Self-Directed Education

Children come into this world with a mind like a sponge and an insatiable desire to learn about the world, so how can we support their curiosity and allow it to flourish? Research shows that giving children a significant amount of space and time to pursue subjects that are of interest to them at their own rate and in their own way can be hugely beneficial, if not indispensable to their intellectual development. Any parent who has ever witnessed their child learning something they are excited about- whether it’s memorizing the name of every dinosaur or asking you to re-read the same book 50 times - knows the power of self-directed learning! Giving children space for self-directed learning also prepares children to be independent thinkers, preserve their natural love of learning and help them grow into autonomous adults, the movers and shapers of tomorrow!

“Children come into the world…genetically programmed with extraordinary capacities for learning. They are little learning machines. Within their first four years or so they absorb an unfathomable amount of information and skills without any instruction. They learn to walk, run, jump, and climb. They learn to understand and speak the language of the culture into which they are born, and with that they learn to assert their will, argue, amuse, annoy, befriend, and ask questions. They acquire an incredible amount of knowledge about the physical and social world around them. All of this is driven by their inborn instincts and drives, their innate playfulness and curiosity. Nature does not turn off this enormous desire and capacity to learn when children turn five or six.” -Peter Gray, Free to Learn

Learn more about self-directed education and build confidence to trust your child to learn and grow so you can create space for their natural passion for learning and give space for it to blossom!