Learning should be Hard Fun

A good puzzle is fun partly because it’s hard. Too easy and you lose interest. Too hard and you give up. The magic is in between.

That’s what we call Hard Fun: learning that stretches each child and makes them want to keep going.

Graphic: The Lumos Learning Zone is different for every child. Our 1:7 ratio helps us find it.

The right challenge for each child

The same math problem can bore one child and overwhelm another. Teaching to the middle misses both.

That’s one reason we keep a strict ratio of one teacher for every seven students. Teachers need time to notice who needs a harder problem and who needs a prompt, not the answer.

Photo: Teacher Johanna offers just enough help to keep students going, without taking away the challenge or the joy of solving it.

Fun needn’t mean games. It can come from a question worth answering, making something meaningful or finally understanding. We want the thinking itself to be rewarding.

See Hard Fun in action in Danielle’s first science lesson, built around sealed mystery boxes.