deschooling??
Christalyn Aitken
HI, I have a question. We are in the process of deschooling. We
have homeschooled...that is school at home for six years. I am not
requiring anything of the children. They are having fun, but I sense
they are expecting me to pull up and tell them what to do. I am
finding it hard to not say anything to them. When do you think the
deschooling has happened and they are on their way Unschooling?
Christy in SC.
have homeschooled...that is school at home for six years. I am not
requiring anything of the children. They are having fun, but I sense
they are expecting me to pull up and tell them what to do. I am
finding it hard to not say anything to them. When do you think the
deschooling has happened and they are on their way Unschooling?
Christy in SC.
J. Stauffer
<<<They are having fun, but I sense
they are expecting me to pull up and tell them what to do. I am
finding it hard to not say anything to them. When do you think the
deschooling has happened and they are on their way Unschooling?>>>>>
The question is....are you on your way?
I'm not sure I'm reading you right so feel free to correct me but it sounds like the kids are having fun but you are sensing an underlying restlessness, like they are waiting for the other shoe to drop....and you are not sure how you want to respond to that.
I would suggest asking the kids if they feel like planning a garden for the spring, or going to a museum, or seeing a particular movie or going rollerskating.
If you are sensing the kids need some direction from you, they probably do. You know them best. What they don't need are requirements from you or a curriculum from you. Particularly as the newness of freedom wears off, kids can kind of find themselves "between things".....Offering them options that you think might interest them is a good thing. Just remember the operative words are OFFERING and OPTIONS.
Julie S.
they are expecting me to pull up and tell them what to do. I am
finding it hard to not say anything to them. When do you think the
deschooling has happened and they are on their way Unschooling?>>>>>
The question is....are you on your way?
I'm not sure I'm reading you right so feel free to correct me but it sounds like the kids are having fun but you are sensing an underlying restlessness, like they are waiting for the other shoe to drop....and you are not sure how you want to respond to that.
I would suggest asking the kids if they feel like planning a garden for the spring, or going to a museum, or seeing a particular movie or going rollerskating.
If you are sensing the kids need some direction from you, they probably do. You know them best. What they don't need are requirements from you or a curriculum from you. Particularly as the newness of freedom wears off, kids can kind of find themselves "between things".....Offering them options that you think might interest them is a good thing. Just remember the operative words are OFFERING and OPTIONS.
Julie S.
----- Original Message -----
From: Christalyn Aitken
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2005 5:46 PM
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] deschooling??
HI, I have a question. We are in the process of deschooling. We
have homeschooled...that is school at home for six years. I am not
requiring anything of the children. They are having fun, but I sense
they are expecting me to pull up and tell them what to do. I am
finding it hard to not say anything to them. When do you think the
deschooling has happened and they are on their way Unschooling?
Christy in SC.
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Chris Mullins
I kind of know what you mean Christy, I am in the same place with
the 'deschooling' only a hectic life has brought me here. I also
feel the kids waiting for something to come out of my mouth like, "Ok
guys lets get back to it" LOL In a way I think it is cute because
they know they are on borrowed time. And our hectic schedules are
finally slowing down, so that means the kids are ~learning~ structure
of time. But to there surprise we aren't gonig to pass out the books
we are however going to graphed out our floor plans for the house to
help dad make the repairs to our house after the hurricanes. And
when that is done we are going to work on hotbeds in the garden and
compare the bugs that we find with the bug cards that we have oh and
eat gummy worms at the same time. Oh and for math we did make a
special cookie dough that you can sculpture in shapes and bake and
then eat. So my husband and I enjoyed eating spiders and beehives
for dessert. LOL
So Christy from one newbie to another tell you kids "for today we
will watch the Discovery Channel, and I want you to write down all
the up and coming shows that interest you" that is what I did the
beginning of this week and my goodness I learned from their mouths
how to build a solar something or rather, but my son knows all about
it. And my daughter has a list of shows that they don't want to
miss. With all this new info I have an idea of what interest my
children have instead of what ~I~ think they need to know to make
someone else happy.
I hope this helps because it sure helped me to put it down on print
so to speak. Good luck on your decision. Have a Great Day!
--- In [email protected], "Christalyn Aitken"
<christybaitken@y...> wrote:
the 'deschooling' only a hectic life has brought me here. I also
feel the kids waiting for something to come out of my mouth like, "Ok
guys lets get back to it" LOL In a way I think it is cute because
they know they are on borrowed time. And our hectic schedules are
finally slowing down, so that means the kids are ~learning~ structure
of time. But to there surprise we aren't gonig to pass out the books
we are however going to graphed out our floor plans for the house to
help dad make the repairs to our house after the hurricanes. And
when that is done we are going to work on hotbeds in the garden and
compare the bugs that we find with the bug cards that we have oh and
eat gummy worms at the same time. Oh and for math we did make a
special cookie dough that you can sculpture in shapes and bake and
then eat. So my husband and I enjoyed eating spiders and beehives
for dessert. LOL
So Christy from one newbie to another tell you kids "for today we
will watch the Discovery Channel, and I want you to write down all
the up and coming shows that interest you" that is what I did the
beginning of this week and my goodness I learned from their mouths
how to build a solar something or rather, but my son knows all about
it. And my daughter has a list of shows that they don't want to
miss. With all this new info I have an idea of what interest my
children have instead of what ~I~ think they need to know to make
someone else happy.
I hope this helps because it sure helped me to put it down on print
so to speak. Good luck on your decision. Have a Great Day!
--- In [email protected], "Christalyn Aitken"
<christybaitken@y...> wrote:
>sense
> HI, I have a question. We are in the process of deschooling. We
> have homeschooled...that is school at home for six years. I am not
> requiring anything of the children. They are having fun, but I
> they are expecting me to pull up and tell them what to do. I am
> finding it hard to not say anything to them. When do you think the
> deschooling has happened and they are on their way Unschooling?
>
> Christy in SC.
Dana Matt
But to there surprise we aren't gonig to
unschooling. "Doing Math" by making recipes or
anything else is not unschooling. *You* having a list
of what your famliy will be doing next, and then after
that, is not unschooling.
unschooling--it sounds mean. Why would it be *cute*
if your kids weren't feeling free?
Dana
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> pass out the booksAssigning kids to watch tv and write lists is not
> we are however going to graphed out our floor plans
> for the house to
> help dad make the repairs to our house after the
> hurricanes. And
> when that is done we are going to work on hotbeds in
> the garden and
> compare the bugs that we find with the bug cards
> that we have oh and
> eat gummy worms at the same time. Oh and for math
> we did make a
> special cookie dough that you can sculpture in
> shapes and bake and
> then eat. So my husband and I enjoyed eating
> spiders and beehives
> for dessert. LOL
> So Christy from one newbie to another tell you kids
> "for today we
> will watch the Discovery Channel, and I want you to
> write down all
> the up and coming shows that interest you"
unschooling. "Doing Math" by making recipes or
anything else is not unschooling. *You* having a list
of what your famliy will be doing next, and then after
that, is not unschooling.
>>LOL In a way I think it isI don't even know what to make of this...but it's not
> cute because
> they know they are on borrowed time.
unschooling--it sounds mean. Why would it be *cute*
if your kids weren't feeling free?
Dana
=====
Guadalupe's Coffee Roaster
100% Organic Fair Trade Coffee
Roasted to Perfection Daily
Free Home Delivery in Whatcom County
(360) 715-1900
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mamaaj2000
--- In [email protected], "J. Stauffer"
<jnjstau@d...> wrote:
Particularly as the newness of freedom wears off, kids can kind of
find themselves "between things".....Offering them options that you
think might interest them is a good thing. Just remember the
operative words are OFFERING and OPTIONS.
And it's not always as easy as it sounds! If they aren't used to
being able to say no, it may be months before they stop saying no
just to test you. (Happened with tv and my 4 yr old.) It's also hard
on us parents to suddenly just be open to letting the kids set the
agenda when we're used to that being our job. Learning to decide
together what to do takes some practice. They will come up with ideas
of things to do that may seem too hard or too expensive or something
and you get to take a deep breath and try to brainstorm ways to make
it work out. You'll come up with great ideas of outings that should
make everyone happy and singing your praises...and instead they'll
look at ya like you have two heads and just want to watch tv.
Then you can come back here for some much needed encouragement!
--aj
<jnjstau@d...> wrote:
Particularly as the newness of freedom wears off, kids can kind of
find themselves "between things".....Offering them options that you
think might interest them is a good thing. Just remember the
operative words are OFFERING and OPTIONS.
And it's not always as easy as it sounds! If they aren't used to
being able to say no, it may be months before they stop saying no
just to test you. (Happened with tv and my 4 yr old.) It's also hard
on us parents to suddenly just be open to letting the kids set the
agenda when we're used to that being our job. Learning to decide
together what to do takes some practice. They will come up with ideas
of things to do that may seem too hard or too expensive or something
and you get to take a deep breath and try to brainstorm ways to make
it work out. You'll come up with great ideas of outings that should
make everyone happy and singing your praises...and instead they'll
look at ya like you have two heads and just want to watch tv.
Then you can come back here for some much needed encouragement!
--aj
[email protected]
In a message dated 1/26/2005 6:46:04 PM Eastern Standard Time, "Christalyn Aitken" <christybaitken@...> writes:
When everyone knows that learning happens all the time and you've forgotten to even *think*: "Is this learning?"---that's when it's happened! <G>
~Kelly
>HI, I have a question. We are in the process of deschooling. We have homeschooled...that is school at home for six years. I am not requiring anything of the children. They are having fun, but I sense they are expecting me to pull up and tell them what to do. I am finding it hard to not say anything to them. When do you think the deschooling has happened and they are on their way Unschooling?<<<<When you all quit worrying about it!
When everyone knows that learning happens all the time and you've forgotten to even *think*: "Is this learning?"---that's when it's happened! <G>
~Kelly