Most Popular Posts of 2023 UNLOCKED - Celebrating One Year of Ahimsa
I started this newsletter a year ago. I’m humbled to report that the newsletter is now read by hundreds of people in 41 countries and nearly all 50 US states. I’m so grateful to all of you and hope to continue to be of value.
To say thank you, I’ve unlocked my most popular posts of the 2023 for everyone!
(Please note substack automatically relocks these after 24 hours if you miss the window let me know by commenting here and I’ll reopen them or you can subscribe for a 7 day free trial.
Happy New Year!
Children become scholars with the Socratic method
Socratic style teaching is depicted widely in popular culture as a teacher asking students questions to push their knowledge. This method is nearly 2,500 years old but still used today. Why? Modern research shows that the Socratic method improves logic and reasoning - the pillars of a functioning, innovative society. Despite its popularity, most don’t k…
Fostering Logical Minds: 5 Steps to the Socratic Method
There is a crisis facing our society → the loss of the critical, independent thinkers Universities used to proudly teach logic, the process by which one critically evaluates observable data, keeping good information, discarding poor, with the goal of arriving at logical “truths”. The process of teaching logic, or reasoning, can begin in middle school and…
5 Reasons You Should Read Classic Literature to Your Kids
You’ll hear a lot about the importance of reading classic children’s literature to your kids. Most will say it builds vocabulary & lays the foundation for your kids’ writing. Both of are true but there are many other reasons. Here are my top 5 1. Classic literature doesn't talk down to children
Leisure reading (but not any kind) helps children develop reading skills
Let’s talk leisure reading! There is a link between leisure reading and reading skills. Put simply, the more children read on their own outside of school the better their reading becomes. However, there are several recent studies that indicate that not all reading is created equal. Let's go through one such
The way you Parent affects when your kids Die
Let’s talk about Parenting for a Long life My mother often says “however you want to parent, there is a book that tells you it’s the right way.” There are a million parenting books and all of them say different things! How are you supposed to know which book is right?
The Illusion of Limited Choices: Teaching Kids to See the Possible in the Impossible
Most parents want to teach their children logic. Many also think they aren’t qualified to teach this skill. But you don’t need to know the difference between deductive and inductive reasoning to teach logic. If you can read a story to your children, you can teach them logic.
Physics, Art, & History: A Multidisciplinary Exploration of Hagia Sophia
This week, my kids learned about the Hagia Sophia. My 9 & 6 yo girls fell in love with this beautiful building when we were studying the Byzantine Empire. Besides being gorgeous, studying this building allows you to study history, science, art, and religion all at the same time! Any time I can combine so many subjects together is a win.
6 Ancient Experiments and How to Recreate Them with Your Kids
We often teach subjects separately as if the world exists in 8 pieces. But something special happens when you combine disciplines. Children stop seeing the world in pieces and instead integrate multidisciplinary ideas readying their minds for true creativity. Our best innovators do this naturally, pulling effortlessly from multiple domains to create som…
Thank you for being on this beautiful journey with me. Happy New Year!
With Love,
~Dr. Claire (aka Hippy Mom)
Finding Healing Through Reading the Classics
My 4th grader is reading A Dangerous Journey (an abridged version of Pilgrim's Progress) In this story, the main character is carrying a heavy backpack which he calls his "burdens" He carries it everywhere & complains of it often I explained the story is an allegory so it's not literally true but has a deeper meaning
