This is so awe-inspiring. If you haven’t seen it, you would love the instagram account couture.to.the.max It follows a kid who’s been working as a fashion designer since he was 4. I think he’s around 9 or 10 now and it’s so incredibly impressive. As far as I know, this is a case where the parents recognized and really supported his interest from an early age
Thanks so much! I have seen that account, it's SUCH a perfect example of how supporting and leaning into an interest can bring out a child's inner genius.
Fantastic article, thank you. I intentionally home educate my daughters, and am all about natural learning and tailoring to children's uniqueness. You may not have come across Dr Alan Thomas as you are in the US - he is a UK researcher who interviewed and surveyed many home ed families and found, as you say in this article, that they tended to become more informal over time, shifting from adult-directed to autonomous learning as the years of home ed went on. The 'Little Einsteins' point is really poignant too, as I have a little inventor at home - you've made me think what more I can do to nurture this spark in her and expose her to innovators and inventing experiences!
Thanks so much, I'm glad it resonated and prompted some new ideas with your own home education! I'm actually in Canada but I haven't come across Dr. Alan Thomas. Are there any specific papers you suggest reading from him? There's a pressing gap in large-scale data on homeschooling and alternative education so I'm endlessly curious to read what is available.
I also just asked Perplexity for research papers by Dr Alan Thomas (UCL) on home education — especially informal learning — and here are some key ones it highlighted:
Thomas (1998): Foundational study on how families move from formal to informal home learning.
Thomas & Pattison (2007): Looks at children learning to read naturally at home, without explicit teaching.
Both are widely cited in UK home ed research and doctoral work.
This is so awe-inspiring. If you haven’t seen it, you would love the instagram account couture.to.the.max It follows a kid who’s been working as a fashion designer since he was 4. I think he’s around 9 or 10 now and it’s so incredibly impressive. As far as I know, this is a case where the parents recognized and really supported his interest from an early age
Thanks so much! I have seen that account, it's SUCH a perfect example of how supporting and leaning into an interest can bring out a child's inner genius.
Great essay! Really enjoyed it, thank you for sharing it with me.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Ivana ☺️
Amazing piece!
Thanks Savannah! 🙏
Fantastic article, thank you. I intentionally home educate my daughters, and am all about natural learning and tailoring to children's uniqueness. You may not have come across Dr Alan Thomas as you are in the US - he is a UK researcher who interviewed and surveyed many home ed families and found, as you say in this article, that they tended to become more informal over time, shifting from adult-directed to autonomous learning as the years of home ed went on. The 'Little Einsteins' point is really poignant too, as I have a little inventor at home - you've made me think what more I can do to nurture this spark in her and expose her to innovators and inventing experiences!
Thanks so much, I'm glad it resonated and prompted some new ideas with your own home education! I'm actually in Canada but I haven't come across Dr. Alan Thomas. Are there any specific papers you suggest reading from him? There's a pressing gap in large-scale data on homeschooling and alternative education so I'm endlessly curious to read what is available.
I watched this video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX8M8SMGX18 - and read his book.
I also just asked Perplexity for research papers by Dr Alan Thomas (UCL) on home education — especially informal learning — and here are some key ones it highlighted:
Thomas (1998): Foundational study on how families move from formal to informal home learning.
Thomas & Pattison (2007): Looks at children learning to read naturally at home, without explicit teaching.
Both are widely cited in UK home ed research and doctoral work.
If you’d like to explore further:
Thesis referencing both papers: https://etheses.bham.ac.uk/5051/1/Pattison14PhD.pdf
UK research overview: https://he-byte.uk/research/
Alan Thomas on Academia: https://york.academia.edu/AlanThomas
His book Educating Children at Home: https://books.google.com/books/about/Educating_Children_at_Home.html?id=1oOxAwAAQBAJ
This is gold, appreciate you compiling all of this! Lots to dig into here.