What does a five-year-old actually need to thrive?
A one-year investigation into childhood and education
What do children actually need to thrive?
I have one year to decide whether to homeschool my child. Instead of asking influencers to defend a side, I am interviewing developmental psychologists, researchers, teachers and people who lived it — to understand how children truly learn, connect and become independent.
Genuinely undecided. Evidence before ideology. A real family decision at the end.
- Child Development
- Learning
- Friendship
- Independence
- Family Life
- Future Readiness
Season One — Should We Homeschool?
Before choosing an educational system, understand the child.
Homeschooling and school are often discussed as competing identities. This season starts somewhere more useful: with the developmental needs of children. Across a year of conversations, I will examine learning, play, attachment, friendship, social conflict, motivation, creativity, independence, academic outcomes and family sustainability.
The investigation will include strong arguments for school, strong arguments for homeschooling, limitations in the research and the voices of adults who experienced home education themselves. The final episode will explain the decision our family makes — without presenting it as the answer for every family.
How do young children learn most effectively?
Does a child need a daily peer group?
What does a great school provide that home cannot?
Can a parent successfully be both parent and teacher?
What do homeschool outcome studies really prove?
How do we raise children who want to learn?
What should children learn in an age of artificial intelligence?
Season arc
Understand the child
Compare real environments
Listen to lived experience
Make the decision
Build what comes next
Format
One question. Credible voices. No predetermined conclusion.
- Filmed, long-form conversations with researchers, educators and lived-experience guests.
- Full video episodes on YouTube, with audio available on major podcast platforms.
- Short evidence summaries and selected clips for parents who want the essential findings.
- Solo checkpoints throughout the season showing how the evidence is changing the host’s thinking.
About the host
A mother asking the questions many parents are carrying.
I’m Michaelle, a mother with a deep curiosity about how children learn, grow and thrive. Like many parents, I want to give my family the very best — but I also know that deciding what “best” looks like is rarely simple. I’m not a developmental psychologist or a homeschooling expert. I’m a parent asking thoughtful questions, seeking credible perspectives and exploring the evidence so I can make an informed decision for my family — and share what I learn with others along the way.
Michaelle Dumont, host and creator of The Learning We Build.
For Researchers, Educators and Specialists
Help parents understand what the evidence can — and cannot — tell us.
The Learning We Build invites experts whose work can clarify how children develop, learn and relate to others. Interviews are thoughtful, prepared and designed for an informed general audience. Guests are not asked to endorse homeschooling or school. They are asked to explain their field, the strength of the available evidence, important limitations and the questions parents should be asking.
- Remote video conversation
- Approximately 45–60 minutes
- Themes and context shared in advance
- Full video and audio publication
- Selected short excerpts for social platforms
- Clear attribution and links to the guest’s work
Follow
Follow the decision as it unfolds.
Join parents who want more than slogans. Receive new episodes, concise research takeaways and honest updates on where the evidence is leading.