Think of something your parents taught you as a child that you have felt (or would feel) confident teaching your own children. Maybe how to do the laundry or to cook an egg; how to knit; how to brush your teeth; how to throw a baseball; how to ride a bike; how to drive a … Continue reading Reaping a harvest of delighted readers
Category: Education
Does Star Wars Count as Learning?
Perhaps you are sold on the fact that free play is important for small children, but once they reach a certain age, shouldn’t kids be getting down to the business of actual learning? Here’s an example of how the concept of play, or self-directed learning, might...um...play out in the lives of our older children. … Continue reading Does Star Wars Count as Learning?
How “play” increases the hire-ability of your children.
It turns out that all work and no play could affect your child's chances of landing the job of his dreams. In her book, Prepared, Diane Tavener observes that in “the 1950s, the top skills employers wanted were: 1) The ability to work rapidly and for long periods of time, 2) Memory for details and directions, … Continue reading How “play” increases the hire-ability of your children.
How to Raise an Adult (And how not to)
In a previous post, we looked at how the fear of what might happen keeps our children from experiencing the world to its fullest right now. The flip side to the coin of fear is the fear of what might not happen to our children in the future. We live in a society that is … Continue reading How to Raise an Adult (And how not to)
“Gifted”, “behind”, or “just average”: Which one were you?
In 2020, we faced the reality that bias and discrimination still exist in our society, but thankfully it was also a year of calling out injustices. Hopefully, it will be a practice that continues for generations to come. The irony is that, in an age where we know the harm that is caused by treating … Continue reading “Gifted”, “behind”, or “just average”: Which one were you?
4 assumptions we make when following a curriculum
One of the first questions families tend to ask themselves after deciding to home educate is, “Which curriculum should we use?” We whip out Cathy Duffy’s guide, ask around on Facebook, download countless samples and then pull the trigger, spending a small fortune on what promises to be a fabulous year wrapped in cling film. … Continue reading 4 assumptions we make when following a curriculum
Stop asking, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
"He has so much potential…" "If only he’d apply himself…" "She doesn’t take her work seriously…” “She has no motivation…” “He has no direction…” “If he would only show some commitment…" James Scott, Unsplash We’ve all heard statements like these. Perhaps you’ve even made them yourself. Or maybe you have been on the receiving end … Continue reading Stop asking, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“School at Home” vs. Home Education: Is there a difference?
In recent days, with everyone at home and attempting some form of schooling with their children, we have gotten comments like, “at least you guys are used to this, right?” Well, yes and no. I would hate for our temporary-homeschooling friends to somehow think that what their kids are having to do via online Zoom … Continue reading “School at Home” vs. Home Education: Is there a difference?
A Story Without Shape is a Story Without Life
Once your children have a good idea of how stories work (the concept of plot), they can begin to play around with the shape of their main character’s journey, which is the real meat of the story. When using Story Mountain, we might be tempted to assume, since the mountain leads to greater heights, that … Continue reading A Story Without Shape is a Story Without Life
How do branding and marketing impact our everyday decisions?
[This post is part of our "Curriculum of Questions" series]. Are we really free to choose which products we buy? Which medicines we take? What clothes we wear? What technology we invest in? Which products we clean our homes with? This big picture question is intended to get us thinking about the daily choices we … Continue reading How do branding and marketing impact our everyday decisions?