Search Results for: blog I intrinsic motivation

Why Some Parents are Unschooling Their Kids

Unschooling is a form of homeschooling that involves less structure and more child-centered learning. Parents who are unhappy with the way that learning is presented at schools have been turning to the unschooling movement as their solution for what their child’s education should be like. Unschooling has some similarities with homeschooling. In both cases, a child stays home and receives his or her education there (instead of in a classroom at a school). Each educational style allows parents to be very involved in what their child is taught. Parents can set the speed that information is presented in order to … Continue reading →

Is it Ever Ok to Bribe your Kids?

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How do you get your children to do what you want them to? What do you do to encourage them to do certain things and to refrain from doing other things? Many parents have, at least sometimes, resorted to bribing their children. Is that necessarily a bad thing? Is it ever ok to bribe your kids? New findings reveal some interesting answers to these questions. First, it would be helpful to figure out what a bribe is (and what it isn’t). Author Ellen Perry points out that there is a continuum to be aware of. Motivation is one one end, … Continue reading →

Give Away a Prize

Prizes and rewards motivate people. How many times have you bought a lottery ticket, entered a drawing or opened that container of soda to see if you were “a winner” by reading the cap? When it comes to motivating our children and using some of the tricks and tools of parenting, giving away a prize might be a tactic you can use. Like anything, prizes can be overused and lose their motivational magic, but the occasional prize or reward can be powerful. I found with my kids that just calling it a “prize” was fun. Since it was so different … Continue reading →

Lessons From Unschooling Families: The Smiths

I had asked last week in the forums for suggestions on blog topics. Mary Ann Romans wanted to know about unschooling and essentially how kids will learn everything they need to know if there is no plan in place. Yesterday I talked about unschooling as a philosophy, our own experience leaning towards unschooling with our son (although we are definitely not unschoolers) and I gave an example of one family I knew, and how they incorporated unschooling into their learning environment. Today, I am going to talk about the Smiths, another unschooling family I know with a slightly more radical … Continue reading →

Do You Know What You’re Hoping to Accomplish?

My grandfather used to say “How are you going to know if when you get there if you don’t know where you’re going?” I can’t help but think this is very good guiding advice for the home business owner. I’m not just talking about financial plans and budgets, I’m talking about knowing deep down what you’re trying to accomplish and what it is you hope to gain and gather from your home business experience. Goals and business plans are a good thing, and I have written about them before–but in order to stay motivated and feel fulfilled in operating a … Continue reading →

Education Week in Review: May 5- May 11

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Summer is growing near and schools are busier now than ever. Graduations, end of the year celebrations, and final exams are being prepared. This has also been a busy week at Families.com! I introduced you to my day at my school’s arts festival and continued my series of perks and concerns of public education. I discussed Teacher Appreciation Day and Heather blessed us with a letter to her daughter’s teacher. Read below for more details. Saturday, May 5 Attending the Arts Festival Friday, May 4, my school hosted its annual arts festival. The festival was a great hit and I … Continue reading →

Four Blocks: Self-Selected Reading Block

As you have seen in past blogs, the Four Blocks Literacy Program consists of four blocks that work together to make a program compatible for everyone and every type of learner. In a previous blog, I described the Guided Reading block. In this article, I will discuss what a Self-Selected Reading block should contain. The goals of Self-Selected Reading are for the teacher to share different types of literature, to elevate student interests in reading, to allow for instructional-level literature, and to encourage intrinsic motivation. The Self-Selected Reading Block has four steps. First, the teacher shares a read aloud book. … Continue reading →

How Not to Grade Your Child

If you read my last blog about traditional grades, we learned that traditional grading systems in short, don’t meet the needs of homeschoolers and in fact may even be detrimental to the overall learning goals. We are talking more about an attitude change defining what we think of, when we think of a “good education.”, rather than never assessing your child. However, not grading your child can present some problems when it comes to record keeping. Regardless of your state laws, it is my opinion that everyone should keep at least a record of what their child has read, what … Continue reading →

Uneducated Unschoolers on the Loose

I will readily admit that I do not subscribe to the method of home schooling known as “unschooling.” With that said, I will also readily admit that in homeschooling–all roads lead to Rome. Part of the beauty of homeschooling is that families are allowed to choose the methods that work best for them. Methods take into account personalities of parents, the learning style of children and even dad’s work schedule! So even though we don’t do the “unschooling” thing, I can readily see many families who do–and are doing it well! Apparently though, not everyone thinks unschooling is acceptable. There … Continue reading →