A criticism of homeschooling is that we are experimenting on our children and their futures by not doing what school does. John Holt, in the above photo, is with his fifth-grade students at the Colorado Rocky Mountain School. He’s an example of a teacher who changed his ideas about schooling by experimenting with his students.
Read MoreThe photo shows the cast and crew of the homeschool, teen-operated Firebird Youth Theater's 2015 production of Alice in Wonderland (photo by Katherine Bourbeau), one of a few theater groups operated by teenagers. I interview teen directors/founders Leo Lion of Firebird and Abby Dickson of Youthquake about their latest shows.
Read MoreTwo conferences to check out this summer: The Education Jam, July 3–9, in Baltimore and the AERO 2017 conference, August 3–6, in Greenvale, NY.
Read MoreBooks about homeschooling tend to be nonfiction and educational in tone, so it is a pleasure to see an increase in novels written by homeschoolers that add fresh perspectives and stories about homeschooling and family life. I want to call out these two novels because they share a common inspiration—John Holt’s writing.
Read MoreJohn Young, a twelfth-grade English teacher, recently contacted me about The Norton Reader, which he uses in his classes and that first introduced John Holt’s thoughts about education to him years earlier. Mr. Young mentioned that Norton was no longer using Holt’s article and he was disappointed in this development . . .
Read MoreOver the last few months we created this series of six videos, handouts, and a private member's forum to help you start and continue homeschooling in your own way. I wrote a new book, How to Report Unschooling to School Officials, as a capstone to this project (you can get the book separately). But you can get a special price on the complete package . . .
Read MorePeople may criticize you for it, but strong evidence continues to emerge that letting your teenager sleep late and do their tasks and learning when they're well rested is a biologically and educationally sound practice. The problem is, school schedules and adult expectations undermine people who want to do this—unless you are homeschooling!
Read MoreThis series of starting to homeschool webinars presents homeschooling as a flexible, vibrant, and social way to learn with children. Homeschooling is an option open to anyone willing to try it. Even if your children are happy in school and you are satisfied with how your home and school work together, it is good to know what your modern educational options are as your family grows up.
Read MoreMoms' Night Out is a Hollywood comedy about three homeschooling mothers' misadventures during a night out. But the co-writer and director has some interesting comments about his life as a homeschooled child . . .
Read MorePat Farenga speaking with French homeschoolers in Paris, July 3, 2013. The similarities and differences between France and the United States about homeschooling are striking.
