Learning was Never Meant to be This Small
The learning objectives for children are comically small.
It became something that happens mostly at tables and desks, measured in worksheets completed and boxes checked. Something that can feel disconnected from real life, from relationships, from curiosity, and most importantly, from our inner selves.
Now, as homeschool moms, we feel this tension intuitively, even if we can’t always name it.
We sense that our children are capable of deeper thinking than what fits neatly into a workbook. We notice how alive they become when they are creating, exploring, asking real questions, or immersed in the world around them. We feel the difference between learning that is absorbed and learning that is simply completed.
And yet, it’s easy to believe that learning specific subjects must look a certain way to “count.” So we dizzy ourselves between abandoning the long-standing model and abandoning ourselves (and our children’s innate brilliance).
A Different Starting Point
What if learning didn’t begin with a curriculum of the standard five subjects?
What if instead, it began with curiosity, connection, and lived experience? What if we prioritized self-study, personal creativity, and critical thinking?
For our family, learning had to change when I was simultaneously doing too much and feeling like I wasn’t doing enough. It started to change when we stopped asking “How do I cover everything?” and began asking “What really matters? What helps my children think, feel, and engage deeply with the world?”
That shift has changed everything.
Learning is less about performance and more about process.
Less about to-do’s and more about making meaning.
Less about external validation and more about internal growth.
Learning Through Real Life
Some of the most meaningful learning I’ve witnessed didn’t happen because we planned it perfectly or aligned it with the academic standards.
It happened through:
Conversations sparked by curious questions
Creative projects that grew organically from interest
Time spent in nature, museums, cities, kitchens, and communities
Slow and expansive learning over art, literature, and building projects
This kind of learning naturally prioritizes:
Critical thinking over memorization
Creativity over compliance
Emotional well-being over pressure
Relationships and community over isolation
Self-study over constant instruction
Travel and adventure can amplify this! They immerse us in new places, perspectives, and cultures. They deepen our understanding in ways that books and videos can limit us - but they are not a requirement. Real life and a dose of adventure is happening everywhere, including at home.
The key is not where you learn, but how you relate to learning itself.
What This Space Is For
This Substack is a place to explore learning differently.
Here, I’ll share reflections, stories, and ideas about:
Learning rooted in real life and lived experience
Supporting curiosity and self-directed study
Nurturing emotional well-being alongside intellectual growth
Using adventure, big or small, as a catalyst for deeper learning
Not as a rigid method.
Not as another thing to “do right.”
But as an invitation to widen what learning can be.
The Invitation
If learning has felt heavy, narrow, or disconnected, for you or your children, I absolutely get it.
There is hope for learning to feel alive again.
There is space for creativity, curiosity, and connection.
There is permission to trust that meaningful learning often looks different than we were taught to expect.
If you’d like to experience what this approach looks like in a simple, tangible way, I’ve created a free mini learning unit designed around real-life exploration and gentle structure.
It’s not about doing more.
It’s about learning differently.
