support their kids' lives and interests.
All in all, I heartily recommend Home Grown to anyone interested in alternative education or kids in nature, or for that matter any kind of DIY stuff. It's just a great book.
October 7, 2014
Ben Hewitt done am exceptional job is laying his fears out there. We all have fears when it comes to our children but Ben Hewitt voiced this fear in a manner that made me feel comfortable in letting go and allowing my kids be themselves. Ben Hewitt made an excellent point when he said that it's disrespectful to children to have them to put themselves aside to fulfill the wishes of others. In turn, we are teaching our children to not discover themselves. I love his definition of unschooling, "not the discovery of knowledge, but the discovery of self". I'm am adult and still finding myself. The difficult task is deschooling myself so that I can define myself in my terms and not societies. I'm not as brave as Ben and Penny Hewitt but I believe in their philosophy. I really appreciate the suggestions provided at the end.
April 21, 2024
Despite the tag line, this book has very little to do with parenting and unschooling. It’s a homesteading memoir. The author takes large chunks of chapter after chapter detailing and describing his land and farm, neighbors, farming practices and home building. He often acts like teaching your child to farm and being outside learning about the land is his novel and new idea. (Though he is basically describing the childhood of most children throughout history until the 1950s.) You can see how much their family’s decision to unschool is truly about himself and what is best for him and not about his children. His children aren’t even out of elementary school but his tone is overall self-righteous and pretentious.
October 9, 2014
A beautifully written account of one family's unschooling journey in rural Vermont, Home Grown is a kind of love letter to nature and the rhythms of life more than it is a book about unschooling - but that is precisely the point. For Hewitt and his family, life, nature, and education are intimately intertwined and inseparable.
June 12, 2025
4.5
“Make choice matter. Think of yourself as not merely faced with decisions to which you must react, but of being proactively at choice.
And when a decision is difficult, consider what you are agreeing to with each choice and what it says about the world you wish to inhabit.
Do not fear conforming. Sometimes conforming is the exactly the right thing to do. On the other hand: Do be afraid of conforming, without realizing you are doing just that.”
“Make choice matter. Think of yourself as not merely faced with decisions to which you must react, but of being proactively at choice.
And when a decision is difficult, consider what you are agreeing to with each choice and what it says about the world you wish to inhabit.
Do not fear conforming. Sometimes conforming is the exactly the right thing to do. On the other hand: Do be afraid of conforming, without realizing you are doing just that.”
August 22, 2018
Okulsuz alternatif bir eğitim ile doğal yaşam deneyimi ile karşılaşmayı düşünürken, avcılık toleransı ile karşılaşmak beni şok etti. Eğitim ile ilgili deneyimleri,ki kitabın asıl vaadi bu,yetersiz buldum.
October 16, 2015
Overall: How would you expect people burnt by the education system to react to putting their own kids in school? There's the book.
Ben Hewitt tries to mask his decision to "unschool" his children by talking about passion, exploration and the pitfalls of the modern education system, yet he makes it clear throughout "Home Grown" that his main motivating factor behind letting his children self educate is his scarred teenage years in high school as an overweight young man. Finally, a terrible high school experience is being used for something other than serial killing, school shootings or extreme weight gain! Is it so cliche that it's genius? I don't think so. Just because you floundered in public school does not mean your children will. If anything, you will be there to help navigate them through the troubled waters you know so well.
Another issue with "Home Grown" is that it's more of a Junior College associative writing exercise than a book. There are entire sections of journal entries, which add nothing to the book other than credibility to the fact of the author being able to write descriptively. It gives the book the feel of a blog or magazine (Ben Hewitt's bread and butter).
Authors live and die by their definitions and Hewitt does not define what makes children "successful," what he considers a "good life," and/or what he means by "society." There are many blanket statements about "society" which are as outdated as his farm vehicles. I don't let "society" define what it means to have a "good life" with "successful" children. Why would anyone?
The great and worthy ideas laced through the overly descriptive prose are largely ignored. Worthy ideas like how:
we know the education system is not perfect and fundamentally relies on parental encouragement at home;
reliance on the education institution has made home life full of activity but devoid of peace and contentment;
today's economic necessity of working parents has put an abyss between parents and their kids;
family is the realm where we learn who we are in spite of what "society" tells us; and
mentors are as important as parental influence in our live.
Honestly, I didn't think Hewitt had a problem with the education system, but rather the current social system which places high regard on the self and children are left alone to fend for themselves in schools, after-school programs and peer groups. The distant parents who feel disconnected from their own offspring, land and culture because they are chasing what "society" has told them is "the good life." Yet, he largely left those subjects in the background. If he cannot read between the lines of his own authorship, then why would reading his work be a worthwhile endeavor?
All-in-all, it was an okay (not "OK") book. A primer for further discussion with those in my life who approve of and practice unschooling in their families. Hewitt is the first to out-right state the choice of unschooling because of his own experiences in public school (the majority say the desire to witness and foster their children's lives, to let them develop at their own pace, to find their own interests, etc.).
I would recommend this book: to people committed to unschooling because only you can see passed the logic gaps in this book. Are you on the fence? Skip this book.
Ben Hewitt tries to mask his decision to "unschool" his children by talking about passion, exploration and the pitfalls of the modern education system, yet he makes it clear throughout "Home Grown" that his main motivating factor behind letting his children self educate is his scarred teenage years in high school as an overweight young man. Finally, a terrible high school experience is being used for something other than serial killing, school shootings or extreme weight gain! Is it so cliche that it's genius? I don't think so. Just because you floundered in public school does not mean your children will. If anything, you will be there to help navigate them through the troubled waters you know so well.
Another issue with "Home Grown" is that it's more of a Junior College associative writing exercise than a book. There are entire sections of journal entries, which add nothing to the book other than credibility to the fact of the author being able to write descriptively. It gives the book the feel of a blog or magazine (Ben Hewitt's bread and butter).
Authors live and die by their definitions and Hewitt does not define what makes children "successful," what he considers a "good life," and/or what he means by "society." There are many blanket statements about "society" which are as outdated as his farm vehicles. I don't let "society" define what it means to have a "good life" with "successful" children. Why would anyone?
The great and worthy ideas laced through the overly descriptive prose are largely ignored. Worthy ideas like how:
we know the education system is not perfect and fundamentally relies on parental encouragement at home;
reliance on the education institution has made home life full of activity but devoid of peace and contentment;
today's economic necessity of working parents has put an abyss between parents and their kids;
family is the realm where we learn who we are in spite of what "society" tells us; and
mentors are as important as parental influence in our live.
Honestly, I didn't think Hewitt had a problem with the education system, but rather the current social system which places high regard on the self and children are left alone to fend for themselves in schools, after-school programs and peer groups. The distant parents who feel disconnected from their own offspring, land and culture because they are chasing what "society" has told them is "the good life." Yet, he largely left those subjects in the background. If he cannot read between the lines of his own authorship, then why would reading his work be a worthwhile endeavor?
All-in-all, it was an okay (not "OK") book. A primer for further discussion with those in my life who approve of and practice unschooling in their families. Hewitt is the first to out-right state the choice of unschooling because of his own experiences in public school (the majority say the desire to witness and foster their children's lives, to let them develop at their own pace, to find their own interests, etc.).
I would recommend this book: to people committed to unschooling because only you can see passed the logic gaps in this book. Are you on the fence? Skip this book.
December 12, 2022
I read the book because I’m reading everything I can about unschooling, and I was excited to see the endorsement on the back from Kim John Payne, my personal hero. He said the book would “fill you with courage” to follow your own path. And while I did find myself nodding in agreement half a dozen times or so, I think I actually finished the book with LESS confidence than when I started. The root of the problem was the feeling that the author’s family and mine inhabit two different planets. We don’t live on a bucolic hillside farm with sweeping views, we live in a suburb of a mid-tier city in a flyover state. Every facet of our lives is thoroughly unremarkable. Furthermore, while I get my kids outside as often as I can, I am, as Jack Dawson would say with the accompanying sneer, “kind of an indoor girl.” How, I often wondered while reading, can I possibly provide my kids with the environment and resources that will allow them to thrive with unschooling? I do think it’s a valuable book and could appeal to many, but unless you’re already really into cows and/or the smell of hay (a frequent topic), then this one might not resonate.
April 30, 2017
This book came highly recommended by a few friends of mine and I absolutely see why. Ben Hewitt writes from a place of passion and love - reading about his family's journey through unschooling ignited a fire within me. "When you allow people - both children and adults - the freedom to learn what they want, when they want, they come to their learning with fierce passion and energy. They come to it not because they are motivated to make money but because they are driven by something fast more powerful than material gain: love of knowledge and the very process of attaining knowledge." I felt myself wanting to highlight so much of this book because his words resonated with me - this concept is beautiful and made me wonder what our world would be like if more people spent their years here on earth learning through living?!
November 1, 2017
Çok büyük heveslerle başladığım bu kitaptan çok az keyif aldım. Çünkü ben genel bilgiler beklerken kitap direkt olarak Hewitt Ailesinin hikayesini anlatıyordu. Arazi seçiminden, komşularından, hayvancılıktan çok detaylı bahsediyor bu da benim açımdan anlatılanı çok sıkıcı kıldı. Buna rağmen kitapta okuduğum bir paragraf, onu okumak için ayırdığım vakte değdi. Şuydu:
''Ya bütün mesele mümkün olan her şeyi bilmek değil de mümkün olan her şeyi hissedebilmek ise? Peki ya kendimize her gün hava nasıl olursa olsun -yağmurlu, güneşli, karlı, sıcak ya da soğuk- küçük veya büyük, düz veya kıvrımlı, yapraklı ya da yapraksız bir ağaç bulmaya söz vermiş olsak? Ve sırtımızı en az on dakika gövdesine dayayıp otursak? Ağacın nefesini duyabileceğimiz öğretilmiş olsa bize? Ve bunu gerçekten yapabiliyor olsak?
Ve son olarak: Bunu çocuklarımıza da öğretsek dünya nasıl bir yer olurdu?''
''Ya bütün mesele mümkün olan her şeyi bilmek değil de mümkün olan her şeyi hissedebilmek ise? Peki ya kendimize her gün hava nasıl olursa olsun -yağmurlu, güneşli, karlı, sıcak ya da soğuk- küçük veya büyük, düz veya kıvrımlı, yapraklı ya da yapraksız bir ağaç bulmaya söz vermiş olsak? Ve sırtımızı en az on dakika gövdesine dayayıp otursak? Ağacın nefesini duyabileceğimiz öğretilmiş olsa bize? Ve bunu gerçekten yapabiliyor olsak?
Ve son olarak: Bunu çocuklarımıza da öğretsek dünya nasıl bir yer olurdu?''
October 30, 2016
Hmm. Strange- I've never simultaneously agreed and disagreed to a person's ideas all at the same time before. While i think it is wonderful they've built a beautiful self sustaining homestead, free of the clutter and noise of "modern" life, it is simultaneously not wonderful that the author seems to be raising entitled kids, who do not listen, and will end up with the same condescending "our life is The right life" tone their father has in the book. It was a well-written, but quite annoying book.
December 7, 2016
Kitap okulsuz eğitim ya da evde eğitim konusu hakkında bilgi verici ya da rehber bir kaynak olmaktan uzak, anılar ya da tecrübeler şeklinde yazılmış bi deneme gibi geldi bana. Yazar çoğunlukla kendi hislerine ve kararlarına yer vermiş olsa da insanların hayattaki yerine ve amaçlarına, ebeveynlerin ve çocukların dünyasına farklı bir pencereden bakmamı sağladı. Çocuk gelişimi ve eğitimi hakkında hiç düşünmeden kabul ettiğimiz seyleri sorgulamak, böyle de bişey varmış demek için okunabilir.
October 29, 2016
Çoğu çocuk yetiştirme, büyütme kitaplarından daha farklı, daha aydınlatıcı, daha gerçekçi... Üstelik 10bin fitten de konuşmuyor; gerçek hayatlarını, iddasız, onay beklemeden, dayatmadan, en iyisi bizim yaptığımız demeden anlatıyor. "Okulsuz büyümek" ve "okulsuz büyütmek" imkansızınız olsa bile öğrenilecek çok şey var bu kitaptan...
February 2, 2023
This is an enjoyable and practical first hand glimpse into unschooling. It would be my first choice to give a curious friend or relative. It’s also a great stepping stone to agrarian minded books such as English Pastoral or the essays of Wendell Berry. It was sweet and lovely, though I didn’t take a lot from each essay. Where I would highlight all over the pages of Rebanks or Berry, I found 1-2 power sentences in each essay. It’s not a terrible thing, but I did lower one star because (as the book would confirm) my time is precious. The beautiful:practical balance leaned towards being a bit ‘fluffy’.
On a personal note, most of the people who portray unschooling as such a magical (albeit trying) experience seem to have access to forest. In our family’s experience it is quite a bit more challenging for kids to play creatively on a prairie. Not impossible, just adds difficulties. (There are a lot of things you can do with grass and gopher holes. But boy, trees are a lot more fun.)
The author is clear that the book is not intended to be prescriptive, so we as readers get the added individual growth of discovering how it “works” for our families in our unique places.
On a personal note, most of the people who portray unschooling as such a magical (albeit trying) experience seem to have access to forest. In our family’s experience it is quite a bit more challenging for kids to play creatively on a prairie. Not impossible, just adds difficulties. (There are a lot of things you can do with grass and gopher holes. But boy, trees are a lot more fun.)
The author is clear that the book is not intended to be prescriptive, so we as readers get the added individual growth of discovering how it “works” for our families in our unique places.
June 22, 2022
I came at this book wanting advice on parenting and unschooling or wild-schooling. I wasn’t loving the book at first because it felt more like a rambling memoir. But I’m glad I stuck with it and read the book because it was really helpful to get a glimpse into someone else’s lifestyle with their kids, even if it’s not strictly relevant to my own life. It made me think a lot about what I want my family’s lives to look like and how I can live more intentionally. I appreciated hearing the authors opinions about how children learn and how parents can support that. I didn’t always love the writing style as there were a lot of incomplete sentences or words that felt out of place. This is a minor complaint. Overall it was a good read and I feel like a more capable parent having read it.
February 29, 2024
This book was not as I was expecting.
*Please note I also did it with audio and the narrator is a hard one to listen too.
This was more about the author in my opinion and how he views things as opposed to what I thought would be a helpful/inspirational way to school my children. I feel like this book was almost more discouraging as a new homeschooling mom who lives in a city with limited nature type resources as opposed to being in an off grid home on a beautiful hillside...
The author's family and I live in a totally different world and it was very unrelatable and unhelpful.
*Please note I also did it with audio and the narrator is a hard one to listen too.
This was more about the author in my opinion and how he views things as opposed to what I thought would be a helpful/inspirational way to school my children. I feel like this book was almost more discouraging as a new homeschooling mom who lives in a city with limited nature type resources as opposed to being in an off grid home on a beautiful hillside...
The author's family and I live in a totally different world and it was very unrelatable and unhelpful.
February 18, 2025
This book was hard for me to get through because I found the narrator’s voice to be so distracting 🫠 It affirmed so of our beliefs about school and kids & opened my eyes to some others. I think mostly I’m in my mystery/thriller or romcom days and reading a nonfiction self-help, autobiography type book is just harder for me anyway. On to the next thing!
August 24, 2021
Connected with this book on many levels. Growing and relearning how to learn with my children was an expected beautiful blessing I was not expecting when I became a parent. I loved the section on focusing on the here and now and nothing else, something I’m constantly trying to do.
October 25, 2021
Ben wrote like he was talking to the reader. It was enjoyable and I loved learning about his family’s life. I never felt like he was pushy or judgmental of those who don’t homeschool or unschool. Definitely some food for thought.
August 11, 2023
I love that this is not a prescriptive "how to" book. It is a beautiful telling of the life and land the author's family has chosen. It was a peaceful and inspiring take on nature, childhood, work and how all of us learn and explore new things throughout our lives. I loved this book.
May 15, 2024
Way more biographical than I expected.
February 10, 2025
Rating: 4.5 rounded up to 5
December 20, 2019
"In my own life, I am repeatedly struck by the truth that the more thoroughly I liberate myself from prevailing cultural assumptions—around education, wealth, ambition, and success, to name but a few—the more choice I actually have. The more freedom I have. In some regards, this is obvious, because if I’m not devoting my days to the accumulation of money and status, I am liberated to pursue other things. But the freedom I speak of is more than temporal; it is also a freedom of emotion and s spirit, to know that happiness and fulfillment can be found in the smallest and simplest of places and things."
It is at once liberating, daunting, exciting, and, it must be said, occasionally frightening to realize the extent to which my world is in my hands. I am freer than I was told as a child; I am freer than I was led to believe.
pg. 7 & 8
It is at once liberating, daunting, exciting, and, it must be said, occasionally frightening to realize the extent to which my world is in my hands. I am freer than I was told as a child; I am freer than I was led to believe.
pg. 7 & 8
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