Customer Reviews

Homeschooling: A Family's Journey

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"This," HOMESCHOOLING: A FAMILY'S JOURNEY continues, "is a goal that schools do not and cannot share." So, Gregory and Martine Millman made the decision to teach their six children themselves. These two admitted contrarians believe in the parents making "a perpetual self-gift" of love to their children; they gave (and continue to give) their offspring the commitment of time and attention required to make daily family life itself education. Improvisational teaching moments can come from watching tree surgeons cut branches in the front yard, or from cooking a Burmese meal and reciting Kipling's "Mandalay" at the table, or from traveling to Pompeii to see archeologists continue to excavate the site. A one-income family by choice, the Millmans aren't fixated on conventional "success" -- they say "We have chosen to be free and to educate our children in freedom." Their convictions are grounded in living economically and in the moment. They believe example leaves the most enduring impression on young minds, and they strive to be worthy role models. The Millman parents demonstrate ingenuity and wisdom in the way they teach. They also make prudent use of outside facilities and organizations to extend and enrich their children's social skills and sense of responsibility.

HOMESCHOOLING is the Millman's warm and conversational passing on of their hard-won experience. They provide a loose, common sense guidebook, offering others who may have begun, or wish to begin, this adventure solid advice and ideas, including a chapter on applying to colleges.

Like good teachers, the Millmans tend to review and repeat material throughout the text, and although the book's structure easily absorbs and even practically necessitates the repetition, it can lead to a bit of reader impatience. But that is a very minor drawback. Overall, HOMESCHOOLING is highly recommended, not only to those who might be considering this educational path for their own children, but to the general reader. It was a joy to learn about this down-to-earth, industrious, principled family. 4.5 stars.

This book is about homeschooling, but more than this, it is about life. It is about reflecting on life and critically thinking about how we are moving, as individuals and as families, through it. It is profound, it is funny, and it is difficult to put down- I was up until 3 AM finishing it.
Beautifully written, insightful and inspiring. If you are a homeschooler, or contemplating homeschooling, read this book. If you are not thinking about homeschooling, read this book. It is phenomenal.

I just finished this book and it was very informational, easy to read and very encouraging. It tells the story of how someone who intended on using the public/private school setting was guided into the world of home schooling. Gregory and Martine Millman do a great job looking back over the journey and conveying it with humbleness and honesty. I highly recommend the book to anyone who wants to learn about home schooling, or who needs some encouragement. I borrowed this from the library, but will be adding it to my home library very soon!

Great book. A compelling read - especially the narrative part in the early chapters. This family, a very intellectual Catholic couple in NJ came to homeschooling because of bad school experiences and fell in love with the life. They offer thoughtful criticism of traditional school and encouragement for anyone considering homeschooling. Their situation is perhaps not typical - a father who works from home (freelance writer), is very involved in teaching and has many travel opportunities, but I think their story will resonate with many, many families. The chapter on college is super for anyone with children high school age. The Millmans are ecclectic style homeschoolers whose journey is fun and inspiring to read about.

"Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire."
W.B. Yeats

Gregory and Martine Millman are a Catholic family midway through their homeschooling journey. They have three grown daughters in college and three still being homeschooled. In "Homeschooling: A Family's Journey" they share their story of their homeschooling journey, from their reasons to homeschool to their college searches. They have much wisdom to offer. They have fully embraced their lifestyle, taking advantage of a more relaxed schedule to travel and experience all life has to offer.

The Millmans cover many topics related to homeschooling, including taking part in homeschooling groups, socialization, choosing curriculum, and using travel as part of homeschooling. For those considering homeschooling, they have much to offer although I would caution new homeschoolers not to be overwhelmed by their example. They have done some amazing things, yet not every homeschooling family needs to do all those things to be successful. For those already in the homeschooling trenches, the most valuable part of this book is the chapter on getting ready for college and searching for the right one. They have so much great information to share.

This book is well-worth reading by anyone interested in or taking part in homeschooling.

I'm so grateful that I came across this book at my library. This family came to see the folly of relying on so-called experts by seeing what was happening in the world of business and finance. My family came to that place, where one questions everything, from losing our faith in modern medicine.
The best part of this book is that it really helps you ask the right questions.
I'm sure the answers will be different for each family, but asking and answering them is of the utmost importance.
This book was such a pleasure to read. I laughed, I cried - I didn't want to put it down.

This book is what has allowed me to finally fully align with homeschooling my children, and help me realize it is completely in accord with all of my values. The book is profound and hopeful; it describes the journey of thoughtful, careful parents who were prepared to go a conventional route until circumstances prevented it. And they embraced the moment, explored options, considered their priorities, and took it from there. It is their remarkable observations about the meaning of life, love, parenting, consciousness, education, social life, community building, and other essentials in life that have arisen out of their experiences as homeschooling parents which really opened me to the sacredness of the endeavor and its implications for all humanity. I am grateful they chose to write the book and highly recommend it for anyone interested in family life, parenting, the education of children, and related matters.

This is a really nice overview of one family's journey of why they decided to homeschool, how they worked it out, how they got their kids in college, and more. It is well-written, and a thoughtful read. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Homeschooling: A Family's Journey
Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

If you have been home schooled, know someone who was home schooled, or you plan to home school your children, read this book. With extensive writing experience before the publication of this book, the Millman's have written a very readable, detailed, and encouraging book about how they home schooled their six children. (There are 8 ½ pages of notes.) I found the Millman's insights about how to encourage freedom, innovation, autonomy, self-organization, and creative collaboration (hallmarks of the home schooling tradition) in their own teaching to be fascinating. This is a practical, informed, caring, no-nonsense approach in which you not only learn about the economics of home schooling, but, too, how parents can handle their children's full education. Knowing nothing about home schooling previously (They include a seven-page bibliography.) and having read no books on the subject, the Millmans offer a great introduction, an informative examination, and an entertaining read.