Julie Stauffer

<<feeding 4 curious minds at once.....Do lots of you unschool more than
2-3?>>

We have 5 children under the age of 12. I think a very important
distinction is that the kids unschool themselves and I basically try to
remove obstacles from their paths. Those obstacles are usually me, sadly
enough. Me wishing the house was cleaner, wanting to be "in control",
slipping back into "school mindset". But it is getting easier and easier to
stay in a joyful place with the kids.

I have found that I am often surprised at what the kids have figured out
without me even being aware of it. Like today, Marsie, 5, was showing me
how she can do Reader Rabbit. I have never "worked with her on" letters and
their sounds, just simply answered her questions about them as they were
asked. I didn't know that she knew the lower case letters at all until this
morning.

Unschooling with several small children makes for lots of chaos, but lots of
laughs as well. Example of today: Got up early and dh and kids helped load
a goat and 2 dogs up to go to the vet. Came home and dh and Zach (9) went
to the batting cages. Zach talked quite a bit about the differences
involved in batting at different speeds. Marsie (5), Danny (3) and Michelle
(3) watched "Monsters, Inc" and had lunch. I went to the library and picked
up Adriane (11) from a slumber party. Zach and dh worked in the yard with
Zach mowing independently on the riding mower. The three little guys made
mud pies and Adriane watched CMT, asking lots of questions about Waylon
Jennings. I went to the grocery store and they were all swimming when I got
back. Danny came to help carry groceries. Marsie showed her Dad and I how
far she had got on Reader Rabbit. All the males worked to fix the grill and
we cooked hamburgers. Dh and Zach changed a tire. The little kids went
swinging and playing on the huge dirt pile while Zach used a stick to gather
pecans from our tree. Adriane, Zach and I went to milk the goats. We did
the math and figured Zach's goat was big enough to breed so we put her in
with the male. Adriane figured out how much milk she got in pounds for her
4-H records. The kids fed their rabbits and dogs.

Chaotic and busy, but also fun and very "educational"

Julie