women who inspire :: Melissa Wiley

a homeschool mama who also writes children’s books…what’s not to love?

to sweeten the deal, she lives in my home town.  and Melissa Wiley’s two youngest children are almost the exact same age as my oldest two.  this means that book reviews–and there are many!–are often right on target.  but many of my favorite posts are simple descriptions of what worked that day: the park was hot, so they retreated to the shade and built Roxaboxen.

indeed, it was in her posts on Tidal Homeschooling (especially Radical Unschooling, Unschooling, Tidal Homeschooling, and the Wearing of Shoes That Fit) that i first encountered the term classical unschooling.  that one had me scratching my head at first, but Melissa described it like this: classical refers to the what, the content + unschooling is the how or the method.   i almost called this series “the classical unschooler.” but i liked connecting these ideas to the more Ignatian idea of the motion of the spirit in our hunches + longings.  you can read more about the idea on the intuitive homeschool pin board.

Melissa meets the bumps in the road with the kind of grace i aspire to.  she’s open + smart + interested…and she’s often on twitter in the afternoons when things here are naptime-quiet.

we really like Melissa’s recent early readers.  Inch and Roly Make a Wish is full of magic and wonder even though it’s built on a limited vocabulary.  Fox and Crow Are Not Friends is surprising + funny + the mama bear outsmarts them both!  do check out Melissa’s writing–both on her blog and in her books!  you won’t be disappointed.

make sure to head over to the giveaway page…i’ll be picking a winner on Sunday, so i can get the package out to the winner by the end of the month!