Meagan’s kids have pretty much unlimited access to follow their interests in some very important ways.  This access is a way to help drive their passions as well as to deep-dive into them.

The first is open access to the library and other means of reading.  The kids avidly download books to read.  There are no limits to the books they can read.  This open-access gives kids ownership of their education to research topics that interest them and dive as deep as they want but doesn’t cost an arm and a leg beyond the device they use and perhaps an Audible account.

The kids also have unlimited access to search through Outschool classes.  No, they can not sign up with reckless abandon, but they can search and save classes they’re interested in.  Later, Meagan sits with them and they read reviews, discuss, and enroll in classes that are a good fit for them.  I’m sure Meagan says no sometimes, but I know they take a lot of classes.  These classes allow the kids to follow interests that Meagan may not have experience with or may not be equipped to teach effectively.

In today’s society, there are endless opportunities for parents to support a child’s interests and Meagan does it quite successfully.  She supports their interests by seeking out experiences and opportunities for the kids to really dive deep into a subject.  This can be as simple as doing a little research for documentaries, books, articles, etc. or as complicated as finding professionals that can help teach a child.

Of course, children should be encouraged to do their own research too.  Encourage them to forge their own path, follow their own rabbit holes, and make use of whatever information they might come across.  While a parent’s job is certainly to do some of the work, it’s really more about facilitating and directing, not leading.

Meagan has regular “meetings” with each of her kids to help them flush out the direction of their interests.  She lets them talk out their ideas and she guides them in making those ideas realities.

Interest-led learning works because it gives kids ownership over their education.  If they own it, they can take credit for their successes.  Meagan told me that when kids are truly interested, they will do the work to follow that.  Research backs Meagan up.  There is so much research that has been done supporting that when a child (or anyone for that matter) is truly interested in learning something they not only learn it, but they learn it quicker, more thoroughly, and they retain it longer.

This lends itself well to learning all of those “important” things like math and writing.  Most interests are inter-disciplinary.  Those interests put to practical use a variety of different topics including reading, writing, and math.  Depending on what the interest is kids can learn history, science, art, and many other subjects.

I’m going to return to Meagan one more time.  I think following Meagan’s journey is inspirational.  It’s certainly one I aspire to.  In an interview done recently, Meagan and her kids were spotlighted.  You can see that interview here.

You can see some of her children’s successes by following their journeys.  Meagan’s oldest is an aspiring photographer, among other talents.  He learned web design so he can promote his photography on Bobverse.com.  He also built his sister a website where she sells handspun yarn and crocheted goods: Ewenique Astrid.  I am continually amazed by her kids and following their websites and social media pages are excellent ways to be inspired and see the potential our own kids could achieve.