🎙️ Don't start with the chalkboard

Learning happens outside classroom walls. PLUS: A simple observation technique eases the transition from traditional schools.

March 05, 2025

3 Quick Bites:

🍎 Why a home classroom setup might limit your child's learning
🍎 How taking a break from school structures benefits all families
🍎 Simple strategies for teaching siblings of different ages together

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đź’ˇ THOUGHT

DON’T START WITH THE CHALKBOARD

The first instinct is to recreate what we know.

"I was going to be the teacher and my kids were going to be the students,” shares OpenEd parent Laura Feller in this week's podcast. “I was going to have a chalkboard and the whole nine yards."

But that's not what happened.

Laura found she didn’t need a classroom. Learning happened everywhere—in the driveway with hopscotch math. In the car with audiobooks. At museums, parks, and everywhere in between.

"Learning became second nature in everything that we did," she explains.

In her 8 years of doing open education, Laura went from 'overwhelmed and scared' to confidently guiding three boys through personalized learning (including one who went from struggling with dysgraphia to thriving in college courses).

Discover the simple observation technique Laura used in her first month that changed how she approached her children's education – and how you can use it too.

Prefer to listen? Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

đź“Š TREND

THE POWER OF "DESCHOOLING"

"De-schooling is necessary for all families," Laura emphasizes.

This growing movement advocates a deliberate transition period—a decompression from conventional education—where families:

  • Observe how children learn naturally

  • Identify peak alertness times

  • Discover what sparks genuine interest

  • Rebuild family connections

  • Explore the community through museums, parks, and field trips

🔨 TOOL

THE "CELEBRATE AND SERVE" SIBLING STRATEGY

For families with wide age gaps (anyone else navigating consonant blends and precalculus simultaneously?), try this simple two-part approach from Simple Homeschool:

  1. CELEBRATE differences: Encourage older kids to embrace "kid stuff" occasionally (Nerf battles, playground time) while helping younger ones feel special about joining "big kid" activities.

  2. SERVE each other: Create daily opportunities for siblings to help one another. Little ones can carry laundry for teens; older siblings can read bedtime stories to younger siblings.

The wide age range that sometimes feels like your biggest challenge might actually be your greatest opportunity…

That’s all for today! See you tomorrow.

– Charlie (the OpenEd newsletter guy)

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