Homeschoolers can learn from Swedish preschools There's a big push in the United States to introduce formal academics earlier and earlier for young children, and that has been spilling into the homeschooling community. While many homeschoolers of the 90's chose to homeschool because of issues like schools transitioning to full-day kindergarten and the "too much, too soon" academic pressures that were being pushed on children, many of today's new homeschoolers are mimicking modern public schools even in the preschool years and before. However, much of the world is catching on to the idea that early academics do not do children any favors, and in fact, they lead to lower academic scores and educational burnout just a few years later. Teachers TV, a group that produces educational programs to benefit teachers, highlighted Swedish preschools in their video series "How Do They Do It?" for their Early Years series. They say: Sweden's attitude to teaching one to six year olds appears incredibly relaxed. As the narrator says, NBC says:
New Zealand Weather Maps & Rain Radar | ONE News Now Weather Analysis Sat Oct 03 08:15:00 NZDT 2015 The 'Isobar' or 'Synoptic' map is updated at 6am, midday and 6pm, everyday. It illustrates the weather systems currently in play around New Zealand and the East Coast of Australia at sea level. Weather Satellite Suzie's Home Education Ideas: 10 Ways to Support an Interest in Engineering When our son was just sixteen months old, we brought him a little train set. With some help, our son would design and build the train route as he showed a natural curiosity in all things engineering. From the early days of playing with trains and blocks, to now building bridges (from paddle pop sticks) and wiring electrical circuits, our son's love of engineering science is evident. Now that our daughters are starting to show an interest in engineering too, I have been reflecting on how my husband and I have supported our son's learning and how we can do the same for daughters. A Designated Work Area Every learner needs to have a work space where they can make their ideas come alive. Quality Equipment When our son was four years old, we got him a tool kit with real tools. A Journal One of the best ways to encourage engineering is to have loads of paper available to draw on. A Range of Resources There are plenty of manufactured resources that can support the budding engineer. Literature
Turning the tables: questions for school parents - Racheous - Respectful Learning & Parenting 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. Imagine that after all your research and thought, you were met with: The assumption that you homeschool and shock when they find out you’re not. Them quizzing your child to check what school is teaching them. Outdated assumptions that don’t apply to modern schooling. “I could never do that! “I knew someone who was schooled and they were freaks” “Oh I don’t know if she would suit school, she’s a bit too spirited for school” And questions.. “Is that legal?” “Are you concerned about negative socialisation? “Aren’t you worried they will end up ‘weird’?” “How much does it cost and how are you going to pay for it?” “Are you going to miss them? “Do you worry about rules being enforced and your child’s lack of autonomy?” “Are you worried about what school will teach them?” Frustrating huh?!
I used to be the prettiest girl in the world. – Heather Sanders Today I’m cross-posting with Kate Fridkis of Un-Schooled. Now in her mid 20s, Kate was “unschooled” at home and writes on a variety of homeschooling issues from her own personal experience and perspective. Enjoy her guest blog contribution below, and then click on over to read my guest post about Homeschooling: Freeing my girls to BE, not Become. ——————————- Guest Post by: Kate Fridkis I used to be the prettiest girl in the world. It didn’t matter what I was doing or wearing or even, really, how I looked. It’s a really good thing that my prettiness didn’t have very much to do with what I was wearing, because I was wearing floral print tights with pink shorts and a plaid shirt with a smiley face decal ironed onto it. I was confident, even when I was shy around most people. That’s homeschooling. So don’t you get spoiled, then? I can’t tell. Maybe I wasn’t very pretty. As a homeshooled girl, I was beautiful because I was smart. Yup. And I wouldn’t give that up for anything.
First Principles: Elon Musk on Thinking for Yourself Bill Thurston was a pioneer in the field of mathematics. He was particularly known for his contributions to low-dimensional topology, 3-manifolds, and foliation theory—concepts that sound foreign to number-challenged mortals like you and me. In 1982, Thurston was awarded the Fields Medal, which is often considered the highest honor a mathematician can receive. One reason Thurston was able to contribute valuable insights to his field of mathematics was that he utilized a different set of mental models than his peers. In a paper he wrote for the American Mathematical Society—which, no joke, I found to be a fascinating read—Thurston explains his approach to solving difficult problems. “My mathematical education was rather independent and idiosyncratic, where for a number of years I learned things on my own, developing personal mental models for how to think about mathematics. —Bill Thurston How can you go about developing a unique view of the world? First Principles Thinking —Elon Musk
The Joyful, Illiterate Kindergartners of Finland Approaching the school’s playground that morning, I watched as an army of 5- and 6-year-old boys patrolled a zigzagging stream behind Niirala Preschool in the city of Kuopio, unfazed by the warm August drizzle. When I clumsily unhinged the steel gate to the school’s playground, the young children didn’t even lift their eyes from the ground; they just kept dragging and pushing their tiny shovels through the mud. At 9:30 a.m., the boys were called to line up for a daily activity called Morning Circle. “Making dams,” sang a chorus of three boys. “Nothing else?” “Nothing else,” they confirmed. “[Children] learn so well through play,” Anni-Kaisa Osei Ntiamoah, one of the preschool’s “kindergarten” teachers, who’s in her seventh year in the classroom, told me. When children play, Osei Ntiamoah continued, they’re developing their language, math, and social-interaction skills. And there’s no such thing as a typical day of kindergarten at the preschool, the teachers said. Timothy D.
Mermaid's Purse - Mermaid's Purse A (Free) Guided Mini Meditation For Kids Meditation is a wonderful way for kids to learn to quiet their minds and listen to their feelings. It can also help them learn how to release those feelings and improve their focus. In recent years, there have been unusually high numbers of kids and pre-teen experiencing anxiety or depression. Today, more than 25% of teens aged 13-18 suffer from anxiety. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 2.6 million adolescents aged 13-17 have had at least one major depressive episode in the previous year. The statistics are alarming. I was one of those kids. The panic attacks continued until I was about 15, when I shared my experiences with a family member. I still experience anxiety before making big changes or speaking up when I have a problem, but I use meditation as my primary method of relaxing my mind and body. In the spiritual community, there is a term called the “Indigo Child,” which refers to an individual who is highly self aware, creative, and empathic.
What Is The Real World? - Happiness is here ‘You can’t protect them forever’ ‘Children need to get used to the real world’ What is this ‘real world’ you speak of? Is it being indoors all day? Or is it the freedom to play and explore inside or outside depending on what interests you? Is it sitting at a desk for most of the day? Is it eating on schedule? Is it asking permission to use the bathroom? Is it learning things according to what others think you should know? Is it socialising with only people your own age? Is it learning from a text book? Is it being constantly tested and evaluated? Is it meeting standards and developing at the same pace as everyone around you? Is it being required to wear the exact same clothes as everyone else? Is it only one answer to life’s questions? Is it being confined to one place, day after day? Is it being told where you must be every day, and what you must do? I don’t want to protect them forever. If you like this, please share! Related Favourite Homeschooling Links July 20, 2015 In "Homeschooling"
Do you have a high energy, challenging, persistent child? Have a strong-willed child? You're lucky! Strong willed children can be a challenge when they’re young, but if sensitively parented, they become terrific teens and young adults. Self-motivated and inner-directed, they go after what they want and are almost impervious to peer pressure. What exactly is a strong-willed child? Often, strong-willed kids are prone to power-struggles with their parents. No one likes being told what to do, but strong-willed kids find it unbearable. Strong-willed kids aren't just being difficult. Morality is doing what's right, no matter what you're told. So of course you want your child to do what you say. Breaking a child's will leaves him open to the influence of others who often will not serve his highest interests. That said, strong-willed kids can be a handful -- high energy, challenging, persistent. Ten Tips for Positive Parenting Your Strong-Willed, Spirited Child 1. That way, you aren't the bad guy bossing them around, it’s just that 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Fixed vs. Growth: The Two Basic Mindsets That Shape Our Lives “If you imagine less, less will be what you undoubtedly deserve,” Debbie Millman counseled in one of the best commencement speeches ever given, urging: “Do what you love, and don’t stop until you get what you love. Work as hard as you can, imagine immensities…” Far from Pollyanna platitude, this advice actually reflects what modern psychology knows about how belief systems about our own abilities and potential fuel our behavior and predict our success. Much of that understanding stems from the work of Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, synthesized in her remarkably insightful Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (public library) — an inquiry into the power of our beliefs, both conscious and unconscious, and how changing even the simplest of them can have profound impact on nearly every aspect of our lives. One of the most basic beliefs we carry about ourselves, Dweck found in her research, has to do with how we view and inhabit what we consider to be our personality.