Homeschool chat: What is forest schooling?

Forest Schooling is outdoor learning which is learner - led and emphasizes self discovery, risk taking, and problem solving. The first official forest school was in Denmark. It started as what they called a “walking kindergarten” in the 1950s. Interestingly, the concept actually derived from the Waldorf approach. Soon the concept arrived in Sweden. They [...]

Homeschool chat: What is Unschooling?

John Caldwell Holt is often referred to as the “Father of Unschooling”. He was an educator in the 1950s who documented the glaring issues he saw in the school system through a total of eleven books. His ideas led him to be a consultant for many schools. But he then became an early proponent of [...]

Homeschool Chat: What Is the Montessori Method?

The Montessori Method is used in both classroom settings (in Montessori schools, led by certified Montessori teachers) and home environments. It was developed by Maria Montessori, an Italian physician, at the end of the 19th century. Here are some of the main tenets of the philosophy: • Mixed age learning groups. In classrooms, it is [...]

Homeschool Chat: What is the Charlotte Mason method?

Charlotte Mason was a British educator. She lived at the turn of the twentieth century. She believed that children should be respected as people and taught the motto: “I am. I can. I ought. I will.” She also believed that children were natural born learners and that the desire to learn need only be facilitated. [...]

Homeschool Chat: What is Classical Education?

For the final transcript posts from our most recent homeschooling chat, I will be providing a breakdown of the most common homeschool methods. None will be a completely exhaustive explanation, but they will provide some historical context and a basic framework of the main tenets for each method. We are starting with the Classical method. [...]

Homeschool Chat: Curriculum

This post will cover our own curriculum choices for this year, how to tell when a curriculum (or method) isn’t working, how to make a switch and the many ways that life can be a curriculum of its own. Much of what we do is pulled from multiple sources and then I compile it into [...]

Second Grade Curriculum + Rhythm

Our weekly rhythm is organized to focus our time and energy on one area of study a day. This allows us to dive in, supplement curriculum, answer any questions that arise, etc. without rushing or feeling pressure to move to another task. We do not get buried under a heavy workload of busy work. We [...]