I think all kids are born scientists. They all want to explore their world and figure it out from the day they’re born. They ask questions about where things come from, how things work and what they do. They love to play with water, snow, ice and mud. Unfortunately for many children, their explorations are…
Tag: Interests
10 Unusual Ways to Explore Math
I confess. I never really liked math. I played the school game well so I received pretty good grades, but after I passed the test (even after receiving an A in most cases), those rules, theorems and facts didn’t stick around for very long. The problem was everything was drilled into me, or as I…
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…
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…
The Power of the Mini Adventure
Many people live a standard, routine life. They pretty much know when they’ll get up, what they’ll be doing every day, and about what time they’ll go to sleep each night. Once in a while they’ll celebrate a holiday or birthday, or plan for a week trip, but otherwise their lives are familiar, predictable, and…
Why Mom’s Interests Matter
When your kids are not in school but learning at home and in the world, it’s easy to focus your day around what the kids are discovering. They’re learning so many interesting and unusual things that it’s exciting to learn, play and create right along with them. Now, that’s definitely an important part of your…
From TMNT to Sushi
My son has a passion for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If you ask him which one is his favorite, he’ll say, “All of them.” He looks forward to the Saturday morning cartoon, watched all the movies and, of course, was Michelangelo for Halloween. Many parents might see this passion as “cute” or “nice” or “fun,”…