Kim Beauchamp

Okay, I have more than one, but Peter Gray is definitely in my top 10.

A research professor at Boston College, Dr. Gray has studied and written extensively about children’s natural ways of learning and the life-long value of play. He’s also a huge advocate of unschooling. If that’s a turn off, it’s worth reading some of his stuff just to see what all the buzz is about. And while we’re not unschoolers ourselves (my little ones go to a Waldorf School, which we love), I’ve still found meaningful ways to integrate Dr. Gray’s ideas into our daily lives and the way that my husband and I parent our children.

Here are some links to just a few of my favorite posts from his blog, Freedom to Learn. (It’s so hard to narrow it down; really, I love them all!)

• Why Young Children Protest Bedtime: A Story of Evolutionary Mismatch
• The Dramatic Rise of Anxiety and Depression in Children and Adolescents: Is It Connected to the Decline in Play and Rise in Schooling?
• Unsolicited Evaluation is the Enemy of Creativity

Let me know what you think! Anyone who knows me personally can tell you what a big influence Peter Gray has had on me. I just had to share with others who aren’t already tired of hearing it!