Alexandra & Brian Polikowsky

My sisters 4 and a half year old had no interrest in going in the potty until he was almost four. She just let him be. Than one day he decided that he was ready and he never looked back. No accidents ever. He was ready.
Alex
----- Original Message -----
From: queenpamedalah
To: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, January 07, 2006 8:46 PM
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re: question from a newbie - Radicalhomeschooling


Got it. Well then I'm -almost- a radical homeschooler. We do
impose a bedtime, in that they have to be in bed by a certain time,
but they can play quietly with toys in their beds, but the bed time
is more due to the house schedule so my husband can get his sleep
for work and I can get work done at night for my paying job (I work
freelance).

I am facing a current problem and would appreciate some insight. My
just turned 3 year old still isn't potty trained (egads! I know, but
I'm not a bad mom, really!). He was speech delayed, but we're up to
par now and working on articulation. He is capable of going on the
potty (has done so once or twice when he was at the preschool) and
he can do his own clothes. But I've always felt he shouldn't be
forced; he'll do it when he's ready. But since I pulled him out of
preschool this past October to homeschool, I ask if he wants to go
sit on the potty and he politely declines. I still don't want to
force him, but I don't want him to be untrained at - oh, I don't
know, 14! How do I impose my desire for him to potty train and be
true to the commitment I've made to our family to unschool and try
to maintain that in every aspect of our life?

He doesn't want to wear a pull-up. Do I just wait til it's warmer
and say, oh, sorry, we're out of diapers and let him figure out he
doesn't want to be wet?

Sorry if this is too pedantic. It probably links with some of the
other threads on control issues!

Thanks for listening and any input you may have.
Pamela :)

-by the way, as a brand new homeschooler and unschooler, we had the
best day yesterday! (My husband isn't convinced we accomplished
anything, but I am!) I drug out all of the musical instruments we
have (sticks, play drum, triangles, you name it) and we
made "music." My 5 yr old son discovered reverberation and wanted
to see what made different vibrations. It was awesome watching him
try different things. The 3 yr old just danced and had a good time,
but Nate was really into investigating! It was just one part of a
day without stress, deadlines and commitments. I swear, the best
part of homeschooling is the whole rush to get out the door thing.
It was awful! The stress all of us had - my sons, me (and I'm not a
morning person to begin with!). My son would even look at the clock
in the car and say "uh-oh it's 7:59, we're going to be late". Why
on earth did I ever put him in a situation where he felt bad before
8 am in the morning?!?!

--- In [email protected], "Deb" <soggyboysmom@y...>
wrote:
>
> --- In [email protected], "queenpamedalah"
> <swombo@m...> wrote:
> >
> > What makes an unschooler "radical?"
> > ??
> > Curious,
> > Pamela :)
> >
> Generally, the term 'unschooling' refers to an educational
> philosophy that is 'not school', doesn't look like school, sound
> like school, feel like school. It is based on trusting that
people,
> including kids since they're people too, will learn what they need
> when and how they need it in ways that work for them. "Radical"
> unschooling is taking that philosophy of trust and applying it to
> the rest of life - trusting that our kids will eat what and when
and
> how works for them, that they'll sleep when their body says sleep
> and wake when they're finished with sleep, and so on. Treating
kids
> with the same trust and respect for their individual selves and
> choices that you would for a spouse, friend, other adult person.
>
> So, someone can be unschooling in the academic sense yet have
> strictly structured bedtimes, chores, mealtimes, etc. "radical"
was
> added to differentiate in discussion between folks who extend
> unschooling into the whole life of the family.
>
> --Deb
>






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