“For children do not acquire knowledge, but make it.”~John Holt
A2Z Homeschooling: Where Do I Start According to a recent USA Today/Ipsos poll, 60 percent of parents surveyed said they will likely choose at-home learning this fall rather than send their children to school even if the schools reopen for in-person learning. Thirty percent of parents surveyed said they were “very likely” to keep their children... Continue Reading →
"What if I told you that slow pace of life you crave is achievable? What if I told you you don’t need to be a teacher, or have all the answers? What if I told you that your children could follow their own interests instead of a standardised curriculum? What if I told you that... Continue Reading →
I wrote this post years ago when our children were teenagers: Life with teenagers can be a tumultuous time. Many parents find themselves navigating through what seems like a myriad of minefields. Being a parent during this time certainly isn't what it was when they were toddlers. At this pivotal stage, teenagers need their parents to... Continue Reading →
"The saddest thing for me about the education system, as I have witnessed it, is that it seems almost intentionally calculated to create anxious children, parents and teachers. Matt was only four the first time I was told he was “behind the benchmark”, which I still think is an obscene and revolting way to describe... Continue Reading →
It’s summer vacation, but you might not know it from the absence of children on streets and sidewalks, in parks and public spaces. What happened to those long summer days outside with friends, roaming in the woods or water? They're trapped inside, doing structured, adult-led activities. Source: It's Summer Break. Where Have All the Children... Continue Reading →
How to 'survive' the holidays. Hint: ditch the rules/punishments/bribes/and behaviour charts. Source: School Holiday Survival Guide | Happiness is here
I first learned of John Holt when I came across this book: Better Than School by Nancy Wallace. At that time our children where in diapers. Today, they have graduated college and are leading happy, successful and productive lives. John Holt has written many books. The following are my favorites: Learning All The Time, How... Continue Reading →
Our children attend school at earlier ages and graduate at older ages than they did in previous generations; we make going to college a modern, tribal ritual that socially shames those who can’t afford it or who don’t thrive there; we focus on degrees awarded but not on competencies earned outside of degree programs; we... Continue Reading →
Writers make writing look so easy. Is writing as difficult for them as it is me? I'm certainly not an avid writer but I do write: journals, letters, notes, lists. I seem to be more of a lister than a writer. I have many lists of things I want to write about. The problem is... Continue Reading →
Imagine if when you told people you had chosen to send your kids to school, you were met with the kind of assumptions, judgement and questioning that is typical of families who have chosen to homeschool. “I knew someone who was schooled and they were freaks” “Oh I don’t know if she would suit school,... Continue Reading →
Learning All the Time 