Dad of two boys. Figuring out how to use AI to help me teach my kids.

Joined July 2024
For the past several months, my boys have been using a learning app I created. Today I'm making it public! It's called Unspool. Here's the idea → learning is most fun when it doesn't feel like "work." There's plenty of strict curriculum out there. But I wanted a place where kids could follow their curiosity without the pressure of tests. So I built one. Here's what you get: 1. 1500+ built in lessons (that are quite good, you can try them on the website) across History, Science, and Art 2. Generate a custom lesson on any topic (my boys ask things like "how tall can a tree get?") 3. Math and typing practice (think a good replacement for math flashcards) Would love to see what other parents think. Link is in the comments.
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Some lessons greatly benefit from an interactive you can play with. So I added interactive activities into Unspool. Some are simple, some are more complex.
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My favorite book has this moment where the main character realizes that all realities are possible. And the only thing he can hope for is that he's on a "good one". The only thing for certain is that going forward everything will be different. Let's just hope we're on the good one...
AI IS AMAZING I know it's hip to worry about the decline in book reading and how chatbots will impoverish our brains. But TBH, this is not at all what I see. I wrote about how we're in this wild moment for intellectual flourishing and how all of us are the children of dancers.
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This is the #1 question homeschoolers get. I think the opposite is a better question. What makes public school actually good at socialization?
Replying to @kevinnbass
How do you handle the socialisation aspect? After school sports and clubs? how well is it going & challenges you’ve faced ? School was always a waste of time, but learning to navigate social dynamics was invaluable
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I'm so glad we introduced movie time to our boys at a young age. We regularly have movie night and they have no problem sitting through 2+ hour long movies. Such a joy fo share some old favorites with them
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Just added custom subjects for my learning app. They immediately added what they're most interested in. Dragons, dinos, sea monsters... They spent all morning going through these. For custom subjects, each has several units, each unit has a series, each series has lessons. They're meant to teach you the bredth of the subject. You can put whatever you want. From as wide as Greek Mythology to as narrow as Zeus's powers. They're dynamically generated, but with a structure to keep the AI in check. Would love to see what you all think 👇
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Math practice is meant to be a way to practice. Like a turbo flashcard. There are several modes: 1. Practice, time trial, streak -> where you pick your operator and number 2. Daily challenge -> based on what you need practice with or push what you're good at 3. Guided math -> walks you through + - x /
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Typing is my favorite new addition. My kids are using the computer more and more, and BY FAR the biggest limitation is typing speed.
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Get a glimpse into the future of learning here. In 12 months these will be so cheap and fast to create you'll be able to create a custom video to learn/teach anything!
Alright I'm done dude. Today changed the entire AI game again. Throwing my Mac mini in the trash. Deleting all my subs and just maxing out Grok Bot. You don't need anything else anymore. I made this video by opening Grok Bot, and spending about 15 seconds writing the following prompt: "Make me an explainer video on the natural gas supply chain for residential service, from where gas is generated to the delivery line into your home. Talk about how pressure is stepped down at each stop along the way, how lines are run, etc" Grok Bot is just a magic box that you write a little bit of English into and get out gold. I'm done with everything else. I don't care anymore. My goal with these videos is to help people understand that the simplest things they take for granted are actually very complex, and you should be amazed by everything basically.
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With kids, every day is like this (xkcd 1053)
My favorite response is “I didn’t know that”. It’s nice to be able to teach someone something new.
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Can't not see the AI speak
What once was the peak, is now just the beginning. Paramount and Warner Bros. shaped over a century of culture. By combining them, we aren't rewriting history — we're equipping these iconic studios with a more powerful engine. Together, we are Skydance: a creative-first home for bold, quality storytelling. We chose this name for a few important reasons. First and foremost, as we bring Paramount and Warner Bros. together, we wanted to preserve what has made each of these studios iconic. Both have distinct identities, extraordinary legacies and brands that have resonated with audiences for generations. We never wanted a new corporate identity to diminish, alter or overshadow either one. Instead, we wanted a name that would give the combined company an identity of its own while allowing Paramount and Warner Bros. — and all our extraordinary brands — to remain in the spotlight. We have big goals for Skydance, and we intend to pursue them with passion, imagination and a willingness to take smart risks. At the same time, we will honor what makes Paramount and Warner Bros. special — giving both studios the opportunity to grow, tell more great stories and bring those stories to even broader audiences around the world, powered by the scale and capabilities of Skydance. I couldn’t be more excited about what we’re going to build together.
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In sports they say winning solves everything. This is the equivalent for normal people's opinion of AI. (no clue how long this lasts before takedown. But if I'm Xbox this is the best marketing they could ask for)
HALO 3 16 PLAYER CAMPAIGN IS WILDDDDDDDDDDD We're entering the Halo Renaissance
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When you have kids you constantly think "are my kids are old enough yet?". I think it may be time to introduce Halo...
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I wanted to practice simple + − × / with my boys. So I searched "math flashcards." I think I have a virus now. Was very surprised I couldn't find something simple. So I added Math Practice to the app. My boys call it Daddy Math. Pick + − / × and a number. You can practice, add a timer, or do a streak and it keeps track of your progress/records. Every day there's a challenge based on how they're doing. It either pushes them further on what they're already good at, or it works the thing they're struggling with.
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For my kids AI homeschool library app I'm building them, each subject has a full curriculum. Here's an example of what it looks like and how the lesson works. Notice at the end, it gives the option to "deep dive" into the topic. So in the "Why go west" topic, one of the deep dives is "Navigating by the stars". Clicking that will dynamically generate a new lesson. And they can keep going forever, diving deep into anything they're interested in.
My boys are relentlessly curious. What started as a way for them to learn about science has turned into a place where they can learn anything. Adding typing and reading right now. But this is like my kids personal skills "library". I plan on making this public at somepoint.
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Each less has the following structure: - Intro/hook -- should make you say "oh that's kind of cool" - guided reading -- always with relevant images included - video -- will find a potential youtube video from saved sources - activity -- meant to help you learn, not test - practice -- basically a quiz. I don't care if they memorize every little detail. But this checks against if they just clicked through - deep dive options -- dynamically generated lessons that go deeper on each topic
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