This week we're reading Chapter Nine from Free to Learn by Peter Gray, "Free Age Mixing: A Key Ingredient for Children's Capacity for Self-Education." In this chapter, Gray focuses on the unique value of age-mixed play, where younger and older children learn together. He shows how younger kids benefit from observing and modeling older peers, while older children gain patience, empathy, and leadership skills by guiding the younger ones. We discuss how these interactions create a natural cycle of learning that is often missing in age-segregated classrooms. Gray emphasizes that age-mixed play mirrors real-life communities, making it one of the most powerful settings for both academic and social growth.

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