Vine Academy

When I did my Master's with the Open University, a tutor gave me a brilliant analogy for how to analyse ideas.  He said that I should imagine that I'm looking at a topic through different lens.  From then on, I was able to analyse almost anything simply by putting on different people's glasses or outlooks.  I have shared this analogy with a lot of my students over the years and they have found it to be really useful. I have also slightly adapted a business framework, in order to to help my students further.  I have turned the well-known PESTLE framework into STEEPLES.  It stands for Spiritual Technological Economical Ethical Political Legal Environmental and Social.  We don't have the space here for a full explanation of each one, but suffice to say, each tenet can give students, entrepreneurs, families and faith leaders a simple but practical framework with which to analyse pretty much anything.   Dr. Monica is available for training on how busin...

I recently had a discussion with my children about neurodiversity.  A part of it was based on my noticing how quickly my thoughts flit from one topic to the next.  My mind has always been this way and I can remember when I was a little girl, trying to trace my thoughts back several steps to determine how I came to my current thought.  As an adult, I have pretty much mastered the art of holding multiple thought processes in my mind at the same time, and I use this skill a lot of the time when teaching a large group of students.   I haven't been formally diagnosed but as I am doing my own research, I feel an ever-increasing sense of relief.  Perhaps this explains why I have so much physical and mental energy most of the time, and why I was able to complete a doctorate, while working full-time, with three children under 9 years old.  The actual words that I used to my children were, "It feels like I've scratched a long-time itch in my brain." The thing is...

For most non-stem subjects, research should be the primary learning tool for homeschoolers in Key stages 2 and 3. So, equipping them with research tools will help them to focus well.  One such tool is called 'triangulation'.  This is where three different methods, attempts or references are used for one activity.  When it comes to looking for information, they should be taught to look for about three different online sources before taking it as gospel.  The same goes for books or people.  Finding three different people who can give you their perspective on whether or not Shakespeare was racist, for instance, is more likely to give our children a well-rounded and critical base from which to make up their own minds about a topic.  This is exactly what is needed in our society and, funnily enough, it is also what examiners are looking for - critical thinkers! So, the next time your homeschooler asks a deep question, tell them to go and research it. But don't a...

One of the biggest criticisms that home educators face is that home educated children won't know how to socialise. So let's just deal with this criticism head on shall we?  Socialising = to "participate in social activities; mix socially with others; make someone behave in a way that is acceptable to their society." The critics' assumption must be that home educating families don't go shopping, or to the library or any other public place, because it is obvious that normal, everyday life activities present opportunities for socialising.   Now, I admit that a home educated child has less opportunities to make friends away from their parents' gaze, but that isn't such a bad thing because the friendships that our children make, will have a huge impact on their character and choices.  Homeschooling is a way to train our children and young people how to invest in positive friendships.  They should be taught relational intelligence (see Dharius Daniels on You...

Writing a blog on purpose can seem cliched.  Everyone seems to be doing it nowadays.  Our international valley of the shadow of death experience during the coronavirus pandemic, had us thinking, 'what if...'  The thought of living in the rat race then dying made parents want to spend more time with their children, and employees want to start their own businesses.  But how do we differentiate knee-jerk fear reactions from actual purpose-quests? I have found that clarity of purpose emerges on at least three levels - spirit, soul and body.  To say that I am a born mother, is a paradoxical truth that I've seen manifested on all three of these levels.  Spiritually, I mother people, through prayer, that I don't even know or who are not even born yet.  I invest emotionally and intellectually into my own and other children and young people, to nurture them towards greatness.  Physically, I sacrifice my own needs, unlearn cultural mistakes, and adapt mysel...