Homeschooling (also called “home education” in the UK or “home learning” elsewhere) is exploding in popularity in North America.  Some factors include more “stay at home” families who work remotely, and have more flexibility with travelling while checking in via Internet.  Others say this is a reaction to help children avoid the peer pressures of sex, drugs and alcohol which is more pervasive at a younger age in the public system.  Whatever it is, academically and socially, it’s benefitting children who school at home.
Internationally, 9 to 10 years of compulsory education is required in most countries, starting from age 5 or 6.  One notable exception is Germany, however, where homeschooling is illegal (and has been since 1930).  This is somewhat ironic, since Germany is the …

Many parents I know too quickly dismiss Waldorf education for their children before investing any significant amount of time to understand it. The debate between public and private systems is a highly divisive issue.  Often the decision is an economic one, but I’ve found that like anything in life, if you are willing to spend a little time learning the ideology behind a new concept or idea, you will be rewarded. We’ve found this with Waldorf.  First however, parents have to put their own ingrained and traditional biases and sometimes even egos aside, and think of what is best for our children’s needs and development, not our own.  Things that we enjoyed as a child such as television, electronics and branded plastic toys …

This video below is one of my all time favourites.  Creativity expert Ken Robinson speaks in such an eloquent, and comedic way that entertains and informs.  His premise is that school is still oriented far too much towards preparing workers for the industrial revolution, rather than giving children essential tools such as creativity and problem solving.
“Creativity is as important as literacy” in our education system, he says.  ”We are educating people out of their creativity”.  He has advised the British government on Education issues, and was even knighted for his efforts.  I’ve also read his book entitled “The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything”.
Watch this video on YouTube

I was at a Waldorf  School curriculum presentation last night. They place a lot of attention on teaching according to a child’s developmental stage. There is good scientific evidence supporting the idea that during the first seven years of life, children are wired to survive and make choices based on imitation of those around them. Hello mirror, there you are…. again.
It is a tough job being transparent to the all seeing of a child. What this means for me is working on walking the talk with the kids. Pausing and looking more at what I do, and the genuine affect it has on my children. It is scary the power we have in molding these little people.
My dear friend, and date for the Waldorf night, …

I was telling my mom today that we are researching schooling options for our kids. She pointed out a good series of articles she had read in the Toronto Star. Check out the Atkinson Fellowship Series of articles, and watch for the marshmallow test.
We all want smart kids, and these articles discuss how well education systems help to reach this goal. As parents though, self-esteem is of more concern – we feel being smart is a by-product of children feeling secure physically, emotionally and otherwise. We are concerned that the public system is archaic and too stressed for resources to provide teachers with what they need to educate our children well.
Allana Mitchell writes: ”[Teachers] are having a biological influence on children that is in scale akin …