Natural Curiosity

Natural Curiosity is a warm and contemplative insight into one family's experience of moving from mainstream schooling to home education, and learning through the lens of nature and natural history.

After making the choice to leave formal education, Lisa Carne's children embarked upon a path of self-directed learning powered by their interest in natural history. This book provides a fascinating and humorous commentary on unschooling from the perspective of a family who have seen both sides of the education system.

Since becoming "unschooled," the two children have thrived on a diet of self-directed play and learning, amassing life skills, confidence, responsibility, and a vast array of knowledge along the way. This thoughtful book touches upon important themes in education and environmentalism, such as children's rights in schooling, the use and place of technology in learning, and the absence of the natural world in mainstream education. It gives a considered, balanced view of home schooling, interspersed with entertaining tales including constructing life-sized mammoth skeletons and living for a day as historically accurate Vikings. It offers an understanding of how this type of education works and what inspires the choice to pursue it.

"In a world filled with endless distraction, Lisa Carne passionately and wisely guides us along more relevant paths designed to stimulate young learners to discover the wonders and magic of the natural world as a fundamental part of their learning experience. To thrive with some degree of health in these uncertain times, these are the encounters our progeny will need to have no matter what our cultural background. Read this important book."--Bernie Krause PhD, author, soundscape ecologist, composer and sound designer.

176 pages. 2016