I believe in the power of interest-led learning to transform the face of education. I believe it’s the only way that children learn naturally, the way they were born to learn. When children’s interests and imagination are captured, it provides the intrinsic motivation for them to learn more, create meaningful, personal goals and retain a…
Category: Resources
Learning through Living – Tips for Including Your Young Child in Your Daily Life Part 1
Young children learn by doing. Actually, we all learn best by doing- it’s the best way to create the neural pathways in our brain that allows learning to really “stick.” But, young children especially need a lot of time to use all their senses in learning. Young children also want to do real things. I…
15 Interest-Led Learning Families You Should Get to Know
Unschooling blogs usually read like a diary. A peek into other people’s lives. It’s not that you don’t get that peek in more traditional homeschooling blogs, but unschoolers tend to live unusual lives….and I like unusual! You get to see what resources and materials they use in the context of their lives. You get to…
10 Not-Your-Usual Fun Fall Ideas
There’s five more days of summer left. That’s it. Not that I’m complaining. Since we’re a school-free family, our lives are not that affected by the days of the year. We can still play outside all day if we’d like, or stay inside and work on projects indoors. Instead of feeling the crispness of the…
15 Unschooling & Interest-Led Learning Travelling Families You Should Get to Know
To wrap up my September travel series, I’d like to pay homage to some of the many blogs and websites by travelling unschoolers & interest-led learners who have inspired me to pursue even greater adventures. They’ve shown me how travel can make learning richer and deeper. They’ve taught me to go outside my comfort zone. …
10 Ways to Take a Trip around the World without Leaving far From Home
No matter what your interests are, travel can enrich and expand those interests. If your child likes to cook, taking him to restaurants in other parts of your country or foreign countries may spark ideas for new culinary creations. If you like to play an instrument, it’s an incredible experience to hear musical performances in…
10 Unusual Ways to Explore Music
Young children are naturally musical. It’s like they live and breathe music. My children hop and skip down aisles and sing at the top of their lungs in grocery stores. Yes, I have to admit that sometimes it can be a bit embarrassing, but most times I receive warm smiles from other shoppers. I think…
10 Unusual Ways to Explore Physical Fitness & Health
Whenever I think about gym class, I immediately flash back to my high school days. We’d start off rushing into the locker room to change. Then we’d shuffle into the gym where we’d sit in our designated rows while the teacher would dutifully check of that we were present (in body, anyways). Then, if we…
September – The Ultimate Month for Unschooling Travel
We’ve now entered the season of big back-to-school sales on supplies and clothes. Many parents are taking their children to register for classes and kids are trying to get in those last free days of swimming, biking, hanging with friends, and lying in bed reading whatever they want all day. Even people who aren’t in school,…
10 Unusual Ways to Explore Literature
Literature is pretty straightforward the way it’s taught in schools. Usually kids are read to, or read to themselves, a story or novel. Then they usually take a quiz on what they’ve read, or write a book report or paper. Sometimes a teacher gets a little creative and throws in a movie tie-in, lets the…