Allison’s Book Report - “The Call of the Wild and Free” by Ainsley Arment

In just a couple of short weeks, most of the kids in Fallon will be back at school. It seems like summer has just begun. As I've mentioned before, we homeschool our kids, and here at the Diegel Home for Wayward Girls, summer is an old-fashioned affair that lasts from Memorial Day until the week after Labor Day. We are only halfway through our summer, and we have many adventures left, including hot days soaking in the pool and late nights looking up at the stars, counting how many meteors we can see before our eyes get too heavy and we finally have to haul ourselves to bed.

Our girls have always been homeschooled, and now with an 8^th grader and a 9^th grader under our roof, we have been at this for a while. Looking back, I don't remember precisely when we chose homeschooling; it just felt like a natural thing for us. We have always based our curriculum on the girls’ interests. Those interests have changed and evolved over the years - Legos, American pioneers, the Titanic, baking, Star Wars, and a lengthy obsession with Alexander Hamilton, to name just a few. Of the million things I have built lessons around, one thing has stood the test of time - a love for nature. 

“The Call of the Wild and Free” by Ainsley Arment has been my go-to book on homeschooling little nature lovers for years. Inspired by the spirit of Henry David Thoreau – “all good things are wild and free" – Arment, a mother of five, gives ideas and food for thought on giving kids a quality education and fostering curiosity, joy, and wonder. In the past, homeschooling carried a stigma of socially awkward kids in conservative clothes, sitting in a mock classroom at home, but the Wild + Free movement is focused on a love of nature, reading great books, pursuing interests and hobbies, making the entire world a classroom, and prolonging the wonder of childhood, an appealing philosophy that is unpacked in the pages of this book.

“The Call of the Wild and Free” is an excellent source of inspiration and advice. I re-read it almost every year as I begin planning our homeschool year. I recommend this book even for families and caregivers who do not choose homeschool but are looking for a little pep-talk about putting a spark of curiosity and joy back into family life with nature.

Whether you homeschool or not, I hope you pick up a copy of this book and get inspired to spend some time in nature with your kids. Make sure you pop over to my Instagram @allison.the.reader, and let's chat about it.