There’s a big difference between history and math, and it’s not just a difference between stories and numbers. There’s also a big difference between reading and science or geography. Reading and math are skills. Think of them as analogous to learning to talk or how to ride a bike. Almost all kids learn how to…
Category: Ideas and Inspiration
An Untraditional Unit Study
When I was first introduced to the concept of unit studies, it really appealed to me. Even as a public school teacher I could never understand spending 45 minutes reading a book, then the next 45 minutes learning history totally unrelated to the literature we’d just read. Then it was crazy to be whisked off…
8 Ways to Provide an Interest-Led Learning Home
Respect your child’s interests. It seems pretty obvious, but what happens when our children’s interests don’t interest us? Or, even worse, what if those interests even seem a bit silly or strange? First, they don’t seem that way to your child. You don’t need to like everything your children do, but you do need to…
Raising Curious Kids
Most people say they value curiosity, especially parents. Parents want their children to be curious, creative and imaginative. But, if we look at what most adults view as “appropriate” outlets for children’s behavior and learning, are those qualities really valued? Here are five qualities almost all curious kids possess: inquisitiveness, imagination, inventiveness, messiness, and fearlessness. …
Why Lesson Plans Don’t Work Part 2
When I wrote last week about why lesson plans don’t work, I realized this position would be a bit controversial since almost all schools, including many homeschooling families, rely on lesson plans. But I feel it’s important to get the message out that most learning doesn’t need to be strictly pre-planned; in fact, in most…
Why Lesson Plans Don’t Work
When I was a teacher I was required to keep lesson plans-detailed lesson plans that outlined every page we would read, every writing assignment I’d give to the kids and every new vocabulary word we’d learn that week. In theory, this seems smart, right? It’s a good thing to plan ahead for what you want…
Questions: The Heart of Self-Directed Learning
Why do that man’s eyes look funny? How will my cut heal? Will she be dressed up like a mummy (my daughter asked before attending her first funeral). Most of the time I welcome and enjoy my children’s questions. Sometimes, though, after they’ve asked questions almost nonstop for an hour, I’m left feeling a little…
Instead of Preschool: Why We Opted Out Part 3
As the last part of this series about preschool, I’d like to address the last most popular reason parents place their child in preschool: using it as a chance to get a break from their child. Before I became a mother I had wonderful daydreams about what my life would be like. I thought I’d…
Instead of Preschool: Why We Opted Out Part 2
Last week I started a post on why parents choose to place their children in preschool. I’ve written about the first two most popular reasons: a place for children to learn socialization, and a way to get used to school rules and procedures. Today I’ll discuss two more popular reasons young children are placed in…
Instead of Preschool: Why We Opted Out Part 1
I recently read a report that said 64% of children age 4 nationwide attend some type of preschool program. Where I live it seems the percentage might even be higher. Besides a few friends who plan on homeschooling when their children are older, I don’t know of a single parent who chose to have her…