Podcast
The Raising Lifelong Learners podcast helps parents — especially homeschooling parents — encourage their differently-wired kids to learn, explore passions, cultivate creativity, and become fascinated by the world around them. Join host Colleen Kessler — educational consultant, gifted specialist, author, and speaker — for interviews, audioblogs, tips, and encouragement to help your differently-wired kiddos become lifelong learners — children who know that they can find the answers to anything they want to know if they can just view their world with play, passion, and fascination.
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Homeschooling to Celebrate and Nurture Your Child’s Spark
If you’ve ever watched your child’s face light up as they narrate a passionate interest—maybe it’s dinosaurs, coding, bugs, musical theater, or even the precise gauges of old locomotives—and then felt your heart sink when the “real world” seems to dim their enthusiasm, you need to know: you’re not alone, and you’re in the right…
The Power of Connection in Homeschooling Neurodivergent Kids
You’ve decided to embark on this incredible journey of homeschooling your differently-wired kiddos, and it’s no small feat. Together, let’s explore one of the most powerful tools in your homeschool toolkit: connection. In this deep dive, we’ll weave our way through the whys, whats, and hows of prioritizing connection in your homeschool. Why Connection Matters…
Understanding Impulse Control in Gifted and Neurodivergent Kids
Impulse control is a topic that resonates with many homeschooling parents, especially when it comes to gifted, twice-exceptional, and neurodivergent children. This struggle is all too familiar, and if you’re feeling overwhelmed, know that you’re not alone. Impulse control is crucial for social success, emotional regulation, and academic growth. It’s essentially the ability to pause…
Inspire a Love for Learning at Home
Creating a home environment where learning never stops is a goal many homeschool parents strive for. While traditional schooling might place learning within the confines of a classroom, homeschooling offers the unique opportunity to weave education into the fabric of everyday life. In this post, let’s explore strategies to cultivate a lifelong love of learning…
Understanding Executive Function Skills in Gifted and Twice-Exceptional Children
Navigating the complexities of raising gifted, twice-exceptional, and neurodivergent children is both rewarding and challenging. As homeschooling parents, you might often wonder why your child can tackle difficult subjects effortlessly yet struggle with day-to-day activities. The answer often lies in executive function skills. What Are Executive Function Skills? Think of executive function skills as the…
Understanding Asynchrony in Gifted Children
When we talk about gifted children, it’s easy to imagine young prodigies excelling well beyond their years in academics. But what we often don’t consider is that these advanced abilities can come with unique challenges that aren’t always visible on the surface. One of the most common and sometimes bewildering aspects of raising a…