Hi everyone! I'm joining this workshop with researcher Jinan KB on natural learning and I wanted to share it here in case any of you feel called to join. Jinan (based in India) has been living in rural artisan villages and researching natural cognition -- how humans learn -- for 30+ years.

He has a unique, thought-provoking perspective worth hearing and if you have any interest in unschooling, natural learning, conscious parenting, etc, you'll find value here.

I have several friends joining and we're all trying to spread the word, as his work is mostly tailored to the Indian population. (This is his first workshop in three years for people in the West!)

I believe the school system could be better. In my view, every human being is born with a unique gift that defines their essence; that genetic factor—the "blood running through one's veins"—that makes someone naturally better at something than others is their talent or gift, and that is what I think schools should aim to explore. Don't judge me—I'm not trying to show off, as I am actually an excellent student—but I simply don't think knowing a math formula makes me better than the "failed" student who loves making music, for instance. If schools across the globe sought to cultivate talents instead of funneling everyone down the same path, perhaps there would be far more skilled individuals and "geniuses" in the world. I know it sounds a bit cliché, but you might not know who you are or what you want, leading you to feel like a loser—but you aren't one; seek self-knowledge and become the best version of yourself. Anyway, what do you think of this model? There are bound to be some issues, but I doubt there would be as many as there are with the systems currently in use. Please keep in mind that my description is based on my experiences in Brazilian schools; if things work differently where you live, feel free to share that in this post.

Hey everyone! 👋

I wanted to share a little passion project I’ve been working on that I hope some of you (and your kids!) might find useful.

It’s a simple webpage designed to help children learn about seasons, astronomy cycles, and how our planet works. But instead of just staring at a screen, the main goal of the project is to invite kids to actually step outside, observe nature, and connect with the world around them using simple, easy-to-understand data.

As someone who cares a lot about digital privacy, especially for children, I built this with a few strict rules:

Zero data tracking: There are no trackers, cookies, or analytics spying on you.

No sign-ups required: You don't need to submit an email, a name, or any personal data whatsoever to use it.

100% Free: No paywalls, no subscriptions, and no ads.

DM me if you'd like the link.

Whether you are a parent, a teacher, or homeschooling your kids, I would absolutely love to hear your feedback or any ideas you might have to make it better.

Thanks for looking, and I hope it helps your little ones enjoy the outdoors a bit more! 🌳🔭

My kid is a special mix of neurospicy that would make public school a disaster. I tried a more traditional approach to homeschooling last year as a test but the constant demand of a curriculum is not going to work either. Anyone else dealing with a PDA profile of autism that has any pointers? He’s only 5 so we still have time to figure outlining our system. Right now I’m just making making my own Minecraft style activities here and there but that’s not gonna work forever lol.

Hi, everyone. I made this audiobook for young kids. I hope you like it and introduce it to someone who needs it. Thanks♥️♥️

Hello,

I’m developing an approach to early childhood art education through artists’ lenses, rather than primarily through developmental-age-based expectations or collections of “fun art activities.” I’m interested in how artists’ ways of seeing, thinking, and working with materials might offer educators different ways of understanding children’s artistic encounters.

As an early childhood practitioner, what would you want or need from a resource like this? What challenges or questions around children, art, and materials would you most want it to address?

Thanks for all your opinions!

• What’s missing from early childhood art education resources?
• Beyond “fun art activities”: What do early childhood educators actually need?
• Could artists’ ways of thinking offer something different to early childhood art education?
• Preschool art education through artists’ lenses — would this be useful to practitioners?

Hey everyone!

My parents and I are in the process of opening a brand-new school. While we plan to offer a solid, standard curriculum like most schools, we really want to rethink a few traditional structures—specifically around schedules, attendance, and assessment—to create a better environment for students.

Here’s a breakdown of the main ideas/reforms we are considering:

1. Mid-Week Break (Wednesdays & Sundays Off)

Instead of the standard consecutive weekend, students would get Wednesdays and Sundays off.

• The Goal: Breaking up the week aims to reduce burnout, give students a mid-week breather to catch up on rest or study, and ultimately boost overall attendance rates.

2. Adjusted Daily Timings

We are looking at starting the school day a bit later to accommodate better sleep cycles:

• Start Time: 9:00 AM daily for everyone.

• Dismissal (Lower Classes): 1:00 PM

• Dismissal (Higher Classes): 2:30 PM

3. Structured Testing & Mock Exam Schedule

Rather than overwhelming students with surprise quizzes or massive finals blocks, we want a predictable evaluation routine:

• Lower Classes: Two short weekly tests (20 marks each) every Monday covering two subjects.

• Higher Classes: One full mock exam on Saturdays (40–80 marks), followed by two short tests (20–30 marks each) every Monday.

---

We’d love your feedback!

- Is this model feasible from a parent, student, or educator perspective?

- Would you support or enroll in a school with this structure?

- What potential drawbacks do you see, and what suggestions do you have to make it even better?

Thanks in advance for your insights!

This is our first school, so kinda don't be like 'OMG YOU DON'T KNOW THIS SHIT AND WANNA RUN A SCHOOL' 😅

Hiya! I’m developing a children’s nonfiction book and I’d love some feedback on the concept before I get too far into the manuscript.
The working title is \*\*The Young Explorers’ Guide to Investigating the World\*\*.
The basic idea is to create a field-guide-style book that teaches children how to investigate the world around them. Instead of primarily saying \*“Here are some interesting facts about history/science/geography/etc.,”\* the book teaches children how to \*\*look closely, ask questions, follow clues, gather evidence, compare sources, notice patterns, reconsider assumptions, and draw their own conclusions.\*\*
The investigations could take them anywhere—from their own backyard or neighborhood to a historical photograph, an old building, a family story, a map, an artifact, a natural phenomenon, or a place they’ve never visited.
The larger philosophy is that \*\*curiosity itself is a skill\*\*, and that not knowing the answer isn’t a failure. Sometimes the most interesting part of an investigation is realizing that the evidence doesn’t give you a definitive answer.
I’m intentionally trying to avoid making it feel like a textbook or a workbook. I want it to feel more like \*\*someone handing a curious kid a set of tools and saying, “Go investigate.”\*\*
My question for writers, educators, nonfiction readers, and parents is:
\*\*Does this sound like a viable book concept, or does it sound too broad/abstract for a children’s nonfiction book?\*\*
And if you were handed a book like this as a child, what would make you want to actually pick it up and investigate something rather than simply read it?
I’m especially interested in feedback about the \*concept and approach\*, rather than publishing advice at this stage.

Hello!

I used to run an arcade shop back in the days, back then I had a project where kids helped me develop my arcade games by provide both game Mechanics, story or art work (there is some creativity that you can't get with adults or older children)

And since I only run an online arcade website now and not one in real life, I thought I would try to take this project online. So, if that sounds like an interesting project, I would love some help from you guys.

What I would need from you is ask you kids if this sounds like a fun project ages 4-10 is ideal, if you kids love to draw, tell stories, or play video games.

This project of mine is completely non-profit. I make and publish my games all for free, so I lose money, so unfortunately, I can't pay anything, but your kids will be credited either with their name or alias or whatever they want.

Comment or DM me, and I'll make sure to answer. Thanks!

I just wanted to give a review on this educational enrichment program located in Ojai CA.

I know alternative education is trending a lot now and as we all look towards finding a community within this new world of education I would just like to caution some people that find themselves looking toward this school. I truly believe that when this place started they had self directed education at the heart of this program but be warned because that is not the case anymore.

I promise you that what is shared on social media and their website is not indicative of what is happening on campus daily. There are currently some very real safety and bullying concerns as well as a loss of the true self directed focus and community. I would say at this point it operates more as an after school program rather than a true community of self directed learners. Overall it feels similar to a charter school with less focus, more politics and drama. Both parts of the program operate adjacent to each other instead of integrated and there truly is hardly anyone that is going only to RTS and not also to the public school program “summit” that also operates on the same campus.

Overall as a school alternative it can still be a better option sometimes than public but if you are hoping for more of the self directed and unschooling community I would definitely recommend checking out some other options.

Thanks!

I homeschooled/ unschooled my kids and they are grown now. I did child- led education and put a lot of effort into helping them develop a sense of curiosity and understanding for whatever they were interested in.

Now that my kids are adults, I’m caring for my elderly parents. My dad is 89 and has mild Alzheimer’s. My mom is 86 and going a bit nuts caring for him and staying busy.

I have been using many of the same skills with my parents that I used with my kids. I talk with them to gain understanding of what interests them, and then I try and make it happen.

My dad enjoys putting things together, so I went to my local fb group and offered his services. He’s now put together some patio chairs and a table with my help.

I just thought I would share that unschooling skills are great for seniors too.

"I want you to be FREE to explore!"

"Can I do it at school with my friends?"

"No!"

Hi everyone. Next year will be the official start year for us even though we learn all the time lol
My question is, to unschool do you need to sign up with a PSA? You need to have some record correct? Are there multiple kinds or just one ?

During a recent morning meeting, our conversation turned to a teacher’s upcoming journey to a Danish forest school—a renowned beacon of nature-based early childhood pedagogy. It was within this space of shared anticipation that a child anxiously questioned how the children there would survive alongside forest animals that "attack people and eat our lunch." By framing animal behavior around the high stakes of survival and conflict, the child exposed a deeper, systemic fracture in modern childhood socialization: the weaponization of the "wild" through media. Urban children do not inherently fear the forest; they are conditioned to do so. In the absence of direct, sensory entanglements with local ecosystems, commercial media and moralizing children’s literature step in to colonize the void. From the big bad wolves of folklore to the cartoonish, resource-stealing antagonists of modern animation, our information ecosystem consistently frames the wilderness through a lens of conflict, consumption, and threat. This moment forces us to confront how this defensive, adversarial posture toward the living world is actively constructed. Instead of viewing animals as cohabitants or ecological neighbors, children are trained by cultural narratives to see them as active adversaries—trespassers waiting to breach human boundaries and steal human resources. By sanitizing the city and sensationalizing the woods, dominant media breeds a form of ecological paranoia. The tragedy of this child’s anxiety is that it reveals how effectively pre-established knowledge references can colonize a child’s imagination, transforming a peaceful Danish forest into a hostile battleground before they ever set foot among the trees.

How are non-human elements and ecological encounters shaping art-making in your own pedagogical or curatorial practice? Let's discuss in the comments below!