educational gifts

Gifts To Love & Learn From

Full Disclosure: These are affiliate links for the companies and items I have personally used and love. 

Gifts your kids can unwrap, resources for you (for them), and virtual ones for instant access!

We are a family of unschoolers who live life with "functional education" at the forefront - regardless of what your schooling style is, if you are looking to create more life-long learning, you can read more about educational alternatives and resources here.


Namaste Personality Snapshots

I feel this is one of the most powerful things you can do for your family and better understanding one another.  

This is the core foundational component for all of my coaching, and this is something you can do with your children to have some quality time that is all about them!

Based on the DISC Personality profiles, I've used these in business for the past 20+ years - and now I've created some variations to understand yourself and your family better. My forte is working with families to help identify how the uniqueness in each of us strengthens all of us, and a great starter for this is the Family Portrait Sessions if you want some 1-1 coaching with your family about these results and how to best apply them.  


  • Books

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For the love of BOOKS!

Our family loves books. That doesn't mean we all like to read, however. We have audio listeners who love Audible, others who love their Kindle, and some of us who prefer a book in hand. 


I found I used to harp on the kids to read, and finally, it dawned on me that I never made time for it myself. When I started sitting down and making space for my own reading in the morning, the girls started following suite and sitting along with me.


And, it's fun to read together! Here are some of our favorites - that they've read on their own, and the ones we read together. 


And yes, I have a long list of books I've personally read that I recommend - if you're looking for something, let me know what you're thinking and I'll give you a recommendation! 

Lauren Wolk's Books

Echo Mountain is the first book I ever read by Lauren Wolk. 

First off, quick tip - the first two book series my daughter Ellie devoured both had the main character named after her. Kids like what they can relate to - so it may be an extra perk that attracts them to a good book! 

This book is set right after the Great Depression, and Ellie’s family has been forced to leave their home in town and find their way into the Appalachian wilderness of the mountains. While Ellie loves the natural world, when a horrible accident happens, she learns first-hand how much this mountain can give back - and the unlikely helpers she will find along the way. While there were a few squeamish parts of medicine remedies, it was light, and I found it fascinating to learn and get wrapped up in the story. I enjoyed it as much as my daughter did. 

"Historical fiction at its finest, Echo Mountain is a celebration of finding your own path and becoming your truest self."

Beyond the Bright Sea was inspired by the Pinekese Island off of Massachusetts back in 1905. The orphan, Crow, yearns to know more of her story and truly discover what family is all about. One thing leads to another and her quest for answers erupts into fear and chaos.

 "Vivid and heart-wrenching, Lauren Wolk’s Beyond the Bright Sea is a gorgeously crafted and tensely paced tale that explores questions of identity, belonging, and the true meaning of family."

Wolf Hollow, set in the shadows of two world wars, Annabelle seeks justice and kindness in a small Pennsylvania town that has gotten lost in fear of the unknown. 

"Wolf Hollow is a haunting tale of America at a crossroads and a time when one girl’s resilience, strength, and compassion help to illuminate the darkest corners of history."


Hester Velmans' Whale Series

Isabel Of The Whales

Eleven-year-old Isabel is a "plain old" girl living in Provincetown, Massachusetts, who believes that she is destined to accomplish something special. When her fifth-grade class goes on a whale-watch field trip, something amazing happens: dozens of different species of whales surround the boat, bumping the deck and sending Isabel flying into the ocean. Isabel is shocked to hear the whales speaking to her - she is a mermaid, they tell her, a "Chosen One" who has the ability to turn from a human into a whale and back again. She is destined to live among the whales long enough to learn their ways and teach them about the human world.


Jessaloup's Song

A sixty-ton humpback whale lies stranded, gasping for breath, on the sands of Cape Cod… and there’s just one girl in the world who knows who he is. When Jessaloup is transformed into a boy, Isabel (now fourteen) has to teach him to walk, talk, and act human, so that together they can raise the alarm about a terrible natural disaster that’s threatening the East Coast. With the calamity’s deadline drawing near, the two teens must overcome skepticism, jealousies, misunderstandings, and even bad music, if they are to Save the Humans.

Besides providing a glimpse into the lives and habits of whales, Jessaloup’s Song clears up the mystery of Isabel’s origins, while exploring teenage love and celebrating the family ties that bind all species.


Jennifer L. Holm's Books

Full of Beans

This is another incredible historical fiction novel that really hit home for us while we were living in the Florida Keys. It was recommended to us by one of the park rangers while we were volunteering at Bahia Honda State Park. At this point it felt like our girls were already “conch kids” and this story, set in 1935 in Key West, FL, gives a glimpse of what life was like in the Great Depression in Key West. This was a great read-aloud book - we knocked out both books on a road trip to Tennessee from the Keys! 

While Turtle In Paradise was the first book written, Full of Beans starts in 1934 with Turtle’s cousin, Beans. If we had to do it over again, we’d start with Full of Beans first and then read Turtle in Paradise once the stage had been set. Like the girls said, it was done like Star Wars, where the prequel came out after. 



A Wrinkle In Time Series

What a great fantasy series that grapples with some deeper issues and uses big words. This is one of those series where I feel like they got better and better the deeper into the series we went! One builds on another and gives nods to all kinds of other interesting stories to dig into. As we were learning about religion and the Bible, Many Waters was fascinating. You can click through for a full breakdown of every book in this set.


The Chameleon: Life-Changing Wisdom for Anyone Who has a Personality or Knows Someone Who Does

This book is my go-to book for helping people understand DISC personality styles. While adults can glean a ton out of this book, it’s written in a way that makes it super entertaining for kids as well. What I love about this book is that it’s not just about identifying different personality styles, but about friends learning how to “chameleon” at times to better connect with others while also recognizing their own strengths. Nathan and I did a full book review episode on the podcast and I wrote a blog on this digging deeper.

“The Chameleon contains 22 fables based on the four personality types as represented by an Eagle, Parrot, Dove, and Owl…These deeper insights include examples of how to employ the styles to increase effectiveness at work, deepen personal relationships, parent with compassion, and generally live a more fulfilling life.”


Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Okay, to be honest, when I started reading this book out loud with my girls, I got pretty ticked. I am not a fan of Robert Kiyosaki for the most part - on the personality styles, I think he’s a pretty in-your-face and arrogant D in his approach. Once again, Nathan and I did a full podcast episode and I wrote a book review as well. 

Here are two huge epiphanies I got going through the book and playing his game, “Cashflow”:

  1. You can work for money, or you can make money work for you. 
  2. Shift your thinking from, “Can I afford it” to “Is this a worthwhile investment

We read this book as a key part of learning about financial literacy. And yes, my ten-year-old at the time was all about discussing assets and liabilities and asking what the ROI was on things. Don’t underestimate what they can grasp when you take the time to really look at it. 


The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic

This was one of the first big read aloud books I read with the girls when they were young, and Harry Potter was way too dark. This had some of the fun of a book like that yet was light-hearted and so fun to read. Each chapter ends on a cliffhanger so it's hard to not just binge on it - I had the girls begging for more every night.

About a 10-year-old girl everyone underestimates, she becomes the key for saving her island and bringing a new level of community together.

"It's up to Persimmony and her friend Worvil to convince the island's quarreling inhabitants that a giant is sleeping in their midst and must not be awakened. The question is, will she be able to do it?"


Your New Playlist

Jon Acuff wrote an adult book called Soundtracks, and this is the teen version of it. I love that his two daughters wrote it from their perspectives as teens themselves. And for that reason, this is a great down-to-earth book for kids to read. 

It’s hard as an unschooler when the majority of young adult books are themed around a public school type of setting - and this one, like so many other self-help books for kids, shares from the perspective of kids active in a traditional school setting. 

That being said, the message is still solid, and it was a good quick read together. 

“Your thoughts can work for you or against you, but the good news is you get a choice. The even better news is when you're young, your entire world is made of new. You're a movie that's barely started, a notebook with blank pages to fill, a song that hasn't hit the chorus. You have your whole life ahead of you. When you learn to create new thoughts, those thoughts lead to actions, and those actions lead to new results. Are you ready to tap into the superpower of mindset? Just hit play.”


The Magic Treehouse Series

These books are SO great for first-time readers. They are easy to grasp, have pictures, and are all linked to history where you can dig deeper. I love the companion guides that go along with the books that really dig into the history and science of whatever the them of the book is, like Dinosaurs or Space. There are 28 books in all, so plenty to get your little one started reading. 



The Magic School Bus Series

Here's another great set that combines so much awesome learning into fun books for kids - and of course the show can be fun to watch as well. 

"The books feature the adventures of Ms. Frizzle and her class onboard a magic school bus. On their exciting field trips, they discover creatures, locations, time periods and so much more while learning about the wonders of science along the way."



The Who Was Box Set

These books are great and easy to read, and help you learn a lot about people in history. Again, there is a silly show on Netflix that's pretty great that is based on these books.

"A series of illustrated biographies for young readers featuring significant historical figures, including artists, scientists, presidents, inventors, etc."



The Way of the Scout: A Native American Path to Finding Spiritual Meaning in a Physical World

This is a fabulous book Nathan has read to the girls. One word of caution - this is not a children's book. We often use adult books/resources with our kids, and not every statement may be kid-friendly - that's also why we would read together.

Due to this book, my girls have learned all about survival in the wilderness - building lean-tos, what berries you can forage for, and how to really listen for wildlife. It's been a great way to bring awareness into our natural world.



What Is God?

If you are looking for an open perspective on "God" that encompasses a higher power without boxing it into a religion, this is your book. It addresses key religions as well in an unbiased way.



Beautiful Girl: Celebrating the Wonders of Your Body

This is a beautiful little book with a clear message that starts to lay the foundation for girls about their bodies, changes, and the wonder of being a woman. It now includes a meditation download, and the illustrations are just gorgeous. 



The Wonderful Truth About Santa

This is such a great little book to share about Santa when kids start to question it all. I love that what it highlights is that yes, Santa is real, and it's a name for people who give in secret.

The focus isn't on the person, but what being "Santa" is really about. It's about being secretive because the real gift of giving is the joy it gives to others. It states "Saint Nicholas was the first Santa Claus, but anyone who shares the SPIRIT of the holiday through giving is a Santa". 



Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day (and others)

This was another classic as a kid that my mama read to us. Some days are rough and it seems like everything goes wrong. This is a great way to see how, when we look at the day as awful, that's exactly what it becomes. This has been a valuable book in teaching my children about the law of attraction, not just having a bad day! 



Shel Silverstein

There are so many incredible Shel Silverstein books, and our family loves to read and quote them. Go deep and you'll find some pretty powerful significance in many of his brilliant poems. These are great to prompt fun discussions and get some giggles from your kids - if you haven't explored his work much, now is the time! Runny Babbit and The Giving Tree are also top ones! 



Press Here & Mix It Up

For every family that has a high-energy kid, these books are for you. A tribute to the button pushers everywhere.

There are quite a few by this author that are similar. My daughters loved this book and how it included them on every page with something to do!



People

I could spend a whole year teaching based on just this one book as a curriculum. It addresses everything from biological looks, countries and cultures, religion, etc. If you just explored each thing it discusses in here, you'd have an outline for a robust educational journey! 



Giraffes Can't Dance

This was another classic as a kid that my mama read to us. Some days are rough and it seems like everything goes wrong. This is a great way to see how, when we look at the day as awful, that's exactly what it becomes. This has been a valuable book in teaching my children about the law of attraction, not just having a bad day! 



Everywhere Babies

This is a great little board book talking about babies that also shows all of the non-traditional family make-ups - grandparents, same sex couples, etc - really sweet book for toddlers!  



The Monster at the end of this Book

This was my favorite when I was little - and now, there is an app for this that is SO worth it - get it for your iPad and watch the book come to life for your kiddo!

If you like to perform for a book, this is one for that...and probably why kids love it so much.



Free To Be...You And Me

LOVED this book and CD when I was a kid, and now my girls love it as well. And so funny it's STILL being sold with a CD - it'll be a collector piece one day. ;-) 

This is a great one to help kids learn about gender differences and that it might be more about anatomy and less about what people like or do. And, how it's alright to cry - Marlo had it goin' on way back then! (the only song I don't like is the one where they say housework is no fun - come on!)



Too Much Noise

This was another classic when I was younger - when we start to complain about things not being "perfect", this is an excellent example of how it's all about perspective.

Sometimes trying to drown out one thing with another just mounts your problems. And sometimes, the river doesn't quite flow like you want it to. Maybe it's not about drowning out the noise, but appreciating a bit more of what is. 



If You Give A Moose A Muffin...and others

Oh my goodness this is our lives as parents! These books are hilarious - they are all about the many ways we get sidetracked in our day, and they always circle back around to the one thing they wanted, and the one extra thing they ask for. 

I've used it as a reminder to myself on the many bunny trails of cleaning, and I've used it as a reminder to the girls about how sometimes saying "no" is because I don't want to go down the "muffin tangent"!



Have You Filled A Bucket Today?

These books are super sweet and help kids see the importance of sharing love and kindness with others - my girls really responded well to these. This whole series helps children understand about deposits and withdrawals in our emotional bank account (or emptying/filling the bucket). I was surprised that even my 2-year-old quickly grasped the concept and looked for ways to "fill a bucket". 



Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon!

This is the cutest book about being happy with who you are, and not letting bullies get you down. It's a powerful message on confidence, grace, and loving yourself. I first got it from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which is an amazing way to curate some awesome books for your family shelf! 

I haven't read the other, but would guess it has the same message of positivity as the first. 




This is the tip of the iceberg on tips and resources we've found that are great for our unschooling, minimalist, functional education lifestyle. I know this will continue to grow, and you can ask me a question about what you're specifically looking for HERE.

Want to dig deeper as a family and learn how to better communicate? My DISCovering You course walks you through understanding how different behaviors elicit different reactions, and how to navigate being true to who you are while learning how to best connect with others.