Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Mosaic - We are born to learn

Wanting to learn more about unschooling?

Mosaic, a platform serving self-directed learners and leaders, is launching today! On it, you’ll find community, resources, and personal stories (including upcoming ones by NoNo and KK) for wherever you are on your unschooling journey.
Check it out!

MOSAIC IS FOR ALL OF US WHO BELIEVE THERE’S A BETTER WAY. The pandemic ignited big questions around how we learn and the effectiveness of our education system. It reinforced how our current system has—by design and since its inception—perpetuated the worst forms of inequality, segregation, and alienation. We will likely never return to “normal.” Parents, young people, and their communities are looking for a different way. A better way. One that celebrates and nurtures our natural sense of wonder and curiosity. Self-directed education—also referred to as independent learning, unschooling, self-directed learning, liberated learning, and independent learning—is a way of life and learning that puts young people in the driver’s seat of their education. It’s been around for decades—and new families discover it every day. Thousands of young people wake up in charge of what they learn and how they learn it. They follow their passions and interests. They light up with curiosity. They do it at home. They do it with their families, their friends. They do it at community centers. And in the process, they develop tools for inquiry, empathy, and self-determination. Whether you’re curious about self-directed education or you’ve been doing it for years, Mosaic is for you.

WHAT WE DO
Mosaic is a platform serving independent learners and leaders who believe that young people should be free to drive their learning.
We launched in July 2021 and will evolve over the coming months and years—with your input and ideas. We believe that more and more families and young people will embrace independent learning if they are able to see it in action, hear from those who are living it, and receive the support and the resources to overcome common barriers. 

HOW MOSAIC CAME TO BE We came to life with the help of a community. Advisors, leaders, parents, and young people who brought their lived experiences and perspectives to shape and inform Mosaic. Mosaic is a 501c3 funded by entrepreneur, author and philanthropist Jeff Westphal, who is committed to using his resources and experience to advance transformational change toward deeper meaning in business, education and autism treatment. He is an unschooling parent who believes in the power of independent learning and the imperative to make it accessible to all communities. The idea for the platform emerged after a multi-year effort to understand why and how our existing education system is failing so many of the young people it serves and how independent learning allows young people to find their passion for learning and intrinsic meaning in their lives.

FOR COMMUNITY AND BY COMMUNITY Mosaic centers the stories and voices of those who live and breathe unschooling. Our resources are created by people with lived experience and expertise in self-directed education—in their voices and from their perspectives.

Saturday, July 17, 2021

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Survival Kits - Mindfulness Practices for Children

 Source: Plum Village

During a typical summer, Plum Village hosts hundreds of families that come with their children to practice mindfulness. We invite you to enjoy a selection of Plum Village practices created especially for children.

Everyday Mindfulness

How do we cultivate stability and freedom in our daily lives? Can we enjoy eating our food in mindfulness? Brother Phap Luu offers a pebble meditation for children to use and Kaira Jewel shows them how to enjoy a simple snack in mindfulness.

Pebble Meditation
Snack Meditation

Inviting the Bell

Inviting the bell at home is an important practice for the family to return to themselves, or to calm a tense situation. Anyone with some mindfulness in the present moment can do it, including our children.

Inviting the Bell
Does the Buddha live in the bell?

Handling Strong Emotionsons

When children learn how to calm their strong emotions, they begin to learn how to take care of themselves and bring stability into their lives.

Sailing your boat in a storm

Hugging meditation

A hug always makes everything better! Brother Phap Lai teaches hugging meditation to the children.

Hugging meditation

Singing!

No Plum Village practice is complete without singing! Singing helps us to cultivate joy and mindfulness.

I like the roses