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…
Tag: Interests
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…
Why is Self-Directed Learning a Difficult Concept to Grasp?
I’ve been thinking more and more lately why the concept of self-directed learning is so hard for many people to grasp and why five (or sadly, three) is the magical age when humans need to sit down and listen in order to learn things. Up until then little children observe, communicate, participate and contribute to…
5 Websites to Help You Better Explore Your Interests
So let’s say your daughter loves cooking. Lately she’s into making all chocolate desserts. Maybe she watches some YouTube videos or experiments on her own with some cooking books from the library. You find out there’s a local chocolate factory that gives tours. While she’s at the factory, she asks lots of questions. The tour…
The Death of Traditonal Teaching Part 2
Last Saturday, I wrote a post about the death of traditional teaching. To any teacher reading who thinks I don’t respect what you do, I was a teacher by profession, too. I worked hard at my job and wanted the kids to learn, too. It was only as I began to truly focus on the…
10 Unusual Ways to Explore Geography
Take a little child to a multicultural festival and she is immersed in new sounds, sights and flavors. Hang a map on the wall and watch your children start pointing out different countries and asking lots of questions. Give an older child an atlas or map while taking a trip and see his joy at…
10 Unusual Ways to Explore Art
My memories of art in kindergarten: cut and paste creations, detailed instructions of how to color inside the lines and reminders to “follow directions.” High school art wasn’t much better. I wanted to create art and often had pretty cool ideas of what I wanted to make, yet I often felt frustrated. While the three dimensional…
Are You Doing An Injustice to Children By Catering to What They Want to Learn All the Time?
I was asked this question just a few weeks ago. The person who asked this followed up by saying that the real world doesn’t do that; that you do what they want you to do when they want you to do it. On the surface, many people would probably agree with the statement my friend…
10 Unusual Ways to Explore Writing
I think most kids are born natural storytellers. By the age of 5, they’ve already come up with hundreds of unique story plots, plays or songs. Their imaginations are incredible. Unfortunately, most kids lose that drive and excitement for creating their own imaginative worlds by the time they’re 8 or 9. By focusing on perfect…