Leslie Martino is a brilliant thinker and writer with over 20 years of experience in the field of education. She is passionate about helping parents and teachers support children’s learning in an interest-based and child-directed way. Leslie homeschools her four children in central Florida, and she shares her expertise through writing curricula, training teachers, and coaching parents. She is also a speaker on topics of education and motherhood and a contributing writer for the Wild + Free homeschool community. The Joy of Slow: Restoring Balance and Wonder to Homeschool Learning is Leslie’s first book.
In this episode, Leslie and I discuss what it looks like to slow down and do fewer things better instead of jumping from one topic to another in a futile attempt to check all the boxes. We explore what real learning looks like and how we can get better at recognizing it even when it doesn’t show up through conventional school activities. And we talk about surrendering perfectionism and control so that we can help our children cultivate authentic skills that are meaningful to them.
As Leslie shares in her book, “Many of us have been conditioned to think that if learning something feels effortless, it can’t possibly be evidence of real learning. We equate rigor with challenge. We also believe if it wasn’t a premeditated learning event, produced by our own well-intentioned efforts, it shouldn’t count as true education. But I’m here today to whisper in your ear that it’s all a lie. There is a different way of seeing things. We just need the confidence to look from another point of view.”
You can listen to this conversation on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And be sure to check our other interviews with amazing guests like Leah Boden, Amber O’Neal Johnston, Durenda Wilson, and Sally Clarkson.
Grab your copy of The Joy of Slow: Restoring Balance and Wonder to Homeschool Learning
Connect with Leslie
- Visit Leslie’s website
- Follow Leslie on Instagram
If You Enjoyed This Conversation with Leslie, Check Out These Other Episodes of the Homeschool Compass Podcast:
- Episode 2: Finding Your Homeschool Rhythm with Leslie Martino
- Episode 34: Preparing for an Uncertain Future Through Play with Ginny Yurich
- Episode 12: Deschooling with Colleen Kessler
Recommended Reading from Leslie If You Would Like to Go Deeper Into These Topics
- The Call of the Wild and Free: Reclaiming Wonder in Your Child’s Education by Ainsley Arment
- Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto
- Art and Faith: A Theology of Making by Makoto Fujimura
- Home Education by Charlotte Mason
- Modern Miss Mason: Discover How Charlotte Mason’s Revolutionary Ideas on Home Education Can Change How You and Your Children Learn and Grow Together by Leah Boden
- Habits of the Household: Practicing the Story of God in Everyday Family Rhythms by Justin Whitmel Earley
- Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
- A Place to Belong: Celebrating Diversity and Kinship in the Home and Beyond by Amber O’Neal Johnston
- The Life-Giving Home: Creating a Place of Belonging and Becoming by Sally and Sarah Clarkson
- Adventuring Together: How to Create Connections and Make Lasting Memories with Your Kids by Greta Eskridge
- 1000 Hours Outside: Activities to Match Screen Time with Green Time by Ginny Yurich
- Raising Critical Thinkers: A Parent’s Guide to Growing Wise Kids in the Digital Age by Julie Bogart
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