Just wondering.
carolyn6522
We have been unschooling for just three months. Since we, both my
10 year old son and I, are such homebodies, I cannot seem to get him
interseted in anything outside of home. I also cannot get him
interested in anything here, like cooking, gardening, woodworking,
etc...
Since been taken out of school, most of his time is spent on the
computer playing games. That does not bother me at all, but
shouldn't we be doing someting? Will it take more time to de-school
and get used to this freedom? I am worried, I dont want him to go
through his young life playing games and then have reality really
hit him, as in working for a living.
I love that we have all this time together, we have really become
close and rarely have any disagreements. He will help me with
anything I ask him to, but seems to have no interest in anything but
pc games.
Does anyone else ever wonder about what and when their kids will
learn? He is such a smart kid, I dont want his life to be misguided
by my wrong doing.
Maybe we all feel like this from time to time, huh?
Peace to all, Carolyn & Zachary
10 year old son and I, are such homebodies, I cannot seem to get him
interseted in anything outside of home. I also cannot get him
interested in anything here, like cooking, gardening, woodworking,
etc...
Since been taken out of school, most of his time is spent on the
computer playing games. That does not bother me at all, but
shouldn't we be doing someting? Will it take more time to de-school
and get used to this freedom? I am worried, I dont want him to go
through his young life playing games and then have reality really
hit him, as in working for a living.
I love that we have all this time together, we have really become
close and rarely have any disagreements. He will help me with
anything I ask him to, but seems to have no interest in anything but
pc games.
Does anyone else ever wonder about what and when their kids will
learn? He is such a smart kid, I dont want his life to be misguided
by my wrong doing.
Maybe we all feel like this from time to time, huh?
Peace to all, Carolyn & Zachary
Fetteroll
on 2/25/05 12:43 PM, carolyn6522 at csraper@... wrote:
thumb is one month per year they've been in school. But it depends on the
child's personality and their experience in school.
It's pefectly natural to worry but relax! :-)
Read here. Read at http://www.unschooling.com and http://www.unschooling.org
and http://sandradodd.com/unschooling. Get a picture of unschoolers' lives.
There's also a list for beginners called unschoolingbasics (
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unschoolingbasics/)
If you were involved in a really good book that you couldn't put down and
your husband kept popping in every 15 minutes suggesting you do something
different like watch TV or sew or do some painting, how would it feel?
When you came up for air from your book, wouldn't you love to have someone
to talk to about it?
How about playing the games with him? :-) Talk to him about them.
Joyce
> We have been unschooling for just three months.He's only 10 and you've only been deschooling for 3 months. The rule of
> I am worried, I dont want him to go
> through his young life playing games and then have reality really
> hit him, as in working for a living.
thumb is one month per year they've been in school. But it depends on the
child's personality and their experience in school.
It's pefectly natural to worry but relax! :-)
Read here. Read at http://www.unschooling.com and http://www.unschooling.org
and http://sandradodd.com/unschooling. Get a picture of unschoolers' lives.
There's also a list for beginners called unschoolingbasics (
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unschoolingbasics/)
> I cannot seem to get himProbably because you're trying to get him interested :-)
> interseted in anything outside of home.
If you were involved in a really good book that you couldn't put down and
your husband kept popping in every 15 minutes suggesting you do something
different like watch TV or sew or do some painting, how would it feel?
When you came up for air from your book, wouldn't you love to have someone
to talk to about it?
How about playing the games with him? :-) Talk to him about them.
Joyce
Nicole Willoughby
I am worried, I dont want him to go
through his young life playing games and then have reality really
hit him, as in working for a living.
Anyway one day during a 7 month lay off we had 2 years ago I got really frustrated with dh's seemingly constant game playing and said something like if you like games so much why dont you make a career out of it.
So here it is 2 years later and he just got a promotion that gave him a 50% raise...we are nowhere near rich but its kinda nice to no longer qualify for food stamps . He is also in school
for programming and has ideas for designs of new video games.
I cant help but wonder though.........this game intrest has been going on since he was young. I cant help but wonder if he had been allowed to pursue his intrests at a much younger age instead of being shoved into courses because " it was good for him" Maybe he would have already gotten on the road he is on now.
Nicole
carolyn6522 <csraper@...> wrote:
We have been unschooling for just three months. Since we, both my
10 year old son and I, are such homebodies, I cannot seem to get him
interseted in anything outside of home. I also cannot get him
interested in anything here, like cooking, gardening, woodworking,
etc...
Since been taken out of school, most of his time is spent on the
computer playing games. That does not bother me at all, but
shouldn't we be doing someting? Will it take more time to de-school
and get used to this freedom? I am worried, I dont want him to go
through his young life playing games and then have reality really
hit him, as in working for a living.
I love that we have all this time together, we have really become
close and rarely have any disagreements. He will help me with
anything I ask him to, but seems to have no interest in anything but
pc games.
Does anyone else ever wonder about what and when their kids will
learn? He is such a smart kid, I dont want his life to be misguided
by my wrong doing.
Maybe we all feel like this from time to time, huh?
Peace to all, Carolyn & Zachary
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through his young life playing games and then have reality really
hit him, as in working for a living.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>I have to tell a story related to this. Dh and I both got shoved through the cattle shoot of " high school then you must go to college and keep up with the Jonses" Dh and I both dropped out of college the first year. Dh plays video games constantly!!!! He has for years. With the exception of Final fantasy I just dont care for them and dont really understand his passion for them.
Anyway one day during a 7 month lay off we had 2 years ago I got really frustrated with dh's seemingly constant game playing and said something like if you like games so much why dont you make a career out of it.
So here it is 2 years later and he just got a promotion that gave him a 50% raise...we are nowhere near rich but its kinda nice to no longer qualify for food stamps . He is also in school
for programming and has ideas for designs of new video games.
I cant help but wonder though.........this game intrest has been going on since he was young. I cant help but wonder if he had been allowed to pursue his intrests at a much younger age instead of being shoved into courses because " it was good for him" Maybe he would have already gotten on the road he is on now.
Nicole
carolyn6522 <csraper@...> wrote:
We have been unschooling for just three months. Since we, both my
10 year old son and I, are such homebodies, I cannot seem to get him
interseted in anything outside of home. I also cannot get him
interested in anything here, like cooking, gardening, woodworking,
etc...
Since been taken out of school, most of his time is spent on the
computer playing games. That does not bother me at all, but
shouldn't we be doing someting? Will it take more time to de-school
and get used to this freedom? I am worried, I dont want him to go
through his young life playing games and then have reality really
hit him, as in working for a living.
I love that we have all this time together, we have really become
close and rarely have any disagreements. He will help me with
anything I ask him to, but seems to have no interest in anything but
pc games.
Does anyone else ever wonder about what and when their kids will
learn? He is such a smart kid, I dont want his life to be misguided
by my wrong doing.
Maybe we all feel like this from time to time, huh?
Peace to all, Carolyn & Zachary
"List Posting Policies" are provided in the files area of this group.
Visit the Unschooling website and message boards: http://www.unschooling.com
Yahoo! Groups SponsorADVERTISEMENT
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UnschoolingDiscussion/
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Read only the mail you want - Yahoo! Mail SpamGuard.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 2/25/2005 11:07:01 AM Mountain Standard Time,
csraper@... writes:
We have been unschooling for just three months. Since we, both my
10 year old son and I, are such homebodies, I cannot seem to get him
interseted in anything outside of home. I also cannot get him
interested in anything here, like cooking, gardening, woodworking,
etc...
Unschooling for just three months should be deschooling time:
_http://sandradodd.com/deschooling_ (http://sandradodd.com/deschooling) .
True. You can't get him interested in anything. Don't try.
Get yourself interested in some things and maybe he'll join in, but have
your own interests. Rent movies just for you. Buy a book or magazine just for
you. Maybe share the best part, the part you think he might be interested
in. He might get interested, or not.
-=-Since been taken out of school, most of his time is spent on the
computer playing games. That does not bother me at all, but
shouldn't we be doing someting? Will it take more time to de-school
and get used to this freedom? I am worried,-=-
Spend some time feeling your feelings. Unschooling is unlike school in
lolst of ways, and one way that people forget about is that school will no longer
tell you when's a good time to get up or sleep, to do homework or not, to
study Japan or do a science project or not. Different reasons will come into
play.
You said it doesn't bother you, but your whole post seems to say it DOES
bother you.
Feel your feelings as honestly as you can. What bothers you bothers you for
some personal reason. Think about why that is. Spend extra time now that
you're moving toward a whole new way of being on reviewing your own childhood
memories and experiences and emotions. The better you really know your own
self, the more relaxed you can be with little internal fears come up. Don't
let them surprise you. Know them now, and try to dissolve them.
Here's a short essay called "Tiny Monsters," and finding your own tiny
monsters might help you get to peaceful unschooling more quickly:
_http://sandradodd.com/TinyMonsters_ (http://sandradodd.com/TinyMonsters)
-=-I dont want him to go
through his young life playing games and then have reality really
hit him, as in working for a living.
-=-
While he's playing for another month or two, maybe read a lot here:
_http://sandradodd.com/games/page_ (http://sandradodd.com/games/page)
Order a copy of Video Game Revolution. It's a DVD of a special that was on
PBS about video games. It will change your life.
-=-Does anyone else ever wonder about what and when their kids will
learn? He is such a smart kid, I dont want his life to be misguided
by my wrong doing.
Maybe we all feel like this from time to time, huh?
-=-
Sure, but then you peddle faster, not slower. Stop peddling and the bike
can fall over. Hesitation doesn't get you farther faster, confidence does.
And your confidence in unschooling will come from seeing it work, so don't
sabotage your progress. Deschooling for a ten year old shouldn't be looked at
before five or six months have passed, and five or six months of real
expectation that unschooling can work. If you take a break and "teach," start your
deschooling period again.
When the kids got X-Box Live and started playing Halo2 online in December,
they played every day, and others came over every day and played.
Two months later, Marty was trying to talk some of them into playing Halo2,
saying it had been a while since they played, but they wanted to play a
role-playing game with books and paper instead. I'm not saying one's better. I'm
saying both happen if you don't limit or shame or glorify one over the other.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
csraper@... writes:
We have been unschooling for just three months. Since we, both my
10 year old son and I, are such homebodies, I cannot seem to get him
interseted in anything outside of home. I also cannot get him
interested in anything here, like cooking, gardening, woodworking,
etc...
Unschooling for just three months should be deschooling time:
_http://sandradodd.com/deschooling_ (http://sandradodd.com/deschooling) .
True. You can't get him interested in anything. Don't try.
Get yourself interested in some things and maybe he'll join in, but have
your own interests. Rent movies just for you. Buy a book or magazine just for
you. Maybe share the best part, the part you think he might be interested
in. He might get interested, or not.
-=-Since been taken out of school, most of his time is spent on the
computer playing games. That does not bother me at all, but
shouldn't we be doing someting? Will it take more time to de-school
and get used to this freedom? I am worried,-=-
Spend some time feeling your feelings. Unschooling is unlike school in
lolst of ways, and one way that people forget about is that school will no longer
tell you when's a good time to get up or sleep, to do homework or not, to
study Japan or do a science project or not. Different reasons will come into
play.
You said it doesn't bother you, but your whole post seems to say it DOES
bother you.
Feel your feelings as honestly as you can. What bothers you bothers you for
some personal reason. Think about why that is. Spend extra time now that
you're moving toward a whole new way of being on reviewing your own childhood
memories and experiences and emotions. The better you really know your own
self, the more relaxed you can be with little internal fears come up. Don't
let them surprise you. Know them now, and try to dissolve them.
Here's a short essay called "Tiny Monsters," and finding your own tiny
monsters might help you get to peaceful unschooling more quickly:
_http://sandradodd.com/TinyMonsters_ (http://sandradodd.com/TinyMonsters)
-=-I dont want him to go
through his young life playing games and then have reality really
hit him, as in working for a living.
-=-
While he's playing for another month or two, maybe read a lot here:
_http://sandradodd.com/games/page_ (http://sandradodd.com/games/page)
Order a copy of Video Game Revolution. It's a DVD of a special that was on
PBS about video games. It will change your life.
-=-Does anyone else ever wonder about what and when their kids will
learn? He is such a smart kid, I dont want his life to be misguided
by my wrong doing.
Maybe we all feel like this from time to time, huh?
-=-
Sure, but then you peddle faster, not slower. Stop peddling and the bike
can fall over. Hesitation doesn't get you farther faster, confidence does.
And your confidence in unschooling will come from seeing it work, so don't
sabotage your progress. Deschooling for a ten year old shouldn't be looked at
before five or six months have passed, and five or six months of real
expectation that unschooling can work. If you take a break and "teach," start your
deschooling period again.
When the kids got X-Box Live and started playing Halo2 online in December,
they played every day, and others came over every day and played.
Two months later, Marty was trying to talk some of them into playing Halo2,
saying it had been a while since they played, but they wanted to play a
role-playing game with books and paper instead. I'm not saying one's better. I'm
saying both happen if you don't limit or shame or glorify one over the other.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
My husband's career was made out of tinkering with computers, playing
games, etc.
He always was interested in programming computers, playing games, etc;
and was lucky enough to have access to some relatively early
home-machines as a kid (we're in our early 30s).
He fell in love with the internet in the early 1990s, playing online
games (MUSHes, MOOs), talking on IRC, making goofy personal webpages
when the World Wide Web first appeared. Meanwhile, he was (barely)
making a living stuffing envelopes in the shipping department of a
virtual instrumentation firm. He got up the guts one day to go talk to
the (newly-forming) "web development team" there, who finally agreed to
take him on in some low-level capacity (with lots of snarky comments on
the side about his lack of training, lack of a college degree, long
hair, etc.)
He now makes a quite comfortable living as the director of a software
development team. There have been a couple of times where we
regretted his lack of a college degree, but not because he lacks any
needed skills, only because it would get him sorted out of competition
before anyone had even seen his work, now that the technology industry
has changed.
I got off-message there, but my point is this: his interest in
programming, his massive amounts of time spent 'playing games' is
precisely what has allowed him to function in 'reality'. He still
plays a lot of games.
lisa near Chicago
games, etc.
He always was interested in programming computers, playing games, etc;
and was lucky enough to have access to some relatively early
home-machines as a kid (we're in our early 30s).
He fell in love with the internet in the early 1990s, playing online
games (MUSHes, MOOs), talking on IRC, making goofy personal webpages
when the World Wide Web first appeared. Meanwhile, he was (barely)
making a living stuffing envelopes in the shipping department of a
virtual instrumentation firm. He got up the guts one day to go talk to
the (newly-forming) "web development team" there, who finally agreed to
take him on in some low-level capacity (with lots of snarky comments on
the side about his lack of training, lack of a college degree, long
hair, etc.)
He now makes a quite comfortable living as the director of a software
development team. There have been a couple of times where we
regretted his lack of a college degree, but not because he lacks any
needed skills, only because it would get him sorted out of competition
before anyone had even seen his work, now that the technology industry
has changed.
I got off-message there, but my point is this: his interest in
programming, his massive amounts of time spent 'playing games' is
precisely what has allowed him to function in 'reality'. He still
plays a lot of games.
lisa near Chicago
On Feb 25, 2005, at 2:46 PM, Nicole Willoughby wrote:
>
> I am worried, I dont want him to go
> through his young life playing games and then have reality really
> hit him....
Heather Woodward
--Get yourself interested in some things and maybe he'll join in, but have
your own interests.--
So true. Its actually funny at times. Brianna asked me the other night as I was working on my "homework" (graduate school) if I could show her what I was doing. It was on bond pricing. Lots of math. My first instinct was to say - well its a bit hard - but luckily I didn't ;-) and explained the very basic idea and she smiled, looked a little bored, asked a few questions about why I liked the class, what I am learning etc. Told me that she liked to do her "math" as cooking. We talked a bit about that, and how measuring and fractions were important when cooking, etc.
Now if I ever set out to "show" fractions and measuring as part of a curriculum - she may never have the interest enough to make these connections.
It really sometimes is that basic things of life that spark great conversations.
Sewing is another great example. I set out to learn how to sew...bought a sewing machine, got a simple pattern for a skirt and got started. As I was all spread out on the floor trying to figure it all out, I was having a bit of trouble understanding the pattern(yes, why is it that one can be an ace at bond pricing - and be clueless when it comes to patterns ;-) In any case it seems Brianna has a knack for figuring these out..."Look mom, you only don't have to fold it when it has a nap..." She referred to an old sewing book borrowed from my mother - looked up the definition of nap - said "Oh like velvet. Well, you don't have that so you fold yours and put the pattern pieces on like this picture". Needless to say she was right, and has since made herself a pillowcase and a bookbag. (My skirt is still unfinished....but I'll get there!)
Heather
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
your own interests.--
So true. Its actually funny at times. Brianna asked me the other night as I was working on my "homework" (graduate school) if I could show her what I was doing. It was on bond pricing. Lots of math. My first instinct was to say - well its a bit hard - but luckily I didn't ;-) and explained the very basic idea and she smiled, looked a little bored, asked a few questions about why I liked the class, what I am learning etc. Told me that she liked to do her "math" as cooking. We talked a bit about that, and how measuring and fractions were important when cooking, etc.
Now if I ever set out to "show" fractions and measuring as part of a curriculum - she may never have the interest enough to make these connections.
It really sometimes is that basic things of life that spark great conversations.
Sewing is another great example. I set out to learn how to sew...bought a sewing machine, got a simple pattern for a skirt and got started. As I was all spread out on the floor trying to figure it all out, I was having a bit of trouble understanding the pattern(yes, why is it that one can be an ace at bond pricing - and be clueless when it comes to patterns ;-) In any case it seems Brianna has a knack for figuring these out..."Look mom, you only don't have to fold it when it has a nap..." She referred to an old sewing book borrowed from my mother - looked up the definition of nap - said "Oh like velvet. Well, you don't have that so you fold yours and put the pattern pieces on like this picture". Needless to say she was right, and has since made herself a pillowcase and a bookbag. (My skirt is still unfinished....but I'll get there!)
Heather
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]