Research-based ideas
to help kids thrive
Helping to support your child's intrinsic love of learning -
the preschool years and beyond!
Suitable for children old enough to ask questions through the end of elementary school. Perfect for parents, caregivers, teachers and pandemic pod leaders - whether you are homeschooling, thinking about homeschooling, doing Zoom-School or attending school in person.
Reopening Sept. 2022!
Whether your child is in school and you're looking to supplement their learning, or you're homeschooling - either short or long term - get the tools, support, & confidence to foster your child's intrinsic love of learning, while having fun too. It's easier than you think.
Suitable for parents with children old enough to ask questions through the end of elementary school
Brought to you by Jen Lumanlan (M.S., M.E.d.) of the Your Parenting Mojo Podcast and Parenting Membership
Whether your child is in school and you're looking to supplement their learning, or you're homeschooling - either short or long term - get the tools, support, & confidence to foster your child's intrinsic love of learning, while having fun too. It's easier than you think.
You Are Your Child's
Best Teacher
Do you want your child to have a life-long love of learning?
Most parents do.
So we buy them books (so many books!); special toys to teach them critical skills like coding;
monthly subscription kits to teach them about STEM topics, travel, cooking…
We used to take them to museums, music classes, gymnastics...if those are now closed, we
search in vain for activities that will keep them occupied for longer than it took to set up the
activity in the first place, in a desperate attempt to keep them off screens.
And we teach them what we know
Do you want your child to have a life-long love of learning?
Most parents do.
So we buy them books (so many books!); special toys to teach them critical skills like coding;
monthly subscription kits to teach them about STEM topics, travel, cooking…
We used to take them to museums, music classes, gymnastics...if those are now closed, we
search in vain for activities that will keep them occupied for longer than it took to set up the
activity in the first place, in a desperate attempt to keep them off screens.
And we teach them what we know
But what if these things we've been doing with our children were not only not supporting their love of learning, but were actually working against it?
More than 80 years ago, renowned philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer John Dewey observed:
"The most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning."
More than 80 years ago, renowned philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer John Dewey observed:
"The most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning."
Yet two psychologists, Mark Lepper and Melinda Hodell wrote in 1989:
"The young child, outside of school seems blessed with a seemingly limitless curiosity, a thirst for knowledge, a will to learn...
Observe these same children a few years later, however, as they sit in elementary-school classrooms, and one sees a different picture. For many of these children, motivation is now a problem.
Attention strays; minds wander. Extrinsic sanctions are now required to motivate children to learn their assigned lessons..."
So What Happened
?
If we know that intrinsic motivation to learn – learning simply for the love of learning – is so important, why are so many of our students unmotivated to learn in school?
It turns out that parents may be at the start of this process, when we do three things:
1) We tell them to stop asking us questions so we can have a moment's peace
2) We continually direct their attention to things we think they should find interesting
3) We tell them everything we know about a topic, not what THEY want to know
It turns out that parents may be at the start of this process, when we do three things:
1) We tell them to stop asking us questions so we can have a moment's peace
2) We continually direct their attention to things we think they should find interesting
3) We tell them everything we know about a topic, not what THEY want to know
It continues in school, where children quickly learn that it’s the teacher’s job to ask questions, and students are rewarded for supplying the (correct) answer as quickly as possible.
Research has shown that by about second grade, most children have stopped asking questions about what interests them and instead just want to know whether they need to complete an activity and if so, how to do it.
It continues in school, where children quickly learn that it’s the teacher’s job to ask questions, and students are rewarded for supplying the (correct) answer as quickly as possible.
Research has shown that by about second grade, most children have stopped asking questions about what interests them and instead just want to know whether they need to complete an activity and if so, how to do it.
This has led to what researchers Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman have called:
The Creativity Crisis
While IQ scores are consistently inching up, we are becoming less and less creative
This has led to what researchers Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman have called:
The
Creativity Crisis
While IQ scores are consistently inching up, we are becoming less and less creative
While many of the careers our children will participate in haven’t been invented yet,
Drs. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Golinkoff say we do know what kinds of skills they will need to succeed:
Communication
Collaboration
Content
(this is where school focuses)
Critical Thinking
Creative Innovation
Confidence
For the most part, while teachers try their very best in an environment where they get to make few real decisions and current constraints make activities like team projects impossible, these are not skills that are taught or valued in school.
While many of the careers our children will participate in haven’t been invented yet, Drs. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Golinkoff say
we do know what kinds of skills they will need to succeed:
Communication
Collaboration
Content
(this is where school focuses)
Critical Thinking
Creative Innovation
Confidence
For the most part, while teachers try their very best in an environment where they get to make few real decisions and current constraints make activities like team projects impossible, these are not skills that are taught or valued in school.
How can we help our children to develop these skills?
We need to start early (when they start 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.
How can we help our children to develop these skills?
We need to start early (when they start 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.
The Supporting Your Child's
Learning Membership will help you to:
Identify your child’s true interests
(not just the random ones they will announce if you ask)
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
Become a facilitator who connects your child with the resources they need to answer their own questions
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!)
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)
Communicate what they have learned to communities who care
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 Supporting Your Child's Learning
Membership will help you to:
Identify your child’s true interests (not just the random ones they will announce if you ask)
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
Become a facilitator who connects your child with the resources they need to answer their own questions
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!)
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)
Communicate what they have learned to communities who care
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)
This is not as hard as most think; it's actually fun too
Sara's two children are making the most of school shutdowns
"My children's creativity and excitement over learning has been exploding. Until COVID hit our community, my only concern was that we would never get to all the projects we thought of based on their interests.
Now home from school, 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.
Sara's two children are making the most of school shutdowns
"My children's creativity and excitement over learning has been exploding. Until COVID hit our community, my only concern was that we would never get to all the projects we thought of based on their interests.
Now home from school, 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.
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 having fun while you're doing it.
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 having fun while you're doing it.
- 5 easy steps explained -
1
2
3
4
5
Sign Up to unlock membership benefits
Receive a new module of content each month (or pay for a year up-front to access 12 modules at once)
Begin engaging your child in new ways of learning, by offering support rather than by 'teaching'
Get support through our private (not on Facebook!) community, video Q&As, small group peer coaching, and occasional 1:1 consults
Know that your child is developing critical skills: a love of learning, and knowledge about how to learn
Sign Up to unlock membership benefits
Receive a new module of content each month (or pay for a year up-front to access 12 modules at once)
Begin engaging your child in new ways of learning, by offering support rather than by 'teaching'
Get support through our (not on Facebook) private community, video Q&As, small group peer coaching, and occasional 1:1 consults
Know that your child is developing critical skills: a love of learning, and knowledge about how to learn
What will I learn?
Getting Started
Your First Learning Exploration
Using Nature as a Muse
9 Additional Topics
Help Be the Guide on the Side
9 Additional Topics
Help Be the Guide on the Side
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.
To make sure you're on the right track, we'll also have coaching calls for the first three months (during mornings and evenings Pacific time, to accommodate all time zones). Join live or submit your question in advance to listen to the recording later.
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 in a difficult family interaction - and how to meet these while also meeting the needs and desires of your other family members.
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.
To make sure you're on the right track, we'll also have coaching calls for the first three months (during mornings and evenings Pacific time, to accommodate all time zones). Join live or submit your question in advance to listen to the recording later.
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 in a difficult family interaction - and how to meet these while also meeting the needs and desires of your other family members.
Try all the benefits - for FREE!
I'm so sure you'll fall in love with the intentional community of parents inside the Learning Membership, and that you'll learn what you need to feel confident about your role in supporting your child's learning that I want to welcome you for a totally free trial for TWO FULL WEEKS.
Join today and pay absolutely nothing; we'll get started together on October 1. You'll get two full weeks from then to look at the first TWO modules. You'll join our private (not on Facebook) community where you can ask anything you like about your child's learning and get answers in writing, in a video recorded for you, or in a 1:1 consult with Jen.
You can attend one of two orientation calls (convenient to Europe/Africa and Asia/Australia) where we’ll get you settled in the membership, and we’ll have weekly drop-in office hours for the first month for any tech or other challenges you're having. If you like, you can even join a small group for coaching by an experienced peer to break down your goals into manageable next steps.
You can cancel anytime you like in the first two weeks and pay NOTHING. If you’re loving it, you don’t have to do anything and we’ll bill your card for whatever sliding scale pricing option is the best fit for you on October 14.
Try all the benefits - for FREE!
I'm so sure you'll fall in love with the intentional community of parents inside the Learning Membership, and that you'll learn what you need to feel confident about your role in supporting your child's learning that I want to welcome you for a totally free trial for TWO FULL WEEKS.
Join today and pay absolutely nothing; we'll get started together on October 1. You'll get two full weeks from then to look at the first TWO modules. You'll join our private (not on Facebook) community where you can ask anything you like about your child's learning and get answers in writing, in a video recorded for you, or in a 1:1 consult with Jen.
You can attend one of two orientation calls (convenient to Europe/Africa and Asia/Australia) where we’ll get you settled in the membership, and we’ll have weekly drop-in office hours for the first month for any tech or other challenges you're having. If you like, you can even join a small group for coaching by an experienced peer to break down your goals into manageable next steps.
You can cancel anytime you like in the first two weeks and pay NOTHING. If you’re loving it, you don’t have to do anything and we’ll bill your card for whatever sliding scale pricing option is the best fit for you on October 14.
I never want financial issues to be the only reason that people who want to work with me can't work with me...but I also need to pay my bills and my team to give you the support you need to make the changes you want to see.
The value you get out of the membership depends on the work you put in. People who have really engaged with the material say that if they had known before they signed up how much it was going to change their lives they would have paid thousands of dollars to achieve these benefits.
I invite you to select the price of the membership that feels like the best fit for your situation. Your experience inside the membership will be the same no matter what amount you pay.
I never want financial issues to be the only reason that people who want to work with me can't work with me...but I also need to pay my bills and my team to give you the support you need to make the changes you want to see.
The value you get out of the membership depends on the work you put in. People who have really engaged with the material say that if they had known before they signed up how much it was going to change their lives they would have paid thousands of dollars to achieve these benefits.
I invite you to select the price of the membership that feels like the best fit for your situation. Your experience inside the membership will be the same no matter what amount you pay.
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:
Note: I'm indebted to Alexis Cunningham at Worts & Cunning Apothecary for her ideas on sliding scales that I have adopted.
© Jen Lumanlan 2022 - All Rights Reserved
Your Parenting Mojo acknowledges the Lisjan Ohlone people, the rightful stewards of the land on which we live and work. While the Lisjan Ohlone people can never be fully compensated for the harms that the legacy of colonialism has wrought, we pay the Shuumi Land Tax as recognition that more than words are needed, and we encourage others to engage meaningfully (including financially) with their local Indigenous communities.