Homeschooling is harder if you don’t get along with women

If you are a woman who gets along better with men than women, you know who you are. Girls became weirder and weirder to you. Until you found your spot with the intellectuals. The logical thinkers. The people who did math and science, perhaps. Or the people who memorized stuff. The groups that—science explains—are mostly […]

Try low-brow art as an on-ramp to cultural literacy

Did you always dream of playing video games with your kids all day long? Then homeschooling is your dream come true! The whole family can learn together! But for everyone else, homeschooling turns out to be each family member learning on their own, because if you want to learn what someone else wants you to […]

Join me (and my kids!) in autism heaven

This post is about a new course I’m doing. Oct 22. But first, I have stuff to say. I recently wrote about the breakfast table effect, which explains why kids who have great science projects before college have parents who are scientists: they talk about science over breakfast because that’s what the parents like to talk […]

Don’t bother teaching kids to take notes

I didn’t teach my kids handwriting. I assumed they would learn to write when they had things they wanted to say on paper. I assumed that would come soon. I have 50 volumes of handwritten diaries going back to preschool, and writing was my lifeline from drowning in a dangerous family.

Show respect for the jobs kids will have in the future

I am a huge fan of hiring someone to teach me a skill. I learn a lot faster if someone watches me do it and tells me what I’m doing wrong. So, for example, I’ve had a professional show me how to do street photography (thanks, James), I’ve had someone show me how to create […]

Best time for homeschoolers to vacation: September

Each year I see more benefits to be had from homeschooling schedules. Ask for private lessons during school hours so you can get the best teachers who are booked after school. Do most of your academic tutoring during the summer so you have your pick of all the teachers who are out of school.

z airport dab

When kids are little, they believe what you tell them. They go with the flow. But the longer you homeschool your kid, the more curious that kid becomes about what’s really going on inside school. So I started looking at all news items about school as potential points of discussion with my kids. School defines […]

We’ve officially entered the era of Generation Z

The Washington Post published a list of books for women from Millennials who are entering the workforce. It’s a little late for that, because this year is the first college graduation for Generation Z. It’s time to make a mental shift. Every time you imagine what your kid will be doing when they grow up, […]

You’ll never guess the skills your kids will need for work

  I went hiking with my kids, and I couldn’t remember where the trail started. But my younger son remembered. And my older son remembered to put the tick collar on the dog. And I found myself going along for the hike, as a sort of passenger on the journey the kids set up for […]

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