Research-based ideas
to help kids thrive
Tools & strategies that prioritize creativity, critical thinking,
& an intrinsic love of learning
& an intrinsic love of learning
Katie
Beth
CiAnna
Do you see how tech is changing the world, and wonder if you're doing the best to support your child's learning & future success?
Do you worry that your child won’t have the tools & knowledge to succeed with changes we can’t even imagine yet when they graduate?
It's natural to want the very best for your child, and to prepare them as well as you can.
We Can't Ignore Technology's Impact
On Our Children & Their Future
We Can't Ignore Technology's Impact
On Our Children & Their Future
On Our Children & Their Future
1. The World is Changing
Faster than Ever
1. The World is Changing
Faster than Ever
Faster than Ever
When Chat GPT-3 was released in November 2022, we had no idea about the impact it would have on our lives.
We no longer had to translate our thoughts into search terms - we could just ask exactly what we were thinking.
Then we got an answer we could actually understand (and if we couldn’t, we could simply tell the tool to “explain it like I’m six”).
The World Economic Forum predicts that 85 million jobs globally will be replaced by AI by 2025 - especially in entry-level jobs like customer service, manufacturing, data entry, and retail.
But well-paid jobs aren’t immune: AI may make consulting, finance, and technology jobs unrecognizable - which will impact the careers of top graduates as well.
Will your child be ready?
2. School-Based Learning
Isn't Changing Fast Enough
2. School-Based Learning
Isn't Changing Fast Enough
Isn't Changing Fast Enough
In the same two years since Chat GPT was released, some of the biggest news in education has been…the ongoing fight over the best way to teach children to read.
We've been arguing about this for over a century.
(Spoiler alert: there is no single best way to teach all children to read. There’s only the best way to teach this particular child to read.)
Schools are continually under-funded, both parents and children are worried about kids’ physical safety, and teaching-to-the-test takes the joy out of school for both teachers and students.
While teachers are striking for the right to have their pay keep up with inflation and are quitting due to burnout, students’ mental health is suffering and they aren’t leaving school with the skills they need to succeed in life.
3. The Critical Skills for the Future
Aren't What You Think
3. The Critical Skills for the Future
Aren't What You Think
Aren't What You Think
Many parents see the role of AI expanding into our lives, and think that our kids need to learn about technology as fast as possible.
(Cue the huge rise in coding-related toys for toddlers, and subscription kits for older kids.)
But the real skills children will need are quite different.
Management consulting company McKinsey says there are fifty six skills and attitudes that will be critical in future-proofing citizens’ ability to work.
Some of these are digital skills - like digital fluency, software use and development, and understanding digital systems.
But the vast majority are not digital-related skills at all..
In the Cognitive realm, they’re things like critical thinking, communication, planning and working effectively, and mental flexibility.
In the Interpersonal domain, relevant skills include finding ways to mobilize people and systems, developing relationships, and working effectively on teams.
And the Self-Leadership category includes skills related to self-awareness and self-management, entrepreneurship, and goals achievement.
Obviously this list is not exhaustive…there’s no mention of skills related to any branch of science, or understanding how our history affects us today, or the art and literature that helps us make sense of our world.
For a long time, I've been talking about the ideas that Dr. Roberta Golinkoff told me were going to be important for our children:
Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creative Innovation, Confidence, and Content
And which one is missing from McKinsey's list?
Content.
That's the names, dates, places, amounts, and sequences of events (all of which AI tools can tell us in an instant).
And children spend most of their time in school learning…Content.
Teachers try their best in an environment where they get to make very few real decisions, but the majority of skills children will need to succeed in an AI-driven world are not being taught in schools.
We Can't Ignore Technology's Impact
On Our Children
& Their Future
We Can't Ignore Technology's Impact
On Our Children
& Their Future
On Our Children
& Their Future
1. The World is Changing Faster than Ever
1. The World is Changing Faster than Ever
When Chat GPT-3 was released in November 2022, we had no idea about the impact it would have on our lives.
We no longer had to translate our thoughts into search terms - we could just ask exactly what we were thinking.
Then we got an answer we could actually understand (and if we couldn’t, we could simply tell the tool to “explain it like I’m six”).
The World Economic Forum predicts that 85 million jobs globally will be replaced by AI by 2025 - especially in entry-level jobs like customer service, manufacturing, data entry, and retail.
But well-paid jobs aren’t immune: AI may make consulting, finance, and technology jobs unrecognizable - which will impact the careers of top graduates as well.
Will your child be ready?
2. School-Based Learning Isn't Changing Fast Enough
2. School-Based Learning Isn't Changing Fast Enough
In the same two years since Chat GPT was released, some of the biggest news in education has been…the ongoing fight over the best way to teach children to read.
We've been arguing about this for over a century.
(Spoiler alert: there is no single best way to teach all children to read. There’s only the best way to teach this particular child to read.)
Schools are continually under-funded, both parents and children are worried about kids’ physical safety, and teaching-to-the-test takes the joy out of school for both teachers and students.
While teachers are striking for the right to have their pay keep up with inflation and are quitting due to burnout, students’ mental health is suffering and they aren’t leaving school with the skills they need to succeed in life.
3. The Critical Skills
for the Future Aren't
What You Think
3. The Critical Skills
for the Future Aren't
What You Think
for the Future Aren't
What You Think
Many parents see the role of AI expanding into our lives, and think that our kids need to learn about technology as fast as possible.
(Cue the huge rise in coding-related toys for toddlers, and subscription kits for older kids.)
But the real skills children will need are quite different.
Management consulting company McKinsey says there are fifty six skills and attitudes that will be critical in future-proofing citizens’ ability to work.
Some of these are digital skills - like digital fluency, software use and development, and understanding digital systems.
But the vast majority are not digital-related skills at all..
In the Cognitive realm, they’re things like critical thinking, communication, planning and working effectively, and mental flexibility.
In the Interpersonal domain, relevant skills include finding ways to mobilize people and systems, developing relationships, and working effectively on teams.
And the Self-Leadership category includes skills related to self-awareness and self-management, entrepreneurship, and goals achievement.
Obviously this list is not exhaustive…there’s no mention of skills related to any branch of science, or understanding how our history affects us today, or the art and literature that helps us make sense of our world.
For a long time, I've been talking about the ideas that Dr. Roberta Golinkoff told me were going to be important for our children:
Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creative Innovation, Confidence, and Content
And which one is missing from McKinsey's list?
Content.
That's the names, dates, places, amounts, and sequences of events (all of which AI tools can tell us in an instant).
And children spend most of their time in school learning…Content.
Teachers try their best in an environment where they get to make very few real decisions, but the majority of skills children will need to succeed in an AI-driven world are not being taught in schools.
How Can We Help
Our Children to
Develop These Skills?
We need to start early (when they begin asking questions)
We need to learn how to truly listen to our children - not just to what they say, but to the unspoken questions that really drive their interests
We need to engage them in the dance of learning: offering encouragement and resources to propel them forward, while making sure they still ‘own’ the process
Supporting Your Child’s Learning Doesn’t
Have to Be a Chore… It Can Be Fun!
Supporting Your Child’s Learning Doesn’t
Have to Be a Chore… It Can Be Fun!
Have to Be a Chore… It Can Be Fun!
I’ll show you how to use your child’s intrinsic interests and love of learning as a jumping off point to deep skill development
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We need to engage them in the dance of learning: offering encouragement and resources to propel them forward, while making sure they still ‘own’ the process
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When your follow your child’s interests, you don’t have to drag them through it - they will WANT to learn
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You don’t need special knowledge to teach them effectively - this kind of learning is more effective when you co-discover together (which takes all the pressure off you!)
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You’ll also deepen your relationship with your child, because they know their ideas truly matter to you
Supporting Your
Child’s Learning Doesn’t
Have to be a Chore…
It Can Be Fun!
Supporting Your
Child’s Learning Doesn’t
Have to be a Chore…
It Can Be Fun!
Child’s Learning Doesn’t
Have to be a Chore…
It Can Be Fun!
I’ll show you how to use your child’s intrinsic interests and love of learning as a jumping off point to deep skill development
arrow_forward
We need to engage them in the dance of learning: offering encouragement and resources to propel them forward, while making sure they still ‘own’ the process
arrow_forward
When your follow your child’s interests, you don’t have to drag them through it - they will WANT to learn
arrow_forward
You don’t need special knowledge to teach them effectively - this kind of learning is more effective when you co-discover together (which takes all the pressure off you!)
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You’ll also deepen your relationship with your child, because they know their ideas truly matter to you
CLAIRE:
From a Teaching Mindset
to Self-Directed Learning
CLAIRE:
From a Teaching Mindset
to Self-Directed Learning
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It’s not about knowing everything and transferring that information to our children. It’s about listening, supporting their curiosity, facilitating when our children ask questions.
It's not about having all the answers ourselves, but how we help them discover and close gaps in understanding - together.
It's not about having all the answers ourselves, but how we help them discover and close gaps in understanding - together.
CLAIRE:
From a Teaching Mindset to Self-Directed Learning
CLAIRE:
From a Teaching Mindset to Self-Directed Learning
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It’s not about knowing everything and transferring that information to our children. It’s about listening, supporting their curiosity, facilitating when our children ask questions.
It's not about having all the answers ourselves, but how we help them discover and close gaps in understanding - together.
It's not about having all the answers ourselves, but how we help them discover and close gaps in understanding - together.
The Learning Membership Will Help You To:
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Find your child’s true interests
(not just the random ones they will announce if you ask)
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Identify the theories that your child is building about their understanding of the world that underlie their surface-level questions and use these to scaffold their learning
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Become a facilitator who connects your child with the resources they need to answer their own questions
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Document your child’s learning so you can see both their and your growth over time (even when it might look to the casual observer like the child isn’t actually learning very much!)
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Help your child to ask more questions that deepen their learning on an initial topic (so we can bring the knowledge, questions, and insights we didn’t have the first time around)
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Communicate what they have learned to communities who care
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Support your child in solving problems that have real meaning to real people (not just assignments whose sole purpose is to grade the child’s performance)
The Learning Membership Will Help You To:
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Find your child’s true interests (not just the random ones they will announce if you ask)
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Identify the theories that your child is building about their understanding of the world that underlie their surface-level questions and use these to scaffold their learning
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Become a facilitator who connects your child with the resources they need to answer their own questions
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Document your child’s learning so you can see both their and your growth over time (even when it might look to the casual observer like the child isn’t actually learning very much!)
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Help your child to ask more questions that deepen their learning on an initial topic (so we can bring the knowledge, questions, and insights we didn’t have the first time around)
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Communicate what they have learned to communities who care
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Support your child in solving problems that have real meaning to real people (not just assignments whose sole purpose is to grade the child’s performance)
Iris has released a need to control her child's learning
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"Being an immigrant in the country I live now, I don't have the wide network of support that I did in my home country - and I know I can't do this on my own.
Through the membership, I've slowly let go of my own agenda, follow my child's interest and give her the space and time for her own learning discovery. I feel confident that she will learn in her own time, in her own pace.
- Iris P.
Iris has released a need to control her child's learning
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"Being an immigrant in the country I live now, I don't have the wide network of support that I did in my home country - and I know I can't do this on my own.
Through the membership, I've slowly let go of my own agenda, follow my child's interest and give her the space and time for her own learning discovery. I feel confident that she will learn in her own time, in her own pace.
- Iris P.
Here's How It Works
In the first two modules we cover core topics so you can understand what’s going on in your child’s brain when they’re learning, and set the stage for your first successful Learning Exploration, before moving on to advanced topics. You'll gain confidence that you're truly developing your child's love of learning - and have fun while you're doing it!
What will I learn?
MODULE 1
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Getting Started
Getting Started
- Deep dive into how children learn so that you can see it when it's happening
- Gather materials that will be helpful in engaging children's creativity
- How to start a Learning Journal, the backbone for the upcoming months
MODULE 2
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Your First Learning Exploration
Your First Learning Exploration
How to use the learning journal to guide your children's explorations, including:
- Identifying the right question to investigate that will give your child (and you!) a positive first Learning Exploration experience
- Recording first thoughts and hypotheses
- Where to search for information beyond just libraries and YouTube videos, document what was uncovered & much more!
MODULE 3
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Using Nature as a Muse
Using Nature as a Muse
Learn how to use nature as an entry point for deep learning:
- Increasing your and your child's awareness in nature
- Start a nature journal (even if you "can't draw or paint")
- Immerse your child in deep learning about the natural world, even if you know nothing about it right now!
Need more support?
There are lots of ways to get answers in the membership. You can post a question in our private community and I'll get back to you there, record a video answer for you, or invite you to a 1:1 consult for particularly tricky issues.
Join our monthly coaching calls (held on a weekday around the middle of the month at 11am and 5pm Pacific), or watch the recording at your convenience.
I'm a Co-Active Coach, and will work with you to offer the help you need in the way you need it: from brainstorming potential solutions to a conversation where we uncover your true needs and desires and how these influence your child's learning.
Slowing Down
& Being in Community
& Being in Community
Member Anne had a preschool-aged son and a toddler when she joined in 2022.
Here's a mini-interview where she describes the shift she's seen - in her son, and in her:
Here's a mini-interview where she describes the shift she's seen - in her son, and in her:
Jen: What was your son interested in, and what was that like for you before you joined the membership?
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Anne: He loved trains and LEGO and having books read to him. The hardest part was that I had an idea of what these activities should look like - when he was interested in jigsaws we requested some for his birthday. And I'd get quite intense and invested in doing them, but he had moved on.
I knew it was his precious childhood, but I found it difficult to feel at ease or know how to develop my role was when I didn't always want to sit down and just play.
I knew it was his precious childhood, but I found it difficult to feel at ease or know how to develop my role was when I didn't always want to sit down and just play.
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Jen: How did that shift once you joined the membership?
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Jen: How did that shift once you joined the membership?
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Anne: One day I sat on the sofa with a notebook and pen and observed his play with LEGOs. I realized that there was SO MUCH going on - he was interested in solar power, and how things move that he worked through during his play with LEGOs.
I know sometimes parenting can feel a bit tedious, but having the membership community there for me helped to give me the motivation to do simple exercises and try new things out, because then I knew I could ask you and other members about what I was seeing.
Being in the community made almost everything seem really interesting! And when I did get stuck I asked for help, and I got really high quality comments back from you and other members, which helped me get unstuck again.
I know sometimes parenting can feel a bit tedious, but having the membership community there for me helped to give me the motivation to do simple exercises and try new things out, because then I knew I could ask you and other members about what I was seeing.
Being in the community made almost everything seem really interesting! And when I did get stuck I asked for help, and I got really high quality comments back from you and other members, which helped me get unstuck again.
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Jen: What kinds of learning explorations are you working on now?
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Jen: What kinds of learning explorations are you working on now?
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Anne: There's a meadow behind our house and my son wanted to look for ants. He started to look in muddy ground but I managed to not say anything, and we didn't find any for a while. I tried to not feel discouraged, and asked him what kinds of places we'd found ants before.
We sat down for snacks and suddenly realized how much birdsong we could hear! It was interesting for me as a city-based dweller to very slowly, through this experience, realize how many senses we have shut off and start to wake them up to see what was there. So I was learning too!
My son found one ant and was chasing it around, but I suggested we put a clump of soil in a jar and suddenly we had lots. But even if we hadn't found any we could have come back another day. I know I have a tendency to want to things to happen quickly but I've realized that if my child isn't generating the interest, I'm going too fast.
We sat down for snacks and suddenly realized how much birdsong we could hear! It was interesting for me as a city-based dweller to very slowly, through this experience, realize how many senses we have shut off and start to wake them up to see what was there. So I was learning too!
My son found one ant and was chasing it around, but I suggested we put a clump of soil in a jar and suddenly we had lots. But even if we hadn't found any we could have come back another day. I know I have a tendency to want to things to happen quickly but I've realized that if my child isn't generating the interest, I'm going too fast.
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Jen: Why do you keep doing it? What's the draw for you?
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Jen: Why do you keep doing it? What's the draw for you?
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Anne: We have so many fantastic moments! It helps me to see my child in a wonderful light, and it really fuels connection! When you're having those connecting moments it makes all those other things parents have to do so much easier.
What Families Are Saying...
What Families Are Saying...
"My children are in school, and the information in the Learning Membership is totally different than what I would naturally seek out.
I really appreciate how it is presented here.
I love finding inspiration in the membership; it has definitely helped me to be less directly instructive and do better at observing."
Kathryn D.
We had tried preschool and it really didn’t work for our family, so I signed up for the Learning Membership so I could feel more confident about keeping my daughter home.
The concept of child-led learning really resonates with me but it's easy for me to put my interests and agenda ahead of hers, so it helps to have a framework to keep me in check.
I also really appreciate feeling like we're part of a larger movement in the field of education, that more families are gravitating towards a way of educating kids that really prepares them for life, not tests.
The concept of child-led learning really resonates with me but it's easy for me to put my interests and agenda ahead of hers, so it helps to have a framework to keep me in check.
I also really appreciate feeling like we're part of a larger movement in the field of education, that more families are gravitating towards a way of educating kids that really prepares them for life, not tests.
Valeria P.
I signed up mostly to support my work in STEM education, but I also want to support my own child’s learning. Now I’m happy we found a fun way to spend quality time together that is so in line with my values.
We had such a fun day this past weekend chasing down information on butterfly life cycles and forest fires. I had no idea what he was capable of learning at only 3.5 years. I’m blown away by what I’ve learned in the membership and in how my son’s learning is coming to life.
Anne H.
I knew I was interested in child-led learning, but I had no idea how to implement it with my toddler. What was all this stuff about documenting my kid's experience? It was a black box. Then I saw the Learning Membership and immediately knew... this was the guidance I was looking for.
The membership has helped me see my child's learning in a new light. Play that was just play I now see as learning, and I'm getting better at extending that learning in a non-intrusive way.
The membership has helped me see my child's learning in a new light. Play that was just play I now see as learning, and I'm getting better at extending that learning in a non-intrusive way.
Maria H.
I had realized that a traditional public school was not working for my son, and while we were lucky to find a much better alternative, I wanted to figure out how I could help to preserve both my children's intrinsic love of learning at home.
My children's creativity and excitement over learning has been exploding. Now we have no shortage of meaningful activities to fill our days for weeks or even months to come.
The membership has put me in a position where I can turn lemons into lemonade.
Sara N.
Now I find that I am answering my children’s questions in a more open way. Sometimes this is with another question, other times it may just be a more vague, open-ended answer. It’s a change that sounds so basic and common sense when I think about it now, but I needed that extra bump from the membership to actually make me realize and apply it.
Ginelle C.
I joined because I have long felt that my ability to take learning to a deeper level, beyond the initial curiosity and overview stage, was weak. What the membership offers is so precisely what I have been wanting support and guidance in learning that I couldn't not sign up!
I love the community aspect - hearing from others who have similar ideas about child led-learning is such a pleasure. It is also valuable to hear about the various directions people can go when they start from the place of following their child's interest.
I also like that the content provides a structure to my rather drifting and unfocused approach to learning that doesn't conflict with my beliefs about learning being something that should and does come from within the child.
Ayla H.
I was already a homeschooling mom and had been doing research on the various education styles for years, but all of these ideas were kind of swimming around in my head like Jell-O that wouldn’t quite congeal. I had a vague idea of what I wanted our homeschool experience to look like but I was also being pulled by outside expectations and preconceived notions.
I had been following YPM for a while and felt like I could really trust the information coming out of it. The Learning Membership felt like permission from someone I trusted to make the right decisions, based on all her knowledge and research skills. I knew this is what I’d been waiting for. Permission to really pursue what I knew to be right.
This membership was the final push I needed to shift my thinking from what I’ve been told my whole life to what I knew to be right in my gut. I feel more confident in my decisions now as an educator and I can more easily ignore the naysayers and doubters. Whenever I start to doubt myself I can look back through the community or our learning journal, take a deep breath, and know we’re just winding our way through our own path and that it won’t look like anyone else’s. That reassurance has been a blessing during uncertain times.
I had been following YPM for a while and felt like I could really trust the information coming out of it. The Learning Membership felt like permission from someone I trusted to make the right decisions, based on all her knowledge and research skills. I knew this is what I’d been waiting for. Permission to really pursue what I knew to be right.
This membership was the final push I needed to shift my thinking from what I’ve been told my whole life to what I knew to be right in my gut. I feel more confident in my decisions now as an educator and I can more easily ignore the naysayers and doubters. Whenever I start to doubt myself I can look back through the community or our learning journal, take a deep breath, and know we’re just winding our way through our own path and that it won’t look like anyone else’s. That reassurance has been a blessing during uncertain times.
Rachel D.
Growing up, I was taught not to ask questions, so I didn’t develop that skill. I was also raised to put aside my needs, so I don’t have practice at doing that for myself.
I was a very good student in school, following orders and doing my work. I wanted my children to have a completely different learning experience than I had! I so appreciate Jen’s thorough instructions and hand-holding.
I feel more confident because of the shared wisdom of the group, and knowing that Jen is just a question away.
I was a very good student in school, following orders and doing my work. I wanted my children to have a completely different learning experience than I had! I so appreciate Jen’s thorough instructions and hand-holding.
I feel more confident because of the shared wisdom of the group, and knowing that Jen is just a question away.
Sidra A.
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Questions your fellow parents have asked before diving in with the The Learning Membership
Questions your fellow parents have asked before diving in with the The Learning Membership
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1. I’m working full-time, and I have 3 (4/5/+) children. How can I possibly find the time for this?
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1. I’m working full-time, and I have 3 (4/5/+) children. How can I possibly find the time for this?
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I hear you:-)
I hear you! I’m also working (more than) full-time, cook all of our meals and do at least half of the work around the household, and I’m the parent primarily responsible for supporting my daughter’s learning.
It’ll take about an hour a day of working with our children to do about as much as they would be learning in a whole day of school - but if they’re currently not in school, you’d be doing that anyway. And it doesn’t have to be a separate hour with each child - you can spend an hour with one child mostly engaged by themselves while you focus on another, and then switch the next day - or you may find that multiple children are interested in the same topic. This doesn’t have to be a hard-and-fast rule; it can be more on some days and less on others. And it can definitely be less if you’re also using other methods of learning that are more curriculum-driven (although you may find yourself wanting to spend less and less time on those moving forward;-)).
And it will take you a couple of hours a month to read and digest the content of the written Guides; perhaps half that if you choose the video/audio route instead or you’re a fast reader. Add on 30 minutes each week if you join a support group to help you keep taking tiny steps forward on this journey, and you’re looking at 3-4 hours of work for you each month, plus the time you spend directly with your child (which you’d be doing on some aspect of learning anyway).
But if you’re using a curriculum-based approach right now, what you’re probably finding (or will find within the first couple of weeks of using it) is that your child is going to resist some aspect of that work. They won’t want to memorize the words, or they won’t be interested in building an earthquake-resistant structure out of toothpicks and marshmallows with arbitrary rules about how high the ‘building’ must be, but instead they want to invent their own experiment about what it might feel like to be in an earthquake. When this happens, learning gets frustrating - both for you, and for your child. They disengage from a topic that once interested them, and you find you spend most of your time cajoling (or bribing) them to do whatever activity you spent so long setting up. That just creates more stress for both of you.
And what this membership really frees you from is the worry. Worry that your child is ‘falling behind.’ Worry that they’re missing out on some critical opportunity or some critical window during which a certain skill must be learned or the chance to do it is gone forever. Worry that you aren’t doing enough, and that you should be researching gymnastics or judo or French classes right now.
And once these distractions aren’t sucking your mental time and energy, you’ll find you have so much more of those to spend with your child, and on things that are actually meaningful to you.
I hear you! I’m also working (more than) full-time, cook all of our meals and do at least half of the work around the household, and I’m the parent primarily responsible for supporting my daughter’s learning.
It’ll take about an hour a day of working with our children to do about as much as they would be learning in a whole day of school - but if they’re currently not in school, you’d be doing that anyway. And it doesn’t have to be a separate hour with each child - you can spend an hour with one child mostly engaged by themselves while you focus on another, and then switch the next day - or you may find that multiple children are interested in the same topic. This doesn’t have to be a hard-and-fast rule; it can be more on some days and less on others. And it can definitely be less if you’re also using other methods of learning that are more curriculum-driven (although you may find yourself wanting to spend less and less time on those moving forward;-)).
And it will take you a couple of hours a month to read and digest the content of the written Guides; perhaps half that if you choose the video/audio route instead or you’re a fast reader. Add on 30 minutes each week if you join a support group to help you keep taking tiny steps forward on this journey, and you’re looking at 3-4 hours of work for you each month, plus the time you spend directly with your child (which you’d be doing on some aspect of learning anyway).
But if you’re using a curriculum-based approach right now, what you’re probably finding (or will find within the first couple of weeks of using it) is that your child is going to resist some aspect of that work. They won’t want to memorize the words, or they won’t be interested in building an earthquake-resistant structure out of toothpicks and marshmallows with arbitrary rules about how high the ‘building’ must be, but instead they want to invent their own experiment about what it might feel like to be in an earthquake. When this happens, learning gets frustrating - both for you, and for your child. They disengage from a topic that once interested them, and you find you spend most of your time cajoling (or bribing) them to do whatever activity you spent so long setting up. That just creates more stress for both of you.
And what this membership really frees you from is the worry. Worry that your child is ‘falling behind.’ Worry that they’re missing out on some critical opportunity or some critical window during which a certain skill must be learned or the chance to do it is gone forever. Worry that you aren’t doing enough, and that you should be researching gymnastics or judo or French classes right now.
And once these distractions aren’t sucking your mental time and energy, you’ll find you have so much more of those to spend with your child, and on things that are actually meaningful to you.
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2. How is this different from buying a curriculum?
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2. How is this different from buying a curriculum?
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Well for starters, this isn’t a curriculum :-) What we need to be sure to understand is that curriculum isn’t written for the child’s benefit; it’s written for the parent’s benefit. The child will learn what interests them, whether or not a curriculum tells them to do it. The curriculum really only exists so the parent can point to activities the child has done and say ‘yep; we learned that.’
The same goes for the boxed learning subscription kits, which show up each month with a new project that is completely unrelated to the child’s interests, and teaches them how to build something when all the parts are already pre-cut to the correct length and when precise step-by-step instructions are provided - a skill that’s of limited use in the real world, where we must navigate the limitations of the materials we’re working with and our own individual needs for the project’s outcome.
Other products take an approach that relies heavily on ‘provocations’ or ‘strewing,’ which usually involves setting up Pinterest-worthy activities in the hope that we somehow spark an idea. But as you’ll learn, this approach is highly unlikely to result in much meaningful learning, simply because the provocations aren’t connected to something that already interests the child. (Imagine waking up to a provocation completely unconnected to your own interests that your spouse had set up for you after you went to bed!)
Our child doesn’t need that process. When we can listen sensitively and help the child to form connections across ideas we’ve considered in the past, and help them to gauge the quality of resources they’re learning from, and know how to consider multiple perspectives, and see how failure is actually a good thing, they will learn the important 6 Cs skills and the 54 DELTAs from your joint explorations of their own interests.
Simply put, there is no other resource available that’s based on such a deep knowledge and vision of children’s learning, and translates that into practical tools that real parents just like you are using to support their own children’s learning.
The same goes for the boxed learning subscription kits, which show up each month with a new project that is completely unrelated to the child’s interests, and teaches them how to build something when all the parts are already pre-cut to the correct length and when precise step-by-step instructions are provided - a skill that’s of limited use in the real world, where we must navigate the limitations of the materials we’re working with and our own individual needs for the project’s outcome.
Other products take an approach that relies heavily on ‘provocations’ or ‘strewing,’ which usually involves setting up Pinterest-worthy activities in the hope that we somehow spark an idea. But as you’ll learn, this approach is highly unlikely to result in much meaningful learning, simply because the provocations aren’t connected to something that already interests the child. (Imagine waking up to a provocation completely unconnected to your own interests that your spouse had set up for you after you went to bed!)
Our child doesn’t need that process. When we can listen sensitively and help the child to form connections across ideas we’ve considered in the past, and help them to gauge the quality of resources they’re learning from, and know how to consider multiple perspectives, and see how failure is actually a good thing, they will learn the important 6 Cs skills and the 54 DELTAs from your joint explorations of their own interests.
Simply put, there is no other resource available that’s based on such a deep knowledge and vision of children’s learning, and translates that into practical tools that real parents just like you are using to support their own children’s learning.
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3. Is there going to be anything here that I can’t find for free online?
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3. Is there going to be anything here that I can’t find for free online?
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There’s actually very little high quality information available online on how children learn, and on what your role as a parent should be in that process if you’re not explicitly trying to teach them something.
Yes, you can learn how to do ‘strewing’ and set up ‘provocations’ in many places - they are pretty and Instagramable and most bloggers don’t know (or care) that when used in this way they don’t actually help a child to learn very much.
It would be extremely difficult and time-consuming to try to replicate the resources I’ve found here, and potentially impossible if you don’t have access to peer-reviewed journal articles.
Your time is already so precious - why waste it searching for the ingredients to make the triple chocolate double fudge layer cake when one that’s been made just how you like it is right here?
Yes, you can learn how to do ‘strewing’ and set up ‘provocations’ in many places - they are pretty and Instagramable and most bloggers don’t know (or care) that when used in this way they don’t actually help a child to learn very much.
It would be extremely difficult and time-consuming to try to replicate the resources I’ve found here, and potentially impossible if you don’t have access to peer-reviewed journal articles.
Your time is already so precious - why waste it searching for the ingredients to make the triple chocolate double fudge layer cake when one that’s been made just how you like it is right here?
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4. How does the membership actually work?
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4. How does the membership actually work?
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You’ll receive a new module of content at the beginning of each month (or join with an annual membership to receive immediate access to all content). Read, watch, or listen - the same content is available in multiple formats to support you in how you learn best.
When you have questions, submit them in our private community of parents who are walking this path alongside you. I’ll respond in one of three ways: with a quick clarification right on your post, with a video to explain something more in-depth, or with an offer to join a 1:1 consult to dig deeply into a multi-faceted issue (which is recorded to share with other members).
When you have questions, submit them in our private community of parents who are walking this path alongside you. I’ll respond in one of three ways: with a quick clarification right on your post, with a video to explain something more in-depth, or with an offer to join a 1:1 consult to dig deeply into a multi-faceted issue (which is recorded to share with other members).
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5. Do you offer any kind of discount?
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5. Do you offer any kind of discount?
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I experimented with offering hardship discounts when I opened the group last year and the one thing that I have learned since then is that the people who pay a deeply discounted rate rarely participate in a way that allows them to really get the benefits that the group offers if you are fully engaged. I think you need some ‘skin in the game’ to see the value that doing this kind of work can bring.
That said, having studied inequality for a couple of years now, I would never want the group to be truly inaccessible to someone who feels it will really benefit them. If joining the group would strongly benefit you but the price would take meals out of your children’s mouths, then please email me at support@yourparentingmojo.com to (briefly) explain your situation and I’ll do what I can to accommodate you.
That said, having studied inequality for a couple of years now, I would never want the group to be truly inaccessible to someone who feels it will really benefit them. If joining the group would strongly benefit you but the price would take meals out of your children’s mouths, then please email me at support@yourparentingmojo.com to (briefly) explain your situation and I’ll do what I can to accommodate you.
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6. Who will benefit most from this membership?
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6. Who will benefit most from this membership?
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The membership is geared toward parents of children who are old enough to ask questions, through the end of elementary school. If you like to be prepared (and want to be sure you won’t have to adjust your approach once your child is old enough to ask questions, feel free to join when they are a bit on the young side, but know that you’ll be preparing for the future rather than practicing today.
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7. I’d like to join with my spouse / co-parent / grandparent / nanny. Do I have to pay the monthly fee twice/multiple times?
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7. I’d like to join with my spouse / co-parent / grandparent / nanny. Do I have to pay the monthly fee twice/multiple times?
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No! The monthly fee covers you and any other member of your family/caregiving team who regularly interacts with your children. After you sign up, please send an email to support@yourparentingmojo.com with the names and email addresses of the additional individual(s) who will need access and I will set up user accounts for them, which will also get them access to the private community.
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8. Will my subscription auto-renew?
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8. Will my subscription auto-renew?
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Yes - for your convenience, your subscription will auto-renew each month if you're a monthly member, and each year if you're an annual member. After 12 months of membership you'll automatically drop to the lower 'maintenance' rate of $25/month or $250/year without you needing to do a thing. Cancel anytime you like and retain access to the content, community, and group coaching calls until the end of your current billing period.
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9. I’m really still not sure if this is right for me/my child. How can I decide?
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9. I’m really still not sure if this is right for me/my child. How can I decide?
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If you’ve read this far, it’s probably because something about this approach is calling to you, but you’re experiencing what psychologists call ‘cognitive dissonance,’ because of the difference between it and how you learned in school. Many current members did very well in school, and have a hard time reconciling their desire for their children to also do well in school with new ideas about this interest-led learning approach.
If you were my coaching client, I’d advise you to use the following ideas to help you make your decision:
- Ask your logical left brain: What was my experience like in school? Why did I have the experience I had? What qualities did this experience instill in me that make my life easier/more difficult now?
- Ask your intuitive right brain and your body: When I bring to mind the idea of using my child’s learning to guide my interests, what comes up? If you feel something like excited and maybe also nervous (because this approach is so different from what you know), those are good signs. We are taught to ignore our intuition in favor of rational arguments, but our physical sensations can tell us a lot about our experience if we know how to listen.
- Ask both your logical left brain and intuitive right brain/body: What’s holding me back? Are you worried that you won’t fit into the community? Do you wonder if your child really needs this? Do you even have the time to spend on this? You might consider doing some journaling on the questions that come up for you to understand what’s really behind your concerns.
(And I will say that even the profound introverts have found a home here; your child doesn’t need this and will be fine without it, but their experience of life-long learning will be very different without it, and you do have the time - we have single parents and parents working full-time with several young children who make it happen. Your left brain’s job is to bring up objections to keep you on the tried-and-true path, so be sure to give equal weight to what your gut says about whether this is right for your family.) - Consider your long-term goals for your child’s learning. What about the way they’re learning now do you want to maintain/do more of? What (if anything) do you want to put less emphasis on? If your goal is to raise a child with an intrinsic love of learning, are the ways that your child is learning now likely to help you achieve this goal? If not, do you have the knowledge and support to make this shift by yourself?
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