All I am saying in this book can be summed up in two words – Trust Children. 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.
February, 2014
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If the purpose of learning is to score well on a test, we’ve lost sight of the real reason for learning.
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Some people talk about play as if it were a relief from serious learning or even worse: a waste of time. But for children, play is exceedingly serious…and important! In fact, play is a way for children to learn who they are, how the world works, solve problems, and to express feelings. Yes, play is…
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The only time my education was interrupted was when I was in school.
— George Bernard Shaw
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I suppose it is because nearly all children go to school nowadays and have things arranged for them that they seem so forlornly unable to produce their own ideas.
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Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.
— Leonardo da Vinci
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Love! When my kids seem to be struggling to work through something, or when their brains need a recharge in the day, the instant solution is simple: go outside. I keep seeing this graphic pop up…wish I knew who to give original credit to! :)
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One thing that I have committed to myself, again and again, is allowing each interest and each possible topic or “subject” in my children’s learning to have equal weight. In the education of my children, I agree with Sir Ken Robinson that creativity is as important as literacy. Creativity can come into play in any…
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A few of our daughters are really into sewing and design. We have been trying to encourage their creativity in this area and it has been really fun to see what they come up with. In addition to instruction on sewing, stitches, etc., we have purchased books and allowed them (almost) free reign of my…
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Claude Monet is next in our favorite unschoolers series. His art resonates with me, and changed the course of art and painting as we know them. Monet spent his youth in the coastal town of Le Havre, in Normandy. He spent his time along the beaches, observing the light and the water. Though his parents…