Welcome to Curious Kids Learn! I am Tiana, and I am excited to explore childhood, parenting, and education with you. I am working on getting the site up and going. In the meantime, I am sure you want to know a little bit about me.
My journey in Early Childhood Education started when I was in high school (c/o 1999). I remember the attack at Columbine High School so clearly in my Senior Year of high school. I have always had an intense curiosity for learning what makes people tick, and this was no exception. At just 18 years old, I was obsessed with what would make someone do this and how do we stop it from happening again.
As I went into my undergraduate studies at Michigan State University, I slowly started to narrow my focus. I registered for a Psychology degree. After just after my freshman year, I knew where I could make the most significant impact- Early Childhood Education. I felt in my bones that the earlier you could make meaning full connections with children, the better. Early establishments of healthy relationships, habits, and thoughts lead to a stronger establishment of resilience in the face of adversity.
After having minimal experience with young children as a teenager, I threw myself into assistant teaching, child development, and everything that focused on the minds of young children. What I discovered early in my career is the minds of children are fascinating. Children are born with an innate desire to connect to others and to seek knowledge. Spending countless hours simply observing children for classes, I feel in love with the brilliance of childhood. This love carried me through a beautiful teaching career and into a Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education at the Erikson Institute., Chicago, IL.
With a Master's Degree, I felt completely prepared to navigate the world of Early Childhood Education. Then life threw me a reality check. I had kids! Griffin was born in 2012, and Adair joined us in 2016. Navigating Early Childhood as a parent has been an entirely different level of education for me. Suddenly, hypothetical situations were oh-so-real. Every black and white answer that I gained in 10+ years became so many shades of grey. Child Development knowledge does not prepare you to take care of another human being, or two, when you are sleep deprived, overwhelmed, and feeling the weight of the responsibility placed before you as a parent. I could tell myself all day long that the latest challenge was developmentally appropriate. It didn't keep me from crying in a corner, feeling like I couldn't deal. Life doesn't care how much you know, it can still come at you fast. Trusting in your abilities as a parent and in the natural process of growing up can often get lost in societal expectations, and self-doubt...but it doesn't have to be this way.
What I have learned, at every stage, is that when I let go of crazy expectations, we are precisely the way we are supposed to be. This lead our family to adopt unschooling and Self-Directed Education. When we embrace curiosity, both our own and our children's, the world is so much more natural to navigate. You can live in the shades of grey and feel all the colors and beauty our lives have to offer. You can then empower your children to approach the world with a wild curiosity and thirst to learn and grow!
I am passionate about empowering families to be curious and allow their families to explore Self-Directed Education. There is a whole other story about how we came to homeschool and how we have navigated unschooling and our lifestyle choices. But for now, welcome! I know we will get to know each other well!
