Living in Our Elements: What Child-Led Learning Reveals About Kids
Living in Our Elements: What Child-Led Learning Reveals About Kids
Episode 8 | Featuring Robin Mackey
What do we discover about children when we stop trying to fit them into a predetermined plan—and start paying attention to who they actually are?
Sometimes, the things that make a child come alive aren't the things we'd expect.
In this conversation, I sit down in person with Robin Mackey, an educator and assistant director at Elements Academy, the nonprofit microschool I founded.
We're sharing what we've been learning alongside the kids—and how giving children room to follow their interests, make choices, and explore the world has changed the way we understand them.
We talk about what child-led learning actually looks like, why flexibility matters, and how paying attention to children's strengths, interests, and instincts can reveal things we might otherwise miss.
We also explore how much the environment shapes what we're able to see in kids.
A child who seems disengaged in one setting might come alive somewhere else. A child we think we know well might surprise us when given a different opportunity.
And sometimes, changing the environment changes the entire conversation.
What if we could get to know our children more deeply simply by creating more opportunities to see who they are?
This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. In Part 2, we'll explore what happens when we take learning out into the world—and why outings have become such an important part of our experience at Elements Academy.
Whether you're exploring alternative education or simply looking for ways to understand your child better, I hope this conversation encourages you to get curious about what you might discover.
Because sometimes the most meaningful learning begins when we stop directing—and start noticing.
Prefer to listen?