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Big Kids Need Play Too: Why Screens Are Replacing Play and What We Can Do About It
Learn | Child Development

Big Kids Need Play Too: Why Screens Are Replacing Play and What We Can Do About It

Learning Through Play: How Play Fuels Child Development and Lifelong Learning
Play | Alternative Education

Learning Through Play: How Play Fuels Child Development and Lifelong Learning

Playroom Ideas for Small Rooms: Smart Solutions for Fun and Functionality
Elementary (5-11 Years Old) | Infants (0-12 Months) | Play | Pre-School (3-4 Years Old) | Toddler (13-24 Months)

Playroom Ideas for Small Rooms: Smart Solutions for Fun and Functionality

Dive into the benefits of risky play and learn why letting your child take calculated risks can be a transformative experience for their growth and development.
Play | Child Development | Learn

Risky Play: Why It’s Essential for Your Child’s Growth and Development

Dive into the world of nature with "25 Easy and Fun Spring Nature Activities for Kids". Explore the benefits of outdoor play and watch your child's curiosity and creativity flourish.
Play | Learn

25 Easy and Fun Spring Nature Activities for Kids

Here are some engaging, screen-free rainy day activities to keep your kids entertained and thriving when it's too rainy to play outside.
Elementary (5-11 Years Old) | Infants (0-12 Months) | Play | Pre-School (3-4 Years Old) | Toddler (13-24 Months)

26 Screen-Free Rainy Day Activities for Spring

Why Boredom is GOOD for Your Child & How to Let it Happen
Learn | Child Development

Why Boredom is GOOD for Your Child & How to Let it Happen

The Power of Mixed-Age Play: Why Our Kids Need It More Than Ever
Parenting | Play

The Power of Mixed-Age Play: Why Our Kids Need It More Than Ever

How to Organize Your Playroom: Tips to Defeat Clutter
Infants (0-12 Months) | Play | Pre-School (3-4 Years Old)

How to Organize Your Playroom: Tips to Defeat Clutter

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Play

Understanding the Importance of Play in Child Development: A Wake-Up Call for Parents

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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 you rethink school, screens + modern childhood
Former teacher (M.Ed) → secular homeschooler
Join a community of parents rethinking childhood ↓

One of my goals as a parent is to help my children One of my goals as a parent is to help my children understand that their experience of the world is just one experience among many.That doesn’t require a passport or expensive travel.Some of the most meaningful opportunities to broaden a child’s perspective can be found in local museums, community events, libraries, and conversations with people whose lives look different from our own.The goal isn’t to raise children who have seen everything.It’s to raise children who remain curious about what they haven’t seen yet.👇 Comment AGSUB and I’ll send you an invitation to my community, where I share exclusive essays, practical parenting insights, and monthly coffee chats with parents who are rethinking childhood right alongside me.
One of the most common assumptions about homeschoo One of the most common assumptions about homeschooling is that it’s about keeping children away from the world.That hasn’t been our experience at all.For us, it’s meant more access to real life, not less.More unhurried conversations, more time to follow curiosity, more space for learning that isn’t boxed in by a schedule or a classroom.It’s not about filtering the world for children. It’s about helping them make sense of it as they move through it.This is also the kind of thinking I go deeper into with the parents in my community.If this resonates, I’d love to invite you in. It’s a space for parents questioning modern childhood and education, sharing what’s actually working, and thinking more intentionally about how they’re raising their kids.Inside, I share exclusive essays and practical insights I don’t post publicly, plus we meet once a month for a casual coffee chat to talk through real-life parenting decisions.👇 Comment AGSUB and I’ll send you the details.
Every June, some people seem genuinely surprised t Every June, some people seem genuinely surprised that I homeschool my kids and celebrate Pride.I think that reaction says a lot about the stereotypes surrounding homeschooling.Many people assume homeschooling means raising children in a bubble, shielded from people whose lives, identities, or beliefs differ from their own.But that has never been my goal.I’m raising kids who know that LGBTQ people exist, deserve respect, and have always been part of our communities.I’m raising kids who can engage with the world thoughtfully instead of fearing it.Because if our children are only comfortable around people who look like them, think like them, or live like them, we’ve done them a disservice.The world is diverse.Our kids should be equipped to navigate it with empathy, confidence, and respect.👇 Comment AGSUB if you’re raising thoughtful kids and want to join a community of parents rethinking childhood.
Some of the parents I know who question modern chi Some of the parents I know who question modern childhood the most don’t homeschool.They simply pay attention.They notice when kids are spending more time on screens than outside. They wonder why childhood feels increasingly rushed. They question whether endless testing, constant stimulation, and age-inappropriate technology are actually serving children.You don’t have to homeschool to think critically about the messages our culture sends kids.You don’t have to homeschool to protect childhood.And you definitely don’t have to homeschool to ask better questions.The goal isn’t to get every family to make the same choices.The goal is to help more parents become intentional about the choices they’re making.👇 Comment AGSUB and I’ll send you the link to join my community of parents rethinking childhood.
As a former teacher with a master’s degree in educ As a former teacher with a master’s degree in education, people often assume I homeschool because I wanted more academics.But what actually pushed me toward homeschooling were five things I couldn’t stop thinking about after spending more than a decade in classrooms.Gifted kids often spent more time waiting than learning and gifted programs are being cut or outsourced to tech.Students with ADHD were frequently expected to adapt to environments that weren’t built for how they learn best and many parents were expected to medicate their kids in early elementary school so they could “function” inside the system.iPads and EdTech started to take up more and more space in children’s days, often at the expense of discussion, deep reading, and hands-on learning (even recess was sometimes being taken over by screen time).Recess felt increasingly undervalued, despite how important play and movement are for healthy development— 20 mins a day should be criminal.And curriculum was often so packed that there wasn’t much room for curiosity, depth, or meaningful exploration.None of this means every family should homeschool.It simply means that after seeing these patterns year after year, I wanted a different educational experience for my own children—one with more flexibility, more play, more autonomy, and more opportunities to truly love learning.#giftedkids #alternativeeducation #homeschooling #adhd
The longer I parent, the more convinced I become t The longer I parent, the more convinced I become that some of the most important education conversations have very little to do with homeschooling...They’re conversations about play. About screens. About deep reading. About childhood itself.You can love your child’s teacher and still question excessive testing.You can appreciate your school and still want more recess, less screen time, or a different vision of learning.Questioning a system doesn’t require rejecting it. It starts with paying attention to what children actually need to thrive.Comment AGSUB and I’ll send you the link to the full essay 🙌🏻
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