One of the ultimate goals of schooling, or academic work, is the ability for abstract thought. We hope children will not only remember the things we teach them, but that they will be able to take concepts they have learned within the academic world and apply them, making connections both between subjects and also applying…
We cannot store every piece of information our brain encounters in our memory. How does it decide what needs to be remembered? Well, since our brain likes to avoid thought, if we spend a lot of time thinking about something, it decides to store it. It must be important and our brain doesn’t want us…
Without knowledge of facts, it is hard to think. Thought is not a vacuum and our brains need facts as a framework for thought. (You are reading the second post in a series about cognitive science in your homeschool, click here for the introductory post and links to the other posts in this series.) Critical…
“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few people engage in it.” – Henry FordThe first cognitive principal Daniel T. Willingham dives into in his book Why Students Don’t Like School is that while curiosity is natural, thinking is hard. Let’s unpack this principal, which is supported by…
Perhaps the picture is completely irrelevant to this post, but I had to type "pencil bubbles" into the Pixabay search to get a good picture, and well, this one is just so much more fun than the picture of a test. It's time for end-of-homeschool-year testing. We all know standardized tests leave a lot to…
Organizing Idea’s So Kids Remember What You TeachSource file: Organizing_Ideas_So_Kids_Remember_What_You_Teach.docxAuthor: Marla SzwastCreated: 2018-04-19 23:39:00Modified: 2018-04-21 20:01:00 Organizing Idea’s So Kids Remember What You Teach We cannot store every piece of information our brain encounters in our memory. How does it decide what needs to be remembered. Well, since our brain likes to avoid thought, if…
“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few people engage in it.” – Henry FordSource file: Thinking_is_Hard_How_to_Help_Your_Child_Think.docxAuthor: Marla SzwastCreated: 2018-04-16 22:24:00Modified: 2018-04-16 22:47:00 “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few people engage in it.” – Henry Ford The first cognitive…
Sometimes we are so caught up in the heat of friction within our child-parent relationships that we forget to take a step back, think objectively about what developmental needs our children have, and use that information to inform our parenting decisions. What is the most important thing we can do to support our children right…
9 ways to use cognitive science in your homeschoolThis series will focus on cognitive science and how that knowledge can help us in our homeschool. I will be delving into some of the concepts taught by Daniel T. Willingham in the book Why Don’t Students Like School? Although our students don’t go to school, there…
Homeschooling with the Brain in MindSource file: Homeschooling_with_the_Brain_in_Mind.docxAuthor: Marla SzwastCreated: 2018-04-09 22:09:00Modified: 2018-04-10 12:10:00 Homeschooling with the Brain in Mind For homeschoolers, the world of educational choices is endless. Freedom abounds and the world is ours to make what we want of it. The first overwhelm that often strikes new homeschoolers is how to choose…anything!…