We think you may be able to hear the charms on Gina’s necklace or earrings jingling at a few points in the podcast. Sorry! We’ll be sure to go jewelry free next time. 🙂
Gina and Christyn take on the themes of Common Sense and Connection in this episode! Laugh along with their anecdotes of developing common sense in their homeschools and hear how making connections — with learning, with life, with people — is at the heart of homeschooling.
3:58 Discussion of the importance of common sense and connection in homeschooling
4:41 Gina’s anecdotes about common sense vs being educated
7:26 Christyn calls it “street smarts” vs. “book smarts” but it’s the same thing
9:02 The perfect combination is both! Common sense is knowing when to use your book smarts and when to use your street smarts
9:33 Common sense is not an innate ability, but it’s a quality that can be developed
11:07 Sometimes natural consequences are the best lesson to learn common sense since they stick with us!
11:51 You can develop common sense by engaging in a real way with the real world in real time
14:15 Gina says reverse-engineering projects and situations can help develop common sense
15:30 Common sense in homeschool means taking a break for a couple of weeks if a project is overwhelming. Don’t overcomplicate things. There’s nothing wrong with simple; there’s nothing inherently better about something just because it’s complicated
15:58 Common sense in homeschool also means taking into account your homeschool style. You do the homeschool that works for you
17:03 Common sense says if there’s a problem, then there’s an answer
18:20 The common sense approach to homeschooling is seeing how interconnected all the learning is
18:48 Seemingly random activities can create avenues into learning that we aren’t always expecting
20:08 Learning outside the traditional school environment allows us to integrate and connect things for our kids
22:24 Make those connections because when a kid is interested, a kid is learning!
22:40 A good reason to focus on connections in homeschool is that it can help with subjects that might not be a student’s favorite
23:03 By exploring connections, we can really help our kids see the value in what they’re learning
23:37 It’s common sense to look for connections in education and help your child take ownership of that new knowledge in a meaningful way
23:50 Connections between people are also vitally important
24:40 Homeschooling is a radical lifestyle and it can be lonely. Find a community in which you can commiserate, kvetch, and celebrate
24:56 Maya Angelou, “Alone”