Unschooling and Homeschooling Magazines, Books, Media/Interviews/Misc., Blogs, Camps, Conferences, Groups, Online Schools

Magazines and Newsletters:

Living Joyfully Newsletter: http://livingjoyfully.ca/newsletter/

"The Homeschooler" Magazine
http://www.homeschoolermagazine.com/main.html
https://www.facebook.com/TheHomeschoolerMagazine?ref=br_tf

"Growing Without Schooling" magazines can be viewed online for free http://www.holtgws.com/gwsarchives.html 

Life Learning Magazine: http://www.LifeLearningMagazine.com

Free selected articles from Life Learning Magazine: 
http://www.lifelearningmagazine.com/selected_articles_from_Life_Learning_Magazine.htm

Parental Intelligence Newsletter -  The newsletter is no longer being published, but is still available to read online: 
http://www.parental-intelligence.com/

The Natural Child Project - http://www.naturalchild.org/

The Daily Groove: Scott's newsletter gives inspirational words each day with regard to living with our loved little ones so that we enjoy parenting and our live in general more.  http://www.enjoyparenting.com/ 

Unschooling Newsletter: http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=4f2dea8dbd2c118a4442270cf&id=6c95a62d4e&e=165b4c7dca  

Parent At The Helm: http://www.parentatthehelm.com/   


Books:

"Moving A Puddle And Other Essays " by Sandra Dodd
http://sandradodd.com/puddlebook

""Sandra Dodd's BIG BOOK of Unschooling" by Sandra Dodd
 http://sandradodd.com/bigbook 

"Free To Learn" by Pam Laricchia 

"Free To Live" by Pam Laricchia

"Parenting A Free Child: An Unschooled Life" by Rue Kream

This 9 page zine by grown unschooler Idzie Desmarais is a concise introduction to unschooling.  It' is "a neat little booklet explaining the basics and answering some common questions. Designed to be an easy, digestible intro to hand out to curious and concerned neighbors, grandparents, friends, french class teachers, and anyone else who might want to know a bit more about this unconventional lifestyle you're leading!"
http://idziedesmarais.weebly.com/store.html

"How Children Learn" by John Holt

"How Children Fail" by John Holt

"Learning All The Time" by John Holt (and other books by John Holt)

"The Book of Learning and Forgetting" by Frank Smith

"Unconditional Parenting": by Alfie Kohn - available in book or dvd format.  The dvd format is in lecture form.  It is available through the Maine lending library system.
http://minerva.maine.edu/search~S71/?searchtype=t&searcharg=unconditional+parenting&searchscope=71&sortdropdown=-&SORT=D&extended=0&SUBMIT=Search&searchlimits=&searchorigarg=tunconditional+parenting

"And the Children Played... " by Patricia Joudry  - I LOVE this book and have read it at least two times!

"The Homeschooling Book of Answers" by Linda Dobson 

Other books by Linda Dobson: 
http://www.fun-books.com/authors/Linda_Dobson.htm 

"The Homeschooling Handbook" (revised 2nd edition) by Mary Griffith

"The Unschooling Unmanual" - exerpts by: Nanda Van Gestel, Jan Hunt, Daniel Quinn, Rue Kream, Earl Stevens, Kim Houssenloge, John Holt, and Mary Van Doren 

"College Without High School" by Blake Boles

"Better Than College" by Blake Boles 

"And The Skylark Sings With Me: Adventures in Homeschooling and Community-Based Education" by David Albert  

"Homeschooling and the Voyage of Self-Discovery: A Journey of Original Seeking" by David Albert

"Have Fun. Learn Stuff. Grow. Homeschooling and the Curriculum of Love." by David Albert

 "What Really Matters" by David Albert and Joyce Reed

"Child's Work" by Nancy Wallace  

"The Natural Child: Parenting from the Heart" by Jan Hunt

"The Unprocessed Child: Living without School" by Valerie Fitzenreiter

"How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk" by Faber & Mazlish

"Siblings Without Rivalry" by Faber & Mazlish 

"Secrets of a Buccaneer Scholar" by James Marcus Bach - This book is about how he left school because it was stifling him and his way of learning and how he continues to learn and be successful ever since.  He puts a positive spin on his ADD diagnosis.  He writes about how he learns and how he controls how he does so to make it work for him.

"Smarting Us Up" by Ned and Luz Vare 
http://school-is-hell.blogspot.com/2008/05/homeschool-or-unschool.html

"The Teenage Liberation Handbook: how to quit school and get a real life and education" - by Grace Llewellyn

 "Real Lives: Eleven Teenagers Who Don't Go To School Tell Their Own Stories" by Grace Llewellyn 

"Guerilla Learning: How To Give Your Kids A Real Education With Or Without School" by Grace Llewelyn - On 4/7/2010 in a post on the alwayslearning yahoo group list, Pam Sorooshian wrote  "It will help you deal with his being in school in an unconventional way."  Also, here's a link to Goodreads about it: 
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/464536.Guerrilla_Learning

"The Underground History of American Education" by John Taylor Gatto 
and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkT0k57tAHo

"Growing Without Schooling" magazines can be viewed online for free 
http://www.holtgws.com/gwsarchives.html

 "Better Late than Early" and "School Can Wait." by Dr. Raymond Moore and Dorothy Moore. (older book about delayed academics)

"The Report Card" is a fiction book by Andrew Clements.  It is about a girl named Nora who is in middle school and is exceptionally brilliant.  Nora does not want to let others know because she does not want to be treated or thought of as any different from anyone else.   In fifth grade, her friend Stephen becomes very anxious about grades as do most of the kids.  To help show her friend that grades don't really reflect what one knows, she purposely gets all D's on her report card (and one C by accident).  I won't give away the rest of the story, but it is a good read!  My 12 yr old daughter (at the time) asked me to read it and thought I'd like it.  She was right!  I was excited to read it when I noticed that the author thanked Alfie Kohn!  Also, the librarian in the book advises Nora that there are always at least two choices to make and to pick the better one.  Reminds me of the suggestions on Sandra Dodd's site! http://sandradodd.com/betterchoice.html  
Here is a video link in which Andrew Clements talks about his son in Kindergarten who pretended not to be able to read because of the way his classmate treated him. 
http://books.simonandschuster.com/Report-Card/Andrew-Clements/9780689845154#video-3845681001 (If you scroll way down, the link should go to "Clements on Reading") 

Why Zebra's Don't Get Ulcers by Robert Sapolsky (stress related book)

"Parenting for Social Change" by Teresa Graham Brett
Link to her website: http://www.parentingforsocialchange.com/about.html
Teresa's videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/TeresaGBrett   

You can read about the following books and more on this site: 
http://www.naturallifebooks.com/
For the Sake of Our Children by Léandre Bergeron
Life Learning: Lessons from the Educational Frontier edited by Wendy Priesnitz
Challenging Assumptions in Education by Wendy Priesnitz
School Free: The Homeschooling Handbook by Wendy Priesnitz
Bringing it Home: A Home Business Start-Up Guide for You and Your Family by Wendy Priesnitz  
What Really Matters by David Albert and Joyce Reed

"Natural Born Learners" edited by Beatrice Ekwa Ekoko and Carlo Ricci
http://radiofreeschool.blogspot.ca/2014/01/natural-born-learners-unschooling-and.html

----------------
Media/Interviews/Misc:

TV interviews of Lisa Cottrell-Bentley's Family: http://unschooling.blogspot.com/2011/11/two-other-tv-interviews-of-bentley.html?mid=5220868 

"How I Ended Up As An Unschooler" (one hour and 15 min in length) - An interview with Astra Taylor, a grown unschooler and independent filmmaker.

She speaks about the politics and psychology of education, and her experience as an unschooler and an overachiever.  http://tinyurl.com/yffpl7w

or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwIyy1Fi-4Q

A blog by grown unschooler Idzie Desmarais
"I'm Unschooled. Yes, I Can Write."
http://www.yes-i-can-write.blogspot.com/
Idzie D's collection of links to grown unschoolers:
http://yes-i-can-write.blogspot.com/2010/05/unschooling-grows-up-collection-of.html 

Christine Yablonsky, Phil Biegler and their children Shaun and Kimi were on Good Morning America and had articles written about their appearances.

They also appeared on the Joy Behar Show.  

• April 19, 2010 - The first written piece:  http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/unschooling-homeschooling-book-tests-classes/story?id=10410867&page=1 
• April 20, 2010 -The second written piece: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/parents-defend-radical-unschooling-instilling-proper-values/story?id=10422823&page=1
• GMA received so many comments and emails about unschooling after their first appearance that they were asked to come back and answer some of the concerns and questions. Here is the second appearance on GMA.  Thank you Christine and Phil and Kimi and Shaun!  http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/video/parents-defend-unschooling-10422983
• Christine Yablonsky and Phil Biegler on The Joy Behar Show: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2010/04/21/behar.unschooling.cnn?hpt=T2
• Unschoolers respond to the Yablonski/Biegler/Good Morning America interviews and more on Ronnie Maier's blog: http://zombieprincess.blogspot.com/2010/04/unschoolers-respond.html

TED Talk by Jerry Michalski "What if we trusted you?" Sept 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0fgtvbMT7k&feature=youtu.be

TED Talk by Daniel Pink: The puzzle of motivation
http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html

Stanford's 2009 Class Day Lecture on The Uniqueness of Humans by Robert Sapolsky: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrCVu25wQ5s&feature=player_embedded#

Three clips of families/unschoolers (two in other countries and Sharon Emerson's family from New York!):

http://www.euronews.com/2012/03/14/unschooling-the-new-class-of-learning/ 

Transcriptions of Sandra Dodd's chats on various unschooling topics: 

http://sandradodd.com/chats/bigbook/directory  

http://unschooling.info/video various kinds of things, many with kids in, or some made by unschooled kids

Brenna McBroom 
(unschooled teen in these clips, now she is in her twenties):

1. Homeschool To Unschool excerpt from Unschooling The Movie: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H37T7o9u_2M&feature=channel 

2. Worth excerpt from Unschooling The Movie: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHBtjpQJp80&feature=channel

Radio Free School: http://radiofreeschool.blogspot.com/ 

Cameron Lovejoy Interview:

http://radiofreeschool.blogspot.com/2010/04/cameron-lovejoy-is-this-what-i-want-to.html

Two unschooled siblings in their early twenties created this website:

http://www.whyunschool.info./?page=home 

"Homegrown Knowledge"   - This is a sweet video about a family who homeschools in Ireland.  Not 100% radical unschooling as there is concern and limits about television and electronic devices and the kids do some workbooks and talk about having to do school at times, but oh I loved how sweet the little boy was and how he loves his DS and wants to do things himself and how thoughtful and introspective the older kids were.   They seemed to be such a lovely, connected family. I also love how the mom is able to trust her kids to learn in many ways and how the dad supports everyone's right to take their own path and knows that homeschooling is right for their family. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trS6dwD7IP0  

Joyce Fetteroll's Unschooling Toolbox:
http://homeschoolingresourcesandideas.blogspot.com/2013/09/joyce-fetterolls-unschooling-toolbox.html

Blogs:
Resources and links to many blogs and sites: http://enjoylifeunschooling.com/resources/
and some specifically of Maine unschoolers and elsewhere via Amy Bradstreet's blog On Bradstreet (see below)

A Soft Place To Land: http://asoftplacetolandparenting.blogspot.com/

Another Roadside Attraction: http://another-roadside-attraction.blogspot.com/

Barn-Raising: http://barn-raising.blogspot.com/  

Blog of the Zombie Princess: http://zombieprincess.blogspot.com/

Do Life Right: http://www.doliferight.com/

Eclectic Reality: http://www.eclecticreality.net/ 

Eli Gerzon: http://eligerzon.com/blog/  

Heart-Rockin Family: http://frecklesfilledwithlove.blogspot.com/

Homeschool News and Muse: http://unschooling.blogspot.com/

Hummingbird Haven: http://gail-hummingbirdhaven.blogspot.com/  

I'm Unschooled.  Yes, I Can Write: http://yes-i-can-write.blogspot.com/ 

Joyful Abundance: http://joyful-abundance.blogspot.com/

Just A Bald Man: http://www.blogger.com/blogin.g?blogspotURL=http://justabaldman.blogspot.com/

Learning Through Living: http://learningthroughliving-stephanie.blogspot.com/

Milking Ducks: http://milkingducks.wordpress.com/

On Bradstreet: http://www.onbradstreet.com/p/unschooling.html

Organic Learning: http://organiclearning.blogspot.com/

Our Joyful Life: http://ourjoyfullife.blogspot.com/

Pottery and Pastry: https://brennamcbroom.wordpress.com/

Seeking Nectar: http://seekingnectar.blogspot.com/

The Wonderful Happens: http://thewonderfulhappens.blogspot.com/

Thinking Sticks: http://thinkingsticks.blogspot.com/

Unschooling Lifestyle: http://www.unschoolinglifestyle.com/

Zenmomma's Garden: http://zenmommasgarden.blogspot.com/


Camps and Adventure for Unschoolers: 

There are two "Not Back To School" Camps
One in Oregon and one in Vermont. http://nbtsc.org/who/index.htm 

Here's an awesome film about them made by a former camper! http://vimeo.com/9368376 

Eastern Tennessee Unschooled Camp: http://www.etusc.com/

There are Summer Camps and Family Spring and Family Fall Camps

Here's a blurb about the summer camp: 

ETUSC is a 7 night summer camp for approximately 80 unschoolers ages 13-18. There are many activities, camper run workshops, jam sessions, bonfires, swimming, a zipline, equalizer challenge, and climbing wall, mentoring, dancing, and much more.

We believe all children should be treated with respect and given opportunities for growth and connection without arbitrary boundaries that limit and confine their reaching, and that they should have a safe and loving environment to do so. It is our hope that our campers will learn more about themselves, make lifelong friendships, and discover new interests...all while having an amazing time in a beautiful setting.

ETUSC is a non-denominational, non-religious camp. We welcome campers and staff of all races, ethnic backgrounds, genders, religious beliefs, sexual orientations, economic backgrounds, political affiliations, and physical capabilities.

Unschool Adventures: http://www.unschooladventures.com/
Writing retreats, travel experiences and more.  

Summer Montreal Unschoolers Gathering: http://smugunschoolersgathering.blogspot.com/  
and 
https://www.facebook.com/events/327928433994316/
(geared towards teens and young adults, though all ages may attend)

Conferences :

Here is a yahoo group that provides dates of large conferences in various parts of the country.  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unschoolingcircuitriders/   

Another couple of sites to get unschooling events: http://familyrun.ning.com/events/event/listUpcoming 
and http://www.theunschoolersemporium.com/unschooling-conferences/ 
and http://www.unschoolinglifestyle.com/p/unschooling-conferences-gatherings-get.html    

Life Is Good Conference - Held end of May each year in Vancouver, WA
http://lifeisgoodconference.com/  

Wide Sky Days - Held annually in California.  Used to be called Good Vibrations Unschooling Conference: http://www.wideskydays.com/   

Rethinking Everything: Held in August in Irving, TX 
http://www.rethinkingeverything.net/ 

Adventures In Homeschooling Conference - Held in the beginning of August in Sacramento, CA http://www.hscconference.com/main.html   

Conferences in Massachusetts and Maine:

Northeast Unschooling Conference in Wakefield, MA (end of August)
http://www.northeastunschoolingconference.com/  

Northeast Unschooling Conference Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/NEUnschooling/?fref=ts 

Northeast Unschooling Conference Yahoo Group: 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEUConference/ 

Maine Unschooling Mini-Conference (one day conference in Camden, ME)
This year it will be on Saturday September 19, 2015 at the Congregational Church. 
http://maineunschoolingminiconference.blogspot.com/ 

Maine Unschooling Mini-Conference facebook group: 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/362963810453305/?fref=ts 

Yahoo Groups:
*** = my favorite current groups

African American Unschoolers: 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfAmUnschool/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ask_Unschooling_Offspring/? Cameron Lovejoy created this new group for parents (and other interested people) to ask unschooled children questions, to get the answers from the source. Here's the description of his list: "Most unschooling message boards are for parents by parents. Usually both parties are speaking of their own children, giving or receiving answers regarding raising these children. Rarely are the offspring answering the questions and concerns of novice unschooling parents. This group is made exclusively for unschooling children, teens and young adults to answer questions about living in an unschooling household, socialization, learning to read and write, bed times and food choices, independence, and above all being an unschooler. This is an open, unmoderated list. Because of this we may get a little spam. If it gets out of hand I will being moderating."

***AlwaysLearning***:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlwaysLearning/ 

AlwaysUnschooled: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlwaysUnschooled/ 
(no longer active - maybe you can read the archives though as there are loads of good threads)

No More Spanking: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NoMoreSpanking/ 

Peaceful Partnerships: 
(for relationships with spouses/partners - read description)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Peacefulpartnerships/   

***Radical Unschooling Info (Sandra's facebook group)***:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/303347574750/    

Religion and Unschooling (Sandra Dodd's possibly temporary group for discussing religion, parenting and unschooling: If parents can be open to respecting their children as people and still maintain their own religious integrity, unschooling has a great chance of working out for them. Note that this is not a busy list, but maybe if you are interested you can join to read the archives.): 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Religion_and_Unschooling/

***Shine With Unschooling: (Anne Ohman's group with Anna Brown, Amy Carpenter, Pam Larrichia and other shining voices): 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shinewithunschooling/   
This is not a special needs group. 

Unschoolingaroundtheworld: (send/receive postcards from other countries):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unschoolingaroundtheworld/?yguid=124256069

Unschooling Basics: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unschoolingbasics/
(this group has become a read only group - worth reading the archives...great threads)

Unschooling Circuit Riders (find out about upcoming conferences): 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unschoolingcircuitriders/

Unschooling Dad's (dad's only....sorry!):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UnschoolingDads/ 
This group has not had activity in a long while.  However, if some new people join it and post, maybe it will become active. 

Unschooling Kids and Teens Facebook (closed) group: 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/109410972410290/

Unschooling Through Illness: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unschoolingthroughillness/
This group has not had activity in a long time either.  I am including it in case people don't know about it and would like to join and start new threads.


***Click here to go to the UnschoolingMom2Mom Facebook Group***


Maine Yahoo Groups: 
Note: Not all are unschooling groups.
Most contain a variety of homeschooling methods.

Bangor Homeschool: Network: 
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/BangorHS/info 

Belfast Area Homeschoolers: 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/belfastareahomeschoolers/ 
(There is a Homeschool Coop in Belfast that meets on Tuesdays and the group corresponds via BigTent emails. If you are interested in getting connected with that group, you can write to Sasha Kutsy at sashakutsy@hotmail.com or Nancy Durand Lanson at nancydurandlanson@gmail.com. Or register here: https://www.homeschool-life.com/)

Central Maine Self-Learners Group: 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cmslgroup/

Earthy Homeschoolers of Penobscot County: 
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/penobscotcountyhomeschoolers/info 

Free2Learn (Portland, ME area): http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Free2Learn/info  

Learning All The Time (Southern ME):
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/LearningAllTheTime/info   

Maine Homeschooling: 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MaineHomeschooling/

Maine Unschooling Network: http://maineunschoolingnetwork.blogspot.com/p/about.html 

Maine Unschooling Network Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MEUNetwork/?fref=ts 

Midcoasthomeschoolers: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midcoasthomeschoolers/  

Unschooling Maine: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UnschoolingMaine/ 

Online Schools: 

Clonlara: Looking for an Online Home-Based Program?  http://www.clonlara.org/ 

North Atlantic Regional High School
One of their offices is located in Auburn, Maine 

http://www.narhs.org/GradReqs