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 →
Inflicting Unnecessary Harm
"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 →
Homeschooling Looks Like . . .
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 . . .
"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 →
What Causes More Anxiety in Children: School or a Smartphone? — John Holt GWS
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 →
Turning the tables: questions for school parents | Racheous
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 →
Trust Children to Learn
"Nothing could be more simple - or more difficult. Difficult, because to trust children we must trust ourselves - and most of us were taught as children that we could not be trusted." Deborah Meier
In Their Own Way
Our daughter just graduated Salutatorian from a major university! We home schooled all the way through high school. I remember fearing our children would never learn to read and write. It seemed as if everyone's children where reading novels and writing novels while our children where busy with self directed imaginative play and artistic activities.... Continue Reading →
Individuality
No two children are alike. Each child is an individual who learns at their own pace and in their own way. Our job as parents is to nurture their individual strengths and uniqueness. The best way we found to do this was through home schooling. The expectation that children are to excel in everything is unnatural:... Continue Reading →