windmillfamily

Hello there,

Just wanted to say a quick hello - I'm Amy, and my husband Simon and I
have a nine year old son, Sam (and one on the way, due in April!
That's called expert planning), who has always been homeschooled. I'm
from Iowa, Simon's from England; we lived in IA for about the first
five years of our marriage, then northern CA for a year, then near
Seattle for about 7 months, then Fort Worth, Texas for another 6
months, then back here to Iowa two years ago. We're not a military
family, just people with extreme wanderlust - we're trying to make
ourselves stay in one place for a while, maybe for good. :D

Anyway, I am just beginning to explore unschooling for Sam, even
though I suppose he's been unschooled in some way his whole life. I've
tried the extremely structured/tightly scheduled school at home
approach, and Sam just is not into it. I'm still not exactly sure what
it means to unschool, however - do I literally not use any formal
texts or workbooks? Right now, as I type, he's behind me at the
kitchen table, doing a few pages in a maps & geography workbook, and
is more or less enjoying/tolerating it. I have this deep seated fear
that I'm not teaching him properly/well enough/to someone else's
standard. I suppose that is my buggest hurdle.

The reason I am interested in unschooling is that Sam is a very
imaginative person (his supervising teacher says that he's gifted, and
I, of course, have always thought the same! :)), and when he's
interested in something, is able to learn a great deal about it. Right
now, it's military "special ops" thanks to the video game series
"Metal Gear Solid;" a while back, it was Yu-Gi-Oh! I think he would
benefit from unschooling because he's already doing his own thing most
of the time, anyway! :)

Anyway, enough typing from me. Any thoughts you might have for a new
unschooler would be wonderful. Thanks in advance!

-Amy Windmill

Elizabeth Roberts

Amy,

Basically in a nutshell, if your son wants to learn
something from a workbook or textbook, don't stop him.
But don't say he "has" to either. Let him choose what
and how he wants to learn.

Elizabeth

--- windmillfamily <amy@...> wrote:

> Hello there,
>
> Just wanted to say a quick hello - I'm Amy, and my
> husband Simon and I
> have a nine year old son, Sam (and one on the way,
> due in April!
> That's called expert planning), who has always been
> homeschooled. I'm
> from Iowa, Simon's from England; we lived in IA for
> about the first
> five years of our marriage, then northern CA for a
> year, then near
> Seattle for about 7 months, then Fort Worth, Texas
> for another 6
> months, then back here to Iowa two years ago. We're
> not a military
> family, just people with extreme wanderlust - we're
> trying to make
> ourselves stay in one place for a while, maybe for
> good. :D
>
> Anyway, I am just beginning to explore unschooling
> for Sam, even
> though I suppose he's been unschooled in some way
> his whole life. I've
> tried the extremely structured/tightly scheduled
> school at home
> approach, and Sam just is not into it. I'm still not
> exactly sure what
> it means to unschool, however - do I literally not
> use any formal
> texts or workbooks? Right now, as I type, he's
> behind me at the
> kitchen table, doing a few pages in a maps &
> geography workbook, and
> is more or less enjoying/tolerating it. I have this
> deep seated fear
> that I'm not teaching him properly/well enough/to
> someone else's
> standard. I suppose that is my buggest hurdle.
>
> The reason I am interested in unschooling is that
> Sam is a very
> imaginative person (his supervising teacher says
> that he's gifted, and
> I, of course, have always thought the same! :)), and
> when he's
> interested in something, is able to learn a great
> deal about it. Right
> now, it's military "special ops" thanks to the video
> game series
> "Metal Gear Solid;" a while back, it was Yu-Gi-Oh! I
> think he would
> benefit from unschooling because he's already doing
> his own thing most
> of the time, anyway! :)
>
> Anyway, enough typing from me. Any thoughts you
> might have for a new
> unschooler would be wonderful. Thanks in advance!
>
> -Amy Windmill
>
>
>




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[email protected]

In a message dated 8/16/2004 1:33:49 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
amy@... writes:

I'm still not exactly sure what
it means to unschool, however - do I literally not use any formal
texts or workbooks?<<<<<<<

Only if HE wants them. They shouldn't have more value than a coloring book
or a video game. It's ALL educational!


>>>>> Right now, as I type, he's behind me at the
kitchen table, doing a few pages in a maps & geography workbook, and
is more or less enjoying/tolerating it.<<<<<

Are you making him? May he stop? Does he find joy in them? Really?
All unschooling questions.


>>>>>>> I have this deep seated fear
that I'm not teaching him properly/well enough/to someone else's
standard. I suppose that is my buggest hurdle.<<<<<


Your biggest hurdle is to teach to someone else's standard ? Or to get over
that idea that someone else's opinion matters?


>>>>>The reason I am interested in unschooling is that Sam is a very
imaginative person (his supervising teacher says that he's gifted, and
I, of course, have always thought the same! :)),<<<<


We'll suggest that you get rid of the "gifted" label. Just let him be who he
is with all his strengths. Let his strengths shine through----and don't worry
about his "weaknesses----they don't define him.


>>>> and when he's interested in something, is able to learn a great deal
about it.<<<<


It's called intrinsic motivation. It's true of all of us! And that's what
unschooling is all about----to learn what you need to know when you need to know
it.

Welcome, Amy! We're glad you're here.

~Kelly





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

windmillfamily

--- In [email protected], kbcdlovejo@a... wrote:
> Only if HE wants them. They shouldn't have more value than a
coloring book
> or a video game. It's ALL educational!

Well, that certainly makes sense.


> Are you making him? May he stop? Does he find joy in them? Really?
> All unschooling questions.

Hmm, that's a good question - of course he may stop, but does *he*
know that? I will ask him today.

> Your biggest hurdle is to teach to someone else's standard ? Or to
get over
> that idea that someone else's opinion matters?

To get over the idea that the opinions of other people mean more than
our own. Some people in my extended family are hyper-critical of,
well, everything, homeschooling included. Got to quit worryin' about
what they think! :)


> It's called intrinsic motivation. It's true of all of us! And that's
what
> unschooling is all about----to learn what you need to know when you
need to know
> it.

As silly as it may sound, that really is a whole new concept for me -
that learning doesn't have to follow a schedule. I'm learning to look
at life in a different way, I guess! :)


> Welcome, Amy! We're glad you're here.
>
> ~Kelly

Thanks. :)

-Amy

Ren

"and when he's
interested in something, is able to learn a great deal about it."

Just like all human beings.:)
Interest is the basic foundation of unschooling. If a child has interest in something, or sees a need for information because it will help them with an interest, they'll absorb it readily. We're all like that. That's the way humans are.
Make a list for yourself of all the jobs you've done for pay, the ones you've volunteered, all of the hobbies you've had or plan to have and then ask yourself how much of this stuff you learned in school?
Usually none or just a few. And of the few that you might have learned in school, it's only because the school happened to be teaching something you were already interested in.
Things like reading, math, writing, come along as people are exploring their interests. Focusing on "teaching" those as subjects, only sucks the joy out of learning.
Listen to your child, he already knows how to be an unschooler...kids are naturals that way. Your schooled mind is getting in the way some, so just let him show you the way back to yourself, it's easy once you start.:)

Ren


Learn about unschooling at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unschoolingbasics/