Curious Kids Learn

Welcome to our official Summer Break:
aka that magical two-month stretch where strangers finally stop asking my kids,
“Why aren’t you in school today?” 😅

No more grocery store interrogations.
No more side-eyes at weekday museum visits.
No more doctors asking my kids if they need a note for their “teacher.”

We’re just out here living our best self-directed learning lives—with no permission slips required. 😎✌️

A little Friday Funny for you. I saw this in my feed was instantly like "OH, NO! Forget the kids. I would die." That being said, there are a lot of policies and routines that do not translate well from school to home. This is just ONE.

"The burden and the beauty of homeschool is that you are the principal, lead teacher, and guidance counselor. YOU get to decide."

I have realized an essential distinction between Lifestyle Homeschoolers (those that choose homeschooling as a life choice) and Pandemic Homeschoolers (those that choose homeschooling as the safe choice). While it is easy for me to see the beauty and freedom in homeschooling, those that feel betrayed by their public school see this as a solution. I hope to continue to speak about its beauty, and that Pandemic Homeschoolers can find some joy in their decision to homeschool.

Thank you, Chicago Unheard

Dear Pandemic Homeschooler It is back-to-school time and there are a lot of questions surrounding what that looks like for children. Many parents, after losing faith in their school system, are eager to explore homeschooling.

This is one is for anyone who feels like you are making a lifetime commitment to homeschool. You are not signing a 15-year contract on homeschooling your children. You can homeschool for as long as it feels right for your family. There are some logistics, depending on the laws in your state, but you can choose to homeschool now and then tackle the logistics of returning when/if that becomes something your family wants to do. You just have to remain open, and curious, about what the right path is for your kiddos.

Take a breath. Take a step🧎🏾‍♀️💆🏾‍♀️

Put down the curriculum and internet searches for "How to homeschool." Not forever, but I can see you getting overwhelmed. Here are 3 quick starts to Homeschool/Unschool.

🎞Pick a documentary: Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and even YouTube have all given me enough material to engage my kiddos in science exploration for weeks, off of one documentary. Disney+ Nature Penguins had my 4 and 8 year old invested and asking tons of questions that I did not know. Soooooooooo. We had some work to do (books, more documentaries, google searches). This was at the height of lockdown. So, a trip to Shedd Aquarium did not happen...but it would have if it were possible. Speaking of which-

🛤Plan a Field Trip: May it be 1 hour or 3 hours (believe me, once you start regularly taking trips you will find very few places that need more than 2 hours unless you want it to). Go to a museum, garden, find an interesting preserve. Take note ( or rather have the kiddos take note) of the questions and observations you all have. And then extend (books, documentaries, find similar locations to visit)

🧐Find something your kids are interested in...and start researching it with them to a ridiculous degree. Minecraft lover? Ask them to find out who started Mojang or to dive into the story of Steve/Herobrine. My Little Pony obsessed? Ask your kiddo to catalog their collection and find what other ones are out there (yes. I can’t believe I know this stuff)

✋🏾Let the Kids….do any and everything that helps your family operate (within reason and developmental appropriateness). Let them cook dinner, go grocery shopping, help with the budget, plan the next family vacation, schedule their own doctor appointment, bake cookies, organize a closet, change the oil on the car. If they can do it, let them, at least once.

The key to almost every activity is EXTEND. EXTEND. EXTEND. How long can a topic hold their interest and let them deep dive? How far down any given rabbit hole can you go with them. After a minute, they will catch on and do it on their own. And that is the entire goal. Creating curious kids who understand that everything can be explored to an absurd degree. Start there... and see how it goes.

I would love to hear about your homeschool adventures. Drop a comment on your favorite lesson or outing.

Homeschooling absolutely DOES NOT mean your child cannot go to college. A parent asked me this and my brain 🤯. If your child has the desire to attend college, homeschooling can actually widen the opportunities to let them shine on an application. Are the logistics a bit more tedious? Likely, but lots of aspects of homeschool are tedious.

Even as an unschooling momma, I am researching and assessing our next moves. Last year, we were looking into astronaut camp, this year we are looking into theatre programs. My son doesn't meet the reading level for some programs, and I discuss that with him. We set realistic goals and strategies accordingly. I am part teacher, part life coach, and part resource room for my kids. As they get older and goals become more high stakes, we will still have to evaluate and work together to make them happen...but NOTHING is off the table. If anything we made the table bigger to fit all the opportunities on it.

I am talking to so many families about their plans for this coming school year and my heart aches for the stress they are facing. It probably does not help that there is a ton of misinformation and stigma associated with homeschool. I am going to do my best to try to ease parents' minds here. There are laws that dictate if/how you homeschool that vary from state to state (and country to country) BUT there are some truths that hold in most situations.

You got this. If you want to homeschool there is a way and it doesn't include sacrificing your child's future...not even a little bit.

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This time last year, I was being approached by tons of my friends whose kids were in tradional schools. They all had the same question. Kids are home. School is chaos. What do we do? It began as me explaining that they can help their kids by letting them do the things they enjoy, focus on mental health, and let curiosity lead. A year later, I have spoken to so many parents who not only say that unschooling helped them during the pandemic, it helped them make a leap for their family. They feel freer, more insync with each other. Their kids who were struggling in traditional settings, are thriving. Nothing is easy right now but out of chaos and confusion can come clarity. I hope all the new unschoolers are enjoying the fruits of your labor right now.

Cost of Homeschooling? Kiplinger wrote about 10 cost considerations (link in bio) for homeschooling. However, cost does not have to be a barrier. I am always looking for ways to work and learn smarter...not harder. Here are some easy and cost effective ways to keep kids learning.

🟡Take advantage of Free or low cost programs by organizations and institutions. The U.S National Parks have a Junior Ranger Program that can be done in person or online. Reading/writing materials and a badge is included for free for each participating park. Many libraries and museums have education programs and, since COVID-19, have begun offering them online.

🟡Video platforms are amazing. has millions of educators and creators online. It will take a little research to figure out who is legit and a good fit for your kiddo but a lot of the content is amazing and valuable.

🟡Purchase a workbook, like BrainQuest, and use the sections as jumping points for deeper exploration. For example, if they do the money pages in the workbook, also work with real money, take a trip to the grocery store. You can also do some research on how money is produced or the stock market. (Most workbooks cost between $9-$20 dollars)

🟡NATURE NATURE NATURE. I cannot say this enough. The more time outside kids get the more they learn. They get science, math, social studies in. They will naturally want to know what things are and how things work. They will also get their curiousity peeked and a mental health tended to...free of charge.

Need help getting your ducks in a row?? I am offering pay-what-you-can consultations for homeschooling parents through the end of May 2021. Shoot me a message to get scheduled.

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Relationships and community. That is what makes the world go round AND it is what ignites learning. Here are some ways we facilitate this in our family

1️⃣Find classes and activities lead by adults with like-minded philosophies. Griffin's Ukulele teacher is not focused on how great a Ukulele play Griff could be. He is focusing on making 30 min of music together fun and interesting.

2️⃣Enter your community as often as possible. Let others share their passions and knowledge. Get to know the people who are experts in the things you and your kids want to know...and invest the time to get to know who they are beyond their jobs.

3️⃣Learn things together. Even if it is something you know, watch the video, read the book, do the activity with your child and try to see it from a different point of view.

4️⃣Let children work. It is so easy to say "no" because you can do it faster or better. I get it. But the more children make helping a habit, the more they will take responsibilty for automating taking responsibility for themselves and their community.

5️⃣ Leave space for children to have relationships and work through conflict on their own. Offer guidance but let the building and potential repair of relationships be theirs,

Any reason to build a relationship or connect to others is going to produce great results for our kids.

Had some down time. So, Adair and I went down the rabbithole of tutorials. Parenting while working is not always easy but sitting with the kiddos and learning new stuff is definitely a highlight. Adair isn't going to be graphic designing anytime soon. Good thing the benefits of exposure are not dependent on their ability to master a skill. By spending time with us while we work/learn, kids are...

..Watching us actively grow and learn new skills.

..Gaining an understanding of how things work.

..Learning about what they like/don't like.

..Setting goals for themselves and seeing the process of "figuring s**t out."

..Simply getting some quality time, engaging with you and being able to ask questions about what you are doing.

We couldn't agree more.

This is a powerful perspective as we are supporting the children in academic learning. What are we modeling with our language?