Unschooling and recordkeeping: Was Daughter reading several books at once
Pam Sorooshian
Recordkeeping for Unschoolers
IF you really want to keep records for some reason, it is better to keep
more "real" records than ones based on academic subject areas. So instead
of language arts, math, science, history, etc., use more descriptive
headings.
Use these headings as ticklers to remind yourself of what you might want to
record. Most activities could be put into multiple categories, but it
doesn't matter which category you happen to use.
It is much better to think in terms of the things your kids are really
doing, instead of thinking constantly about how what they are doing
translates into school subjects. Later, if you have a reason to
recategorize things into school subjects, you can do it all at once so you
don't have to think about it for long or often.
These are some suggested categories with tickler ideas for what might be
included in each category. You could put this into a word document, format
it to leave space for notes and print one for each day or week. Experiment
until you figure out what is most useful for you.
Reading
Books, magazines, newspapers, websites�.Fiction, biography, nonfiction,
poetry, drama, essays, articles,�..
Doing
Cooking, swimming, dog training, babysitting, volunteering, working,
singing, acting, music, math, ��
Making
Art, crafts, building, sewing, weaving, beadwork, �.
Writing
Journal, stories, letters, website, email, articles,�
Watching
TV, movies, videos, live theater, demonstrations, exhibits,�
Listening
Tapes, radio, music, stories, audio magazines, lectures,�.
Talking
Speech, discussion, explaining, directing, instructing, debating,�.
Visiting
Museums, zoos, field trips,�..
Thinking
Planning, analyzing, imagining, plotting, �.
IF you really want to keep records for some reason, it is better to keep
more "real" records than ones based on academic subject areas. So instead
of language arts, math, science, history, etc., use more descriptive
headings.
Use these headings as ticklers to remind yourself of what you might want to
record. Most activities could be put into multiple categories, but it
doesn't matter which category you happen to use.
It is much better to think in terms of the things your kids are really
doing, instead of thinking constantly about how what they are doing
translates into school subjects. Later, if you have a reason to
recategorize things into school subjects, you can do it all at once so you
don't have to think about it for long or often.
These are some suggested categories with tickler ideas for what might be
included in each category. You could put this into a word document, format
it to leave space for notes and print one for each day or week. Experiment
until you figure out what is most useful for you.
Reading
Books, magazines, newspapers, websites�.Fiction, biography, nonfiction,
poetry, drama, essays, articles,�..
Doing
Cooking, swimming, dog training, babysitting, volunteering, working,
singing, acting, music, math, ��
Making
Art, crafts, building, sewing, weaving, beadwork, �.
Writing
Journal, stories, letters, website, email, articles,�
Watching
TV, movies, videos, live theater, demonstrations, exhibits,�
Listening
Tapes, radio, music, stories, audio magazines, lectures,�.
Talking
Speech, discussion, explaining, directing, instructing, debating,�.
Visiting
Museums, zoos, field trips,�..
Thinking
Planning, analyzing, imagining, plotting, �.
On Sun, Jun 3, 2012 at 6:31 AM, K Pennell <mrsringsabre@...> wrote:
> Oh, that sounds like a good change for us for record keeping next year (or
> starting now). I do worry about keeping the state at bay, so I write stuff
> down, but that seems a great way to record in a way that is not all
> school-y. Awesome for a newbie like me. Is it on line somewhere, Pam?
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Alex
One of the best thing I've read about unschooling recordkeeping is just to keep your library receipts or cut & paste your checked out book list from your library's website. If you use the library a lot, of course--I always have. We check out a lot of books, DVDs and music so though we buy/own/just explore in other ways too that plus my calendar with planned outings marked on it are good enough to go back and see what kind of stuff we were doing.
Alex
(Katya's mom)
Alex
(Katya's mom)
BRIAN POLIKOWSKY
A calendar with stuff marked is a great idea. I do that. I keep them. I keep stuff from outings, any paper work in a file. It is not that I intentionally want a record keeping file but because I like to keep memories of cool stuff we did!
Alex Polikowsky
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Alex Polikowsky
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
K Pennell
Thanks, Pam. This is great. Way better than a daily list of math, history, yadda yadda. I like this better than what I've been doing because it is much more real and apt to reflect our real life of exploration and learning and fun! It'll be something I enjoy looking back on, rather than just an obligation for someone else (the state).
--- On Sun, 6/3/12, Pam Sorooshian <pamsoroosh@...> wrote:
From: Pam Sorooshian <pamsoroosh@...>
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Unschooling and recordkeeping: Was Daughter reading several books at once
To: [email protected]
Date: Sunday, June 3, 2012, 4:27 PM
Recordkeeping for Unschoolers
IF you really want to keep records for some reason, it is better to keep
more "real" records than ones based on academic subject areas. So instead
of language arts, math, science, history, etc., use more descriptive
headings.
Use these headings as ticklers to remind yourself of what you might want to
record. Most activities could be put into multiple categories, but it
doesn't matter which category you happen to use.
It is much better to think in terms of the things your kids are really
doing, instead of thinking constantly about how what they are doing
translates into school subjects. Later, if you have a reason to
recategorize things into school subjects, you can do it all at once so you
don't have to think about it for long or often.
These are some suggested categories with tickler ideas for what might be
included in each category. You could put this into a word document, format
it to leave space for notes and print one for each day or week. Experiment
until you figure out what is most useful for you.
Reading
Books, magazines, newspapers, websites….Fiction, biography, nonfiction,
poetry, drama, essays, articles,…..
Doing
Cooking, swimming, dog training, babysitting, volunteering, working,
singing, acting, music, math, ……
Making
Art, crafts, building, sewing, weaving, beadwork, ….
Writing
Journal, stories, letters, website, email, articles,…
Watching
TV, movies, videos, live theater, demonstrations, exhibits,…
Listening
Tapes, radio, music, stories, audio magazines, lectures,….
Talking
Speech, discussion, explaining, directing, instructing, debating,….
Visiting
Museums, zoos, field trips,…..
Thinking
Planning, analyzing, imagining, plotting, ….
On Sun, Jun 3, 2012 at 6:31 AM, K Pennell <mrsringsabre@...> wrote:
> Oh, that sounds like a good change for us for record keeping next year (or
> starting now). I do worry about keeping the state at bay, so I write stuff
> down, but that seems a great way to record in a way that is not all
> school-y. Awesome for a newbie like me. Is it on line somewhere, Pam?
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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Yahoo! Groups Links
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Rinelle
I take photos of the activities we go to throughout the year. Because I have a digital camera, they’re all automatically marked with the date, so I can even put them in order. When I have to write my yearly report, I can look back over the photos to remember what we did. (I’d take the photos anyway of course, but with this in mind, I try to get a pic of any banners etc with info on as well if they’re there, or particular angles that show what the activity was.)
Tamara
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Tamara
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