Project-based Homeschooling

I bought a new book in the middle of all my Christmas shopping because, well, our local library didn't have it.

Project-based Homeschooling by Lori Pickert is a really quick read - I knocked it out in one evening without even realizing it until I was just a few pages from the end. (Of course, the girls were playing a computer game that whole time, so I was able to focus on the book. Focused reading! What a novelty!)

In general, I found the book kind of vague. It went into a lot of the why of learning via immersion projects, which is all well and good but it seemed a bit like preaching to the choir. I already know why I want to have my kids participate in project-based learning. What I was hoping for was more suggestions on how, particularly how to get a 6-year-old started in the first place.

In particular, I wish it were a little more specific on how to handle things like my daughters' favorite phrase, "I can't." Their version of me "helping" is to do it for them. Not exactly what we're pursuing here.

If I'd been able to get this at the library, this most likely would not have ended up on my to-buy list. Oh well. I like the blog from the author a lot more - it seems a bit more useful for me, particularly the "project-based homeschooling (PBH) for grown-ups." This post about time management and working on projects in small bits despite the racket from the kids, rather than waiting for the perfect focus moment, was especially applicable right now.