I am still doing literacy work, as a private tutor, and with schools both public and private.  I invite your inquiry and I am looking for situations that can benefit from my unique talents and experience. See the "About Us" link to the left.  Here is my direct cell phone:

TODD PRATUM, 510.932.0273.

Knowledge@Pratum.com

I HAVE LEFT THE WEB PAGES BELOW SO PEOPLE CAN SEE WHAT WE HAD AT ROSS!

SEE OUR NEW PROGRAMS PAGE

Please Come! Bring Your Children! Browse Our Shelves!

Corner in the little kids room.  Here is where we have story telling, games, art and costumes.  This is a popular corner for moms and the little ones who come to our morning program.  It's warm, soft, cozy and welcoming.  The room is carpeted, with state of the art heating and AC, with extra cushions available for large groups. Organic coffee & tea, and sofas & adult chairs for parents.

What's It All About?

• It's About Deep, Authentic Literacy, Cultivating A Life-Long Love of Nature & Nature Study, and Plenty of Art & Games!
  
• Our Literacy Center & Library is the Most Unique Literary Place for Kids and Parents in all of Marin!
  
• A Special Place Just for Children and Young Adults, Parents, Educators, & Child Advocates and All Who Love Books and Literature.
  
• Located on the Heavenly 11 Acres of the Marin Art & Garden Center in Ross California.
  

SO WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT, REALLY?

It's about providing an alternative to the one-size-fits-all standardized literacy that has failed so many children for so many decades.

It's about preserving the joys of learning, not crushing them under the weight of homework, grades and expectations.  About exploring a world of books ignored by most educators. It's about creating a culture of kindness, about staff modeling ideals not preaching them, it's about a love of curiosity, nature, culture, and wisdom, not just "information."  It's about friendships based on shared interests not emotional survival. It's about helping each child discover and explore their unique individual interests and passions, and having fun doing it! And it's about access to the books that form a classical education, Aristotle, Bacon, Shakespeare, Newton, Blake, books not available in most schools now but plentiful here!  It's about having a place to go after school where you are free to be yourself, where your unique character will be honored and protected by staff.  Where you can serendipitously browse our shelves or run out the door and play games, hike, walk, roll on the lawn, catch fish in the pond, act in theater productions on our stage next door, or gaze out the window.

Part of the "Teen Corner" which also houses the art, music and literature sections. Here we have everything from Dante in Italian to the history of tattooing to Tony Hawk's autobiography. Soon we want to turn the rare book room into a place reserved just for teen readers.

WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT FROM A PUBLIC LIBRARY?

• No computers of any kind, no tech devices allowed by parents or children.
• Emphasis on nature study with an 11 acre garden out our doors.
• Close supervision while practicing non-violent communication.
• Both new, old & rare books available for children to use, rare maps, vellum manuscripts, deep literacy.
• Huge collection of books on alternatives in education, parenting, psychology & health, larger than any library.
• No strangers. Everybody is a member. We are building a community of parents and children of all ages.
• Come join our friendly group of book lovers!
  

OUR LARGE THREE ROOM BUILDING RIGHT, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MAGC, IS DIRECTLY ADJACENT TO THE ROSE GARDEN AND ACROSS FROM THE MOYA LIBRARY AND THE ROSS HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 11 ACRES OF PONDS, GALLERIES, THEATERS, PLAYGROUNDS, AND FUN.

Read the full length article that was featured in a recent edition of the Marin IJ on the front page of the Sunday paper, above the fold, HERE!

What is the Over-Riding Fundamental?

KIDS DIRECT THEIR LEARNING EXPERIENCE. WE MAINLY ACT AS FACILITATORS, HELPING THEM FIND AND FOLLOW THEIR PASSIONS, USING BOOKS AND NATURE, INSIDE OUR MAGNIFICENT LIBRARY. We make learning fun again, and curiosity

Our Literacy Programs are Unique

We are guided by the writings of John Dewey, John Holt, Alfie Kohn, Ron Miller, Maria Montessori, Rudolf Steiner, Lloyd d'Mause, Marshall Rosenberg, Bruno Bettelheim, Carl Rogers, Carl Jung, Ivan Illich, David Kolb, A. S. Neill, Howard Gardner, Richard Louv, Joseph B. Cornell, John Dewey, John Taylor Gatto, Reggio Emilia, and others (see link below).

Our aim is always to inspire kids with our thrilling library, one they willingly use instead of forcing them to attend a dull one! We are facilitators, presenters, entertainers with books. For more details click here.

Confused about Education? Parenting? Childcare? Come browse our extensive collection of books from every educational perspective, find out the difference between Montessori and Steiner, learn about the positives and negatives of preschool, about drug therapy vs play therapy, classical education, about learning styles and disabilities, etc & etc. Consult the most up-to-date reference books on parenting and childhood, on motherhood and fatherhood. Read 100 year old books that tackled the same issues. Meet other concerned parents and teachers. Meanwhile your kids can play, read, or explore the MAGC. Or borrow the books and leave the kids in our experienced and safe hands.

Those who know me know I've been looking the last four years for the perfect space, one that has lots of light and windows, high ceilings, in a small town with a community feeling, and most importantly, direct access to nature without getting into a car or crossing a dangerous street. My large yet cozy three room building in 'The MAGC' provides all that and more, with an amazing panoply of other educational organizations adjacent.

Membership Required (only a limited number are available).
Private and group literacy tutoring available.
6,000 select books on education, parenting, and childhood.
5,000 children's books, new, old, and rare
4,000 reference books on history, philosophy, art, science, culture.
No Computers or high tech devices allowed
High protein vegetarian snacks (farmer's organic market in our parking lot!).
Licensed taxi service by arrangement.

Soon we will have a teen night on the weekends.

We are still in the process of shelving and organizing our library. Please call us if you want more information or have suggestions and/or requests.

Photos of yours truly below, three are in homeless shelters and one is of me in front of the bibliography section in my literacy warehouse.

(If you are looking for Pratum Book Company click here.)