Would love to hear more about the coop too! Lots of interesting food for thought in this article. A recent discussion in my homeschool community was about asking kids whether they want to be homeschooled - with some saying that it wasn’t appropriate. I think conversations with kids is always illuminating and you modelled listening with curiosity and openness in this article.
I'm really curious about why people said it wasn't appropriate to ask the kids? I don't really have fully formed thoughts on this, but curious to know if you feel like sharing :)
Just as background, our homeschool group is a mix of all different homeschoolers (religious, classical, unschoolers, secular). Many feel that asking children if they would like to hs or go to traditional school is giving them too much responsibility/almost a burden. Their argument is that a child is not ready to make an informed decision. It’s one of those “adults know better” mindsets, but your article shows how not being curious about these things, prevents us from getting a view into the child’s world (maybe the child wants more community for example).
I like to discuss things with my 7yo and we are more consent based (but I am still learning a lot and far far from the ideal). In this vein, the issue I sometimes run into is if there is an ideal time to read certain books (so that they will “hit” differently) or if we are forcing children to grow up quickly with our/societys expectations. My child auditioned for a play and she got a leading role…she needs to practice a lot because this is her first play and she has never acted before. I personally think this is a lot for a 7yo, but she wanted to be in the play and wanted the part…And that makes me wonder if I shouldn’t have signed her up for the play and so on….Anyway, I am still grappling with whether we are sometimes burdening children things
Thanks for the run down here. I had to find a reprieve in preschool, too. I was a single mom and although I worked from home, felt I needed a break..? But I also thought - for a moment - this is what I'm supposed to do.. have a kid and send them off! It quickly turned into not what was in alignment for any of us. I guess you live and learn and sometimes you learn through things. Thank you for all of these resources! I can't wait to listen/read. Lots of good stuff!
I'm interested in both! I'd love to start or be in a co-op, but we live in such a rural area, I don't know if that's possible. Plus, some people just don't seem motivated to keep a routine like that..? Myself included.
My kids are a bit young for trello, but my oldest would definitely benefit. I like that idea, as well!
I hit publish and forgot I wanted to add some nuance. Extra-curriculars are not THE biggest predictor of academic achievement and I believe all studies are correllations anyway. This study adds some nuance too https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-020-00573-0 In the pod, the director of schools did say that in their experience it is a big, and maybe the biggest, predictor of whether high school kids will do well at school that year - but I'm not sure whether this comes from his experience or studies or where exactly, and whether this is specific to West Texas. Wanted to specify this since making blanket statements is super unhelpful!!
Thanks for sharing this but I think it's totally okay for his anecdotal statement to be rooted in his own experience. We don't always need to science to prove what we can already see ;)
Would love to hear more about the coop too! Lots of interesting food for thought in this article. A recent discussion in my homeschool community was about asking kids whether they want to be homeschooled - with some saying that it wasn’t appropriate. I think conversations with kids is always illuminating and you modelled listening with curiosity and openness in this article.
I'm really curious about why people said it wasn't appropriate to ask the kids? I don't really have fully formed thoughts on this, but curious to know if you feel like sharing :)
Just as background, our homeschool group is a mix of all different homeschoolers (religious, classical, unschoolers, secular). Many feel that asking children if they would like to hs or go to traditional school is giving them too much responsibility/almost a burden. Their argument is that a child is not ready to make an informed decision. It’s one of those “adults know better” mindsets, but your article shows how not being curious about these things, prevents us from getting a view into the child’s world (maybe the child wants more community for example).
I like to discuss things with my 7yo and we are more consent based (but I am still learning a lot and far far from the ideal). In this vein, the issue I sometimes run into is if there is an ideal time to read certain books (so that they will “hit” differently) or if we are forcing children to grow up quickly with our/societys expectations. My child auditioned for a play and she got a leading role…she needs to practice a lot because this is her first play and she has never acted before. I personally think this is a lot for a 7yo, but she wanted to be in the play and wanted the part…And that makes me wonder if I shouldn’t have signed her up for the play and so on….Anyway, I am still grappling with whether we are sometimes burdening children things
Whoops! Hit the post button too soon.
Thanks for the run down here. I had to find a reprieve in preschool, too. I was a single mom and although I worked from home, felt I needed a break..? But I also thought - for a moment - this is what I'm supposed to do.. have a kid and send them off! It quickly turned into not what was in alignment for any of us. I guess you live and learn and sometimes you learn through things. Thank you for all of these resources! I can't wait to listen/read. Lots of good stuff!
I'm interested in both! I'd love to start or be in a co-op, but we live in such a rural area, I don't know if that's possible. Plus, some people just don't seem motivated to keep a routine like that..? Myself included.
My kids are a bit young for trello, but my oldest would definitely benefit. I like that idea, as well!
I’d love to read about your co-op! 🩷
Would love to hear more about the coop as well!
noted Tarra & Jessica!!
Likewise!
This study DOES find a positive correllation. I'm always super cautious with correllational studies for all the obvious reasons. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1208711.pdf
I hit publish and forgot I wanted to add some nuance. Extra-curriculars are not THE biggest predictor of academic achievement and I believe all studies are correllations anyway. This study adds some nuance too https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-020-00573-0 In the pod, the director of schools did say that in their experience it is a big, and maybe the biggest, predictor of whether high school kids will do well at school that year - but I'm not sure whether this comes from his experience or studies or where exactly, and whether this is specific to West Texas. Wanted to specify this since making blanket statements is super unhelpful!!
Thanks for sharing this but I think it's totally okay for his anecdotal statement to be rooted in his own experience. We don't always need to science to prove what we can already see ;)
Yeah I mean I totally agree. It’s still very valid! But wanted to specify that it maybe doesn’t come from an actual study or group of studies 😁