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How to let your kids be kids, learn, grow and thrive via purposeful play, independent learning, and open-ended toys.

importance of drawing and painting in child development
Play | Toy Recommendations

23 Best Art Supplies for Kids

25 Montessori Toddler Activities That Will Keep Your Little One Busy
Alternative Education | Child Development | Learn | Toddler (13-24 Months)

25 Montessori Toddler Activities That Will Keep Your Little One Busy

Purposeful Play: How to Encourage Children to Play Purposefully
Play

Purposeful Play: How to Encourage Children to Play Purposefully

children looking down at camera
Alternative Education | Elementary (5-11 Years Old) | Play

Benefits of Recess in Elementary School

The Best Pikler Triangle: Why You Need One for Your Kids
Infants (0-12 Months) | Play | Pre-School (3-4 Years Old) | Toddler (13-24 Months) | Toy Recommendations

The Best Pikler Triangle: Why You Need One for Your Kids

child, hand washing, sink-6067646.jpg
Play

12 Fun Indoor Water Play Activities for Kids

three children sitting on pillows reading
Play | Elementary (5-11 Years Old)

8 Awesome Playroom Ideas Perfect For Older Kids

Playroom Ideas For Toddlers: What They Really Need!
Play | Toddler (13-24 Months)

Playroom Ideas For Toddlers: What They Really Need!

Two children crafting colorful paper shapes, focusing on creativity and fun in an indoor setting.
Play

How to Turn Your Dining Room into a Functional Playroom

Educational Wooden Toys for Kids (3 to 8-Year-Olds)
Play | Toy Recommendations

Educational Wooden Toys for Kids (3 to 8-Year-Olds)

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Together we’ll slow down, stop rushing our kids through life and raise lifelong learners who will become confident and independent adults. 

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thealannagallo

Helping parents rethink school, screens + modern childhood
Former teacher (M.Ed) → secular homeschooler
Raising curious, real-world-ready kids ↓

Please go look up the importance of sleep on child Please go look up the importance of sleep on child development 😅 About 44% to 77% of U.S. kids are sleep deprived….Lack of quality sleep is 💯 impacting many kids physical and mental health. It also exacerbates symptoms of ADHD and autism 😅 so this ND mom to multiple ND kids is protecting it at all costs.Modern homeschooling isn’t just about opting out of the education system… it’s much bigger than that. We are opting out of all the systems that don’t serve us.#secularhomeschoolers #secularhomeschool
I’m not screen-intentional because I think I’m a p I’m not screen-intentional because I think I’m a perfect parent. I’m screen-intentional because I’ve seen what happens when my kids don’t have one to reach for.Follow @thealannagallo for more of our totally intentional, slightly countercultural life.
Nobody designed these games to be educational. Nob Nobody designed these games to be educational. Nobody was thinking about executive function or social development or attention spans.They were just fun.But here’s what’s wild: we were outside, moving, problem solving, competing, failing, and figuring things out together. Without a single screen involved.I think about this a lot when I watch my kids play. The less structured it is, the more they’re actually building.We didn’t need an app for that in 1993. We still don’t.Follow @thealannagallo for more.
Scarier than anything Netflix could come up with. Scarier than anything Netflix could come up with.Because somewhere along the way we decided that 7 year olds needed a 30 step skincare routine, recess was a privilege and not a right, and handing a kid a screen was easier than sitting with their boredom.And schools? Schools stopped assigning novels because kids can’t focus long enough to finish them. We gave them AI generated summaries and called it learning.This is the stuff that actually keeps me up at night. Not monsters. This.Follow @thealannagallo for more of these completely unhinged but entirely true observations.
And notice I said the SYSTEM not TEACHERS. The sys And notice I said the SYSTEM not TEACHERS. The system is failing and all the data backs it up.Let’s stop trying to flex that even 20 years ago teachers couldn’t get kids to read books… like what? 🫠It was bad then and it’s only getting worse (I know because I was a high school teacher for over a decade)…High stakes testing. EdTech. Curriculum choices driven by politics. Lack of teacher autonomy. Lack of parental involvement. 1:1 iPads for kindergartners Excessive screen use at home and in school. Gamified everything. Lack of recess time. Busy work for homework. Large class sizes. Lowering standards.Add that to…A society that doesn’t value the work of teachers. A society that doesn’t value intellectualism. A society that doesn’t value neurodiversity.There is a reason there is a mass exodus of teachers and a reason so many teachers are leaving to homeschool their own kids…
Homeschooling didn’t just change how our kids lear Homeschooling didn’t just change how our kids learn. It changed how we live.When you step off the conveyor belt you’re suddenly forced to ask questions you never thought to ask before. Why are we rushing? What are we teaching them? What are we letting in and what are we keeping out?We don’t have it all figured out. But we’re asking the questions. And that feels like enough.Follow @thealannagallo if you’re asking the same ones.
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