Category Archives: Learning Ideas

Getting Lost and Other Games!

31 March 2013

Updated 9/28/2022 When my kids were young, one of our favorite car games was called “Getting Lost” – a name chosen because it appealed to their sense of adventure!  Sometimes while I was driving in town, I’d surprise them by asking, “what do you think would happen if I turned here instead of going straight, […]

By Karen Taylor | Also posted in Gifted, Homeschooling, Preschool |

Unschooling: The Gold Standard for Young Children

6 March 2013

… Updated 9/28/2022 Young children thrive with lots of unstructured play and exploration because it’s how nature intended them to learn! When allowed to discover and think without adult-sponsored lessons, their capacity to learn new things is amazing. Our homeschooling pioneers didn’t school their preschoolers. While I don’t think babies and toddlers need to be […]

By Karen Taylor | Also posted in New homeschoolers, Preschool |

Welcoming Dirt Into the Curriculum

30 December 2012

I wrote this years ago when my son was playing in dirt daily. It wasn’t always easy to let him play like this, and doubt and worry popped up from time to time that had me momentarily thinking he should be doing something more important!  As you’ll read, it became clear to me that when […]

By Karen Taylor | Also posted in Gifted, New homeschoolers, Unschooling |

Making a Costume is a Learning Experience!

14 October 2012

Whether we observe Halloween or prefer a Harvest Celebration, costumes are often on our minds in October. Part of that reason is because whether it’s a store-bought costume, or one that is sewn, we’re bombarded with ads that say “pick me”! There’s a third choice that we don’t often hear about because no one makes […]

By Karen Taylor | Also posted in Homeschooling |

Looking Beyond Toys

26 June 2012

Photo by Sizemore The library bookstore where I volunteer recently received a donation of very old shorthand books. A question was asked about keeping them or not, since few people learn shorthand these days. While a collector might grab them, I had another reason for wanting them put out for sale. I would have purchased […]

By Karen Taylor | Also posted in Homeschooling |