LR

I just want to say, I like Connection Parenting and I have not read
Parenting From the Heart. I have had the good fortune to meet Pam Leo a few
times. She is a wonderful, caring and thoughtful person though not
necessarily an unschooler (she homeschools her grand-daughter who is a
really neat person as well). If you are looking for a radical unschooling
type book, I wonder if this book would be satisfying for you. It is a great
resource for parents who have been mainstream all along and are
transitioning to a more attachment parenting style of coexistence with their
children. Granted I read a pre-published copy and it has been a while since
I have communicated with Pam. I have taken her Meeting the Needs of Children
series of classes/workshops. I learned a lot and they are part of the
process that brought me to unschooling. She is one of the founding/charter
members of the "Alliance for Transforming the Lives of Children" and is
currently serving as their secretary.

http://www.atlc.org/ If you visit their website, it can offer more insight
to what you might read in her book.



So if you are looking for someone who is going to support the idea of
unlimited screen time, rising and sleeping according to their own internal
rhythm, "allowing" a child to eat chocolate cake for breakfast I don't think
you will find that in her book. If you want a person who understands that a
child "acting out" is more likely to be an indicator of a child who is
hungry, thirsty, tired, uneasy, scared etc. it is a great book. There is
information in there about how our own unresolved childhood issues can
affect our parenting without us even being aware unless we work hard to
observe those effect. There is information about the importance of close
bonding. There is a lot in there that may remind folks of Jean Liedloff's
Continuum Concept or Joseph Chilton Pearce's Magical Child There is
information on respectful communication with children being seen as an
individual person, rather than a bundle of trouble needing to be "broken"
into a mold someone else designed. So there is information in there that can
line up nicely with unschooling as a lifestyle and there is information in
there that is likely to seem contrary to radical unschooling.



As much as I want to help Pam sell as many books as possible as she believes
fully in making the world a better place for all children, being that this
is an unschooling list, I wanted to offer my own insight so that if you
decide to go ahead with the purchase it doesn't become a "I wish I'd bought
the other one" kind of thing.



I hope that helps at least a little bit.



Lisa







[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Jodi Bezzola

Thanks Lisa! I'm glad you wrote because it is specifically for recognizing what I can heal about myself that will allow me to be more connected to my girls, and also to learn to see them more as individuals...moving towards a radical unschooling lifestyle. I have always been an attachment type parent with my girls, I just feel I need more tools, especially with them moving into their 3's and pushing every single button of every single unresolved issue I have going on! I have many RU books already, and so this sounds like a fit for me right now...I'll just take what feels right for us and leave the rest like I do with everything else under the sun. It does sound like she is doing much needed work on behalf of children, and I will be happy to support that.

Jodi

LR <zanyzingzap@...> wrote:
I just want to say, I like Connection Parenting and I have not read
Parenting From the Heart. I have had the good fortune to meet Pam Leo a few
times. She is a wonderful, caring and thoughtful person though not
necessarily an unschooler (she homeschools her grand-daughter who is a
really neat person as well). If you are looking for a radical unschooling
type book, I wonder if this book would be satisfying for you. It is a great
resource for parents who have been mainstream all along and are
transitioning to a more attachment parenting style of coexistence with their
children. Granted I read a pre-published copy and it has been a while since
I have communicated with Pam. I have taken her Meeting the Needs of Children
series of classes/workshops. I learned a lot and they are part of the
process that brought me to unschooling. She is one of the founding/charter
members of the "Alliance for Transforming the Lives of Children" and is
currently serving as their secretary.

http://www.atlc.org/ If you visit their website, it can offer more insight
to what you might read in her book.

So if you are looking for someone who is going to support the idea of
unlimited screen time, rising and sleeping according to their own internal
rhythm, "allowing" a child to eat chocolate cake for breakfast I don't think
you will find that in her book. If you want a person who understands that a
child "acting out" is more likely to be an indicator of a child who is
hungry, thirsty, tired, uneasy, scared etc. it is a great book. There is
information in there about how our own unresolved childhood issues can
affect our parenting without us even being aware unless we work hard to
observe those effect. There is information about the importance of close
bonding. There is a lot in there that may remind folks of Jean Liedloff's
Continuum Concept or Joseph Chilton Pearce's Magical Child There is
information on respectful communication with children being seen as an
individual person, rather than a bundle of trouble needing to be "broken"
into a mold someone else designed. So there is information in there that can
line up nicely with unschooling as a lifestyle and there is information in
there that is likely to seem contrary to radical unschooling.

As much as I want to help Pam sell as many books as possible as she believes
fully in making the world a better place for all children, being that this
is an unschooling list, I wanted to offer my own insight so that if you
decide to go ahead with the purchase it doesn't become a "I wish I'd bought
the other one" kind of thing.

I hope that helps at least a little bit.

Lisa

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






---------------------------------
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Lisa

I am glad I can help. Her book and the classes helped me identify a lot
of my automatic scripts I was playing in my head regarding my
interactions with ds. My exposure to the information really came at an
opportune time for me to really delve into how my childhood was
affecting me and my relationship withds. It brought up a LOT of grief.
During one of the workshops, Pam has everyone bring a picture of
themselves at a young age. She then plays the song, "How Could Anyone?"
by Libby Roderick and asked us to imagine ourselves saying that to the
child we were then. It tore me up. I cried and grieved for a long time.
I still have an emotional response to thinking about that. It was a
pivotal moment in my life and in my relationship with my son. I didn't
want him to come to a point in his life 20 or 30 years down the road
and have to endure such a deep feeling of despair and feeling unwanted.

I hope that when you get to read it, you find yourself in a better
place than when you started out. I know I did. :)

Lisa


--- In [email protected], Jodi Bezzola
<jodibezzola@...> wrote:
>
> Thanks Lisa! I'm glad you wrote because it is specifically for
recognizing what I can heal about myself that will allow me to be more
connected to my girls, and also to learn to see them more as
individuals...moving towards a radical unschooling lifestyle.