“It was as if my long-term students and I were taking a long journey by ship and it was my fault that, in the parlance of the controversial education law, William was being left behind.”
Sources for: A Gift of Wonder, A True Story Showing School as it Should Be
Ordering options: Click here to order from Amazon. Click here to order from the publisher Scroll to the end to buy a signed copy from the author. More about A Gift of Wonder: Perhaps, long ago, a teacher made a difference in your life. She took the time to support you as an individual and made learning come alive. Your…
This is how to help children find their moral compass
Writing in The Atlantic, Paul Barnwell says that students today have a “broken moral compass” because “The pressures of national academic standards have pushed character education out of the classroom.” (link below) One of the reasons I wrote A Gift of Wonder was to share a picture in which character education is integrated with academics. I discovered that this approach…
A Story for Parents and Teachers to Tell
At the start of the school year teachers and homeschoolers plan out their year, listing fun math projects, great sweeps of history to share, music to sing and stories to tell. As we look ahead to the fall we anticipate the dimming of the light, perhaps an autumn gale or two and weather growing ever colder. This turning of the…
Beginners Use More Resources
The Power of Observation
Take a full day to simply observe your child or your student. Above all do not judge as you observe. Notice the way she rises from a chair. Listen closely to her laughter. Does he step lightly or do his feet pound heavily? Listen to her speech. Is she loud or soft spoken? What causes him to appear content, afraid…
A Yearning for What We Have Lost
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The Power of That Which is Real
What Would You Add To These Goals for Parenting and Teaching?
We can renew our parenting and teaching through What would you add to this list? Please add your suggestions in comments. I will include some crowd sourced suggestions in future versions of this post. (Note: If you would like your comments considered for addition to this post, please click on the post to add your comments within the blog. Thank you.…
Children of the Light: a story for children
Recently, I was asked whether I had written any stories appropriate for the second grade block in a Waldorf school or homeschool that features tales about exemplary people. I wrote this story and told it before the November festival of Martinmas which is a time when the year turns toward outer darkness and we are reminded of the importance of…
An Accidental Discovery that Sparks Curiosity and Turbocharges Learning
Does photosynthesis work the same in underwater plants as land plants? This perceptive query about photosynthesis asked in a fifth grade botany class led to one of those moments when curiosity electrified our classroom. When I admitted I didn’t know the answer yet, my students gave me an assignment. “Will you find out and tell us?” By fourth…
