The Art of Strewing

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The omnibus offer is no longer available, but you can still purchase this book individually!

For the next three days I plan to highlight a few titles from the omnibus that I’ve found helpful, unique, and inspiring.

Kicking it off today?

The Art of Strewing: Instilling the Love of Learning by Piquing Your Child’s Natural Curiosity, written by Aadel Bussinger of These Temporary Tents.

I was immediately drawn to the title of this book and knew I wanted it to be one of my first reads from the collection.

As someone who pulls a lot of our educational philosophy from the concept of unschooling, I’ve heard the term “strewing” tossed around in several writings and blog posts.

A word that’s become popular with interest-led learners, Aadel describes strewing as “sowing or scattering things to spark the interest of our children.”

But since I believe we can all learn from each other, no matter what educational philosophy we subscribe to, I appreciate that Aadel points out that anyone can use strewing in their homes.

In her words:

“You can take the ideas from this book and use them to cultivate new and wonderful curiosities in your children. No matter if you strew after school, during homeschool, or on vacations, you will find helpful information within.”

The book answers questions about what to strew, where, and how. It includes ideas for strewing on a budget–you don’t have to order expensive trinkets or curricula to make it work for your family.

In one example that hit home for me, Aadel shares how strewing worked when her daughter expressed an interest in learning cursive. Instead of merely buying a workbook and assigning pages to complete, Aadel taught her daughter how to create her own handwriting worksheets online and then print them out.

She not only nurtured and affirmed her daughter’s desire to learn, she took it a step further by inviting her to discover other skills as well–an inspiring example of using strewing to magnify a child’s interest.

This ebook even includes concepts I had never considered before–like strewing beyond the physical with ideas, attitudes, experiences, and faith.

Aadel helped me remember the core of the matter with these words:

“Strewing begins with the attitude of your heart. Learning about math is important, but it pales in comparison to learning how to live peaceably with others, how to give grace, and to mature emotionally and spiritually.”

Yes and Amen. Thank you, Aadel, for the lovely perspective.