New here, saying hi
Keri
Hi guys, I'm not sure, but I THINK I have yet to post an intro here.
I joined so many unschooling groups at once (bad idea), I'm losing
track! My name is Keri, I'm 40 on the outside & maybe 10 on the
inside, live near the ocean north of Boston, and recently adopted my
daughter Anastasia, age 12-13, from Siberia. So, yes, I was in
Siberia in the dead of winter this year, but that's a story for
another yahoo group...
Anyway, I am working my way towards unschooling. Nast ( what she went
by in Russia) attends the local charter school about 3 days a week,
and I'm tRYING to make it possible to have her home every day. Right
now I'm trying to figure out how to do that while still working. She
can't be home alone just yet (RAD, PTSD and other stuff) but I'm
hoping she can by next summer. So I'm really looking at just trying
to survive the next maybe 6 months of part-time schooling. I HATE it,
but know no other way this minute. I want to make her unschooling
time, 4 days a week right now, really worthwhile. Right now she would
choose to watch tv all day. Is this just an aspect of deschooling?
It's very hard for me not to ask her to turn it off..I used to be
VERY anti-tv, but am trying to change my ways! Any even general
advice to someone very new to unschooling? What do you wish you had
known/done in the beginning? Are there parents on this board who,
like me, transitioned from schooling to unschooling or did everyone
start when their kids were young? I should mention that the concept
of unschooling has really got my daughter scratching her head..lol!
In Russia it was mandatory school 6 days per week and corporal
punishment was the norm. Right now she is still shocked that her
teachers here don't beat her....REALLY. The first day there she asked
me why the teacher smiled at her! Anyway, hope to learn alot here and
am glad for this space while I try to learn the basics...thanks.
Keri
I joined so many unschooling groups at once (bad idea), I'm losing
track! My name is Keri, I'm 40 on the outside & maybe 10 on the
inside, live near the ocean north of Boston, and recently adopted my
daughter Anastasia, age 12-13, from Siberia. So, yes, I was in
Siberia in the dead of winter this year, but that's a story for
another yahoo group...
Anyway, I am working my way towards unschooling. Nast ( what she went
by in Russia) attends the local charter school about 3 days a week,
and I'm tRYING to make it possible to have her home every day. Right
now I'm trying to figure out how to do that while still working. She
can't be home alone just yet (RAD, PTSD and other stuff) but I'm
hoping she can by next summer. So I'm really looking at just trying
to survive the next maybe 6 months of part-time schooling. I HATE it,
but know no other way this minute. I want to make her unschooling
time, 4 days a week right now, really worthwhile. Right now she would
choose to watch tv all day. Is this just an aspect of deschooling?
It's very hard for me not to ask her to turn it off..I used to be
VERY anti-tv, but am trying to change my ways! Any even general
advice to someone very new to unschooling? What do you wish you had
known/done in the beginning? Are there parents on this board who,
like me, transitioned from schooling to unschooling or did everyone
start when their kids were young? I should mention that the concept
of unschooling has really got my daughter scratching her head..lol!
In Russia it was mandatory school 6 days per week and corporal
punishment was the norm. Right now she is still shocked that her
teachers here don't beat her....REALLY. The first day there she asked
me why the teacher smiled at her! Anyway, hope to learn alot here and
am glad for this space while I try to learn the basics...thanks.
Keri
camden
Hi Keri,
Welcome !!
I by no means am an expert in unschooling, but I'm so happy to have found
this path. We did start with the whole school at home idea. Did it for a
couple of years, right down to a time schedule. Yuck !!! We went to
eclectic learning, did math & spelling by the book but all the rest the kids
picked. After reading here, a few other groups (which we learned there was
some better than others), and many web sites it dawned on me unschooling is
what we were looking for & needed so badly. I came to realize the tears
(mine & theirs) were NOT necessary. That there was a better way. Do we wish
we had followed the unschooling way of life in the beginning? You bet, we
were slow getting here but we did it.
It took me a while to start to "get it", lots of day of wondering if this
was the right thing to do. We did it slowly, I started by saying yes alot
more ( and if it was no, we made very sure of the reason, explaining it to
the kids & letting the kids have their say). I went thru our school stuff &
made a pile of "school" stuff. Kept all the books that weren't text books &
are putting the rest on ebay. Well, we did keep the Math U See because my
dd loves to play with the pages & blocks but when she's ready to let go of
it its gone also. That was one step on our journey but it won't be the last
:)
From one newbie to another .... welcome & hang in there.
Carol (a fellow yankee in Maine)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome !!
I by no means am an expert in unschooling, but I'm so happy to have found
this path. We did start with the whole school at home idea. Did it for a
couple of years, right down to a time schedule. Yuck !!! We went to
eclectic learning, did math & spelling by the book but all the rest the kids
picked. After reading here, a few other groups (which we learned there was
some better than others), and many web sites it dawned on me unschooling is
what we were looking for & needed so badly. I came to realize the tears
(mine & theirs) were NOT necessary. That there was a better way. Do we wish
we had followed the unschooling way of life in the beginning? You bet, we
were slow getting here but we did it.
It took me a while to start to "get it", lots of day of wondering if this
was the right thing to do. We did it slowly, I started by saying yes alot
more ( and if it was no, we made very sure of the reason, explaining it to
the kids & letting the kids have their say). I went thru our school stuff &
made a pile of "school" stuff. Kept all the books that weren't text books &
are putting the rest on ebay. Well, we did keep the Math U See because my
dd loves to play with the pages & blocks but when she's ready to let go of
it its gone also. That was one step on our journey but it won't be the last
:)
From one newbie to another .... welcome & hang in there.
Carol (a fellow yankee in Maine)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
----- Original Message -----
From: "Keri" <kericahill@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2005 7:39 PM
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] New here, saying hi
> Hi guys, I'm not sure, but I THINK I have yet to post an intro here.
> I joined so many unschooling groups at once (bad idea), I'm losing
> track! My name is Keri, I'm 40 on the outside & maybe 10 on the
> inside, live near the ocean north of Boston, and recently adopted my
> daughter Anastasia, age 12-13, from Siberia. So, yes, I was in
> Siberia in the dead of winter this year, but that's a story for
> another yahoo group...
> Anyway, I am working my way towards unschooling. Nast ( what she went
> by in Russia) attends the local charter school about 3 days a week,
> and I'm tRYING to make it possible to have her home every day. Right
> now I'm trying to figure out how to do that while still working. She
> can't be home alone just yet (RAD, PTSD and other stuff) but I'm
> hoping she can by next summer. So I'm really looking at just trying
> to survive the next maybe 6 months of part-time schooling. I HATE it,
> but know no other way this minute. I want to make her unschooling
> time, 4 days a week right now, really worthwhile. Right now she would
> choose to watch tv all day. Is this just an aspect of deschooling?
> It's very hard for me not to ask her to turn it off..I used to be
> VERY anti-tv, but am trying to change my ways! Any even general
> advice to someone very new to unschooling? What do you wish you had
> known/done in the beginning? Are there parents on this board who,
> like me, transitioned from schooling to unschooling or did everyone
> start when their kids were young? I should mention that the concept
> of unschooling has really got my daughter scratching her head..lol!
> In Russia it was mandatory school 6 days per week and corporal
> punishment was the norm. Right now she is still shocked that her
> teachers here don't beat her....REALLY. The first day there she asked
> me why the teacher smiled at her! Anyway, hope to learn alot here and
> am glad for this space while I try to learn the basics...thanks.
> Keri
Ren Allen
"Is this just an aspect of deschooling?
It's very hard for me not to ask her to turn it off..I used to be
VERY anti-tv, but am trying to change my ways!"
Yes.
It's called de-schooling, and if you don't trust it, you might slow
down her healing. Instead of stressing about it, look at it as an
opportunity to connect. Watch some of her shows, find out what she
loves about them, find a common ground to connect on.
"Any even general
advice to someone very new to unschooling?"
The same I give to everyone....make this summer vacation. I realize
you've got to get through her being in school for a while, but you can
start making life at home really FUN. Pretend like schools out for the
summer (only it will be much longer than that very soon) and bring the
things you both love into your lives. Movies, drives to interesting
places (just for fun, not to be "educational"), playing games, taking
walks, trying new foods etc....are all ways to get in the flow
now...it will seem second nature by the time she's home.
"What do you wish you had
known/done in the beginning?"
I wish I had REALLY trusted my kids. Trusted that whatever caught
their attention, whatever they enjoyed was truly important for them. I
wish I had simply tried to really get into their world, understand why
it fascinated them rather than layer my judgements onto things (like
tv or video games), I wish I had truly been their companion and not
harmed their trust in ME.
Ren
It's very hard for me not to ask her to turn it off..I used to be
VERY anti-tv, but am trying to change my ways!"
Yes.
It's called de-schooling, and if you don't trust it, you might slow
down her healing. Instead of stressing about it, look at it as an
opportunity to connect. Watch some of her shows, find out what she
loves about them, find a common ground to connect on.
"Any even general
advice to someone very new to unschooling?"
The same I give to everyone....make this summer vacation. I realize
you've got to get through her being in school for a while, but you can
start making life at home really FUN. Pretend like schools out for the
summer (only it will be much longer than that very soon) and bring the
things you both love into your lives. Movies, drives to interesting
places (just for fun, not to be "educational"), playing games, taking
walks, trying new foods etc....are all ways to get in the flow
now...it will seem second nature by the time she's home.
"What do you wish you had
known/done in the beginning?"
I wish I had REALLY trusted my kids. Trusted that whatever caught
their attention, whatever they enjoyed was truly important for them. I
wish I had simply tried to really get into their world, understand why
it fascinated them rather than layer my judgements onto things (like
tv or video games), I wish I had truly been their companion and not
harmed their trust in ME.
Ren