The Call of the Wild and Free: Reclaiming Wonder in Your Child’s Education

I like books with substance. This has none. It\’s 3/5 trying-to-be-inspirational pep talk, 1/5 quotes from other authors, 1/5 humble bragging anecdotes. I like books written by someone with expertise. This author\’s eldest child was in 9th grade at the time of writing. Get back to me when you\’ve guided at least one kid (preferably more) into adulthood, and then I might be more receptive to your pep talk. I like books with original thoughts/research or a new/interesting slant on a topic. This is basically a collection of fluff which could be found on any generic homeschool blog. The three positives are as follows: 1) The photography in each chapter. Nice. As expected from an Instagram influencer. 2) There\’s a brief description of several methods of homeschooling–Waldorf, Montessori, Charlotte Mason, etc. Decent, but not exhaustive or comprehensive. You can easily get this info by googling homeschool methods. 3) The authors she quotes throughout Wild+Free are worth reading. I\’ve read most of them; just skip this book and go to Arment’s sources. You\’ll be much more informed without wasting time and money on this book. My friend loaned me this book as I\’ve been going through a rough patch homeschooling my kids. She loves all the Wild+Free stuff, and hoped it would encourage me. I\’m a second generation homeschooler, have 5 school-aged kids plus 2 younger ones and another on the way, and have been homeschooling about 7 years. Maybe I\’m not the target reader for this book, but it\’s just stuffed full of platitudes and the whole idea of \”just go into nature and your kids will have a fairy-tale life and you\’ll be so happy together\”. I have a degree in outdoor recreation (so I\’m huge on the outdoors), lean very Charlotte Mason with a touch of unschooliness (so I\’m huge on living books, short lessons, real life experiences, interest-led learning, etc.), and I\’m always on the lookout for good community (i.e. friends for my kids and other parents with whom I can talk shop). So you\’d think I\’d be able to identify with the book. But there absolutely nothing new in here, and very little practical advice. \”Build boats and float them down the gutter on rainy days\” is fabulous for preschoolers, but where is the advice for encouraging a love of the outdoors in your 13 year old who hates being outside and complains about her daily hour of outside time? Where\’s the acknowledgement that not all (or even many) homeschoolers are wealthy, white, and have access to all the amazing aspects of life that this author evidently does? Where\’s the advice for when you already live the way this book describes, and you are still burned out from facilitating the magic, the kids still push back against their already short school days, your kid has patiently struggled through every word of the phonics book and still can\’t read, etc.? \”You might face a revolt from your kids at first, but persist, dear mama. Integrate these treasures into your regular routine without making a big deal of it, and watch your children fall in love with a new family culture in time.\” Oh yeah, and WHEN they don\’t? Please don\’t \”dear mama\” me…tell me what you do when your child doesn\’t like the family culture. Never mind, your oldest child is about 15, so you don\’t really know yet, do you? Why are you writing a book again? Some other irritations: 1) She implies that some older popular homeschoolers are part of the Wild+Free \”movement\”. I find that misleading as Leigh Bortins, Julie Bogart, and others mentioned here were blogging/writing long before Arment even started homeschooling. So maybe they now have some connections to Wild+Free but they certainly would have influenced Arment, not the other way around. 2) The book needs an editor, like most popular books. She uses the word \”curriculums\” instead of curricula. And there is page after exhausting page of ideas of how to spend your time with your kids. But no index, and it\’s very unorganized, so you\’d have to skim the whole book again if anything did stand out to you. Her writing style (Lots of short sentences. Put together. Like this.) is obnoxious after a couple pages. And there are so many paragraphs of nice-sounding words that don\’t mean anything. \”In reclaiming motherhood, we are reclaiming a natural connection to our purpose, our calling, and our children\”. Huh? And so on. 3) If you\’re an experienced homeschooler, you\’ll get nothing out of this book. Actually, you probably could have written a better version of it. If you are a new homeschooler, you\’ll probably be discouraged or confused by this book. You know that it\’s not all rainbows and fairy dust and sparkly streams, but this book paints a completely unrealistic picture of how parenting and educating your kids the Wild+Free way will give you a fulfilling life as a mother and your kids the childhood they deserve. So if you feel like a failure since your life doesn\’t probably doesn\’t look like this book says it will, just remember it\’s not you, it\’s the book. If you are thinking about homeschooling, just skip this and read something more realistic so that you can go into homeschooling (or whatever educational method you decide on) with your eyes open. I suspect the majority of 5 star reviews were written by friends or fan-girls of the author. 4) The author pointedly says her book is for women, not men, which is really weird to me. I could not homeschool without my husband\’s extensive support. Maybe I could with fewer children, but I don\’t think I\’d want to. Maybe most homeschool families are headed by a mom (hopefully with support from her spouse), but there are plenty of single parents and homeschool dads and parents who split the homeschool load evenly and non-traditional families out there. So it\’s really odd to hear an author say her book is only for \”mamas\”. It\’s her book, and she explains that she\’s trying to promote women, but I think she just ends up alienating potential readers. 5) There are many mini-ads throughout the book for the Wild+Free \”movement\” and \”community\”. I live in a state where it’s easy to homeschool and there are a lot of homeschoolers. However, I signed up for two Wild+Free groups within an hour\’s drive, and there is absolutely no activity. No ready-made community. And again, nothing for kids older than preschool/early elementary age. Yet some friends of mine in a similar state have wait lists for their local Wild+Free groups. I don\’t know why the discrepancy, but if you are interested in a group, it might not be as rosy and easy to find like-minded community as the author implies. Anyway, I obviously hated this book, so here are few authors I do recommend (if you are newer to homeschooling. My eldest is only 13 so I don\’t feel qualified yet to recommend much past that, other than my own experience as a homeschooled teen): Outdoors/nature/play: Peter Gray, Richard Louv, Florence Williams, Charlotte Mason Short lessons/minimal formal schooling: John Holt, John Taylor Gatto, Charlotte Mason Community/place based education: David Albert, David Sobel Reading real books: Charlotte Mason, Donalyn Miller Autodidactism: Grace Llewellyn Inspiration from people who\’ve actually finished raising kids: David & Micki Colfax, Linda Dobson, Ruth Beechick, Leila Lawler (blogger) and so many others. Anything but The Call of the Wild+Free 🙂

I received this book in the mail yesterday and just finished devouring it. (Yes, I put aside our lessons and declared today a reading day, because I can.) 🙂 This book resonated deeply with me as I strive to home educate my three girls well–and I\’m so glad I preordered it and will have it on my bookshelf for reference and encouragement whenever I need. I said a lot of \”Yes! Yes! Yes!\” in my mind as I read through topic after topic, as everything the author says lines up with my goals and dreams for my children and the type of childhood I want them to have. The book is split into four main sections titled: The Mission, The Myths, The Manner, and The Method. It addresses why we homeschool, misconceptions from others and ourselves, how children develop and what they need at each stage, how to create a family rhythm and family culture, discovering your style, the importance of free play and nature in giving our children back their childhoods. I appreciated the information about various forms of home education such as classical, Montessori, Charlotte Mason, Waldorf, Reggio Emilia, and unschooling. We personally do a mix of classical and Charlotte Mason, with an emphasis on finding the right approach to math or english for each child depending on their brain wiring. In addition to the theories and beliefs that govern how we teach our children at home, so much of the book is practical advice that we can readily implement in our homes, which I very much appreciate. I have been reminded to get out in nature more, to not give in to pressures of doing more, to continue reading aloud even to my 13-year-old, to make a notebooking journal with fun prompts to get my creative writer writing, to stop doubting myself. I started homeschooling to become a bigger voice in my children\’s lives than public school would allow, to be able to know them intimately, to be able to witness their blossoming, to give them exactly what they need when they need it (as only someone who knows them well can), and to redeem what I lost in my own childhood. I grew up internalizing a lot of stress and anxiety, and didn\’t feel I had anyone to voice it to. I felt unheard and misunderstood and I tried to stay out of people’s way as much as possible instead of asserting myself. I grew up and became overwhelmed with life as an adult, letting stress eat away at me, developing many health problems as a result. My coming back to myself and taking control of my life has coincided with taking control of my children\’s lives and educations as well. I am in my fifth year homeschooling, but I am still working things out and constantly learning, changing, growing. Homeschooling is definitely a journey, not a destination, which is why books like this are essential to us moms in the trenches. I think this book is as relevant to the seasoned home educator as to the mom who is looking to start. Much of the book talks about keeping our children’s sense of wonder alive by creating an environment in which they actually enjoy learning (not dread it or simply get through it). It encourages us to let them play as much as possible, because play is how little ones learn, \”Children invite us into their world in small, delicate ways each day. They stand before us, board game in hand, looking up into our eyes as if maybe this time might be different. Children are resilient. They ask, get rejected, and then ask again. Imagine being surrounded by giants all day, looking up at the underside of their chins, and then experiencing the sheer delight when one of them crouches down to join our activity. Childhood is so fleeting. Before we know it, they will indeed stand as tall as us and perhaps see things the way we do. But by then, it will be too late. Their childhood will be gone. May we learn to enter their world before they stop inviting us.” Ainsley Arment\’s thorough knowledge of every aspect of home education is evident throughout the book, and I never felt like it was being redundant or irrelevant. Her position as the founder of Wild + Free podcasts, conferences, magazine, and Instagram account place her in the perfect authority position to write this type of book. Her quotations from various authoritative figures and authors were spot-on, and exactly what I would have used if this was my book. I also thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful photography throughout, and let’s not forget to mention the thick pages that flip so easily as I read. This book will be a treasured resource for many, I am sure.

This book has completely changed my approach to homeschooling and parenting. As an extremely Type-A person whose strict adherence to routine made me very successful professionally, I quickly realized it wasn\’t an approach that was going to result in a happy homeschool or a healthy childhood for my kids. Along with a lot of moms, I felt like I had to be everything to everyone all the time (and if ONE thing went undone or wasn\’t absolutely perfect then, clearly, I was an incompetent failure at everything). My kids needed to be reading in pre-k and doing algebra by 1st grade, or I was failing them as a parent. No matter how many blogs, vlogs, articles, and books I consumed, I couldn\’t find the strength to trust my instincts and let go of the pressures and expectations society imposes on mothers. For some reason, I needed permission to do what I felt was right for my kids–to let them be children. I\’m not sure if it was the way Ainsley worded the message or if her voice was the last one I needed to hear, but about 50 pages in, something clicked and I finally got it. Our kids deserve a childhood. The pressure we\’re put under and the pressure we apply to them from such a young age isn\’t natural or fair. It feels like someone lifted 100 pounds off my back. Since reading the book, I\’ve been listening to every podcast episode. I\’ve recommended both to all of my friends, even those who don\’t educate their kids at home. I\’m eternally grateful to Ainsley and will definitely be getting a Wild+Free membership. So yeah, buy it–especially if you feel you need permission to follow your instincts. I promise you, this book will tell you exactly what you need to hear.

Love this book!! A must read for any parent who wants to have happy well balanced children. Xxx

This book spoke to my soul, capturing the wonder and beauty of real learning, that is the birth right of every child.

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