focusing on the learning
Sue Solberg
Hello,
My daughter just recently turned 5 and that's started me thinking more
about the learning aspect of unschooling. Learning in the sense of
reading, writing, etcetera, I mean, rather than in the natural sponge-like
way she soaks up all sorts of interesting stuff. What I'm wondering about
is the balance between focusing on the learning and not being too
schoolish. From our experiences so far, things like puzzles and Eyewitness
books are good, anything resembling a workbook/sheet is almost always bad.
But I feel as though I'm having a hard time balancing between the two. How
might that balance look?
Sue
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
My daughter just recently turned 5 and that's started me thinking more
about the learning aspect of unschooling. Learning in the sense of
reading, writing, etcetera, I mean, rather than in the natural sponge-like
way she soaks up all sorts of interesting stuff. What I'm wondering about
is the balance between focusing on the learning and not being too
schoolish. From our experiences so far, things like puzzles and Eyewitness
books are good, anything resembling a workbook/sheet is almost always bad.
But I feel as though I'm having a hard time balancing between the two. How
might that balance look?
Sue
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Pam Laricchia
<< Learning in the sense of reading, writing, etcetera, I mean, rather than in the natural sponge-like way she soaks up all sorts of interesting stuff. >>
The "natural sponge-like way she soaks up all sorts of interesting stuff" IS real learning. IS unschooling.
<< From our experiences so far, things like puzzles and Eyewitness books are good >>
Then do more of that, at least until she doesn't enjoy them any more.
Find things, *any* things, she enjoys. Not things that look like school (workbooks etc), that's your perspective of learning right now, but things
from her perspective. Ask yourself "What will she find so interesting that she naturally soaks it up?" SO much learning there.
And watch her in action. You'll begin to see how learning isn't in the workbooks, but in the pursuit of interesting things.
Pam
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
The "natural sponge-like way she soaks up all sorts of interesting stuff" IS real learning. IS unschooling.
<< From our experiences so far, things like puzzles and Eyewitness books are good >>
Then do more of that, at least until she doesn't enjoy them any more.
Find things, *any* things, she enjoys. Not things that look like school (workbooks etc), that's your perspective of learning right now, but things
from her perspective. Ask yourself "What will she find so interesting that she naturally soaks it up?" SO much learning there.
And watch her in action. You'll begin to see how learning isn't in the workbooks, but in the pursuit of interesting things.
Pam
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Meredith
Sue Solberg <italapas@...> wrote:
And I'm going to assume from the way you use the phrase "focus on learning" that you have the impression that academic learning takes a special effort. It doesn't - not in the way you think. There Are different ways to learn different things, but those differences cut across "academics" - learning to write is more like learning to draw or build than learning to read, for instance. And learning about literacy in a general sense Is a sponge-like process which derives from interacting with the world.
http://sandradodd.com/seeingit
Drop out the workbooks entirely - at best, they're no better than coloring books in terms of what kids learn from them (which is to say, some kids learn a whole lot from coloring books - I did - and others find them useless and tedious). If she likes to snuggle up and read stories with you, or play with a puzzle, then do those things- but do them because they're fun. If she'd rather read something else, or not read at all that's fine too. My daughter wasn't one to cuddle up and read, but still learned to read because language and print is all around her. Don't try to teach or "help her learn" in some specific way, instead Watch her learn, see the different ways she learns already so you can be responsive when she wants help learning something in ways that work for her.
In addition, five is too young for a lot of kids to be reading - the majority of kids aren't developmentally ready to be reading at 5. Seven is more "average" in that sense, although there are kids who aren't ready to read until puberty.
---Meredith
>Learning in the sense ofThere's your problem - right there in that sentence: you're separating learning into artificial categories, categories that have nothing to do with the way people really learn.
> reading, writing, etcetera, I mean, rather than in the natural sponge-like
> way she soaks up all sorts of interesting stuff.
And I'm going to assume from the way you use the phrase "focus on learning" that you have the impression that academic learning takes a special effort. It doesn't - not in the way you think. There Are different ways to learn different things, but those differences cut across "academics" - learning to write is more like learning to draw or build than learning to read, for instance. And learning about literacy in a general sense Is a sponge-like process which derives from interacting with the world.
>things like puzzles and EyewitnessYou're looking for the wrong things - this might help:
> books are good, anything resembling a workbook/sheet is almost always bad.
> But I feel as though I'm having a hard time balancing between the two. How
> might that balance look?
http://sandradodd.com/seeingit
Drop out the workbooks entirely - at best, they're no better than coloring books in terms of what kids learn from them (which is to say, some kids learn a whole lot from coloring books - I did - and others find them useless and tedious). If she likes to snuggle up and read stories with you, or play with a puzzle, then do those things- but do them because they're fun. If she'd rather read something else, or not read at all that's fine too. My daughter wasn't one to cuddle up and read, but still learned to read because language and print is all around her. Don't try to teach or "help her learn" in some specific way, instead Watch her learn, see the different ways she learns already so you can be responsive when she wants help learning something in ways that work for her.
In addition, five is too young for a lot of kids to be reading - the majority of kids aren't developmentally ready to be reading at 5. Seven is more "average" in that sense, although there are kids who aren't ready to read until puberty.
---Meredith