KindlED | The Prenda Podcast

Elle Rowley shares her transformative journey from struggling high school student to successful entrepreneur and educational innovator creating alternative learning environments for children in her community. Through personal experience and experimentation, she's developed a thriving microschool model that prioritizes curiosity, community, and child-led learning.

• Finding educational approaches that honor different l...

Chad Carlson shares how One Stone Lab School uses human-centered design to transform education by treating students as end users rather than products. He describes their unique approach that removes traditional grades, subjects, and bells in favor of personalized growth frameworks that prepare students for the real world.

• One Stone's origin story as an innovative school designed alongside students to make learning r...

Dr. Yong Zhao challenges us to keep children at the center of education by acknowledging their uniqueness and building learning systems around that core idea. His approach aims to give kids the skills they need for meaningful future work instead of the synthetic tasks often imposed throughout traditional K-12 education.

•  Education should build on student strengths, not force mastery of every weak spot
•  Meritocracy ...

The rapidly accelerating capabilities of artificial intelligence are creating an urgent need to rethink how we prepare young people for a world where machines will soon outperform humans in many cognitive tasks.

• Schools train students in what ChatGPT already does best
• AI power doubles yearly, reshaping the workforce
• The “school-to-career” escalator model is collapsing
• Content delivery dominates, but agency and va...

Matt Eicheldinger, NYT bestselling author and educator, shares his journey of persistence and the power of meaningful connections with young people. He centers on building trust and creating space for kids to develop confidence, curiosity, and resilience.

• Becoming a teacher because he enjoyed kids and had parents who modeled empathy
 • Writing his first book for struggling readers, facing 600+ rejections before succeeding
...

Education is undergoing a seismic shift as families and educators seek alternatives to traditional schooling, with microschools emerging as a powerful option for personalized learning in supportive communities.

• 48% of parents feel education is heading in the wrong direction
• 17.5% of kids are now outside traditional schools (up from 11.8% in 2018)
• The one-size-fits-all classroom approach leaves many students e...

Adriane Thompson, founder of Raising Kids With Purpose, shares her transformative journey from controlling parenting to creating an environment that meets children's developmental needs through intentional family culture.

• Shifting from viewing parenting as controlling children to understanding and meeting their developmental needs
• Creating strong family culture through shared values, family meetings, and consi...

Karen Glass discusses the power of narration in education, sharing her journey from homeschooling mom to Charlotte Mason education expert and author of "Know and Tell: The Art of Narration."

• Narration is simply telling back what you've learned, a natural human activity we use to build relationships
• Charlotte Mason's educational philosophy centers on two key principles: "children are born pe...

Alex Shevrin Venet shares how educators can build unconditional positive regard that helps children feel valued regardless of behavior, improving their ability to regulate emotions and engage in learning.

• Trauma affects behavior by triggering stress responses that appear as choices but aren't really choices
• Co-regulation (calm adults helping dysregulated children) precedes self-regulation
• Restraint coll...

Brock Murphy, co-founder of Parent ProTech, shares critical insights about helping families navigate the challenging digital landscape that's targeting our children. He draws on his unique background spanning government work and SpaceX to offer practical strategies for protecting kids while building healthy relationships with technology. In this episode, we cover...

• Building on relationships as the foundation for di...

Engaging students in meaningful thinking and learning is essential for effective education. We explore the principles of creating a thinking classroom with Dr. Peter Liljeddahl, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, purposeful tasks, and a supportive learning environment.

What we'll cover...
- Discussion of non-thinking behaviors observed in traditional classrooms  
- Introduction to the 14 key practices for buil...

Ever feel lost when a child erupts in frustration? You’re not alone! In this episode, we dive deep into understanding childhood anger, why it happens, and—most importantly—how to guide kids toward healthy emotional regulation.

Our guest, Samantha Snowden, an expert in emotional intelligence and child development, shares powerful tools for parents, educators, and caregivers to help children manage big emotions with compassion and con...

Discover how homeschooling can revolutionize your child’s education and fit seamlessly into your family’s lifestyle. This episode features Elan Page, the founder of Homeschool Our Way, who shares her inspiring journey from a lifelong learner to a trailblazer empowering families, especially families of color, to embrace homeschooling with confidence. Whether you’re new to homeschooling or looking to refine your approach, this episod...

Join us as we sit down with Peter Fitzpatrick, co-founder of FawnFriends.com, to explore the creation of Willow, a robotic plushie designed to support neurodivergent children in their emotional growth. Peter shares his personal journey, from his experiences with ADHD and familial challenges to the innovative hackathon project that gave birth to Willow. Discover how this cuddly AI companion is transforming the landscape of emotional...

How do we create learning environments that foster curiosity while helping kids develop real-world knowledge and skills? Since 2018, Prenda has helped open over 1,000 microschools across the US making small, effective learning environment accessible to thousands of families. Microschooling is a rapidly growing educational model, but how does it work? In this episode we'll peel back the layers of Prenda's mission to "...

How can technology reshape education to cater to every student’s unique learning journey? Join us as we explore this question with Dr. Kristen DiCerbo, the Chief Learning Officer at Khan Academy, who shares her transformative insights into personalized and mastery-based learning. Discover how Khan Academy's new AI tool, "Khanmigo" is revolutionizing learning as it helps educators address the diverse needs of students...

Discover how games can revolutionize the way we support children with social cognitive differences in our engaging conversation with Dr.Anna Vagin. Anna takes us on her journey into the world of social cognition, sharing her expertise in working with children on the autism spectrum, children with ADHD, and other communication challenges. Learn how attachment theory plays a crucial role in understanding these differences and how par...

Unlock the secrets of bedtime storytelling with our special guest, Andrew Newman, an acclaimed author and founder of Conscious Stories. He sheds light on the remarkable influence of bedtime stories in nurturing the priceless bond between parents and children. Together, we explore how those precious last 20 minutes of the day can be transformed into a powerful tool for emotional and cognitive growth, setting the stage for a lifetime...

Ready to unlock the magic of math? 🎉 This episode features Richard Rusczyk, founder of Art of Problem Solving and Beast Academy. His journey—from an “aggressively average” high school in Alabama to Princeton—shows the magic of student empowerment through autonomy and intrinsic motivation. 🚀

We explore learning spaces where project-based learning and creative problem-solving shine. Richard explains how leading with questions reduce...