When do we stop learning through play?

The New York Times has a story about Germany’s outdoor preschools. The article cites research I’ve talked about here, like the book Last Child in the Woods. The article also features a Ph.D. dissertation from 2003 by Peter Häfner at Heidelberg University that shows that graduates of German forest kindergartens had a “clear advantage” over the graduates of regular kindergartens, performing better in cognitive and physical ability, as well as in creativity and social development. (I assume he has a book deal by now.) Read more

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Teaching to the test

I’m so frustrated with homeschooling now that my son wants to go to graduate school for science. Now things are serious. Read more

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How to get an idea for a business while you homeschool

Most of the people I know who can earn enough to support a family and homeschool at the same time were already earning a lot of money before they started homeschooling. So they took a pay cut to work from home and but they’re still making pretty good money. Read more

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Best Mother’s Day gift for a homeschooling mom

We can all agree that Mother’s Day is a manufactured day for people to support the chocolate, flower, and jewelry industries. But we can also agree that a mom ignored on Mother’s Day is not a happy mom. Read more

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The essential support system for a homeschool parent

A really difficult thing about homeschooling is that a huge swath of my professional network disappeared once I announced I was homeschooling. I thought it was because they assumed I would be useless to them. Read more

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Technology trends that should shape education

I am always looking for ways to convince myself to leave my kids alone. It’s a challenge to follow my kids’ lead instead of leading them in education. And I have to remind myself constantly that I do not know better than they do about what would be good for them to do with their lives. Read more

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How to approach college from an alternative perspective

I have spent the last ten years ranting about how stupid it is to spend money on college. So it is the Murphy’s Law of punditry that both my kids would choose conventional paths through higher education. Read more

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How to homeschool and work at the same time

I have been adjusting nonstop since we moved to Swarthmore in December. There are things that seem small, like getting my son onto a basketball team. But nothing is straightforward. I didn’t know how things work here so we were so late in signing up that they said my son could only be on the team if I’d coach. Read more

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How I talk to friends about why I homeschool

When my friends ask about homeschooling I say, “All the data and research says that kids don’t need to be in school. I realized that it would be totally irresponsible and self-serving of me to not take my kids out of school.” Read more

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Why I’m sending my younger kids to school

This is a guest post from Sarah Faulkner. She is a homeschooling mom in Washington state. She has five kids, ages 13, 11, 9, 5, and 2. 

On the surface, the stories of adopting a foster child seem so alluring. The Today Show did a fantastic feature on other people who said yes, and on kids who needed someone to say it. Read more

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