Learning

‘What we want to see is the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.’

George Bernard Shaw

Anna Dusseau | The Science of Growing Old: Why Homeschooling is Good for Your Brain | 11th March 2020

What did Helen Mirren say about ageing, again? ‘You only have two options in life: die young or get old. There is nothing else.’ Ouch, Helen! Surely not? Although I suppose what she means is that we are all, inevitably, getting older because – well – there’s actually no alternative, right? Wrong. Or at least, wrong if you’re Yoko Ono who believes that ‘some people are old at 18 and some people are young at 90. Time is a concept that humans created.’ Continue reading..

Anna Dusseau | The Reading Nest: A Study in Multisensory Learning | 16th March 2020

My kids have this annoying habit of dismantling the furniture. How it came to be that these pint-sized people have the strength and determination before breakfast to transform our old leather sofa into a fortress, I don’t honestly know, but this is how I often find the kitchen arranged at 7am on a Monday morning when I make my way blearily over to the Nespresso machine. But there’s more. Much more, actually. Continue reading..

Anna Dusseau | The Definitive Reading List if You’re Just Starting Out | 10th March 2020

First off, I want to say that this is not actually a list. Apologies for the title. My blogging guru Elna Cain told me readers love lists, so I thought this would make a catchy title; however, like everything in homeschooling, I found myself writing this post a bit..differently? The list just didn’t come. Because, you see, the journey of education and lifelong learning is different for everyone and, as ridiculous as it was when I was working in secondary schools and would choose the GCSE exam spec and then ‘deliver’ English Literature via the list of prescribed texts, so it would be equally ridiculous to suggest that I could write a comprehensive curriculum for your home educated family. Continue reading..

Anna Dusseau | Our Homeschool Timetable: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly | 27th March 2020

Boy, this week has been tough! I wish I could say otherwise. In spite of the glorious sunshine, I would describe yesterday in particular as one gigantic clusterfuck with tiny moments of magic along the way. A metaphor for life, you say? Oh, come on now; surely you’re not out of pasta already? But it is certainly true that families are all under abnormal strain right now. Continue reading..

Anna Dusseau | Homeschool Rules #3: The Global Classroom | 1st April 2020

Whatever your experience prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, times have changed and we are now all part of a global think tank. I realised this the other day. In a single morning, we video called our old friends in Capetown, a worldschooling family in Barcelona who we are collaborating with, and joined a Zoom lesson with our local homeschool music group and choir. Continue reading..

Anna Dusseau | Homeschool Rules #5: Creative Play | 3rd April 2020

Teenwolf and I have this game we like to play. Wow wow WOW sweet child of mine! Wash your mouth out with soap and water, for goodness’ sake; this is a family blog. Okay, so this PG-rated game is called ‘where will we be this time next year?’ and we don’t play it very often in truth, as the kids aren’t major fans. Continue reading..

Anna Dusseau | Can You Make My Child a Reader? Yes. | 22nd April 2020

Hi Anna, I am new to homeschooling with my kids. I’ve got a 6 year old daughter and 3 year old son. My daughter is in Grade 1. Please can you give me some advice getting her to read? She can read slowly but she spells it and I am trying to make her come out of that. I also don’t feel like she enjoys reading. Many thanks, Aliyah Continue reading..

Anna Dusseau | Why Many Parents Homeschool Because of Bullying (and That’s Okay) | 6th May 2020

I am watching my children play in the garden. I know, in these challenging times, we are lucky to have a garden at all. But what I notice right now is the total, undiluted freedom of my six year old daughter as she tears after her younger brothers, terrifying them both with blasts of imaginary flame from her dragon nostrils. She wouldn’t have done this a year ago. Continue reading..

Anna Dusseau | One For The Dads | 7th May 2020

I am conscious that this feels like a female space. Not blogging per se, but the world of parent blogging. Wait, scrap that. Parenting full stop. Biologically and statistically, it’s us girls who take the longer maternity leave, join the groups, swap numbers, come home with armfuls of ‘gentle sleep training’ books borrowed from our new best friend (who still can’t get her baby to sleep), and it starts there. Continue reading..

Anna Dusseau | Billie Eilish, Broccoli, and Baking | 21st May 2020

Waiting to be published. Nearly there, promise.. ; )

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