An understandable fear people have about their children leaving formal education is that if they don't do well at school, they won't go far in life. Since school is really the only model that we all know well, and the model that the vast majority of us and our children pass through in order to... Continue Reading →
Learning to read #3
It's been just a couple of months since my first post about C learning to read by herself. Just like with our sons, I am in awe of her capacity to learn. In a couple of months she has gone from feeling like this would be really hard to being quite a fluent reader. She... Continue Reading →
Learning to read #2
This series of posts follows my seven-year-old daughter as she learns to read. C has created a beautiful world in Minecraft with a pet shop, swarming with different animals, and a sweet shop with all sorts of colourful delicacies. This morning, I helped her put signs in her shops. These signs mostly say, 'Cats for... Continue Reading →
Learning to read #1
These learning-to-read posts are really for any parents out there struggling with the idea that children can learn to read by themselves, or looking for some reassurance. When D was just two, I read a book called 'How children learn at home'. That book probably sowed the seeds for our future. I was inspired and... Continue Reading →
Children and the natural business of life
Entrepreneurship is a natural part of life in this house. Just about every day someone comes up with a new idea for making their fortune, or one of the ideas that has been buzzing around a while takes on a new angle and springs back into life. I've always loved putting ideas into action. When... Continue Reading →
Our sons, who are now 12 and 11, both learned to read about three years ago, when they were nine and eight respectively. When they were younger, I'd tried for a while to help them with their reading, assuming that with some gentle encouragement they would learn, but they'd pushed me away every time. I... Continue Reading →