When I first heard the term child-led learning I thought it was wonderful. Letting children take the lead in their learning was a new and exciting concept for me 8 years ago. But in the past few years, that phrase started to bother me. I want my kids to be self-directed learners. I want their…
Tag: modeling
Saying Yes – A Poem
I’ve been struggling a bit with my health this past week. I guess I should say that my biggest struggle has been that I’ve had to say no a lot more this week to the kids than I would like. It breaks my heart not to have the energy to play most of the day…
Dimensional Thinking, Modeling & Playing: Thinking Tools 9-11
This is part four in a five part series about 13 Thinking Tools of the World’s Most Creative People. I’m summarizing parts of the book Sparks of Genius as well as sharing some tips and resources that you can use to explore these tools more on your own. Here’s the link to part 1 –…
Answering the Unschooling Question: So What Do You Do All Day?
* Today I’m excited to share with you a guest post by my good friend Julie Polanco, author of the book Finding Joy: A Christian’s Journey to an Unschooled Life. So, what do you do all day? Recently, I was invited to speak at our local homeschool support group meeting. What was the topic? As…
How Interest-Led Learning is like Master Chef
I’m not a big cook. I like cooking and trying out new recipes, but I wouldn’t say I have a passion for making food. But I really like to watch cooking shows….a lot. In fact, I think I like to watch people cooking more than I like cooking myself! One of my favorite cooking shows…
My Year Without Goals
Last year I sat down with my notebook and took several hours to plot out my goals for the coming year. I wrote down some big goals in major areas of my life, broke them down into sub-goals, and then made monthly goals. I was so proud of myself and felt that it was…
A Simple Everyday Dreams List
Travel around Europe for a year. Sell a screenplay. Learn a new language. Write a novel. Those are some big dreams I have. Dreams that will take a lot of hard work and dedication. Big dreams are nice to have. They’re fun. It makes you feel good thinking about them. But the problem with big…
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…
An Inteview with an Interest-Led Learning Dad
I knew before my kids were born that I didn’t want them to attend school. While I was pregnant I worked in a public school, and I had been reading books by John Holt and John Taylor Gatto. I could see with the 12 and 13 year-olds I worked with that when their interest was…
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…