patricia zaballos

Hello! I’m Patricia, a writer and former third-grade teacher who went on to homeschool along with my three now-grown kids for twenty years. Forever obsessed with how people learn, my essays on the subject have appeared in Salon, Literary Mama, Life Learning Magazine, Mothering Magazine and elsewhere. For a few fun years I wrote a column for home/school/life magazine. Also, a guide for parents, Workshops Work! A Parent’s Guide to Facilitating Writer’s Workshops for Kids, because I’m the world’s most ridiculous cheerleader for workshops as an engine to make kids want to write.

I’m currently at work on a manuscript called PLAY STRUCTURE: NOTES ON MY MOTHERHOOD AND THE DIMINISHING INDEPENDENCE AND CREATIVITY OF CHILDHOOD. The book is a mashup of memoir and cultural history exploring how much freedom and creativity kids have lost in the past three decades–and how as a mother I pushed back against that culture while also, unwittingly, letting it shape me.

Here’s the story: I may have once been a teacher, but my kids quickly upended everything I thought I knew about learning, teaching me to trust them and to follow their leads. Since 2008 I’ve written many posts on child-led learning and helping kids retain their creativity on my blog, Wonder Farm, with a particular focus on helping kids love writing, including the still viral-ish How Do Kids REALLY Learn to Write? On the child-led learning page I share my family’s story and have organized some highlights. Feel free to get lost in the archives.

These days I write a free newsletter-style post most months with a focus on changes in childhood and how to maintain independence and creativity for kids. Please subscribe! Meanwhile, my husband and I are empty-nesting in this house among the redwoods with the long kitchen table, which we built 27 years ago here in Oakland, CA. If you wonder why I call my blog a Wonder Farm, here’s the once upon a time.

Come find me on TikTok and Instagram where I yammer on about this stuff.