Keith H

Durham, NC

We would love to get your feedback the most recent post to Kim's Korner entitled Less Is More.

You can view the post here: Less Is More

Thanks for joining the conversation.

michelle d

quakertown, PA

i can't believe no one else has posted here!!!
this article really, really speaks to me.

my son and i used MBTP last year. this year, however, i decided to try out some other curriculums. a science year full of phsyics...and only physics...for second grade!!! (just as mentioned in the article). a history year full of stories/facts spanning 150 years...need i say more? while my son says he likes what we're doing, i have been left feeling like we're floundering here. what am i teaching my child? does this have any real, true meaning to my child? is he really gaining a true understanding of the FACTS we've covered? it has all felt so random.

so i am back to perusing the MBTP website. reading and rereading kim's posts and links to articles, and finding myself nodding in agreement to so many of her thoughts/theories/analyses. this curriculum (MBTP) makes so much sense to me.
what is the point of filling our children's heads with meaningless facts? what has always amazed me about my son (and, now, his maturing younger sister) is how he can take something he learned/grasped from our reading or discussions (oh, the endless discussions!!!) and apply it to some other seemingly random subject.
the analysis, the synthesis, the base understanding...this is what our children need. i've tried to find it elsewhere and couldn't. MBTP may not be perfect for us (and by perfect i mean i'd like a magic curriculum that i could follow TO THE LETTER!!!). but MBTP is pretty darn close. it's up to me to figure out where my son and i need to skip ahead, or perhaps delve deeper.

kim's understanding of what our children need in the realm of discovery is right on. given the "giftedness" of my son i thought erroneously that more was better. trust me, it's not.
i keep reminding myself that these early years of education are so precious, so vital, so...irreversible.

we'll be making a transition back to MBTP. i'm looking forward to reading more of all of your posts. what a wonderful community kim has established for us all.

Melanie J

San Antonio, Texas

Hi Michelle!

Thanks for your post! I too, am looking into this curriculum for my almost 7 year old son. He is currently in a an accelerated private school, but starting to get bored from all the "accelerated worksheets" they have to do on a daily basis! :(
Your son sounds alot like mine! For instance, my son will see a "video" of a science project at school, and then come home, and want to present it to us! He is definitely a "hands on" learner!!

I love the idea of him letting him learn at his own pace, and grasp exactly what it is he is learning :)

Hope we can stay in touch!

MJ