What are your favourite Unschooling books & movies?

[Administration]

Thanks to Sam;

We were watching Hortan Hears a Who the other night. It was lovely. If you watch it look out for the homeschool reference when the Kangaroo says that her joey is "pouch schooled". I loved that.

There are some great movies around that would appeal to unschoolers. A few that we have liked (not all suitable for little kids) are:

School of Rock
Accepted
The Bee Movie
The Adventures of Little Tree
Little Miss Sunshine
The Secret of Roan Inish
Rock and Roll High School
Ferris Beulers Day Off
Fly Away Home
Risky Business

I haven't seen Pleasantville but it's been recommended of the big unschooling lists a few times.

What are your favourite unschooling movies?


Thanks to Lunabloom;

We just saw Nim's Island at the movies. The main character is a totally can-do 11yr old who has lived on an isolated island with her dad all her life. Mira loved it. I thought it was pretty cool too. Nim talks about learning everything from the animals, a seal, a pelican, etc.

[Janet]

I'm not up with all of those but I don't think I'd be recommending "Risky Business" to anyone, for anything! Tom Cruise playing a high school aged pimp trying to earn money off adult prostitutes in his home??

[Quickening]

We own Nim's Island. The children LOVE it and I'm a fan also : ) DP's a fan of Ferris Bueller's Day off and we've seen School of Rock. There is another older movie called Paper Moon. I haven't seen the movie, but I read the book lots as a kid.

[SandraDodd]

Paper Moon is Holly's second favorite movie in overall-life-viewings. Her first (which she watched lots when she was little) is Stand By Me. When she learned to read, she read a Judy Blume book, and then "The Body" by Stephen King (on which Stand by Me was based).

I didn't know Paper Moon was based on a book. I'll look for it. She said just the other day that she likes to read books after she's seen the movie. Recently she read Snow Angels (I didn't like that movie, except for Sam Rockwell who's a great actor, and I'm NOT recommending it, just noting Holly's reading) and What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

A few years back her brother had a costume party to which people were to come dressed as movie characters. She went as Addie, from Paper Moon.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c111/SandraDodd/Holly/costumes/IMAGE010.jpg

[Currawong]

I LOVED What's Eating Gilbert Grape!

I've never seen Paper Moon, I've been meaning to see it for a long time now...

[Sarasvati]

Bee Movie as an unschooling movie? Odd!

[Gemika]

Well my bubs only 10 weeks old but I loved Enid Blyton books to death (or life?) when I was growing up. I hated reading until my grade 3 teacher recommended them and a passion for reading was ignited...Imagination...

[Janet]

"My family and other animals" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482552/



Feeling the depressing effects of a gloomy English summer, the Durrell family decides to pack up and move to the Greek island of Corfu. Lead by their widowed mother, 13-year old future naturalist Gerald Durrell, his two older brothers and older sister move into a series of villas. Gerald indulges his passion for nature by filling his room with local fauna, while his brothers fill their time with writing or hunting.

It shows unschooling beautifully with the family being none the wiser that it's even occurring. I love that it shows the thirst for knowledge in this young boy!

[Beatrice]

I utterly adore that book, didn't know there was a movie :eager The book is currently in B's stack of waiting-to-be-read (she has three books on the go and a huge pile waiting at all times :lol) because I know she'll love it as much as I do. His family are barking mad :lol

[Janet]

It's a really cute movie too, great cast, well acted, extremely eccentric!

[Himalia]

I must admit I've always loved the movie Fly Away Home.

ETA Currently reading Parenting a Free Child An Unschooled Life - Rue Kream.

[Ceres]

I've never seen that movie.. what's it about?

[Kris]

We've got "Ever After", "Whale Rider", "Arthur and the Invisibles", "Mamma Mia" (the music, the dancing, the OTT acting), a bunch of the Herbie movies and I'm pining for The Secret of Roan Inish. We all adore that film.

I noticed the "pouch schooling" reference in Horton Hears a Who but given it was the unsympathetic character and it was used as a "my child is so much better than these peasants" I wasn't too thrilled.

[rynalee]

Has anyone read "Blueback" by Tim Winton? I was looking at the audiobook version of it at Borders the other day and it looked fascinating. A story of a boy who lives with his mother (a marine biologist) on the coast of Western Australia. He spends most of his time diving, and learning about the sea. It looked like a beautiful story for older children and families. I plan to get it some time.

We also love Fly Away Home - we have the video. She sure learns more from her life experiences than she ever could have learned in school!

Thanks for some of the other recommendations on here - they sound wonderful! I'm going to request them through Quickflix.

Karen

[rynalee]

Oh, and I definitely plan to watch Paper Moon plus My Family and Other Animals. Thanks for the reviews on those!

I also just wanted to put in a plug for Nim's Island to those who might not have seen it. I just love the way she describes her life on the island and how she learns everything she needs to know from books, and the animals on the island etc. We also borrowed the audio CD of the book and listened to it in the car. It filled out the story even more. The kids (and I) just loved it!

Karen

[Himalia]

Fly away home is about a girl who goes to live with her father in Canada after her mother dies. She raises a flock of geese and learns to fly an ultralight so she can lead her geese to their migratory grounds in the south. I love the movie as I'm a bird lover :)

She does go to school in the movie, however I guess the natural learning process she goes on and her free thinking father refects unschooling.

[turtledove]

Blueback is a favourite of ours - we've listened to it on cd many times! My 6yo son loves it. Have also seen a puppetry adaptation of it.
Thanks for all those suggestions - am looking forward to following some of them up.

[Currawong]

I love the message in Horton Hears a Who but I wouldn't call it an unschooling movie. The homeschooling mother is the baddie of the movie and she's seen as suppressing her joey by keeping him in the pouch and insisting that he only hears certain things. I think the movie perpetuates the idea that homeschooling parents seek to restrict their children - definitely not an unschooling idea! But I do like the movie. So do my kids.

[Inexistencia]

Pirates of Silicon Valley for me, the rise of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Bill Gates was still in a dorm and had no software or company we he sold the idea microsoft to IBM. And Steve Jobs dropped out of school to sell blue boxes to hack public phones and work on the 1st diy apple computer.

It really brings home the point made by John Gatto in 'Weapons of Mass Instruction' as well as Robert Kayosaki in 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' about how its not some intelligent quota that makes one successful in life but rather self-confidence and the ability to not be intimidated by the work for an employer school system.

One that just popped into my head though maybe not for children is Forest Gump that movie is basically one big example of unschooling.

[Arkadina]

Have you seen 'The Wild Thornberrys'? It's a US animation about a girl who talks to animals but she, and her siblings, travels the world with their wildlife documentary maker parents. I don't remember it that well, but I certainly thought it would be a great way to homeshool :)

[mummabare]

yes I used to love that toon :) I wish they would run it again on telly.

[Kris]

What gets me with a lot of these films is the aloneness of the child. You know, Nim's Island is great but she's utterly alone except for a brief encounter with a kid off a ship.

I adored My Family and Other Animals when I first read it at 9; he's not alone there; he's surrounded by people. As my children are. But the movies I see where the child is home schooled is generally an only child and no where near other children.

Having said that "Nanny McPhee" is great!

[birthdance]

I've only seen the movie of 'My Family and Other Animals' and I adored it. I love British eccentricities. :lol I must hunt down the book.

[Kris]

We just watched "Runaway Vacation" with Robin Williams and Jeff Daniels in the male leads. An ordinary unhappy suburban family ends up in an RV driving across America, they meet a family that ticks all the boxes for annoying but are happy and fulfilled. Turns out the kids are home schooled, skipping ahead, dad has gone to Stanthorpe University. Plugged the home school message without making it seem particularly weird.

[sixmetres]

My family and other animals sounds great - will have to check it out. We loved Bridge to Terabithia, more in bookform than in movie, and for the older ones the Power of One (beautiful images of mentored learning) also best in bookform :) I tend to read any 'older' style books to them and occasionally edit any really graphic parts, particularly if little ones are present. We too, have enjoyed the Enid Blyton books, well, most of them, and Nims island is lovely.

[Butterfly]

Lemony Snickett's A Series of Unfortunate Events - I love how ingenious the kids are, the value the older children see in the baby & is portrayed in the movie, and no shool in sight for all their smarts & learning :)

[sixmetres]

What about the Narnia series?

[Kris]

They're not in school when they're in Narnia but they are when they're "on earth". None of the fairytales that I can think of have any kind of formal schooling mentioned in them either.

[Kris]

I just watched the John Cleese film Clockwise from 1986. Kind of a salutary lesson in why NOT to go to school :lol

[JKay]

K loved Nim's Island too, but I agree - she does seem very alone...although, as an only child, i never much minded being alone!

I also agree that the 'pouch-schooler' in Horton isn't a very good unschool model - although the joey does save the day in the end - so maybe that does show a bit of free-thinking as a result of pouch-schooling!?

I read 'My Family and Other Animals' when i was about 11 (I grew up in England, it made me want to go to Greece!) - i just loved it, and it probably had a bit to do with inspiring my decision to become a biologist! Didn't know there was a movie - must find it!

[Beatrice]

I adore My Family and Other Animals. My copy is in a box somewhere though, dangnabbit! I want to lend it to an animal-obsessed 12yo unschooler I know :)

[JKay]

LOL B - if that's who i think it is, they will love it!

[SunflowerMum]

I haven't seen 'The Secret of Roan Inish' for years... thanks for the reminder. Lucky for us our library has that and 'My Family and Other Animals' on dvd :)

[Kris]

Just read The Little White Horse - the protagonist is tutored by her governess but the depth and breadth of her learning through the book is brilliant.

[JKay]

It's not a book or movie, but DH and I have been listening to 'State Schools are Great Schools' by Tism and DH reckons it's the ultimate unschooling song! I think maybe it's tied with Pink Floyd and 'The Wall'....but since I can't stand Pink Floyd, i'll have to go with Tism!