We’re almost to the end of a New Year. Has it gone fast for you? It always seems to go fast for me, yet when I reflect back at all the wonderful experiences and things I’ve done with my family during the last twelve months, it’s also seems like a long, full time, too. I’ve…
Tag: asking questions
A Short Guide to Effortless Learning
I’ve recently finished reading Leo Babauta’s The Effortless Life (not an affiliate link). For those of you who haven’t heard of Leo, he writes on his blog Zen Habits about living a simple, mindful life and by creating positive habits by taking small steps one at a time. The Effortless Life speaks about having a…
The Secrets of Expertise
I’m really excited to watch the Olympics on TV this summer. I’m always so amazed at how incredibly talented the athletes are, especially the athletes that are still so young. It’s impressive the amount of time and dedication they put into becoming an expert at something. To be an expert at something requires an amazing…
Why It’s Important to Bring Your Child to Someone Else’s Job
In a few weeks my kids and I will be going to the hospital. Thankfully, it’s not because anyone is sick. My sister is an RN and we’ll be following her around at work for a few hours. My son and daughter will be able to check out the stethoscope and other equipment, watch her…
The Essential Qualifications of an Interest-Led Learning Parent
Unschooling and Interest-Led Learning often receives a bad rap both in the media and the larger homeschooling circles. The belief that children learn best when they follow their own curiosity and passions is often dismissed as something utopian or unrealistic. There’s also the belief that unschooling is somehow easier and more hands-off than traditional homeschooling…
Tips for Learning When Mom’s Sick
On Monday, I woke up to a house that was messy, laundry needed to be done and the kids were begging to play with me. Little by little that gnawing feeling of tension started to well up inside; how was I going to get it all done today? Of course, I already knew the answer….
Bartering for Knowledge & Giving it Away
I wrote last Wednesday about how to mine your home school community for rich resources. But what about people outside the homeschooling community? Is there a trend towards freely sharing our knowledge with each other in ways that will benefit everyone? I’m happy to say, yes, there is. Maybe not a big trend, but it’s…
Instead – An Unschooling Poem
I thought I ‘d do something a little different today. Since I was in a creative mood I wrote a poem. INSTEAD Instead of waking up in a flurried frenzy of speed dressing, food gobbling and “Can you hurry, up please?” we’re eating breakfast in our p.j.s, rubbing sleep from our eyes, and…
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. …