I suppose I could “tweet” all of these links or put them on Facebook or even Google+ them, but I sort of like gathering them together here at the old blog. Tweet or facebook or + as you like.

Water lilies in my hometown, San Angelo, Texas. I like stories about self-educated hobbyists who pursue a subject with passion and become experts.

Cindy at Ordo Amoris does Shakespeare with the family. “I always tell new students of the bard that if they do not like Shakespeare that is fine but it is the height of ignorance to conclude that it is the Bard’s fault rather than something lacking within themselves.”

All of the back issues of John Holt’s Growing Without Schooling newsletter (1977-2001) are now available to read online. I have many of the early issues of this pioneering newsletter. I probably subscribed in about 1980 or 81. And the newsletter was inspiring. Before I even had children, I knew that there were all these crazy people out there —leftover hippies, religious types, farm families, suburbanites, and city-dwellers– who were teaching their children at home. Or maybe “letting them learn” at home is a more appropriate designation. Although we ended up with a more structured homeschooling experience than many of the original GWS contributors and readers, I learned a lot from the newsletter about educational possibilities and creative thinking in relation to the way children and adults learn. Along with Melissa, I’m welcoming the appearance of Growing Without Schooling, free, on the web. Thank you to all those who made this gift possible.

Seuss, Sendak, and Silverstein: Children’s Authors Who Broke the Rules. I must admit that all three of these authors are favorites of mine, Seuss and Silverstein more than Sendak, but all three to some extent. I never got the appeal of some of Sendak’s books (In the NIght Kitchen, Outside Over There), but Max the Wild Thing is a classic character and his story is worth sharing with kids.

The Thinking Mother shares a Dystopian Literature reading list that she developed for her fourteen year old boy. Good resource for teen boys who are interested in dystopia and science fiction.

Hollywood Republican: 12 Essential Films for the Moral Formation of Boys. I would add Chariots of Fire, Gettysburg, and The Bridge on the River Kwai.