As the refugee issue has heated to a boil in our country, my girls have formed their own opinions on the matter. They decided to do something to make refugees in our country feel more welcome. They, practically on their own, organized a holiday drive for the refugee center closest to us. After about…
I posted recently about what, in my opinion, is the hardest thing about unschooling. Today, I wanted to share a snapshot of the best thing: joyful learning. Learning that changes and expands horizons. Learning that sticks. This little 9-year-old wants to build things. Ever since she saw Handy Manny at age 4, she has wanted…
Little children love the world. That is why they are so good at learning about it. For it is love, not tricks and techniques of thought, that lies at the heart of all true learning. Can we bring ourselves to let children learn and grow through that love?
— John Holt
“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” – W.B. Yeats Spring is a magical time. Life returns after a long sleep. We took a hike on a little-known trail the other day. Our path led us up the side of the mountain and round a bend, right…
We can best help children learn, not by deciding what we think they should learn and thinking of ingenious ways to teach it to them, but by making the world, as far as we can, accessible to them, paying serious attention to what they do, answering their questions — if they have any — and…
— John Holt
Quick post on why walking is wonderful. Worth a few minutes to read. :) I feel that my children (and myself!) are at our best, our most creative, our most curious, our most inspired, after we’ve spent time outside, moving, breathing, walking, working!
We make it into Yellowstone at least once a week right now. It requires a lot more effort than in the warmer months, but it is worth it. From the moment I enter those borders, I am home. (This is Richie, the girls’ hiking mascot. Every kid should have a mascot, don’t you think?) :)…
I think that one of the best and easiest ways to open the minds of your children to new thoughts, new ideas, and new places comes through reading. I believe that reading opens the door to more interests and ideas and concepts than anything else. Take the past 24 hours, for example. I love to…
Since moving from the suburbs, I haven’t written as much about how to make unschooling work there, but it is still very important to me. I vividly remember the extra creativity required to make it work in an environment that wasn’t quite as “natural” as the woods we now live in. Here are a few random…
I’m back. I’ve been absent from this space for such a long time. Our family has been on a grand adventure, one that I learned so much from that it will take a lifetime to fully appreciate. We spent 8 months in an RV, traveling and exploring, pursuing dreams and adventures. Each place we go,…
View of the Tetons from Sawtell Peak Trail. We were all a little summit hungry after Mt. Washburn. Wildflowers in bloom on Sawtell. So, we attempted another summit. Longer hike, less elevation gain. It seemed like a good balance. However, we arrived during what I can only describe as a massive swarm of bees and…