Rating: 4 of 5

When I decided to homeschool my daughter I didn't realize I would first have to unschool myself. Needless to say, it's been and still is an ongoing process, my unschooling. Spotting Project-Based Homeschooling on my library's shelf was serendipitous; I needed the specifics almost as much as the confidence boost.The most helpful aspect of the book, for me, was the "things you might do" section.

The only downside was most of the book's examples focused on young children in group environments. I would like to see more samples from older children and teens (age 12+), and a closer look at that age group working solo.

My notes:

"ideas > work > representation > sharing >feedback > reflection > new ideas > more work >new representations > sharing what we've made with others (p 126)"

Daughter decides what matters. I help her experience a project's beginning, middle and end: "the initial questions and wonderings; the collecting of experiences and artifacts; the research and investigation and making of representations; the reflection and self-assessment; and, the sharing with others." My job is to help her ask her own questions, judge her own work, and decide when she's finished (pp.132-133).

"Keys for finishing: Show up. Commit to making the time and using the time; Use small goals to accomplish big goals; Set yourself up to succeed: put a system in place; aim for learned competence (p. 134)."

Explore further at http://www.project-based-homeschooling.com ( )

I've been a long-time reader of Lori's blog and was thrilled to pick up a copy of her new book that synthesizes so much wisdom about homeschooling from a project-based perspective. We do a lot of Lori's approach to learning as a family just because that's the way we're wired, but I nonetheless came away with new ideas, perspectives, and a better approach for memorializing Z's learning journey through better journaling techniques. ( )