10WaystoExci

te
YourKi
dstoLearn

Rei
gnit
ethei
r
Passi
onForLear
ning
 “
Idon’
twantto “
Ifeelsi
ck
gotoschool
!”
t
omyst omach!
”

“
Ihat
emat
h!”

Par

For
ent

t
sofschool
onadai l
ybasi
schoolsyst
unatel
y,
s,

t
her
-agedchi
whi

ei
l
em const
sawayt
l
dr

ot
enheart
eschooli
r
aint
sandr
si

ur
gidi
nst
t
hesest
nsessi
i
on.I
ymayi
r
essi
t’
nf
nt
at

li
‘
‘
ement
sasadr
s(
emi
orsi

ctonachild’
osuccessandt
mil
armor
nderoft
sdesi
r
r
et
ansf
ecol

ol
ear
or
or
hedamaget
n.
f

m achi
ulones)
r
adi

l
d’
ti
onal

semot i
onsf r
om defeatintodel
ight
.You
will
besur pri
sedwheretheanswerl ands.Al
litrequiresisal i
tt
lebi
toffunandanunder st
andingofwhyt hehuman
brai
npr ocessesthi
ngsthewayi tdoes--
andhowl ev eragi
ngt hepoweroffuncanmak eallthedif
ferenceinthe
world.Let’
stakeadeeperdiv
ei ntotheneurosci
encebehi ndlearni
ng,
andwhyi ncor
porati
ngf unbuildsexci
tement
andant i
cipati
onaroundwhatthenex tdayoflearningwi l
lbring.

I
nthi
swhitepaper,
we’
llshar
etenideast
ohel
pyour
e-i
gni
tey
ourchi
l
d’spassi
onf
orl
ear
ningandi
nspi
ret
hem t
o
di
veheadf
ir
stint
otheupcomingschooly
ear
.

Je
i
c
aPa
rn
e
–JessicaPar
nell
BridgewayAcademyCEO

Who’
sexci
tedt
olear
nmor
e?
Her
ewego.
..
 ? Di
r
dy ouknowbr
esearchtel
l
ai
sust
n
hatwhen
thefunstops,lear
ning
oftenstopstoo.

It
’
snosecret.
..
wearedesignedforl
earni
ng.Fr
om t
hemomentweareborn,ourbr
ainsar
e
hardatwor
ktakingi
ninformati
on,pr
ocessi
ngthewor
ldar
oundus,
lear
ning,andgrowi
ng.

Andwel oveit
!Ourki
dsapproachnewex peri
ences Nomat t
erthereason,theresultsarethesame.Ki ds
andnewl ear
ningwit
haweandant i
cipati
on.The str
uggleacademi cal
lyandt heyloseconf i
dence.And
simpl
ey etof
t-r
epeat
edquesti
on“Why ?”i
sjustoneof whent heydragthemsel vesthroughthef r
ontdoorat
thei
ndicator
sofami ndeagert
olear
n. theendofanot hermiserableschool day,i
tbreaksyour
hearttoseethatthelightintheireyeshasdimmed. The
Preschoolersandkinder gartnerscannotwai ttohead questi
on“ Why?”takesonadi f
ferentsortofmeaning.
offtoschool ,
andwhent heycomehomeex cited Ratherthanawhyi nspiredbycur iosi
ty
,thiswhyis
aboutwhatt heylearned, weenj oyhear i
ngaboutt he oft
ena“ WhydoIhav etoknowt his?”
games, fi
nger-pai
nti
ng, crayons, andmacar oniproject
s
thatfil
l
edt hei
rday.Litt
ledot heyknowt hatast hey Ifyoumadet hedeci siont oescapet hetr
aditi
onal
diveintothefoundationsf orreadi ngandmat h,they school model andr enewt hehungerf orl
earning,
aredev el
opingnewneur alpat hway sthatprov i
de congr at
ulations!Youar eaboutt oembar konan
connect i
onstheywillrelyonf ort herestoft heirl
ives. exciti
ngj ourney .Buthowdoy oupr ovi
dethebest
educat i
onf ory ourchi l
d?Onet hatmak eslearni
ngfun
Sadly,somewher eal ongt heway ,ther igidstruct ur
eof again.Educat i
onopt ionshav eex pandedov erthepast
school alltooof t
ensquashest hei rent husiasm.What fewy ears,leavingy ourheadspi nningwithmor e
wasonceex cit
ing, new,bright ,
andcol or f
ul becomes quest i
onst hananswer s.Buthere’sonequest i
onto
anobl i
gat i
ont hatnol ongerhast hatsameappeal . seriouslyconsi der--
hav ey outhoughtabout
Perhapsi tistheemphasi sonst andar dizedt estingor homeschool ing?
thefactt hattheagendasetbyat eacherhast omeet
theneedsofal lst udents,aswel lasst atest andar ds. BeforeIexplai
nwhyhomeschool ingcouldv erywel lbe
May beiti stheinabi l
it
yt oaddcr eat i
vi
t yandf unt o thesoluti
ontoy ourchi
ld’
sstr
ugglesorf r
ustrations
l
essons, orthepr essuret ost ayonpacewi tht herest withtradi
ti
onalschool,i
t’
simportanttonotet hat
ofthecl ass.Orper hapsiti stheev er
-shr i
nkingt imefor homeschool i
ngisnotthesameast hedistance
recess,ex plor
ation, l
aught er,art
,musi c,dance, and l
earning,vi
rt
uallearni
ng,andremot eeducationy our
otherav enuesf orsel f
-expr essi
on. chil
dmayhav erecentl
yexper
ienced.

Moder
nhomeschool
inghasexi
stedf
ormor
ethan50y
ear
s..
.andi
tsr
esul
tsar
epr
oven.

Wi t
hhomeschool i
ng,yourstudentswil
lnolongerbefor
cedtofi
tint
oaspeci
fi
cmold,l
ikeacooki
e-cut
tercl
assr
oom
teachingcooki
e-cut
terlessons.I
nstead,
theyaregiv
enthefr
eedom tol
ear
ninway
st hatbestf
itt
hem andyourhome.
Andt hisi
swhereneuroscienceandf uncomei nt
oplay.

So,
nowt
hathomeschool
i
ngi
sony
ourr
adar
,youhav
ethei
ncr
edi
bleoppor
tuni
tyt
oex
per
iencel
ear
ningwi
thoutl
i
mit
s.

2
Andi
tal
lst
art
swi
th.
..
FUN!
 I
tal
lst
art
swi
th.
..
FUN!

Thisisn’
tatheory;i
t’sf
act.St
udiesshowadirectcorr
elati
onbet weenlearni
ngmast eryandf un
(McEwan&St r
ickl
and,2003).I
nf act
,whenki
dsex per
ienceposi ti
veemot i
onswhi l
el earning,t
hey
ret
ainmor eandar emuchmor elikel
ytomasternewskills(Dulay&Burt,1977; Kr
ashen, 1982).
Conversel
y,i
ftheirlear
ningenvi
ronmentisf
il
ledwithstress,boredom,confusion,oranx iety
,
l
earningingeneralbecomesast ruggl
eandretent
ionismuchl essl i
kel
y(Christi
anson, 1992).

Wit
hthatinmind,her
eare10way syoucanreigni
teyourchil
d’snat
ural
passi
onforl
ear
ningandget
t
hem readyf
oranunf or
gett
abl
eschoolyear
.(Takespecialnoteofmyfir
stt
hreepr
oven
r
ecommendat i
onsthatareal
laboutl
ever
agi
ngt hepoweroff un!
)

TheDope
onDopamine
Dopami neisaneur otr
ansmi t
termadebyy ourbody,and
i
t’
susedbyy ournervoussy stem tosendmessages
betweenner v ecell
s.Dopami neaf fectshowwef eel
pleasure,
howwet hink,howwepl an, howwef ocus,how
west ri
ve,andhowandwhywef indt hingsi nt
eresti
ng.
Findthatinteresti
ng?That ’
sy ourdopami nekickingin!
It
’
sspr eadal ongfourmaj orpathway si ny ourbrainand
i
t’
sr el
easedwheny oufeeljoy,amongot heremot i
ons.

Witht
hati
nmind,wehighl
yrecommendt
hat
youfi
ndawayforyourst
udentto.
..

1 EnJOYLear
ning
HomeschoolingisNOTaboutr e-creat
ingaone- si
ze-f
its-
allclassroom ex
peri
ence.ItI
Saboutthejoyoflear
ning;
thefr
eedom toletcuriosi
tyt
akeov er;
thetimet oexploreinterest
s,toenj
oylaughter
,andtoaddfuntoev er
yday
•••••

l
earni
ng.Andal lforgoodreason.AsIment ioned,neuroscienceshowst hatj
oyleadstoahigherr
eleaseof
dopamine.Andt hatdopaminer eleaseresul
tsingreaterinterest,
engagement,andlong-
term memory.

Begi
nwi
thashi
fti
nper
spect
ive.Pr
ovi
de“
lear
ningex
per
iences”r
athert
han“
lear
ningex
erci
ses.
”
Tak
eamomentt
olaughov
ersomet
hing.
Lety
ourki
ddosenj
oyt
hewhyofwhatt
heyar
elear
ning.
Encour
aget
hem t
oex
plor
ethei
rint
erest
sbydi
ggi
ngdeeperi
ntoat
opi
c.
Addi
t
nex
omak
cur
sionst
ememori
oamuseum,
es.
zoo,
local
par
k,ory
ourownbacky
ard
3
 2 Encour
ageDi
scov
ery
Whenstudentsar ef r
eetoex pl
oreanddiscover
, Knowingtheschoolsyst
emsandt eachersal
ike
t
heyareautomat icall
ymor eengagedand wereoutofthei
relement,t
heydecidedtogiv
eFiona
•••••

moti
vated.Theirexcitementaboutlear
ningleads arealopport
uni
tytosucceedbyturningt
oan
t
othatdopami nebur st,whi
chmak esthem mor e exper
iencedhomeschoolacademy.
l
ik
elytoremember ,underst
and,andempl oywhat
t
heylearn. Whathappened?Fi ona’sclasseswer echosen
speci f
ical l
yar oundwhatex citesher ,howshel earns
Creat i
nganenv i
ronmentt hatshiftsfrom at al
king (l
ear ningst yle),andwhatheracademi cgoalslook
headorcur riculum dumpt oonet hatal lowsf or l
ike.Howandwhenshewast aughtwasdeci dedby
high-spiriteddi scoveryisapower fulwayt o herpar ents,wor kingwi t
hherAcademi cAdv i
sor.Her
l
ev eragey ourchi l
d’sbraindopami nepush.Asy our l
ear ningex perienceaccommodat edex t
raspacei n
kidsdi scov eranswer st otheirquestionsorex pl
ore herdayt oex pl oreherinterests,connectwi th
somet hi ngnewont heirterms, t
heyex perience neighbor hoodf r
iends,andenj oyt hewor l
daround
“ah-ha”moment sthatfast -
tr
ackt heirbr ai
n’sabili
ty her.Lear ningbecamepar tofal lshedidratherthan
toreallyl earn.Aposi ti
vesi deeffecty ouar ebound awal l
ed- offpar tofherday .Andherpar entssawa
toseei st heirgrowingconf idenceast heyr eali
ze newsi deofFi ona.Mor edopami ne.Lessanx i
ety.
thepur ej oyi nfiguri
ngouthowmucht heycan Mor egener oussmi les.Lessfr ustrat
ion.
l
ear nont hei rown.Oncet heydo, youhav ea
l
ifelongl ear nerony ourhands.Andi sn’ tthatwhat Adiscovery-basedf ocushelpskidsuncov ermore
educat ioni sal labout? aboutthemsel ves.Andbygi vingthem somechoi ce
i
nhowandwher et heystudyorhowt hey
A“ new-to-homeschool i
ng”f amilysharedwi thme demonstrateunder standing,wecanbui l
dont he
ast oryaboutt heirdaught erFiona.Shest r
uggled i
deaofdi scoveryl earningandcr eateasenseof
stayinginterestedinacl assroom sett
ing. ownership.Andt hatleadst okidswhoar emor e
Ever yt
hingmov edabi ttoosl owlyforher,causing accepti
ngoft heirer rors,
mor emot i
vatedtotry
hert obecomedi stractedf r
om learni
ngr atherthan again,
andl essf earfulaboutaskingquest i
ons.
engaged.Dur i
ngt heCOVI Dpandemi c,Fiona’s
parentsf ear
edt hatsi t
tingthroughZoom cal l
sall
daywoul dbedi sastrous.

Fori
deasonhowt oaddcreati
vit
yint
oy ourl
ear
ning
envi
ronment
,readourbl
ogt i
tl
ed,Spi
cingUpYourHomeschool
. 4
 Remember
:
Negati
veemoti
ons,
str
ess,and
anxi
etygeti
nthewayofl
earni
ng.
Neur oscienceandFMRist udi
esshowuswhathappensi nt
hebr ai
nasar esul
t
oflearningf r
ustration,str
ess,andanxiety
. TheseFMRiimagesshowt hatunder
st
r essfulconditions,infor
mat i
onisli
teral
lyblockedfr
om enter
ingthe
prefrontalcortex,wher ehigher-
lev
elcognition,pr
ocessi
ng,consol
idat
ion,and
memor yoccur.

Inotherwords,whenstresski
cksi n,
theamy gdala(t
heregionoft hebr
ain
primari
lyassociat
edwithemotionalprocesses)st
epsinandt endstocause
negativ
eemot ionstofl
are,
thuslimit
ingthetransf
erofinf
ormat iontot
he
highercognit
ivenetwor
ksandshut ti
ngdownt hel
earni
ngpr ocess.

So,howdoweli
mittheflar
ingofnegat
iveemot
ions
whenitcomest
olearni
ng?

3 KeepStressLowbyTai
lor
ing
toLear
ningStyl
e
•••••

Fort
oomanyst udents,
newski l
l
sandconceptscanbediff
icul
t.Andwhendi
ff
icul
tysetsin,
ther
esult
ing
fr
ust
rat
iontendstoleadtoevenmor est
ruggl
esastheybegint
oapproacht
hosesubjectswit
hdread
and/
orafeeli
ngof“Ican’tdothi
s!”

All
toooft
enthisst
ruggl
eismorethanjustacademics(al
thoughwewill
discussthatshort
ly)
.Inst
ead,i
tis
abouthowweapproachteachi
ngandlearni
ng.Unfort
unately
,manyti
meswesel ectcurri
cul
um basedon
whatafri
endisusi
ngorfal
lbackt
ot eachi
nginthewayt hatwelear
nbest.Andourkidsgetleftbehi
nd.

Thi
siswhyunderstandingyourchi
ld’
slearni
ngstyl
eandspeakingthei
rlear
ninglanguagei
ssocrit
ical
.
Wheny oucanappealtothe“who”inyourchil
d,youarebet
terequi
ppedtohelpthem under
standand
masternewconcepts,andrei
gnit
etheex ci
tementaroundl
earni
ng.

Andwhenstudent
shav
et heoppor
tuni
tyt
oappr
oachnewi
nformati
oninthei
rpref
err
edlear
ninglanguage,
theyar
ebet
terabl
etot
hinkcri
ti
cal
ly
,sol
vepr
obl
ems,t
aker
isks,andpushthr
oughtoughchal
lenges.

ThisiswhatwedoatBr i
dgewayAcademy .Bylev
eragingourpr
opri
etar
ylearni
ngandpersonal
ityst
yle
assessments,pl
acementtest
s,andawiderangeoftoolstouncov
ertheunique“r
ightf
it
”lear
ningprogram,
wehel pdef
ineyourchi
l
d’sopti
mal l
ear
ningexperi
ence.

5
 KeepStr
essLowbyStar
ti
ng
4 attheRi
ghtAcademi
cLevel
•••••

Beginteachingwher ei tmak essenset ot he Scienti

fi
call
yspeaki
ng,t
hi sst
ress-f
reeappr oach
specifi
clearner.Whenwemak eageandgr ade al
lowst heamy gdal
atotransf
erinformationtothe
theonlyfactorsi ndet ermini
ngwhi chacademi c prefr
ontalcort
exrat
herthanshutdownl earni
ng
l
ev elf
itsourkids, wer iskstart
ingthem atal ev
el duet oachargednegati
veemot ionalresponse.
thatiseit
hertoodi f
ficultortooeasy .Inbot h
cases,wer i
skcr eat i
nganenv ir
onmentt hatisnot ThisiswhyBr i
dgewayAcademyof fersacademi c
conducivetolear ning. Thosewhof indt he pl
acementt est
ingf orall
st udentsingr ades1-10.
curri
culum overlychal lengi
ngbegi ntof eel Ourabili
tytopinpointacademi cstr
engt hsand
defeatedorstar tcalli
ngt hemselves“ stupid,
”and needs,combinedwi thouri nsightsintolear
ning
thosewhodonotf i
ndi tverychall
engi ngquickly andpersonali
tystyle,ar
et hef oundat i
onforatruly
growbor edandf rustrated. personal
izedandf ull
ytail
or edlearningplan.Thi
s
i
swhatset sourst udentsupf orsuccess.
Youwantt ostar
tyourkidsatalevelwherethey
areabletosucceed,andthengraduall
ychall
enge
them.Thisearl
ysuccesslaysthefoundati
onfor
theyearandsetsthem uptosoarov erper
ceived
obstacl
eswithconfi
dence.

5
•••••

6
 Inv
olv
eThem i
nYourLear
ning
6 andRewar
dSuccess
•••••

Kidslearnwhatt heyliv
e.Givethem the Onefavori
ter
ewar dinourhomewasr ecognit
ion
opportunit
ytoseey oustudyandgai nnewski l
l
s fort
hebestormostquest i
onsinaday .Thisgav e
andknowl edge.Wheny oumak ethem partofy our eachoftheki
dst heopportuni
tytoearnthatstatus.
l
earningprocess, youhelpthem seet hatl
earni
ng Itwasnotaboutwhohadt hemostanswer s;i
twas
i
sbot hal i
fet
imeact ivi
tyandagr eatpracti
ceno aboutwhohadt hemostquest i
ons.Thiscreateda
matterhowdi ff
icultthesubjectmatteris. spacewherenoquest i
onwas“ stupi
d”;i
nstead,
quest
ionswereani ndi
cat
ionofachievement .
Rewar dsandr ecognit
ionar ealsowonder f
ultool
s
forinspi
ringl earni
ng.Hav est udentssetpersonal
goalsanddocumentt hem. Thencelebrate
togetherwhent heyachiev eeachgoal .These
goalsdon’ thav etobesolel yaroundacademi cs;i
n
fact,byincludinggoalsar oundout sideinter
ests,
youl ayt
hef oundati
onf oral oveoflearningthat
appliestoal laspectsoflife.

7
 8 MakeI
tRel
evant
—Connectt
oPr
iorLear
ning
Haveyoueverexperi
encedt
hat“ah-
ha!
”moment
•••••

whenyouarehearingsomet
hingnewandy ou
aut
omatical
l
ymak etheconnecti
ontosomethi
ng
youhear
dbefore?Learni
ngleapsar
eexhi
larat
ing.

Welcomet ot hemechani csofy ourbr ai

natwor k.
Partofthecor tex ’
sdy nami cpr ocessi ngpoweri s
theabil
it
ytoconnectnewsensor yinfor
mat i
on
withprevi
ousl yst or
edi nformat ion.Yourbr ainis
buil
ttoli
nknewi nformat i
ont oex ist
ing
i
nformation.Whi l
ey ourcor texi sbusymaki ng
thoseconnect ions, yourlimbicsy stem isadding
emot i
onalsignif i
cancet ot hem. These

‘
‘
connecti
ons—r elati
ngpr iorinformat i
ontool dand
addingemot ional signif
icance—enhancesy our
abil
it
ytostor et hatnewi nf ormat ionintolong-term
memor y(Brod, etal .
,2013) .

Mydaughter
,Hannah,wasex cept
ional
lygi
ft
ed
i
ncreat
ingtheseconnect
ions..
.

Andtherelat
ionshipsshecr eatedwerequiteabstract
.Onesummer ,
whenshewasj ust7y earsol d,
shesurprisedmewi t
hananal ogyI
wouldneverhav emadeonmyown.Wehadst oppedev eryt
hingfora
deepdivei
ntomedi evalhistory
.Oneoft hediscoveri
eswemadewas
thatwomenwoul ddy etheirowncl ot
hingusingav ari
etyofnatural
dyes,i
ncl
udingf r
uit.Fortunatel
y ,
wehadamul berrytr
eei nour
backyar
danddeci dedtoex perimentwithusingtheberriestocreat
ea
dye.

Thegirl
sknewnottoeatt
hemulberriesbecausethelat
exf oundin
them i
stoxi
ctohumans.Andfr
uitconsumedbef orei
tisfullyr
ipened
cancauseanupsetst
omach,hal
lucinati
ons,andsti
mulati
onoft he
nerv
oussystem.I
twassafert
ojustav oi
dconsumpt i
onaltogether
.

Despi
tethepotent
ialdanger
sofmulber
ries,
weall
enj
oyedthepr
oject.
Thegir
lsendedupmashi
ng
thefr
uitandusi
ngittomak epai
nti
ngs,
tocreat
edesi
gnsonthei
rfaceandbodies,
andtocr
eat
ethe
dyewewoul dusefortheshir
ts.

Oneday,cov
eredinmulberrypai
nt,Hannahsai
d,“
Youk now,
Mom. .
.mul
berri
esremindmeofmy
si
ster
.Theyaref
unandv eryimportantt
omeandt heycanchangehowIlook,butt
heycanal
sohurt
mebecausetheyarepoisonous.Sheisver
yimport
anttomeandIloveher,butshecanbemeanand
hur
tme, whi
chisli
kebeingpoisonous.”

Hannahhadconnectedt hef act

sshewasl ear
ningaboutmul ber
rieswit
hthesometi
mes-t
umult
uous
relati
onshi
pwi
thhersister.Today,mor
ethan15y earsl
ater,
sher ememberswhatiti
saboutt
he
mul berr
ytr
eet
hati
st oxic.Iam notcert
ainsheremember sthatanalogy
,buti
tdef
ini
tel
yhel
ped
placethenewi
nformationint oherl
ong-
term memory.

9
 Engaget
heRet
icul
arAct
ivat
ingSyst
em
Oneofthemostpower fult
ool
sf orlear
ningandmemoryisourReti
cularAct
ivat
ingSyst
em (
RAS).Thisf
il
ter
,l
ocat
edj
ust
atthet
ipofourbrainst
em, i
skeyt ofocusandatt
ent
ion.I
tisdesi
gnedt odr
iveustowhatwetel
liti
simport
antandt
o
fi
lt
eroutunnecessaryi
nfor
mationsot hatthei
mport
antst
uffgetsthr
ough.

TheRASi swhywecanl ear

nanewconcept,i
dea,orskil
landthenseeital
lar
oundus.I
tisal
sot
hepar
tofourbr
ain
thatnot
iceschangesi
nourenv
ironmentorf
ocusesattenti
ononnovelt
y.

Readonf
orst
rat
egi
est
hatl
ever
aget
heRASi
nbot
hli
feandl
ear
ning.

7 Cr
eat
eUnexpect
edLear
ningExper
iences
Af antasti
cstrategyforbot hlearningand backoutoft
heroom.Ourchal
l
engewasto
mot ivat
ionistocr eatenovelex periences, descr
ibehi
m andwhatwesawt ot
hepr
inci
pal
as
•••••

unex pectedinterr
uptions,orintroductionst
o heprepar
edhis“
inci
dentr
epor
t.
”
l
ear ningthatgraby ourchil
d’sinterestandget
them pr i
medf orlearning. Thatinterruption/
intr
oductionhasbeenav i
vi
d
memor yf orme.Mr .Harr
isdidaf antast
ic
Oneoft hemosti mpact ful waysIsawt hisin j
obofl ever agi
ngt heRASi nthatlessonand
acti
onwasasa6t hgr adest udent
.Mr .Harri
s,my get
tingusr eadytonotonlyseet hei mport
ance
Engli
sht eacher
,want edt odr i
vehomet he ofobser v
at ionbutputiti
ntopr acti
ce.
i
mpor tanceofobser vationasani ntr
oduct i
onto
descript
ivewrit
ing.Aswewer einthemi dstofour Whenweappealtothepoweroft heRAS,wenot
l
iter
aturestudy,awildlydr essedmanst ormedi nt
o onl
ycapt
urethei
rint
erestbutsetthest
agefor
theclassroom,grabbedourf undrai
singcollect
ion l
earni
ngandgrowth.
box,andknock edov eraf ewchai r
sasher ushed

Getcr
eati
ve.Goofft
hewall.Hav
ey ourkidscomeupwit
hideas
t
hatappealt
othei
rsibl
ing’
sRAS.Youwi l
lbeamazedatt
heiri
ngenui
ty!

8
 9 Hel
pThem I
dent
if
yWhati
sMostI
mpor
tant
Oneoft hemosthel pfult
hingsy oucandoasa Throughex t
ensionact i
vi
ties, gr
aphicorganiz
er s,
•••••

teacher/parenti sli
kelycount eri
ntuiti
v e.Alltoo andquestionsthatallowst udent stocaptur
et hei
r
oftenaspar ent s,wewantourst udent st ofi
gur eit thoughtsandideas, y
ougui dethem throughthe
outont heirown.Wepi t
cht hist ooursel vesas processofidenti
f y
ingwhati simportanttonote.
“prepar
ingt hem f orthereal wor l
d.”Inr eali
ty
, when Theywilll
earnhowt oprioriti
zeinformati
onand
wehel pourki dsdeci dewhi chf actsar ewor thyof howt odevelopv al
uablest udyskill
s.
writi
ngdownandwhatt oreviewwhenst udying, we
setthem upf orf uturesuccess.Andi fwet ak et he Whent heylear
nhowt opri
orit
izeandidenti
fywhat
ti
met odemonst rat
easwel lasex plainhowt o i
simpor tantt
or ecor
d, t
heyreducetheamountof
decidewhi chf actsareimpor tant,ourki dsstar tto i
nformationneededt ogobackandst udy .
Thisis
l
ear nhowt omak ethosejudgment sthemsel v es. notonlyav al
uablestressbuster
,butalsoastrong
confi
dencebuilder!
AtBridgewayAcademy,ourdet
ail
ed
parent-i
nst
ruct
orgui
desaredesi
gned
todoj ustt
hat.

10 Gi
veSt
udent
sFr
eedom t
oRef
lectandRespond
Studiesshowt hatwhenstudentscanaddtheirown Inst
ruct orgui
desatBr idgewayAcademymak ethis
voice(orrefl
ectonwhattheylearnedinagi
v en refl
ectionstepapr ior
it
y .Asstudent swor kthr
ough
•••••

l
esson)t heyincr
easeret
entionbyasmuchas50%! eachlesson, theyareencour agedtor efl
ectonwhat
Thismeanst hataddingonesimpl est
epattheend theyhav el
earnedthrought hought-provoking
ofalessonordaycani ncreaseyourchil
d’
slearni
ng questions,graphicorgani z
ers,i
dent i
fyi
ngwhatt hey
byupt o50%! beli
evewasmosti mpor tantorsurprisi
ngaboutt he
l
esson, andmor e.Thi
si sbydesign, anditleadsto
Thisideaofv oi
cedrefl
ecti
onisaseasyasasking bigstudentwi ns.
them, “
Whatdi dyoulear
ntodaythatsurpri
sed
you?”or“Whydoy outhi
nkthisski
l
l ori
nformat
ion
i
si mportant?
”Oritcanbeascompl exasaski
ng
them tocompar etoday’
sheroofhistor
ytoaprior
herostudied.
10
BONUSTI

11
P!

Gi
veKiddosPer
missi
on
Whenmyki
t
hisl
dswer
essont
ey
hehar
oung,
dway..
.
Il
ear
ned
‘
‘
t
otakeaBreak Beingaf ai
rlydrivenindivi
dual, Iwoul doftenpush
(
WhenTheyNeedI
t) throughallofoursubj ectsoneaf tertheot her
,wi t
hthe
•••••

promi sedbenefitofhav i
ngt heent ireafternoonf r
ee.
Althought hi
sappear sasnumber11onmy ThismeantIwasconst antlythet askmast er,
fighti
ng
l
ist,itistheeasi estandmostef fectivewayt o theirneedtobr eathetoaccompl ishmyagenda. .
.which
ensur ey ourkidsarereadyt olearn!Justlike wask nowi
ngt hattheywoul dl ovet hefreedom t hat
you, yourchi l
drencanr educestresst hrough result
edf r
om k nockingthingsoutqui ckly.
play,ex erci
se,hobbies,fri
ends,musi c,sports,
orot heract i
vit
iesthatinter
estthem. That Theonlyproblem withthatscenar
io,however,wasthat
stressr eleasealsoreleasesdopami ne, which, theywerenotlearningastheyshouldhav e,
norwere
asy ouhav elearned,opensupt hebr ai
nf or theyenj
oyi
ngt heex peri
ence.WhenIdi scov
eredthe
evenmor elearni
ng. resear
chont hebenef i
tsofbrai
nbreaksandex erci
se,
i
tchangedev ery
thing.
From neur osci
ence, weknowt hatany
pl
easur ableact i
vi
tyusedasabr i
efbreaknot Ratherthanpushf rom onet askt othenex t
,we
onlyre-energizesourpr ef
ront
alcortexbut stoppedaf tereverysubj ect.Onsomeoccasi ons,thi
s
al
sogi vest heamy gdalaachancetocool meantt akingat hree-minutebr eakafteronly15
down- -
strengtheningt heneur
alpathwaysand minutesofacademi cs;onot her s,i
twas10t o15
prepari
ngt hebr ainforthenextchall
enge. minutesaf teramor ei ntensive30-t o40- mi
nutedeep
diveint
oat opic,di
scussi on, orskil
l-
buildi
ngex erci
se.
So, don’
tbeafr
aidt otakebreaks.Iguarantee Inmostcases, Iwoul dhav et hem getact i
vebyr unning
youar enotfor
mi ngahabi tt
hatwi llr
equire aroundt hehouse, doingaone- minutesit-
upor
yourchildr
entotak ebreaksev ery15mi nutes push-upchal lenge,orheadi ngout sidetoplaycat ch,
fortherestoft
hei rl
iv
es.Youar esimply soccer,oranot herspor t
.
l
ev eragi
ngtheincredi
blewor kingsofthe
braintoprepar
et hem formor e. WhatIf oundwast hatdespi
teourmanybr eaks,we
fi
nishedupbynoonal mosteveryday-
-wit
houtme
demandi ngthatt
heywor khardersowecoul dfreeup
ourafternoons.I
thappenedflui
dlyandorganicall
y
becauset heywerefreshandreadytolear
n.

11
TheBot
tom Li
ne
Attheendoft heday,
schoolshouldn’tbeachoreorthecauseofanxi
etyandpanicattacksinchi
ldr
en.
Schoolshould,i
nfact
,besomet hingachildl
ooksforwardtoeachday
, asourceofknowledgeand
i
nspirat
ion,
awayt ocreat
ivelyexpressthemsel
ves,andafoundati
onforallofl
if
e’
slessonstocomeafter
graduat
ion.Thegoodnewsi s,schoolcanbealloft
hat.

Byunderstandingtheneur osci
encebehindl ear
ningandacknowl edgi
ngt heimpor tantrolethatfunplays
i
neducation,theschooldaywi llbecomeoney ourchi
ldbeginstocherishratherthanr esist
.Reshaping
whatschoollooksl ikeint
hemi ndofachi ldisnotqui
teasdi f
fi
cultasonemi ghtexpect .Byusingthe
methodsandst rategiesli
stedhere,ki
dswi l
lseeschoolinawhol enewl ight
.You’llseet hatsparkinthei
r
eyes,
andt hatwillletyouknowt hatali
felongloveoflear
ningisbeginningtodev elop.Itisthenupt oyou

‘
‘
tonurt
urethatpassi onforknowledge--
trustme, t
heendr esul
tiswellwor t
ht heeffort.

Bridgewaytail
orsthecur r
iculum tomychild.Heistaughtin
thewayheunder st
andsbest .Ithasbeenagamechangerf or
him.Hi sconfi
dencehassoar edandIknowhe ’
sex actl
y
wher eheshouldbef orhisgrade.Bridgewayisri
ghtt her
efor
youev erystepoftheway ,supporti
ngandencouragi ngus.
Wecoul dnotbemor epleased.”

—AmandaRemi
ngt
on |Par
entHomeschool
er(
akaMom)

Ifyouwanthel
pinspi
ri
ngy
ourkidstolearn,
speakwit
honeofourHomeschoolSpecial
ist
s.
Wecanof
fersuggest
ionsandhelpyoudiscov
erahomeschool
progr
am
t
hatwil
l r
eigni
tey
ourchil
d’
sdesiret
olear
n.

Cal
lusat(
800)863-
1474

12

Vi
sitwww.
homeschool
academy
.com f
ormor
e!