Project-Based Homeschooling: Mentoring Self-Directed Learners Paperback – June 27, 2012

Our family has been using many of author Lori Pickert's ideas since our first child was a toddler. This book is an incredible synthesis of her earlier work as well as a huge leap forward into the nuts and bolts of supporting authentic, meaningful work in your unique family culture. She published this book right at a time when I was really burnt out on homeschooling curriculum and structured approaches to "administering" to my kids as a homeschooling parent; this really was an antidote. It builds, in a very tangible and accessible way, a method for mentoring kids and supporting their efforts. The proof is in the pudding: my kids have been hacking away at their own work all year, with me supporting them, and Lori's book and forum supporting me, and the work they have done has been amazing, endearing, and beyond anything a pre-packaged website or curriculum could sell us.Enacting her ideas requires that you take risks and place some faith in your kids' and your own natural abilities. But: she doesn't leave you hanging. PBH is a very different approach to learning than many of us are accustomed to and it has been, at times, frustrating and terrifying, but more often for me it has been nothing short of empowering and liberating, to see my kids live into the people I know they can be. For those families wanting to nurture agency, initiative and resourcefulness in your kids, this approach is golden. The author maintains a very active website and forum where she and other families interact and brainstorm, support, and clarify. She really is a priceless resource (and she does this all with the tone of a wise and caring friend).Her approach doesn't cost money unless you need or want it to. It requires your attention and it requires that you cultivate the capacity to mentor your kids. This was a stretch for me initially and I have really enjoyed growing into this role. There are also many ideas for "filling in gaps" for mentoring and learning where we as parents aren't able or inclined.The book also offers many ideas for building learning communities. We are still in the process of trying this out in our family but the experience we've gained so far has been invaluable. My kids are better prepared, at 7 and 3, to collaborate and work through community efforts because of the actions we've taken based on PBH's ideas. It's just become a natural way of being in the world for us, to look for ways to connect and collaborate with others on projects that matter to us. Once again, I found lots of very specific, helpful advice - for example, how to teach and support effective critique with kids (I found this on the PBH website, not in the book).To be honest, I often recommend Lori's book to parents who want to be connected and supportive of their children's creativity and individuality, regardless of whether or not they are in school. I don't consider it a homeschooling initiative (nor does it present itself this way) so much as a way of intentionally cultivating a values-rich, unique family culture that prizes mutual support, passion, and worthy work. It is kind of like a map for "I'm stuck here in a vanilla cookie-cutter land and I want to go there - to bright and busy and creative" with a lot of the kinks worked out for you. It's not a lifestyle you have to chase with lots of money, just some habits to cultivate, and she takes a lot of guesswork out of the process.Another thing I appreciate about the book, and about her work in general, is that it manages to support a wide variety of "types". Very formal homeschooling families, kids in school, toddlers at home: so many different lifestyles can integrate these ideas. She is remarkably welcoming of various approaches and as long as people are kind and supportive of one another, there is a wide range of participants in her forum discussions.The book also includes great lists of "thing you might do" and step-wise tools for helping to make components of PBH happen easily. She specifically addresses supporting very young children and pre-readers, dealing with stalls and frustration, finishing projects, and creating collaboration.Where PBH really has saved us as a family is it has removed the element of a power struggle between me and my oldest. There is support and discussion in the PBH forum about "negotiated curriculum" and setting learning goals with your kids. It's a work in progress for us but really, this is a clear way of coming alongside your kids rather than AT them while engaged in meaningful work. Actually, I think what we have learned from this process is that meaningful work only occurs when power struggles are transformed into new relationships of support.In the past I've been a bit of a parenting book and homeschooling approach junkie. PBH actually assisted me in focusing on my own unique style and listening more closely to my own creative voice (as well as that of my children, and being less seduced by everything new and shiny when things lagged in our learning), not just as a parent but as an individual. The positive impact that this focus has had in my personal and family life is profound.To succeed in doing PBH in your family I'm willing to bet you WILL have to stretch yourself a bit and roll up your sleeves. You WILL have to set aside time to make it happen and you WILL have to develop new habits. The good news is there's plenty of support, both in the book and online, to do so, and the discomfort of learning new things is tiny compared to the really cool confidence of watching your kids "take off".

I ordered this book not knowing what at all to expect. Honestly, I feared I was wasting my money on yet.another.how.to.homeschooling book.I am happy to report that I was very wrong. What I have experienced while reading this book and since changing my mindset a bit has been amazing. Honestly, I think it was just a paradigm shift for me and not so much a drastic change in the way we homeschool. The author's blog is also very helpful!!I have one child who homeschools the "project based" way on her own. And I do mean to a T! As I have read this book, I have found myself nodding and agreeing and reading in wonder at how much this book describes Hannah!!But, I do have 2 other children and I would like to slowly but surely encourage this type of self-directed learning in areas that might interest them.Here are some of the key points to this "method" that make a lot of sense to me:helping our kids become self-motivated learnersencouraging them to learn new thingsteaching them how to find out those new things - research, etc.giving them the tools & resources & space they needplay = learninghands on = learning of the best kindlearning and researching things they LOVE and are interested inallowing your child the freedom to determine AND manage their workI love this. All of it. The book has lots of lists of "suggestions" for how the parent can help and what the parents role is in the different stages of your child's project. I love these lists, very helpful for me. Sometimes, when thinking about something new, it is helpful for someone to gently come alongside me and say, "yes, do this. no, not that."Something else that I appreciated about this book was that the author didn't try to persuade you to do it her way or the highway. "...the point of project-based homeschooling is to devote some time to helping your child direct and manage his own learning. This does not have to comprise your entire curriculum. (Though it can.) It does not have to be the primary focus of your learning life. (Though is can.) But it is essential." (Project Based Homeschooling, p. 10.) I love this freedom she allows so much. I didn't feel bound by her methods and suggestions, but I was very encouraged that doing at least some of this in my home would be a very good idea.What I *hope* to do on my blog is share some projects Hannah has done in the past {documentation} and share how we progress in this in the future. (I already have 2 posts in the drafts on the blog waiting to be published of Hannah's previous projects.)

This book has a very interesting approach to learning/teaching. It has changed my approach to homeschooling as I plan on implementing some of her ideas. I really like how she lists a few examples of projects. My only issues with the book are it doesn't give examples of schedules and how much time to give your children during the week (a few hours a week, five hours, etc.). I will just have to do trial and error... because we are coupling this approach with a more traditional curriculum. I couldn't just go in all in. My second complaint is that she offers no research to support her ideas. This doesn't bother me too much, as I can see how much of what she is saying matches research out there about how children learn, but for someone who isn't sure, this may cause them to think twice about trying out a new approach. I also would like her to discuss how this would work with large families, as many homeschooling families are large. But overall, a very strong book for a person looking for some new ideas on how to teach your kids and I believe an approach that can be very beneficial.

Livre très pertinent sur l'instruction en famille . Apporte des pistes très intéressantes. Le tout en suivant l'intérêt des enfants. Et leur laisser libre court à leur imagination tout en leur apportant un soutien en cas de besoin. Offrir un lieu et des outils/matériels pour enrichir les procédés et les expériences.

As soon as this book fell into my hands I knew the author completely resonated with my goals as a parent. Freedom to learn, tools to learn with and support in helping my children on their learning journey. For those new to homeschooling and even those such as myself, who have been homeschooling for years, this book will be the one you have on hand at all times. Easy to read, intelligent, heartfelt, inspiring and honest!

Brilliantly written book, easy to read, easy to follow, well organised, stuffed full of easy to follow and idea - provoking tips for enjoying learning and supporting children of all ages.Much of this book could be applied even if your children do go to school, Pickert uses good citations, background and information to present her philosophy - and as it is a philosophy and approach rather than curriculum or set of rules, it really can be applied anywhere, any time, anyhow!As a librarian and advocate of life long learning, I can't tell you what a joy this book is to read - affirming, inspiring and practical.It's is also well worth checking this authors wonderful website ([...]) which is stuffed full of useful information plus a wonderful forum full of discussion and support opportunities.

I've decided to rewrite my review as I felt my original one didn't really reflect my Feelings on the book, but was responding to what others said, rather than my own views.In short, I really enjoyed this book. It deserves 5 stars and there are some great ideas that I have to take away, think about and put into practice and that is what a good book needs to do.

Fantastic book, project time is now my kids favorite part of the day. I'm constantly amazed with the things they are creating and exploring because of the time we have set aside for them to take control of their learning