Thinking Beyond the 5-Paragraph Essay
Essays can be a good evaluation tool if you’re homeschooling high school but if you get stuck in a read-this-and-write-an-essay rut with your high school homeschooler, try one of these strategies with your high school homeschooler.
Essays can be a good evaluation tool in high school, but if you get stuck in a read-this-and-write-an-essay rut with your high school homeschooler, try one of these strategies with your high school homeschooler.
One challenge homeschoolers run into is how to evaluate your student’s learning — how can you help your student master the art of synthesizing information and expressing her own ideas about it? An essay is the classic approach — and it’s certainly a useful one — but essays can get boring if they’re your go-to for every single class. Here are some alternative evaluation projects to try.
Graphic Novel Adaptation
Transform the information into a graphic novel made of comic strip-style segments. This is ideal when you want to check understanding — do you understand what happened and the order it happened in? — so it can be handy for history or science evaluations. I also like using this method with poetry since thinking about how to illustrate a poem in a series of panels pushes you to think about it in a more nuanced way. This strategy works best when you’re dealing with a narrow, focused topic — trying to illustrate, say, Robinson Crusoe, would be a bigger project than you usually want.
Timeline
Another good option for corralling lots of factual information is the timeline, which can get more sophisticated as students move into higher learning. History timelines are common, but you can also use a timeline to track a novel where the timeline is significant (over years, like One Hundred Years of Solitude, or hours, like Mrs. Dalloway) or to explain a scientific process or concept.
Walking Tour
I love this idea for books where geography matters, like The Odyssey or Ulysses. This project encourages you to think about the significance of place in a very specific way, so it works best if you really push students to work to explain the significance of each place in their walk- ing tour. Instead of thinking about what happens in each place, think about why it matters and what the specifics of that place bring to the theme.
Metaphor Map
These are one of my favorite ways to explore complex ideas, like the categorical imperative, or complex texts, like modern poetry. Student have to really drill down to unify complicated information into one clear metaphor — essentially, coming up with their own creative explanation of a complicated text. The final illustrated metaphor, done well, is often more academically sophisticated than any essay could be.
Annotated Reading Notes
If your goal is to explore a wide range of texts, making comparisons and connections as you go, an annotated reading journal can accomplish that with more nuance and specificity than an essay. The key to doing this successfully is to model a set of annotations for students — if you’ve never done annotations, having a base to work from can be helpful. This is handy in classes like science and history where you’re covering lots of information you want to remember, but you don’t love the idea of giving lots of tests.
Podcast Series
Almost all the skills you need to write a great research essay — researching a topic, developing a thesis, and creating a structured argument around your thesis — come up when you’re creating a podcast. Aim for multiple episodes; ideally, you’ll ask for at least three so that students have a chance to do a proper introduction to the topic and a clear conclusion, but you can pick any number that seems appropriate.
Oral Defense
This one can be stressful for students the first time, but you may be surprised by how enthusiastic they become with a little experience. Basically, you treat your evaluation like a classic dissertation defense: Students prepare to face a panel of advisers (you can include friends, siblings, or just go it solo), and in a directed conversation explain their understanding of a topic, making connections and thinking on their feet to answer the questions posed them.
Homeschool Cooking Class: Georgian Plum Tklapi
Cooking projects can be a great way to explore geography, history, and culture in your secular homeschool.
Sometimes a random rabbit trail can take your homeschool somewhere delicious.
We live in Georgia, and sometimes when we go hunting for information about our state, we turn up information on the country Georgia instead. Discoveries like this always seem to lead up down interesting rabbit trails, and this connection has been no exception. While our Georgia was home to the Creek, Cherokee, and Seminole nations before British colonizers arrived in the 18th century, the Georgia on the other side of the world has played a different role in world history for centuries. Cochis, in Georgia, was the place the Argonauts headed to find the mythical Golden Fleece, the Roman Republic stretched there in the first century BCE, it was part of the Muslim Empire during the 7th century CE, and it was absorbed by and then liberated itself from the Soviet Union in the 20th century. That’s a lot of action!
The other Georgia also has a rich culinary history, and we’re not the kind of homeschoolers who can resist food-based learning. We tried the warm and gooey cheese-stuffed bread called khachapuri, meat-stuffed dumplings called khinkali, and this tklapi, a surprisingly delicious take on fruit roll-ups.
An easy way to dry fruit is to let is sit in the sunshine for two or three days, until its surface is smooth and not sticky. (If you’re drying it outside, bring it in overnight.) If you’d rather (or if the weather is uncooperative), you can also dry your tklapi in a 140° oven for about an hour. It’s done when its surface looks smooth and is no longer sticky to touch.
Plum Tklapi
You need:
7 lbs. plums
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 400°.
2. Wash plums. Cut in half and remove pits. Arrange, cut-side-up on large, rimmed cookie sheets, and roast for 20 minutes, checking frequently. (You want your plums to be soft but not burned.) When plums are soft, remove from oven and let cool completely.
3. In a food processor fitted with a blade attachment, blend plums until smooth. Transfer to large bowl, and sweeten to taste — usually between 1/2 and 3/4 cup of sugar tastes right to us.
4. Lined rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, and carefully pour the pureed plum mixture so that it is between 1/8- and 1/4-inch thick.
5. Let the fruit dry, using your preferred method. Slice into strips with a pizza cutter, and store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
Why Do We Do Science Experiments Someone Else Has Already Done?
There’s value in repeating science experiments other people have already done in your homeschool, but don’t forget to make time for your own science questions, too.
There’s value in repeating experiments, but don’t forget to make time for your own science questions, too.
One of the great things about the rise of the Internet is that you can find any science experiment on YouTube.
Sometimes, I’ll queue up a few versions to show my kids before we tackle an experiment at home. This is handy: We can see how the experiment is supposed to look, so that if something goes wrong, it’s easier to troubleshoot. It also gives the kids an idea of what to expect, which helps them focus on paying attention during the different steps of the experiment. And it’s fun to feel like part of a community of people doing the same experiment — that’s one of the things I miss being a homeschooler instead of a science teacher these days.
But a few weeks ago, when I started another video for a jelly bone experiment we were doing with the Thanksgiving leftovers, my son — he’s 11 — said, “What’s the point?”
“What?” I said.
“We’re not really experimenting to see what happens,” he said. “We already know. It’s already on YouTube like a hundred times. What’s the point?”
I hesitated. There IS a point to repeating experiments — it’s called science. We repeat experiments because every experiment doesn’t work out perfectly, and different scientists may get different results. If we repeat an experiment, we can see whether the results are always true, or sometimes true, or only true once every leap year.
Doing experiments someone else has already done also helps us build our science toolkit. That’s why those YouTube videos are so useful. When we can see how someone else does an experiment, we can develop a good lab technique — and, if things go wrong, seeing where other people went right can help us redo the experiment more successfully.
And, of course, there’s always a chance that repeating an experiment may teach us something new. We could discover something no one else did before. True, that’s unlikely when we’re doing the same strawberry DNA experiment every 5th grader in the country does in science class, but it’s always possible.
All of those are good reasons for repeating experiments, and I started to explain them to my son. Later, I did talk about them. But I didn’t answer him then because I realized that he was asking a scientist’s question.
“That’s true,” I said. “What’s a science question you think we should answer?”
And just like that, our science routine changed. We still do experiments where we know what happens, but I also make a point to do experiments based on our own real-life questions. We experimented to see what ants do when it rains and whether people are more likely to use a trash bin in the park if it has a white bag versus a black bag. Because repeating experiments is important but so it encouraging scientific curiosity.
Misty Heaslet is a middle school science teacher turned homeschool mom. She lives in western North Carolina.
You Are Doing a Lot of Things Right, Homeschool Moms. Remember That.
Instead of noticing only the balls you drop, pay attention to all the ones you’re keeping in the air. Homeschool moms can be so hard on themselves, but we need to celebrate our successes at least as often as we worry about our failures.
“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. ”
It is easy to get lost in the endless to-do lists of homeschooling. We’re always juggling so many things, and all of them are important. With our eyes on the balls we need to pick up next, we miss the magic of the moment — the fact that we’re juggling all of this at all.
Have you ever watched a juggler in action? Our city has an annual juggling festival every February, and we always make time to go. The experienced jugglers, who can casually toss flames and glass and eggs, are totally impressive, but I’m always drawn to the new jugglers on the sidelines, the ones who are still glowing with the excitement of being able to keep three balls going at once. I watch them, and I see the carefulness of their movements, their delight when the balls come down and go up the way they are supposed to. And of course, sometimes I watch their balls fall, and I watch them pick them up and try again.
Homeschooling is a different kind of juggling, but it’s no less a combination of effort and grace, willingness to flex a little while maintaining a steady rhythm. It’s easy to drop those balls sometimes, too. (My Laundry ball has apparently rolled somewhere under the couch, and I may never meet it again.) But I think we spend so much time chasing balls and worrying about dropping balls that we don’t appreciate the most important thing: A lot of the time, we’re keeping all those balls in the air. We’re juggling — maybe not perfectly, maybe not always the way we’d like to, maybe not with fiery batons — but we’re juggling, and that’s a miracle of gravity and skill that we don’t give ourselves enough credit for.
It’s totally fine to push ourselves to do better, to do more, but we have to balance that internal drive with an equally powerful commitment to acknowledging all the things we do right — all the times when we aren’t actively dropping balls. It’s easy to fall into a mindset that focuses on what we’re getting wrong — after all, that’s what we tend to notice. It’s really obvious when a juggler misses a catch, and his balls go spilling across the floor. But pay attention to the times when you’re not missing the ball, too. Pay attention to the many, many moments when you’re juggling, and the balls are staying up. And give yourself the credit you deserve.
Food for Thought
What are you really proud of in your homeschool life right now?
What could you do to celebrate that achievement?
How can you recognize yourself for the work that leads to that achievement?
What If We Educated Our Kids for a Different Version of Success?
What’s the real point of education? The answer to that question can revolutionize your secular homeschool life.
It’s not all about getting into college, even if getting into college is one of your homeschool goals.
“How will they ever learn to listen to their boss if they don’t have to listen to teachers?”
“They’ll never make it in the workforce, you have to do things you don’t like to do and deal with jerks.”
“In the real world you don’t get to do what you want.”
There are a lot of ways that many people seem convinced unschoolers will fail, and most of those reasons lead back to the belief that unschoolers just have it too good. They get to be too happy, too playful, too independent, too creative. If they’re used to living such full and interesting lives, how will they ever manage to knuckle down, obey their superiors, and resign themselves to a job that’s unfulfilling at best, and nearly intolerable at worst?
I think this attitude is an indictment of the current education system (as well as the typical workplace environment and maybe even the current economic system). Unknowingly, people who express concern that unschoolers won’t be able to function in such unpleasant situations are saying just what they think schools are good at: namely, teaching people to function in unpleasant situations.
I should hope that school free learners aren’t holding up, as their greatest vision of success, that their children become good at resigning themselves to unhappiness. I’d hope, instead, that life learners are raising children who will seek to build lives that make them happy.
Is it important to be able to deal with unpleasant people and situations at times? Of course. Sometimes you’re going to have to take a job you don’t like so that you can put food on the table. Sometimes you’ll have to deal with a bully to get something you need.
However, I believe that people are best prepared for challenges such as these when they have a core of self confidence and self respect instead of just being accustomed to putting up with discouraging situations on a daily basis. I’ve always thought unschooling was a good way to help individuals develop a strong sense of what is and isn’t right for them, and to make choices that support the type of life they want to be leading.
There are certain qualities in myself that I try to cultivate and encourage.
A lifelong fascination and excitement about whatever catches my interest at any given time. In other words, a passion for learning that never ends.
A strong ethic of self care and firm boundaries, skills and practices that help me to stay healthy and grounded in a world that can often feel overwhelming.
Caring and empathy for other people, and a focus on educating myself about important issues, seeking with my words and actions to make the world at least a little bit better.
Trust in my own instincts.
Confidence and a feeling of self worth, no matter how much I’m struggling at any given time.
Striving always to keep my passions, dreams, and plans at the forefront, working to build my life based on what I truly want and think is right for me.
I share this because, when I think about my own future children and what I’d want for them, I don’t think about college acceptance or an ability to conform to the values and pressures of the dominant culture. Instead, I think about what I want for myself, and I hope that my someday children will have those qualities in even greater abundance than I’ve managed so far for myself.
Figuring out how to live a life in line with your ideals and values is hard no matter what your educational background. But I like to think that unschooling helps. It’s certainly helped me to trust myself because as I child I was never taught that I was untrustworthy. It’s taught me to value the perfection of flow in learning because having experienced it, I know I need to always seek that out in my adult life as well. It’s taught me to question the supposed “common sense” of the dominant culture, and to develop my own thoughts on various issues for myself. And it’s taught me to always follow my passions because doing so will almost always lead me in the direction of the greatest happiness in my life and the greatest contribution to the world.
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
Let’s cultivate in our life learning journey a version of success based on what makes you come alive.
Secular Homeschool Curriculum Review: Philosophy for Kids
It’s never too early to start studying philosophy in your secular homeschool. Rebecca has the scoop on a resource that helps you get the big conversations started.
Philosophy for Kids: 40 Fun Questions That Help You Wonder about Everything!
Recommended for: Middle School
Four hundred years ago, French Renaissance writer Michel de Montaigne asked society a thoughtful question: “Since philosophy is the art which teaches us how to live, and since children need to learn it as much as we do at other ages, why do we not instruct them in it?”
Tuned-in parents and educators would agree that children are natural philosophers. As a group, young people are highly inquisitive, imaginative, wide-open thinkers. With enthusiasm, they constantly seek opportunities to develop a sense of self and an understanding of the world they inhabit. On many levels, children wrestle, just as philosophers do, with questions of morality, social justice, and human understanding. Oftentimes, they attempt this without a proper context in which to frame their questions.
Even an elementary understanding of philosophy provides the tools our kids need to question and evaluate ideas constructively. Philosophy teaches how to conduct organized and civilized debate. It cultivates appreciation and under- standing of diverse thoughts, and opinions and grows its students into responsible, empathetic, articulate world citizens. Philosophy, it seems, aims to achieve the very goals so many of us aspire to reach each day in our own homeschools.
Philosophy, and the thought-provoking discussions this subject inspires, can lead to deeply satisfying exchanges between you and your child. Fortunately for us, Prufrock Press has published an excellent resource to help families get started — David A. White’s Philosophy for Kids: 40 Fun Questions That Help You Wonder About Everything.
White has been teaching philosophy in colleges and universities since 1967, but clearly he understands the value of providing philosophical understanding to much younger students as well. Written for children ages 10 and older, Philosophy for Kids might also appeal to younger, highly motivated learners who enjoy engaging with thinking of this kind.
Philosophy for Kids is divided into four sections: values, knowledge, reality, and critical thinking. Each of these sections receives a brief overview from the author and is linked to a specific branch of philosophy — ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, and logic. Only one page in length, these introductions set the stage for a series of compelling problems for readers to ponder.
Each of the four sections is accompanied by a series of 10 units that open with questions such as “How do you know who your friends are?,” “Do you perceive things as they are or only as they seem to be?,” “If many people believe that something is true, is it true?,” and “Do you have free will?”. The first 29 questions in these units are connected to the work of a great philosopher. Kids will have fun deciding if they agree with such thinkers as Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates and will also love defending their own divergent beliefs.
To help learners consider all angles of each issue, White provides various exercises that include true or false and multiple choice questions as well as the chance to rank ideas according to the reader’s individual ideology. Although this traditional approach might sound dry to some homeschoolers, in this context the approach works well. The questions are entertaining, fun to wrestle with, and relevant.
Each short lesson closes with a section called “For Further Thought,” providing opportunities for students to delve deeper with more questions and activities. In one unit students are asked, “Can another person understand your feelings?” After completing several exercises addressing this question, students proceed to the “For Further Thought” section to consider “Is language the best way to express our emotions? Would the arts of music or painting represent emotions more vividly and truly? Select a work of music or art and analyze whether or not this work expresses emotions better than language.”
Additional ideas of great writers, mathematicians, orators, poets, and playwrights pepper the pages of this book and are wonderful aids for launching further thoughtful conversations.
The final 60 pages or so of Philosophy for Kids provide teaching tips, a glossary of terms, and helpful suggestions for further reading. Here White’s writing is as straightforward and pleasant to read as the rest of the book. With minimal effort, parents are able to glean excellent suggestions to enhance and facilitate meaningful discussion.
Whether your family chooses to work through this book chronologically or prefers instead to skip around to those questions of greatest interest, it makes no difference. A particularly fun aspect of a curriculum such as this is that it does not have to be a presented using a traditional format. If you like, simply use the material to foster deeper dinner time conversation or to pass time on a long car ride. However you choose to work with the book, your child will likely develop a new approach to critical thinking and have a terrific time in the process!
Philosophy for Kids could easily be adapted for use with one student or with many. I can imagine using this in a homeschool co-op with great results. Although a student could work through this book alone, I suspect an interactive approach would be preferable and loads more fun.
Very little preparation is required to use this book effectively in a homeschool. Parents may wish to read ahead to obtain a better command of the information. However, opening the book and reading it for the first time aloud with your child is absolutely fine. The book is a solid resource that is thorough enough to stand on its own. Especially enthusiastic students might enjoy supplementing with parts of the original texts cited throughout the book or with biographical information about featured philosophers. On average, expect a typical discussion to last 30 minutes or so.
In the introduction of his book, White writes of his desire to “foster a sense of wonder and to aim it in many directions.” It is my belief that the author achieves exactly what he set out to do. Taking subject matter that many might initially find intimidating, White presents philosophy as highly relevant, playful, challenging and fun.
Bottom line: Philosophy for Kids is a thought-provoking resource that will appeal to curious learners who enjoy puzzling over life’s mysteries. As a parent, you are likely to gain new insight into the wonderful ways that your child views the world as you delve into fascinating new subject matter together.
“Sure—Why Not?”: The Power of Trying Something New
One of the benefits of homeschooling is that when curiosity strikes, you can always give it a try, teaching your kids that they have the skills to try everything.
One of the benefits of homeschooling is that when curiosity strikes, you can always give it a try, teaching your kids that they have the skills to try everything.
The holiday break for our family included two trips to the build-it-yourself store (lumber yard), at least four (I lost count) trips to the hardware store, three trips to the recycling center/dump, and one big trip to Goodwill. In short, we built a wall for Christmas (and got a little spring cleaning in as a bonus). All hands were on deck for a remodeling job that turned our small, three-bedroom home into a still small, but four-bedroom home.
But why — some of our friends and family have questioned — when you have one kid with one foot out the door (perhaps) and two more closer to on-their-own than just-beginning would you bother to add a fourth bedroom now? I have no better answer than that it simply seemed to be the right time. All five members of the family were in agreement, so we spent our holiday building a wall.
In fact, our family has talked about creating more space in this old house for years. We’ve spent a considerable amount of time talking about moving to a bigger — or at least a different — house altogether. So many options have been considered. The back porch could have been converted into a small bedroom, or perhaps we could have closed in the side “deck” (which isn’t really a deck at all, but does have a small roof overhang). We’d even talked of a tiny bedroom in the spirit of the tiny house movement, parked in the yard and within easy commute.
But in mid-December, when I mused — “You know, we could move the kitchen table into the (imagine this) kitchen and move the living room furniture into the room where the kitchen table now resides and then put a wall right down the center of the living room with a door and, voila, we’ve got a fourth bedroom!” — that’s when the plan came together.
Anything is possible when the whole crew is on board.
Perhaps I should back up a bit and admit that we aren’t typically a family for whom construction, in the literal sense, is a standard pastime. We read books, we love movies, we take walks, and we sometimes hike. We’ve been known to go camping, though travel most often requires a motel room and a hot shower at the end of the day. It would not be unusual to drop in on us at some random point in time and find someone knitting or weaving or sewing or playing a video game or writing a story... Our kitchen is often in use as we are bakers and love cooking from scratch so much that we often chose eating in over going out when we want to treat ourselves to a special meal.
But actually changing the configuration of our house? Not so much. Our tool selection is limited and our skill set, admittedly, on the shy side. In these situations, I close my eyes and do my best to channel my father (the house I grew up in was in a continual state of remodeling) and perhaps consult a how-to book or a wiki-how site.
“Can we build a wall?” the members of my family asked. “Would it remain standing? Could we put an actual door in it?”
“Sure. Why not?” I said. Those are three very powerful words, I have learned.
When the wall was complete, middle kid, recipient of the bedroom that was the product of the construction, said, “Wow. Do you know how empowered I feel? If I can build a wall; I can do anything.”
When I look back on my years as a parent, these are the words that have triggered some of the most worthwhile, most memorable, and yes, most educational events of our lives. Can we stay up all night? Can I dig a big hole in the yard? Can we sleep outside? Can I cut my brother’s hair? Can I make up my own recipe? Can we make our own video game?
Sure. Why not?
How to Host a Homeschool Art Activity
Group art projects can be a lot of fun with a little advance planning and the right supplies on hand. Amy Hood helps you think big for a one-time art party or an ongoing homeschool activity.
Group art projects can be a lot of homeschool fun with a little advance planning and the right supplies on hand. Amy helps you think big for a one-time art party or an ongoing homeschool activity.
At some point in your homeschooling journey, you may want to lead an art activity for a group, whether as a one-off event or as part of an ongoing secular homeschool co-op or class. Facilitating art-making for a group of kids is one of the most rewarding ways I can spend a couple of hours. Depending on the activity, it can definitely be tiring as well, but as always, some planning ahead makes everything easier.
What does your space look like?
My first concern is always whether I have a water source. Obviously it’s wonderful to have a sink right in the room, but it’s not a necessity. When I facilitated an art class at our homeschool co-op, I filled gallon jugs with water and used a dishpan to catch the wastewater (from rinsing paint- brushes, for example). It’s an effective system. A spray bottle and paper towels are great for cleaning surfaces.
Other room issues to consider include tables, desks, and chairs. Will your participants be able to sit so that materials such as paint sets can be shared? If tables aren’t easily cleanable or need protection, clear vinyl shower curtains are inexpensive and do the job well; I use duct tape to hold them down. I’ve also used individual drawing boards cut from masonite.
Unless you’re allowed to store materials where you’re teaching, you’re going to need to transport items back and forth. I use a big plastic tote with a cover and make a list of everything the activity requires so I can check it off as I pack it. Items I use every class (table covers, water pitchers, etc) stay in the bin between classes, while activity-specific items get cleaned and put away once I return home. It’s always a good idea to bring a full box of wet wipes, too.
What age group are you working with?
The general rule that applies across all groups also applies here: the younger the children, the smaller the group should be. With preschoolers, four to six kids is a good maximum group size, and that’s with another adult in the room. A benefit of mixed-age homeschool groups, however, is that older kids can assist younger ones. Think about the ages and abilities of the kids you’re working with and set a maximum size that seems reasonable for you.
What do you plan to do?
My best advice here is to not think small. Printmaking is one of my favorite art techniques to share with all ages, because it’s magical. I’ve taught kids how to use and care for brayers, transported large Plexiglas sheets and gelatin printmaking plates, and supervised (with lots of parent help) as kids worked at carving their own stamps. Think about your group size and how you can simplify a process yet still allow exploration of new techniques. One way I’ve done this is by limiting paint or ink colors and having kids visit the ink stations. Keeping ink and brayers in a central place made it easier to supervise. It also made clean-up easier.
Don’t think small when it comes to ages and abilities, either. I’ve run great printmaking activities with preschoolers, too. Kids are capable (although I suspect you already know that!).
Consider, too, whether you can work on projects during more than one meeting. If you’re allowed to store works-in-progress on site, you can take advantage of this to spend more time on a particular process or technique.
Whatever you plan to do, provide the best quality materials that your budget allows. Art-making with inadequate supplies leads to frustration. If you’re painting, for example, use heavy enough paper so that it doesn’t curl.
Set some ground rules.
I like to begin by letting kids know that I believe all artists, no matter the age, deserve high-quality art materials, and that I trust them to treat the materials with respect and take care of them as demonstrated. This almost always results in art materials being treated well. I let them know that first and foremost, art-making should be fun. And I ask that we not comment on another person’s artwork unless invited to do so, and then to be careful that our words are not critical. I also build clean-up time into the class time, more so during an ongoing class than for a one-time activity. If kids are enrolled in a class, part of what I hope they learn is how to care for the materials, and that includes making sure they’re properly cleaned.
The big payoff
The alchemy that occurs when making art in a group is pretty special. It becomes a very social activity; we see one another’s work in progress, we chat, we make observations and inspire one another. If the group leader makes it clear that the group is a safe place in which to make art (that is, no criticism is allowed), ideas start to zing around freely, infecting everyone, enriching the process, and leading to exciting and at times unexpected outcomes. I make sure artists under my scope know they are in charge of their own work, and ultimately there is no “right” or “wrong.” This freedom can lead to amazing discoveries, and creating an environment in which to nurture this is well worth all the time spent planning ahead.
IDZIE DESMARAIS is a grown unschooler, cook, writer, feminist, and life learning advocate. She’s the author of the popular unschooling blog I’m Unschooled. Yes, I Can Write., and her articles have appeared in Life Learning Magazine, Home Education Magazine, and Our Schools/Our Selves, among others. She’s also spoken at home education conferences across North America, including the Rethinking Everything Conference and the Toronto Unschooling Conference. When not busy writing (or procrastinating about writing), Idzie loves to make lots of tasty food, and has done so both professionally and in her own kitchen. She also loves genre TV shows, fantasy novels, going on road trips with friends, and cuddling with her dog and cats. Idzie lives with her family, furry and otherwise, in Montreal, Quebec.