FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16

Greetings Eddies,

Back in 1906, hundreds of spectators at the ‘West of England Fat Stock and Poultry Exhibition’ paid sixpence apiece to guess the weight of a prize ox.

Individually, almost everyone was way off (some guessed way too high, others way too low). But when someone aggregated all 800 guesses together, the crowd’s average guess came out to 1,197 pounds - just one pound shy of the ox’s actual weight.

This little piece of trivia became the classic illustration of the “wisdom of crowds” - a principle we’ve been putting to work on our Facebook page.

One of the nice things about having a huge, diverse community of OpenEd families is that we get to see what works across thousands of real households with very different kids. Last week, we received around 150 comments on a post asking, “what are the most overhyped and underhyped curricula?”

Before you read the responses we urge you to take any individual comment with a big grain of salt. Curriculum reviews should always be read through the lens of the author’s unique preferences and situation.

One commenter made this point eloquently:

We couldn’t agree more! But when you zoom out on all 150+ answers, some interesting patterns emerge, which we aggregated below…

Before we get into that, we need the crowd’s wisdom on another question: did your family make a mid-year switch into OpenEd (or switch programs mid-year)? We’re collecting stories for an upcoming piece - hit reply and tell us what finally made you pull the trigger, or chime in on Facebook.

Let’s dive in.

– Charlie (the OpenEd newsletter guy)

P.S. Thinking about a fresh start in January? Mid-year enrollment is now open. Apply here, or forward this to a family who needs it.

DEEP DIVE

Reading through 150+ comments on our overhyped vs. underhyped curriculum thread might raise your blood pressure if you aren’t ready for it (especially when a stranger on the internet calls your family’s beloved reading program “trash city”).

Here are the two biggest takeaways from 150+ kitchen tables, once you filter the hot takes through how different kids actually learn:

1. Every popular program has a twin verdict.

2. Library books ran away with the underhyped crown (107 likes), followed by The Critical Thinking Co., RightStart Math, and Logic of English.

Want a quick check on which approach matches your family before buying another box? Try Curriculove - our 2-minute swipe quiz that pairs you with 3 recommendations based on your answer.

When we asked veteran parents what they’d tell a family in their first month, the top answer was “Don’t try to recreate public school,” followed closely by “There is no rush.” A few more worth taping to the fridge:

LATEST IN OPEN EDUCATION

Childhood psychologist Peter Gray hasn’t seen a single kid playing in his neighborhood park in seven years. His new book asks where they went - and how to bring them back. (Play Makes Us Human)

Researchers watching AI in real classrooms were deeply alarmed by one type of tool - and pleasantly surprised by another. (Mathworlds)

Kids in 15-student classes outlearned kids in classes of 22. So why do most class-size studies show no benefit at all? (A Fire to Be Kindled)

A third of England’s 15-year-olds say they rarely leave their bedroom, except for school. (Alex Quigley)

Most of what parents hear about video games doesn’t match the research. Here’s one researcher’s five-part plan - and why it skips a strict daily minute limit. (Tilt Parenting)

$20 and a thrift store trip yielded unit studies on the Minotaur, Bigfoot, and Einstein - one mom’s cure for the October slump. (Raising Lifelong Learners)

Gifted kids can still take an hour on a simple worksheet. Why? Because processing speed measures pace, not intelligence. (Savvy Learning)

When a kid falls in love with a subject, the instinct is to let them binge it. A century of memory research says to space it out instead. (Simply Charlotte Mason)

Treating a friend breakup like an emergency signals to your kid that they can’t handle it. A psychologist shares what to say instead. (Untangling Family Life)

Build math-fact fluency in 10 minutes a day with this free nonprofit program. (XtraMath) (h/t OpenEd’s Kaleigh Howard and Alyssa Sawinski)

Four free reading assessments - from letter sounds to leveled passages - that pinpoint what to teach next. (Pioneer Valley Books) (h/t OpenEd’s Raveen Hansen)

Utah tested hundreds of board games to get preschoolers doing math at home. The winner: a carrot-counting game called Happy Bunny. (Hechinger Report)

Estimate pumpkin seeds before carving - one of five hands-on October math and science activities for early grades. (Kindergarten Chaos) (h/t OpenEd’s Jen Heller)

Two fall ideas for littles: a leaf-counting scavenger hunt and 28 ways to decorate a pumpkin without a knife. (Hands On As We Grow)

Whip up two-ingredient pumpkin-spice oobleck, or browse 84 simple Halloween crafts using paper plates and paint. (7 Days of Play)

A line of hot glue is the secret behind this watercolor-resist spider web art. (Montessori From the Heart)

Ten free fall Montessori printables, from leaf-symmetry grids to lacing shapes. (The Natural Homeschool)

Show kids the difference between weathering and erosion at the kitchen table using sugar cubes, sand, and water. (The Natural Homeschool)

A children’s author shares the picture books that finally coaxed her indoor kid outside. (Let Grow)

JUST FOR FUN: Drag the slider on this interactive map to see when fall foliage peaks near you. (ExploreFall) (h/t OpenEd’s Susannah Gardner)

One last thing: We believe families should customize their education - why not your inbox, too? Set your email preferences to choose which emails you get. (Note: Enrolled OpenEd families will still receive required program updates.)

That’s all for this week!

– Charlie (the OpenEd newsletter guy)