Summary
➡ The Reignite Learning system is a fun, project-based approach to education that encourages children’s curiosity and individual strengths. It uses themes, discoveries, and foundational skills like reading, writing, and math to spark interest and deepen learning. The system also emphasizes celebrating children’s achievements to reinforce learning and boost confidence. This method aims to create a joyful learning environment where every child feels free to excel and explore their unique genius.
➡ The text discusses the benefits of homeschooling and the Adventurer club, which provides creative ways to engage children in learning. It emphasizes that homeschooling can strengthen the parent-child relationship and allows children to explore their potential and interests. The text also reassures parents that they are capable of homeschooling their children, even if they have doubts or face family dynamics issues. It encourages parents to try homeschooling, even if it’s just for a day or a week, and to supplement traditional schooling with these methods if necessary.
➡ This text discusses a fun and engaging learning approach for children, inspired by the movie “Night at the Museum”. It suggests activities like visiting museums, attending fairs, organizing a Christmas market, and creating a six-week project. The approach also includes reading, writing, and math exercises, as well as activities that stimulate creativity and business skills. The text emphasizes the importance of tailoring learning to a child’s interests and abilities, rather than sticking to a standardized curriculum.
➡ The article discusses a new approach to learning that moves away from traditional schooling methods. It emphasizes the importance of individualized, authentic learning experiences that cater to a child’s interests and abilities. The author introduces an upcoming app that will help parents implement this learning style, providing daily activities based on the child’s interests and the chosen theme for the year. The app aims to make learning fun, relevant, and engaging for children, freeing them from the constraints of traditional curriculums.
➡ A new app is being developed that allows parents to track their child’s learning progress through fun, creative activities like sports-themed knitting projects. The app aligns these activities with state learning standards, making it a useful tool for homeschooling or charter school students. It also provides a way for parents to report back on what their child has learned, which can be downloaded as a document or PDF for reporting purposes. The goal is to make learning more engaging and accessible, breaking down barriers and encouraging authentic learning experiences.
➡ The speaker is excited about the growing trend of authentic learning, where children are celebrated and encouraged to excel. They believe this approach, which is gaining momentum, can influence public schools and benefit all children. The speaker also mentions an upcoming webinar about this learning method and encourages listeners to join and ask questions. They end by expressing their passion for this approach and thanking listeners for their support.
Transcript
It is so harmful. I’m going to use that word to their development and their education. So, Heather, welcome back to the channel. We are going to talk about your reignite learning and all that stuff. So why don’t you just tell me where you. Oh, I want to let everybody know. Heather and I did a program a couple of years ago when all the schools were shut down and that that was called Freedom Learning Outside the Box. And this program that Heather’s going to share with you that you can get absolutely free, you are going to learn how to reignite learning with your children, your grandchildren, your nieces, your nephews, your children’s, the children of your friends down the block.
All right? So you can get this word out. All right, Heather, welcome back. Let’s talk about your program and everything else you want to talk about. Well, let me just start with a little bit of background. Since it’s been a couple years, I was running classes, I mean, I ran classes for 20 years, you know, where we’re having this fun, authentic learning with other kids and other families. And we, you know, we’ve had thousands of kids go through our program over the last 20 years, but I actually stepped away from leading our classes. And so because, I mean, while homeschooling is, you know, firing up and getting more and more, I was just becoming more and more work for me, you know, and it’s not that it’s not the work.
I have a problem. It’s just that I have so many things I want to do. And so I made the hard decision to step away from leading the classes and so that I have time to actually bring our system to anyone anywhere and, you know, really focus on that and help more people and help them create the programs themselves. And so that’s, that’s what I’ve been doing. And it’s just been fabulous. Fabulous. I Mean, it’s a system that replaces standardized curriculum. So, I mean, re. See, here’s the thing. I get so frustrated because you know how they say you can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take country out of the girl? I’ve seen the same thing with people who take their kids out of public school, but they’re still, like, stuck with a public school mindset.
You know, they want to, like, try to just do all the things in school, but do it at home, you know, and so they’re using these materials and these books and stuff that were designed for a crowded warehouse, you know, crowded classroom, and it just. It just doesn’t work as well because once you leave that box, then you’ve got an entire world, you know, you’ve got so, so much available to you, and it just. It becomes kind of ridiculous that you think, you know, you. You’re homeschooling, and while you’re just setting the kid at the kitchen table or on a screen for six hours a day, it’s.
It’s pointless. You know, when we have. The child learns by doing. And, you know, the more we can tap into that, the more we can just really bring out their strengths and make them the most incredible person that they can be. You know, it’s just. I’m so excited. So, yes, so I created a guide because. And I got frustrated, too, because. Because a lot of people were. They’re. They hearing our message, they get all excited, and they would just, you know, okay, yeah, I get it. I don’t want to do that stupid curriculum, you know, but then they’re like, but what do I do? You know? And it was kind of really awkward for a lot of families to not know, you know, okay, yes, I can go to the library.
Yes, I can go to the park. You know, yes, I can cook with my kids. But, you know, then what? You know, they. They run out of ideas. And a lot of times, families will end up just back doing the curriculum because they. They’re familiar with it. They know how to do it, you know, So I wanted to create a way for families to actually have a track to run on where they don’t have to go back to the dead curriculum. So I created a Reignite learning guide. It’s called Reignite because. Because children are naturally curious, but a lot of times, if they spent too much time in school, they lose that curiosity, and they don’t even know how to learn anymore.
They’re just. They know how to follow instructions, right? So we want to reignite that curiosity for them. We want to bring them back to where they’re like, yes, I want to. I want to learn. I want to try it, I want to do it. Give me those opportun. And we’re going to be able to provide opportunities for these kids that they’ve never even thought of. You know, things that they’re. Yes, that’s exactly. You know, I love it. Thank you. Thank you so much. So. So, yeah, I created. I. I have. If you want, I can just go quickly, go through the guide.
That would be great. Heather, While you’re doing that, I’m going to pause for. I want to regroup for just a moment. So friends who have. Are just tuning in, or if you have been as frustrated as so many of us with the public school. Now, most people that I know went to public school. I did. I happen to actually love it. But I think that I was in the minority because I’m able to kind of roll with the punches. I have the ability to sit and concentrate for a while, but not everybody does. And I think, wow, imagine what I could have accomplished if I had been more in a situation, an environment where the sky’s the limit, where I was encouraged to seek my own zone of genius, where I was learning by doing.
As a matter of fact, we all learn by doing. It’s not just children. Children, all of us with a natural curiosity that gets really suffocated in the public schools, where you’re in this regimented system. You’ve got equal, mainly equal amount of hours for every subject. You’re sort of forced to keep up with your peers by age alone. Not really about, you know, accomplishment or ability or skill or interest. And even in the charter schools or the private schools, they’re not necessarily that much better. I’m sure there are advantages in terms of how some things are structured and what’s taught, what the curriculum is, but in terms of the setting.
So what Heather’s talking about here, friends, this is all about natural learning in a natural environment. And people are frustrated because they’re like, peggy, I understand. I would love to get my children out of school. I feel ill equipped. I really don’t know where to start. I’m overwhelmed. I don’t want them to fall behind. I don’t want them to be bored. I don’t want them to be frustrated if it’s too hard. So where do I start? And that’s what Heather’s done for you and friends. Again, a reminder that learning really is about, like, individual discovery and exploration, that’s the best kind where it’s not foisted upon you but you are engaged and you have a desire to learn these things.
So here we go. Heather, this is what people get. Friends, you can get this for free. It’s a 29 page document. I’ve signed up for it and I’m loving all the information that’s coming into my email box and you will love this as well. So this is the Reignite and learning guide that you’ll be able to download. It’s free and it is a parent’s guide, A parent’s five step guide to the learning system that helps your child be an avid, energetic and autonomous learner because they, a lot of children have forgotten how to learn and that they love to learn.
And this is to celebrate curiosity and ignite genius. So this is so exciting. I’m going to scroll on down to. Oh, so it’s, you know this quote. Education is not the feeling of a pail but the lighting of a fire. Love that we kind of put the lighting of a fire as our theme for the guide and in which we’re talking about, we’re framing everything in within that because I see a world where every child is celebrated and free to explore that to excel. So because, and well I, this is, this is my mission statement here but I’m, I’ll read some of it.
I challenge the standardized education and am creating a world where no child is held back. Skipping down to the last sentence, curiosity is unleashed. Genius is ignited, relationships are deepened and there is joy in learning. And I see a world where every child is celebrated and free to excel. So I don’t know, I’m so excited and this is what fuels me then we little bit about the myths of education and what the truth really is. But here are the five steps to the Reignite learning system. The kindling is a theme. The spark is the discoveries of fireworks or projects.
And the fuel is reading, writing and math and all that leads you to the bonfire. So the, the guide itself, it talks about the, the theme and the importance of a theme and how using a theme helps you, helps the child take an interest. Then fascinating discoveries is like going out in the world or doing, going to the library, you know, lots of different ways that you can discover which is another word for research by the way. This is how we spark curiosity that we introduce lots of amazing things to our kids and then they want to know more and then of course you’re going to help them learn more, you know, help them find the resour resources they need to learn more and follow up that with engaging pro projects.
So we have what we call fireworks that help you give you ideas each week about the projects. Because we have a theme for the whole year, right. Our theme this year is night the museum. And each week is a different topic inspired by that theme. So and then, then we provide ideas of projects of that you can do with your child that will help them like just kind of really take an interest and take the lead and work on things independently and, and for long periods of time if you, if, if they’re allowed to because they are just really enjoying themselves and they want to do so.
They are experimenting and exploring. And then of course we do want to make sure that they have strong foundational school skills. Not because we are afraid of them falling behind, but because this is where they, it is with reading, writing and math that they interact with the world. Right. So we want to make sure that they’re, they’re doing these things. But it doesn’t take a ton of time and less than an hour and a half each day. You can definitely knock those things out with or without a curriculum. And I can help you do it without a curriculum.
We can do it naturally, normally, even through all these experiences and what we call fireworks. The better than then homework way of learning that is project based. So it’s just a lot of fun and it’s all in here where you can learn about the different subjects. And the point of all of it is because we want to ignite the genius of each individual child. It just, I believe that every, every child has qualities that we can bring out. And you know what frustrates me too is when parents spend a lot of their time worried about their child falling behind.
But the problem is when you’re constantly focused on their problems, they don’t have the opportunity to shine. You don’t get to focus on their strengths. And it’s, it’s through their strengths that they’re going to learn everything else. And so we want to make sure that those strengths are the things that we’re working on with them. Right. Making sure. So it might be taking classes, it might be getting some weird. My kids used to ask for, you know, school supplies from Home Depot because that’s what they wanted to do. Those are the, that’s where their curiosities took them and where they wanted to dive deeper.
And then of course, after the five steps, we always like to celebrate the child’s accomplishments. And this isn’t just because we want to reinforce to the child that they’re doing a great job. But also sometimes we as parents forget all the wonderful things that we’ve been doing. And so when we take a moment to step back and celebrate what we’ve done, I recommend every six weeks, step back and celebrate, you know, maybe a special meal, maybe invite some friends over and maybe have your friends also come over and share the things that they’ve been doing. And you guys, your child gets to show off and, and show the things that they’ve done.
It just, it. And it helps you remember, oh yeah, we’re doing good, you know, because that, that is, well, celebration, educationally so important. It reinforces learning. It gives them an opportunity to demonstrate what knowledge they’ve developed or discovered. And it’s fun. It is, It’s a lot of fun. And then, and it’s, it’s reassuring to the parents as well, because we doubt ourselves. You know, too often we’re like, am I doing the right thing? And everybody else is doing something different? Am I, should I be doing some of that? But when you celebrate and you look back and all the great things you’ve been doing, you’re like, okay, we’re okay.
We’ll be fine. The child will be fine. We’re all fine. You know, so there’s more information about how to get started. But what I want to show real quick is that in this guide is a full week of trial. You can try out the guide, you can try out the method. It went one week, a one week theme of Alice in Wonderland. And there’s some ideas, more than a week’s worth of ideas of things that you can do with your child that touches on all school subjects. So you’ll have, have, you have. Don’t do all of them that would not be personalized and individualized for your child.
Pick the ones that were, would be most meaningful to your child and then hold a celebration at the end of the week. Have the family come together and do a special, make a special tea party for your family and show off what you’ve done just for that week. And I think you would have an awesome time. So that’s what I want you to do. Oh yeah. Also, not to mention the bonus schedule that we stuck in there. So you, you can, it’s just an example to let you know you don’t have to over schedule. Please don’t over schedule.
It’s not about all the, I mean, you don’t. There are way too many wonderful things you can do with your kids. You don’t need to do them all you should not do them all. You need to really try to keep it simple. And so I put this schedule to show you how simple it can be. I don’t want to overwhelm you. I don’t want you to overwhelm the kids. Keep it simple. Right? But you can, you can use that schedule, build your own from there. But that’s it. I mean that I. You can get this guide.
Go. If you go to rig.reignite-learning.com guide. Yeah, I have a link. I’ll have a link for everybody as well. Okay, that sounds good. Okay, so that, that is, that’s the big thing that we’re doing now because I really want people to know that there is a method. It’s not just, it’s not just, okay, you know, maybe you get up in the morning and I don’t know, what do you want to do? You know, you can make a plan. You can plan ahead and, but and still do the authentic learning and still have those experiences. And like I said, we have.
If you join our Adventurers membership, after you download the guide, you’ll be invited to join our Adventurers membership. And if you get that, then you. Each week you’ll get ideas of things you can do that correspond with our week’s topic that’s within our year’s theme. So you get those ideas and you also get a community where you have the opportunity to synergize with other moms like yourself. And then you also get, you know, in encouragement and training. I’m actually in the middle of putting up training videos so that we’re going through each of those five steps so that you again, you know, the guide is so much.
But then there’s the training so you can have with even more explanation so nobody will be lost. And if you have more questions, I’m always happy to help you answer those questions. If you really, really don’t want to go back to the old ways, then I’ll help you. I want to make sure that you get. You get it and it’s working well for you. But the amazing thing is that you’re going to, I mean, you as the user of the Reignite Learning Guide, are going to just love it. Your child is going to love it. And the thing is you’re going to be spending this time together and really enjoying that time together, that you’re going to grow closer as, you know, as a parent and child.
You’re going to strengthen that relationship. And you wouldn’t. You’re going to realize that you, with having your child in school for so long, you’ve lost some connection, you know, and you’re going to, that’s going to come back and you’ll be, you’ll be like, oh yeah, I remember this. This is wonderful to have this connection with you. So that’s, let me dive in for a second because I joined the Adventurer club and I am getting those emails and friends, I have to tell you, I don’t even have children in school or at homeschool, but it is so interesting to just read these very creative ways of engaging in learning.
And I highly recommend it. It is basically like a nickel a day or something like that. It is ridiculously inexpensive. I am like, add a zero to that price, Heather, because you are getting much information and I, I really can’t speak about it enough in terms of this is our way ahead in this country. It’s allowing children to fully become, fully find their potential and express that by focusing on their zone of genius. You still include, you know, the, the hard subjects, I guess, or the, I don’t know what the definition is, the science and math and so forth.
But the, that’s just kind of the basics and you give a guide so people have something to follow. Right. Heather, I want to touch for a second before we go because I know you probably can give some fun things that people can, some takeaways and I want to talk about this relationship of the parents to the children and I really appreciate the honesty of parents that have said to me confidentially, you know, Peggy, I don’t think I can spend all that all day with my children. It is, you know, I’ve got a 12 year old, we don’t really get along and there’s a lot of friction and you know, my husband wants them in school and I don’t.
And there’s all kinds of family dynamics that go on and I just want to acknowledge that and like empathize and confirm that, that it’s, you’re not alone. There are parents who have gotten to that point. Yes. But the beautiful thing is we’ve had so many success stories just in the program that you and I ran, Heather. And parents of special needs children who, and we had parents of children of different ages who decided I don’t want my children on zoom in these public school settings right now during 2020, 2021 and all that. And I don’t really know what I’m doing, but I’m going to keep them home because I need to see what they’re doing.
And I remember in particular I Mean more than one story of the parents saying what you just said. It’s unbelievable how the relationship has deepened and balanced. And because the child now has you, the friction can come from that separation. And who knows what they’re being taught? And there might be some undercurrent of, you know, you can’t tell me what to do. Well, yeah, because you got this teacher authority in between you and the family. So can we just. Let’s talk a little more kind of philosophically about this before we get into some of the nuts and bolts, because that can be a very valid reason of.
Look, I, I work, I need time. I, I don’t know what I’m gonna do with my kids all day, you know, eight to three or whatever. So you can get done with your. Yes, your children can learn new things, right. In the time that it takes with you struggling over their homework, you are able to pull it together for doing homework with your kids every day, you are more than capable of homeschooling your kids through this method. And it’s, and it’s because it takes just about as much time as you spend doing homework with your child.
But on top of that, you’re. Instead of sitting down for six hours a day, you’re going to be taking your child to, to doing, to experience some things. You’re gonna. There are definitely some things you’re going to do together. But it’s like if you can, if you know how to take your child to the park, you know, if you know how to take your child to Disneyland, if you know how to take your child to the beach, these are the kinds of experiences you’re going to be having with your child. Once you get home and pick up some library books on your way home, once you get home and you introduce some projects for them to do, they can be set on their way.
Sometimes they want you to be there. I mean, it depends on the child. Sometimes they want you there the whole time. And sometimes that is a period, a transition until they’re, till they’re able to break free from you more and dive down deeper. You know, the thing is, once that happens, it is just amazing. I have seen it happen so many times, and it is so exciting. Once a child really learns that, oh, yeah, I know how to do this, I can learn, you know, and it’s okay, mom, go. You know, I got this, you know, let me do it.
I’m good. You know, and then you, you give them that space to, to explore, to research, to build, and then they just, you know, and Then you leave them for a couple hours and to come back and you’re like, what? This is amazing. You know, something that they’ve created or something that. And they’ll just be like, mom, I got to tell you. And then they start rattling off the things that they just learned. They don’t realize it’s learning, you know, it’s just. They. It’s like, so. This is so cool, Mom. You got to see this, you know, and it’s coming from them and it’s.
This is them learning. And their lights, their eyes, the lights in their eyes are just like, bam. There’s, you know, it’s brilliant and it’s so exciting. And that is when you will be hooked. You’ll be like, okay, we’re never doing worksheets again. This is amazing. And Heather, as you said, this is individualized. You see, that’s another downfall of the public school. Correct. You know, I. I kind of could, you know, switch gears and all that, but this, it’s not an individualized learning environment in a public school. There’s no way they can. And they don’t know. The teacher doesn’t know your child like you do, like the parent does.
And you’re getting this very valuable one on one time. The child is being nourished not just by the knowledge, but by your attention and affirmations. And you’re caring. I mean, I think that is in many ways far more important than the knowledge, you know, other than they’re just being sent off. Right. They’re. You’re in. They’re engaged. Yes. I mean, it’s. It’s so much. It’s. I know it’s hard for a lot of parents. I mean, conceptually, they understand. Yes. I want my child to be doing these things, but then it’s so many times, it’s just like, okay, yes, okay, okay.
Yeah, I can do it. But I want you guys to know that you can. You can do it. And, you know, it’s not. Sometimes it just takes trying it, you know, and just little bits. Even if you can’t give up all the curriculum right now, try a little bit. You know, just. Just do a one week challenge or a one day challenge, you know, and just have these experiences with your kids and see what happens. I bet you you’ll have one of those deep, you know, relationship deepening experiences in just one day time if you. I love it.
Yeah. So important. Yeah. And again, I’m not telling you exactly how to. What to do with your child every day. I’m giving you ideas Right. Because again, you know your child better. You’re going to go through these lists of ideas. You’re going to pick and choose, and you’re like, oh, yeah, I know Tommy’s going to love this. Let’s do it. You know, and then, Tommy, can we do a couple of those, Heather? So we’ll look, we’ll take a look at what those might be. A couple of. Oh, sure. Like I can open up, like what, one of my fireworks? Is that what you’re saying? That would be great.
Let me pull that up. Yeah. And friends, I also want you to remember that let’s say you’re in a situation where, you know, maybe your child’s in their last semester of school. You’re like, I don’t really want to pull them out at this point. Or maybe you’re in a situation where you’ve got joint custody of your children for some reason, your children are in public schools. Maybe you’re a grandparent and you don’t have any say. I encourage you to do these activities in the afternoons, on the weekends, in the evenings on their birthday. This doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
In fact, I would go so far as to say, if your child’s in public school, you need this even more to supplement. So they’re actually are learning something that’s of interest to them. Right. Okay, so here’s. Here’s one of our fireworks. This is going to be for December 2nd through 6th. And that week there are. So our. Again, our yearly theme is Night of the Museum. And our topic for this week, we call it Lost City, but it’s about the city of Pompeii. So because this entire component is all on the. All on ancient civilizations. But in.
In the Night of the Museum movies, there’s one scene where the. The little guys, I can’t remember the name right now, but the little guys, they were in the display for the city of Pompeii. And then the lava started flowing down. And so that’s the inspiration for this week’s topic. Right. And so it has some ideas for outings. Visit a museum that has an art exhibit of ancient or lost cities. Go to an archaeological dig site. Attend a Christmas fair. This is a Christmas fair because Christmas is coming up. So then there’s. Organize for your friends a Christmas market.
Again, this is for the season, but to do make a little booth or something to sell something to. This sounds so fun. So the child can make Christmas decorations. They can sell things. So they’re learning all sorts of creative skills. Business skills. Yes. So, and there’s characters suggestions and there’s a six week project, something that you’re going to take six weeks to build. There’s list of books that you might want to check out from the library. There’s journal copy work to do. There’s a language arts lesson. So you’re gonna. This is about building mind map. I don’t remember, this is a while ago when I.
This lesson was built, but use a graphic organizer to write a summary and you can do it with your child at their level. You don’t have to, there’s no, this is open ended. All of this is open ended. You’re going to take it to your child at their level for whatever makes sense to them. So, and there’s for math we’re talking about Roman currency and then comparing it to our current currency today. And we’re doing some projects that include doing some math and then there’s some divisibility. We’re talking about dividing by three and how to do that in your head quickly.
And so there’s mental math activities and that’s not common, Not Common core. No, no it isn’t. It’s regular. Right. And then every week there’s a math game that you can do with your child that reinforces the, the, you know, the, the thinking mathematically and then there’s building on previous learning. So you’re gonna, you’re gonna follow, go back to some of the things that we talked about in previous weeks and then there’s a list of other ideas. Any of these that might sound interesting to your child, go ahead and do it. You know, so it’s, it’s just, it’s again, it’s more than you’ll need for your child.
And yet at the same time it’s probably you’re going to want to do some other stuff because a lot of again, our, the purpose is to inspire, right? So your child, I think one of the activities in there was to build probably, I mean you probably thought of it already to build a volcano, right? Like a baking soda volcano and experiment with that. You can identify the different parts of a volcano and you know, just have fun with it and let your child, let them go off in whatever direction they want to. Like if, if they learn about the rocks, you know, the cooled off lava rocks and where those come from and then they start discovering more about rocks and geology.
I mean, you never know what direction it’s going to go and how, you know, what rabbit hole they’re going to go down. Once their interest is sparked and just, it’s just a lot of fun. So, so, yeah, it’s again, it’s not, it’s not, it’s not everything that they’re going to do. It’s, it’s inspiration for them to start going. But it’s, it’s plenty. You’ve got reading, writing and math you can do that week and you’re good. So, yeah, I love it because that also is like a recipe and you can think about maybe as you say, complimentary activities or taking that sort of blueprint and applying it to something else and just, it gets the creative juices flowing.
And friends, Heather has done this for you. I find it. I just love it. I love it. Well, thank you. I’m glad. Yeah, this is, it’s been a great, I mean, I love, I love doing all this and I just find it a lot, you know, very fulfilling to me when I find families that do this and then, you know, their, their lights turn on. It’s not just the child, but parents. It’s like, oh my gosh, where. Why have I been going through all this agony all of these years when there’s, there’s a better way? You know, this is, it’s just so great.
Well, let’s talk a little bit about curriculum, Heather. And you know, we, it’s threaded through everything that you do, but specific questions come up from people and they’ll say, well, you know, should I. I’ve seen this curriculum that I could buy online and this one. And so really the topic of what we’ve been talking about the whole time is how yours is different. But how like when parents just want to buy something that they watch videos or go through the checklist or go through worksheets or whatever. Yeah. So, okay, if you’re buying a curriculum, like a year long curriculum, first of all, I don’t know anyone that finishes it, you know, you know, there’s some of that money’s going to waste anyway because I mean, your child changes in a year’s time.
Even though the curriculum is designed to lead your child one to the next, it. I don’t, you know, most people just don’t do all of the things, you know, because your child’s interests change. And. But that’s the thing. Those curriculums are not designed with your child in mind. There’s. Therefore they are standardized. And you know, I don’t, I’ve never met a standard child in my life, you know, and even if that was, there was a standard child, I don’t think any of you would want your child to be the standard child, you know, so there’s not opportunity for them to be inspired.
There’s nothing much. And there’s not opportunity for them to go off in another direction to, to really ignite that genius that’s, that’s just sitting inside them, wanting to burst out, you know, give them that opportunity to master something instead of like, okay, math. Okay, turn now. Oh, right. You know, okay, you know, now forget that. You know, I call it read, regurgitate, regret. It’s just, I love that it’s a futile endeavor. It, it’s, it’s. You know, so much of what is happening is, is. Becomes pretty pointless, you know, when, when there’s so much more available to the kids.
So I don’t remember what my S.O. was. So that’s why they should go to Reignite Learning. Right? Yes. Learning.com. right. And oh, I do remember what the other thing was just a little, little bit. I’m not saying that there is never a chance for the standardized curriculum. I have met kids who, they thrive on workbooks, mostly girls, you know, they’re like, give me that workbook. You know, and they power through that thing. Two weeks time, they got the entire thing done. If that’s her way of learning, go for it, you know, but she’s probably all, it’s because it’s step one, step two, step three for the child, you know, and it’s as fun for her as a coloring book.
So. And you know, but that’s not the same for all children. Don’t. If your child is like, I can’t do this worksheet, and they can’t even do single worksheet. Don’t do it. They don’t need to. There’s no reason to say you’re not getting dinner until that’s done. You know, there’s just there. That child needs a different way to learn. And that’s what he’s telling you. He doesn’t know how to say the words. But when, when he’s in. When you’re, you know, a child takes all day to do a single worksheet. It’s the wrong curriculum. You’ve got.
You’re going down the wrong track. You need to find what works for them. And you can, you will just keep trying things and you will find what works. And I think, I think a lot of parents actually know because you know your child, you know, and because you have a feeling for what. I mean, you, you could pull a worksheet out of the workbook and, and as you’re setting it down for your child. You’re just like, I know this isn’t going to go well, you know, you know, you know. And you, by the same token, if you look through our fireworks and say, oh, yeah, actually, my son would do well with this.
And again, now I’m, I’m using gender because it’s usually the son that has the hardest time. It’s the boys that have the hardest time with those worksheets. So. But yeah, you can find what works for your child. And if you don’t know, try things. Just keep trying things until you find what works. Because every child has intelligence, every child has a way that they learn. And you can, through trial and error, you or just like introducing different things to your child, you can find what works and it will. And when that happens again, there goes that magic, right? Their eyes light up, your relationship is stronger.
It’s just amazing. Amazing. And you will love it. That’s why I call it a superior learning environment or superior learning options. And it really requires a mind shift, I think, on definitely on the part of the parents and even on the child, depending on how long they’ve been in a public school or more of a traditional setting. And to really acknowledge that and say, this is, this is going to be different. And you can be free of tests and homework and, you know, the worksheets and the competition and all the other things that go on in the public school that, you know, I think would give parents really pause thinking of just all the.
We’ve talked about that so much. Heather. Friends, please. I will link for you. There’s other interviews that I’ve done with Heather recently and going back years. In fact, I’ve got on this channel, it’s called Freedom Learning. And the concept is the same that children are free to learn and that they’re not going to be restricted by these institutions. There are amazing teachers in the public schools that are also hindered by the institution by the requirements. I know because I used to teach them. I was the director of teacher education for the professional development side at UC Irvine, and I was dumbfounded by the testing requirements and how their day was.
All of these fun activities that they probably would love to do were edged out with all of these other sort of compulsory activities. So parents, you could also think about, like, if you are working all the time, well, you could hire a tutor, you could have someone learn about go, you know, this type of program and it doesn’t have to be Monday through Friday that all the learning could take place on the weekend. So maybe you’re only going to work four days a week. And, and on that other day, you’re, you’re going off on these adventures or you do these home, you know, these community learning pods or something where you’ve got a couple parents pitching in and that’s been going on for years, where one parent maybe really loved science and could help the children along with that, and then somebody else excelled in a different aspect and you could bring in all sorts of experts, so to speak.
You could have someone come and speak about music or teach art. You don’t have to do everything. And that’s the beauty of it. So I, I personally am thrilled about this, Heather, and I’m so glad that you put together this step by step guide. I want everybody to get it at reignite-learning.com even if you don’t have children in school. Guide, slash guide. And I will have a link for you. So it’s reignite-learning.com guide. That’s where you sign up for it. It’s free. You’ll get it. It’s very nicely illustrated. Easy to go through step by step. And then you’ll have an invitation if you want to go deeper to get these fireworks.
So let’s talk about fireworks a little more in detail. My favorite thing. Okay. I’m not sure I, I do have another reveal for you. Well, let’s do the reveal. I’m very honored. The reveal on the show. Let’s do it. Let’s do it. So again, because so many families I have, have a hard time, you know, knowing what to do with their child once they have them home. And, and yet then they’re hearing that they shouldn’t do all the things that they’re doing in school. They feel at a loss. They’re not sure what they can do. And because we want it to be individualized, I wanted to create something that will help families have no excuses.
So I’m going to share my screen in a moment. I like that. No excuses. This is, this is a, this is a reveal that I have not shared to my own followers yet. So this is something that I’m going to let you reveal first. Oh, I get the scoop. You do? You do. And we are so, we like over the top excited about this. So, so this. Drum roll, please. We are creating an app. Oh, yes. Love it. A learning outside the box app. Because, you know, authentic learning is better for your child. You don’t know how to implement authentic learning daily and you don’t want to spend a ton of Time prepping, so.
And it’s built with the themes built in, you know, the yearly themes, whatever theme we’re doing for that year. And it just. There’s no reason to be chained to the dead curriculums that were created for warehoused children. The future is now. This is. I mean, things are changing so fast, and the things that the kids are learning in schools are irrelevant. They’re already irrelevant to our world. So. So that’s why if you go to reignite-learning.com guide, you get on our wait list for the app that are. That we’re creating. But not only that, Peggy, but I actually have our prototype.
I can show you, and we can try it out right now. Okay, that is awesome. Okay, so let me pull that up. Well, this is going to. I like how you say no excuses. You’ve got it right at your. I’m writing down these phrases, Heather, because I really like this one, too. You know, what’s being taught in the public schools. It’s already irrelevant. Yes. Yes. And I. Yeah, public schools are irrelevant in this day and age. And there’s no. There is no excuse, there’s no objection I’ve ever heard that I can’t assist with. And I know that’s the same for you.
Yeah. Okay, so here is our little bot. And so it’s going to take information about the child. So I’m going to have Peggy, you’re going to give me information about some imaginary child that you’re going to make up. What’s her. What’s the child’s name? Okay. Sandy. Okay. And how old is Sandy? Sandy is nine. Okay. And what city does Sandy live in? Let’s just say. Let’s say Omaha. Okay, and what. Then there’s a child’s abilities and interests. So what are. What is sand. What are Sandy’s interests? Interested a lot in sports and likes other children. You know, very friendly, social, sociable.
Okay. Friends. Yeah, friends. Right. Okay. And abilities. Oh, abilities. Such as? Like, is curious, learns quickly, likes to read. Okay, so. And it could be anything. It could be knitting. It could be, you know, whatever. Let me just go ahead and add knitting. Okay, perfect. Great. And then there’s a weekly topic. Eventually, the bot is going to be preloaded with each week’s topics. And so we don’t have. We wouldn’t have to put that in here, but we’re going to. Since we’re looking at Pompeii, we’re going to say the weekly topic is Pompeii. And also, this bot is already preloaded with My philosophy.
So I fed it our way of learning. So it’s not going to give us worksheets. Right. Okay. So we want to. Let’s see. See what happens. All right. I like it in the works. Yeah. Is it going okay? Here it is. So let me just disapprove this. Okay. So there’s the information we put in and now it’s ask more question. You mentioned Sandy is curious. Can you share some specific topics or subjects? Exploring several questions to get more granular as to Sandy’s interests and abilities. Right. And that’s all the. The bot will be asking. We’re not going to go through those right now.
But the next thing. This is, this is the thing. This is the whole purpose why I created. Because now we have a recommended learning activities that support our philosophy and also her individual interests and abilities. So book report on Pompeii. Read a child friendly book about Pompeii and read a color. Create a colorful poster or a digital presentation summarizing the key points. That’s language arts. And then Pompeii archaeolog. Pompeii Archaeology, math. Create a scavenger hunt where she measures. Measures distances between various landmarks in Pompeii using a map. So this is, this is math. And this is all very natural.
It’s very. And it’s. And it’s fun for the kids. Okay. And of course it has the volcano experiment with the baking soda. I mean, even AI knows that that’s what you do when you study Pompeii. So social studies. Investigate the daily life of children in Pompeii. Create a timeline or a diorama representing their lifestyle, clothing and games. I want that, I want to do that. I know, exactly. And, and you can, you can totally just get out the materials and you know, have some resources for them to know where to find the information for the timeline.
And let them make it. Let them just delve into it. And as they’re making it, they’re reinforcing those key points that they’re learning. And again, they don’t even realize it, but they want to do a good job. They want to put this together and they love it. So. And then there’s art projects. Create a mosaic. The. There are several mosaics found in Pompeii. And so it’d be appropriate to do a mosaic physical education. Organize a mini sports day with friends incorporating games that were popular in ancient Rome, such as a version of the Olympic games. So knitting they.
So there’s a little combine her love for sports and knitting by creating a sports themed knitting project like a headband or wristbands. Oh, that’s so cute. Oh my gosh. Yeah. So Ollie, all of this is all motivated and then the last thing. Sandy, remember that learning is an adventure. Embrace your curiosity and let it guide you through these activities. Each project is a chance to explore something new and express your creativity. Don’t hesitate to ask questions and dive deeper into topics that fascinate you. You’re capable of amazing things and every step you take in your learning journey brings you closer to mastering new skills.
Enjoy the process and have fun with your friends along the way. So this is, this is what we are, we’re so excited about. This is, this is something we’re going to have up immediately right now. This is our, this is our working prototype and. Oh, actually it’s not even done. There’s a couple more things I wanted to show because after that, not, not with a working prototype, but with. As we add more features, we’re going to have the opportunity, the parents will have the opportunity to report back to the app what their child actually did do.
And then the app, within the app, it creates a list of state standards that are fulfilled by doing these activities. So if you are with a charter school or if you’re in another state where you’re required to show what your learning is, there you go. You can still do the authentic learning and it’s aligned to state standards because everything you do authentically is still aligned with state standards, whether you realize it or not. But we don’t, we usually realize it because we know. I don’t, I don’t care. You know, I, because I don’t, I don’t look at the standards.
I don’t care about them as much. Right. But it’s there if people need it. Yep. So again, did I say no excuses? So, Heather, that’s going to be available so an app on your phone and on the computer. Yes. That’s wonderful. Yep. And I love, I actually really like that tracking feature because that is, can be really encouraging to people too, you know. Yeah. And then from there you’re able to actually download it and it’ll, it can be a PDF and so you can send it off to your, your charter school teacher or you can download as a doc and then, you know, add more things in it, other things that didn’t get.
Make it into the app and add that, you know, send that along to your teacher. So I love it. That’s what I really, really, really want to do is even the kids who are in charter schools that they can do this. They can literally do this as their curriculum or instead of curriculum, because, you know, so many kids, they want the funds here in California. They want the funds from the charter school to do these extracurricular activities. But then they’re. They’re tied to the, the standards, you know, to the, to these things. That is usually worksheets and that, so forth.
But this way they don’t have to. And they can, they can be in the charter school and they can do the authentic learning if they want to. So I’m just, I’m just trying to break down as many barriers as possible so that more and more parents can be like, yes, I will do it. My kids will do it. We’ll have a great time. It’s going to be wonderful. Well, that’s a great body of work, Heather. I know we talked some years ago about your book and like, this is better because it’s interactive. I mean, well, my book is in there, so.
That’s right. I love it. It’s useful and you’ve got it. It’s absolutely fantastic. Friends, if you’re curious about the regulations and all of that, it is state by state. So the best thing to just do a quick Internet search. Do you have any advice, quick advice on that, Heather? People are like, but I don’t know, how do I get, how do I actually physically get my child out? Do I just not show up tomorrow or mission? So a few minutes just on. Here’s the nuts and bolts and you can speak about California. And friends will have to look at that in your own state.
Sure. Yeah. And that’s the thing, too. It varies actually greatly from state to state. Some, some states require an awful lot and others not much. And so, yes, do a Google search. Every state has a statewide organization for homeschooling. Find that and find and read. Find out from them what the requirements are for your state. But yeah, here in California, surprisingly, is one of the easiest states to homeschool in because you can literally just fill out one form a year to tell the state. I’m. You actually don’t say homeschooling. You say, we are our own tiny little private school and we’re going.
And my children are enrolled in our. In my school. So. And, and you do that once a year and you’re good to go. You can set your own standards, you can make your own own curriculum. You can choose, you know, you can use our system. You don’t have to report to anyone except yourself and, and God, you know, Right, you got it. The other way that a lot of families choose to homeschool is with charter schools. A lot of the charter schools provide funds that you can use for extracurricular activities, which, I mean, that’s hard to pass up.
I never did that with my kids. I liked the freedom of not having to worry about the charter schools, but. But if you’re going in that direction, because, again, I recognize every child has genius, and that might mean you want your child to be in certain classes that are going to enhance that genius, and they can be very expensive. So whatever path you choose, I want you to know that it’s possible. I’m hoping, here in California, if you want to do my system and you’re talking to your charter school about it and they’re giving you some pushback, let me talk to them.
I’m happy to talk to them. I’ve been a vendor for the charter schools for the last 18 years, and I’ve been around longer than most of the charter schools, let’s just put it that way, so. And I know people at most of the school, so I’d be happy to talk to them and help, you know, and get my stuff approved for your charter school. Well, that is great, Heather. You’ve done all this work. You’re so creative. You’ve got such, you know, there’s such a joy that you bring to this whole concept of, you know, learning outside the box.
You’re not boxed in and then celebrating what you’ve learned. And I’m grateful that, you know, we’ve been sharing. Well, you’ve really done the information. I’m helping share it, and it’s just great because we don’t want, as you said, we want to break down every barrier out there, and it really is gaining steam. I heard in California that it’s nearly. I mean, close to a million students have not returned over these, you know, tumultuous years. Yes. And it’s almost, in a strange way, one of the best things that could have happened, because parents now were looking on the screen and they were seeing what was going on.
The children were not learning, pulled back, and they’re like, what? Exactly. And parents have sacrificed. And I’ve had interviews with other homeschool parents and groups and so forth on this channel because I want to bring a broad range of information. And so, friends, the information is out there, and if you’re. If you’re feeling like you don’t know the nuts and bolts of getting your child out of school, it’s all available on the Internet, there’s publicschoolexit.com goes state by state. Just click and it will tell you what to do. And then by all means, check out the free reignite learning.com guide.
And that will get you started. And you’re going to see it. You’re going to see how easy it is, how fun it is, step by step, and get your child engaged in it. You know, maybe have them read it out loud to you. There’s, I mean, there’s always an opportunity for learning. Everything I look at, oh, that would be so fun for homeschooling, because it’s life. And learning doesn’t happen inside the box, it happens outside the box. Exactly. Let me give you the last words here, Heather. I really appreciate your, gosh, well, philosophy and everything. Yeah.
Just, you know what? I have been living inside my head with this, this philosophy for so long, you know, and it’s something that has been a reality to me forever, to the point where I really have a hard time understanding why anybody would put a child in a classroom, why anybody would sit a child on a computer for six hours a day. Why? You know, there’s just so many whys. It doesn’t make any sense to me anymore. Because there is a better way. And I just, I straight up want to challenge standardized education. I want to, I’m.
My actually real life hope is that more and more of us will do this authentic learning so that the public schools will take notice and they’ll be like, okay, wait a minute, if we do authentic learning, then maybe they’ll come back. Not that you need to go back, but that we can even influence the public schools. Because it was because so many people were homeschooling here in California that they designed and created charter schools for homeschoolers. They’re like, oh, wait, we’ll keep you this way, you know, so that public schools change because of homeschoolers. And I want that to happen again.
I want the public schools to have authentic. I mean, yes, they’re my biggest competition, but reality, when it comes down to it, I want the children to win. I want it. When the children win, we all win. This is a win win for everyone. But so anyway, I, I, I just, I see a world, like I said, I see a world where every child is celebrated and free to excel. And there’s just, I’m just so excited because this, I mean, this thing is just really gaining momentum and, and I just love the people that I get to work with and, you know, see the changes happen in Their lives and I don’t know.
I know. Join me. I’m just so excited. You know, reach out to me if you have any questions. I’m here. I just, I just am so. I mean, I don’t have to tell you, I am so passionate about this. Yes. Well, it’s just wonderful, Heather, your enthusiasm is contagious, a good kind of contagious. And it’s exactly what we need. And I am thrilled for the children that are going to be excelling and celebrated through this system, methodology, really the method that you have. And it’s great that you put it all together in a simple to follow approach.
So no excuses for the parents. You’re going to see your family dynamics improve. You’re going to see your children hop, skip and soar above their peers. And it’s not even a competition. It’s each individual child reaching their own potential and not having it be squelched and suffocated. That’s right. This institutional, standardized, they’re so much happier when they’re, when they are allowed to learn through their strengths. It’s just everything falls into place. Yeah, I’m just jotting all these phrases. Learn. It’s so key and it’s very encouraging. So, friends, I want you to know that Heather is going to be our guest for our private webinar.
And that is December 6th or December 7th. It’s Saturday, the first Saturday. That’s at 4pm Pacific, 7pm Eastern. And those of you that have partnered with me through donation or maybe you subscribe to the substack as a paid subscriber, I want to thank you for your support. And so that’s why we do these monthly private live webinars. You can ask any questions and we answer them there so you get real specific, concrete help. Our topic is going to be all about this, about learning outside the box, about helping children thrive. And even if you don’t have children, this still applies to you because you know someone who has children and you can encourage them to take this very important step.
This is free to get the Reignite Learning Guide and you know, they’ve got the Make America Great Again. Make America Healthy Again. We need to come up with some Make America educator. You know, make children free again. Something like that. Anyway, learning fun again. Make learning fun again. That is it. Heather, it’s always been fun. It’s been taken away and you are bringing that back. So thank you so much for your time, for your enthusiasm, for all of that work. And friends, you know where to find me. It’s peggy hall.substack.com and then join us in that free webinar.
If you think you should have been invited and you get the invite, email us supporthehealthyamerican.org and we will get you all set up. All right, Heather, signing off for now. Look forward to another. Well, we’ll see you on that upcoming webinar and of course, another get together soon. Best wishes and take care. Signing off now. Bye.
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