New to homeschooling and REALLY new to unschooling...
mommasgoodiesandgifts
Hi, this is Courtney P from Louisiana. I am new to homeschooling
and brand-spanking new to unschooling. I have an 8 yr old daughter
and 2 year old twin boys. I withdrew my daughter from PS in May
after she completed the 2nd grade. I started immediately with
homeschool trying to make sure I wanted or COULD do this .. not
waiting until right before the new school year to find out it
wouldn't work out..I tried different books and publishers.. each and
every day was a painful and tearful repeat of the day before.. and
ending with my daughter saying - I thought this was going to be
fun?!? Secretly I was thinking the same thing. I had heard of
unschooling from an aquaintence (her kids are under school age).. so
I thought perhaps that would be the route to go.
I believe I am sold on it, now selling my husband is another matter.
I believe I have
him in the bag - except for this arguement - he says that his concern
with there not being tests and such is that when they go to college -
technical/4yr/or otherwise - or even go to apply to jobs that require
you to take an entrance test - they will freak out having never done
(or doing very few) a test before. I myself have had the same
question. Can any of you veterans help me with this? I have
searched the internet but can't seem to find anything that really
gives a good answer to this question. Did you find this was even a
problem or did you do anything to "prepare" them for the inevitable
tests they would face?
Any help would be appreciated.
To see more about me and my family here are my blogs:
My homeschool blog:
http://iveseenthevillage.blogspot.com
my craft blog:
http://mommasgoodies.blogspot.com
my photos:
http://flickr.com/photos/mommasgoodies/
Please know my blog is very SCHOOLY (as someone else called it) as I
have just made the switch to unschooling.. but it will be less
schooly in the future :-)
Courtney P.
and brand-spanking new to unschooling. I have an 8 yr old daughter
and 2 year old twin boys. I withdrew my daughter from PS in May
after she completed the 2nd grade. I started immediately with
homeschool trying to make sure I wanted or COULD do this .. not
waiting until right before the new school year to find out it
wouldn't work out..I tried different books and publishers.. each and
every day was a painful and tearful repeat of the day before.. and
ending with my daughter saying - I thought this was going to be
fun?!? Secretly I was thinking the same thing. I had heard of
unschooling from an aquaintence (her kids are under school age).. so
I thought perhaps that would be the route to go.
I believe I am sold on it, now selling my husband is another matter.
I believe I have
him in the bag - except for this arguement - he says that his concern
with there not being tests and such is that when they go to college -
technical/4yr/or otherwise - or even go to apply to jobs that require
you to take an entrance test - they will freak out having never done
(or doing very few) a test before. I myself have had the same
question. Can any of you veterans help me with this? I have
searched the internet but can't seem to find anything that really
gives a good answer to this question. Did you find this was even a
problem or did you do anything to "prepare" them for the inevitable
tests they would face?
Any help would be appreciated.
To see more about me and my family here are my blogs:
My homeschool blog:
http://iveseenthevillage.blogspot.com
my craft blog:
http://mommasgoodies.blogspot.com
my photos:
http://flickr.com/photos/mommasgoodies/
Please know my blog is very SCHOOLY (as someone else called it) as I
have just made the switch to unschooling.. but it will be less
schooly in the future :-)
Courtney P.
Pamela Sorooshian
Hi --
All three of my unschooled daughters went to or are currently in
college and had to take tests - none had taken tests prior to that.
They were totally fine. All "A" students. One always-unschooled kid I
know took a placement test at a college. It was the first test he'd
ever taken and it was timed. That threw him a little and he scored
lower on the test because he didn't finish, even though he got 100
percent on what he did complete. He went in cold - no practice test or
anything. He has now completed a couple of years of college and has
gotten straight A's. I had two always-unschooled kids in the college
class that I teach (economics) one semester - they got the two highest
grades in the class....he aced every single test (unheard of - no
other student has EVER done that and I've been teaching for over 30
years) and the other missed 2 points out of 400 points possible.
It doesn't take a lifetime of being tested to figure out how to take
tests. It can help to do a little practicing before taking any test
that has significant consequences.
-pam
All three of my unschooled daughters went to or are currently in
college and had to take tests - none had taken tests prior to that.
They were totally fine. All "A" students. One always-unschooled kid I
know took a placement test at a college. It was the first test he'd
ever taken and it was timed. That threw him a little and he scored
lower on the test because he didn't finish, even though he got 100
percent on what he did complete. He went in cold - no practice test or
anything. He has now completed a couple of years of college and has
gotten straight A's. I had two always-unschooled kids in the college
class that I teach (economics) one semester - they got the two highest
grades in the class....he aced every single test (unheard of - no
other student has EVER done that and I've been teaching for over 30
years) and the other missed 2 points out of 400 points possible.
It doesn't take a lifetime of being tested to figure out how to take
tests. It can help to do a little practicing before taking any test
that has significant consequences.
-pam
On Aug 9, 2008, at 6:02 PM, mommasgoodiesandgifts wrote:
> he says that his concern
> with there not being tests and such is that when they go to college -
> technical/4yr/or otherwise - or even go to apply to jobs that require
> you to take an entrance test - they will freak out having never done
> (or doing very few) a test before. I myself have had the same
> question. Can any of you veterans help me with this? I have
> searched the internet but can't seem to find anything that really
> gives a good answer to this question. Did you find this was even a
> problem or did you do anything to "prepare" them for the inevitable
> tests they would face?
Joyce Fetteroll
On Aug 9, 2008, at 9:02 PM, mommasgoodiesandgifts wrote:
tests. :-/
My daughter started taking college classes when she was 14 and had no
problem with either the classroom setting or the tests.
And it's not because she's a prodigy or something. She's a regular
kid :-) (Well, *I* think she's special! But for the purposes of
comparison, she's a pretty typical kid who watched loads of TV in the
preteen years and has spent a lot of her childhood pretending and
playing video games and doing very little that resembles academics.)
She did well in the classes because they sounded interesting and she
took them for fun. I think a big factor is that she hadn't been
sitting in a classroom for 12 years like the other students getting
the idea that school was hard and dull. It was something she wanted
to do and sitting in a classroom and taking tests and doing homework
were just part of the deal.
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> he says that his concernAnd loads of kids spend all their school years freaking out over
> with there not being tests and such is that when they go to college -
> technical/4yr/or otherwise - or even go to apply to jobs that require
> you to take an entrance test - they will freak out having never done
> (or doing very few) a test before.
tests. :-/
My daughter started taking college classes when she was 14 and had no
problem with either the classroom setting or the tests.
And it's not because she's a prodigy or something. She's a regular
kid :-) (Well, *I* think she's special! But for the purposes of
comparison, she's a pretty typical kid who watched loads of TV in the
preteen years and has spent a lot of her childhood pretending and
playing video games and doing very little that resembles academics.)
She did well in the classes because they sounded interesting and she
took them for fun. I think a big factor is that she hadn't been
sitting in a classroom for 12 years like the other students getting
the idea that school was hard and dull. It was something she wanted
to do and sitting in a classroom and taking tests and doing homework
were just part of the deal.
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
mommasgoodiesandgifts
wow thank you Joyce and Pamela! you really set my mind at ease.. I
truly suspect that my husband is projecting his own fears about tests
onto our kids.. he struggled a lot in school - although he ended up as
the class president and got really good grades, but he worked his butt
off to get them. I believe if you make the tests seem scary to the
kids, then they are goign to be scared, but if you are relaxed and
calm - they will be too. I still dont have him convinced yet, but he
isn't forcing me to make out a test tomorrow - so I will let him see
for himself how well it's working and talk to him again at another
time.. or not.. perhaps I wont have to.
I was realizing what damage I had already done with our schooly
homeschooling - my DD was watching a show on jellyfish yesterday..
TOTALLY into it.. (she did this on her own I might add).. so later I
asked her why they were catching the jelly fish.. and she said - I
don't know. I said you mean u watched all this time and dont know??
Then she said - well I didn't want you to test me on it.. and then she
proceeds to give me quite a good answer to my question....so I walked
away thinking she would pretend NOT to know something in fear that I
might test her.. I felt really bad. But it also let me know -
unschooling was so totally right for us - and in particular
deschooling.. we need to relax and have fun again - so she can share
with me what she has learned without fear...
truly suspect that my husband is projecting his own fears about tests
onto our kids.. he struggled a lot in school - although he ended up as
the class president and got really good grades, but he worked his butt
off to get them. I believe if you make the tests seem scary to the
kids, then they are goign to be scared, but if you are relaxed and
calm - they will be too. I still dont have him convinced yet, but he
isn't forcing me to make out a test tomorrow - so I will let him see
for himself how well it's working and talk to him again at another
time.. or not.. perhaps I wont have to.
I was realizing what damage I had already done with our schooly
homeschooling - my DD was watching a show on jellyfish yesterday..
TOTALLY into it.. (she did this on her own I might add).. so later I
asked her why they were catching the jelly fish.. and she said - I
don't know. I said you mean u watched all this time and dont know??
Then she said - well I didn't want you to test me on it.. and then she
proceeds to give me quite a good answer to my question....so I walked
away thinking she would pretend NOT to know something in fear that I
might test her.. I felt really bad. But it also let me know -
unschooling was so totally right for us - and in particular
deschooling.. we need to relax and have fun again - so she can share
with me what she has learned without fear...
Jolene
I was homeschooled in such a relaxed way that it might have been called
unschooling. I did have to take a couple of standardized tests or the
school boards would not allow my mom to continue homeschooling me. I
did have some nervousness about entering highschool when I did. I
entered hs because my parents and I didn't know of alternatives and we
were getting a lot of pressure from family and school staff to get a hs
diploma ("or you won't be able to go to college"). I did well in hs and
went to a very competitive college. No problem there. I don't recommend
school, hs or otherwise. I was terribly bored in hs and consider it a
waste of time, even though I was a top student. There are alternatives!
As for the corporate world and job entrance exams, I don't know, I've
been a SAHM since soon after college.
Jolene =)
unschooling. I did have to take a couple of standardized tests or the
school boards would not allow my mom to continue homeschooling me. I
did have some nervousness about entering highschool when I did. I
entered hs because my parents and I didn't know of alternatives and we
were getting a lot of pressure from family and school staff to get a hs
diploma ("or you won't be able to go to college"). I did well in hs and
went to a very competitive college. No problem there. I don't recommend
school, hs or otherwise. I was terribly bored in hs and consider it a
waste of time, even though I was a top student. There are alternatives!
As for the corporate world and job entrance exams, I don't know, I've
been a SAHM since soon after college.
Jolene =)
Pamela Sorooshian
On Aug 10, 2008, at 2:37 AM, Joyce Fetteroll wrote:
school get over it. By that I mean - most people have significant test-
taking anxiety created BY school.
Avoiding the creation of test-taking anxiety is a good reason to not
send them to school.
-pam
>> he says that his concernI spend a whole lot of my time trying to help people who went to
>> with there not being tests and such is that when they go to college -
>> technical/4yr/or otherwise - or even go to apply to jobs that require
>> you to take an entrance test - they will freak out having never done
>> (or doing very few) a test before.
school get over it. By that I mean - most people have significant test-
taking anxiety created BY school.
Avoiding the creation of test-taking anxiety is a good reason to not
send them to school.
-pam
lyeping2607
Hi Courtney,
All homeschoolers generally advises (whether they are unschoolers or
not) that our homeschooling will starts off with the process
of "deschooling". If you've picked up any homeschooling book, there's
most likely a section on it, if not google keyword "deschooling".
This is a process whereby the kid and family just kinda "detox"
anything schooly out of thier system, and eventually life. This very
often includes books, routine and possibly most anything
that's "linked to school life". In my son's instance, his deschooling
includes isolating himself away from his school mates/ friends and all
afterschool clubs, we cannot walk on any routes that leads to his old
school and he will not wear anything that has the same feel to what he
used to wear during his school life. General activities like reading,
brushing his teeth, getting dress in the morning, mealtime and bedtime
all went thru a very dramatic changes.
" I tried different books and publishers.. each and
every day was a painful and tearful repeat of the day before.. and
ending with my daughter saying - I thought this was going to be
fun?
I will say, KEEP TRYING, until you find the right way. Don't be afraid
to ditch anything that doesn't work. If it doesn't fit, it doesn't
fit. Do not try to "get used to it". Just try another method. If it is
the right shoe, it will fit in naturally, with no pain!!
For me, the idea of homeschooling was to do things differently
entirely from school. It is all about facilitating the child's
learning, according to his/ her style. You didn't write about what you
were doing.
I will say, start by listening to your daughter and following her
lead. What's making it "un-fun"? Listen to her for her point is very
legit.
Ask her, what would make it fun for her?
No matter how small or insignificant or ridiculous, remember, it is
all about her needs first, education 2nd and trust me when I say, it
will follow naturally, because it will. It's built-into a kid that
they will want to improve themselves, whether it's thru reading,
writing or merely just "doing".
But doing what's "relevant/ important to her emotionally now, at this
very moment" is more important than learning to wirte or read. Don't
worry about exams and college, for that will not happen, not for at
least another 5 -10 years, so you can afford to think and worry about
this in a year's time. But for now, focus on what's on her priority
list, what matter most, to her.
I always say to anybody starting to unschool, "Imagine you're giving
yourself and your kid a long holiday - about a whole year long! Do not
expect to do any lesson during this year, for you're on holiday, and
since you're on holiday, you'll only learn to do "all those fun
holiday stuffs" like baking, camping, visiting places, shopping etc
etc etc. And this way, giving you(the parent and facilitator), a whole
year to figure out how you guys are going to unschool/ homeschool
yourself. In the mean time, treat yourself by doing fun things
together by going shopping for sweets/ treats/ books/ toys. This will
mean having to learn to save those pennies (and inevitebly, counting/
add/ sub/ division)
Take this one year to understand and observe your child- what makes
her tick? what sort of learner is she? Visual? Kinesthetic? What's
turns her off? What time of the day does she learn better? My child
learns at 8ish - 9pm at night LOL!!!
Keep reading- You'll learn more about the many different approaches to
homeschooling, unschooling, educating, about how children learn thru
play, how thier brain works, and stay POSITIVE. The more info you
have, the more confident of your doing, you'll be, for there will be
lots of trail and error along your unschooling way, evolving to one
approach that you and your kid'll be happy with. No family's the same-
what might work for my family, might not work for your family.
I'm gave my kid the a year long break to deschool, by not expecting
him to do anything at all, no lessons for 1 year. By doing so, I kinda
reckoned 1 wouldn't have set myself up for dissapointment, for I
wasn't expecting anything from him. Instead I happily "homeschool"
myself. So I did kinda set myself up a routine whereby I went about
doing what I want like fixing my very bad Maths- I did Maths on the
internet, on all those kiddie learning sites that we subscribed to for
our son- BrainPoP and Time4Learning. In the beginning my kid was
totally not interested, absord into his PS2 world. Eventually, he
decided to peep at what I was doing, he asked what I was doing, I told
him I was learning to undo my fears for Maths for I was a very bad
Math student when I was young. After that, on and off, he'll asked
me "So, how are you doing now?" I replied "I'm not so stupid
afterall!! It's easy!!" I have to admit I was genuinely pleased to
find that all my fears for maths was unfounded, and that Maths wasn't
that scary and hard afterall!. My son's reply was "No mummy, you
can';t possibly be stupid. You know so much stuff. How can you be
stupid. Maybe you can tell me about what you've learn, later on, after
I finish my game"
And so that's how we transitioned into academic learning, at month 16
into our unschooling journey. It entails me re-learning, in
preparation of me facilitating my son's learning, and re- discovering
the joy of science, history, geography and all sorts that I loved; and
then relaying what I've learn to my son. Very often, I can be heard
exclaiming loudly of the discovery or achievement I've made, like
rattling off the list of the planets in the right order as "Sometimes
My Very Earthy Mother Jumps Start Uranus N Pluto" - Sun, Mercury,
Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto LOL!!!
And this has certainly got my son's attention, for he thought it was
hilarious LOL!!!
He very often now points out to me, if certain shows relating to my
reading/ interest, is coming on the documentary channel. Or if he's
come across a book at the library that he thinks I might be
interested. So, he is facilitating my learning, just as much as I am
facilitaing his learning, sub-conciously.
I like the Classical Education philosophy, a three-part process of
training the mind. The early years are spent in absorbing facts,
systematically laying the foundations for advanced study.
Which explains that my son is now absorbing all those facts that
I'm "chatting about", systematically laying the foundations for his
advanced study.
"his concern with there not being tests and such is that when they go
to college -technical/4yr/ or otherwise - or even go to apply to jobs
that require you to take an entrance test - they will freak out having
never done(or doing very few) a test before."
I'm currently reading "Homeschooling for Excellence" by David and
Micki Colfax. Maybe you can get this book for your hubby? They
homeschooled thier 4 sons, out of which 3 enter Harvard and the 4th is
most likely to follow suit. All these boys with exception of the 1st
son for a brief moment, never set a foot in any school at all. Not
sure if they unschooled but it did seem to come across like they are
unschooling. Even tho David and Micki are trained educator but they
have mentioned that this didn't necessary made them cleverer than any
of us. In within my local unschooling group, I know of a lady whose
kid never been to school at all is now doing a PHd in the uni here, we
have heard of lots of unschooling kids doing fantastically well in
thier GCSE's exams, which suggest that they can handle test pretty
well, despite never been tested at all. Over here in UK, some uni's
have express interest in selecting homeschooled children simply
because these children has shown genuine interest and in depth
knowledge and dedication in their chosen fields.
Whose to say "what will happen" in 5 or 10 yrs time? Perhaps by then,
testing and exam is of the least importance when it comes to
getting "that job"? In 10 yrs time, maybe Phds will be as common as
diplomas is nowadays.
Nowadays, my unschooling son's life is still very much revolves around
his ps2, ds, psp, tv, and his computer but since 4 months ago, he's
managed to include Maths, English, Geography and History (in the form
of Time4Learning, Jumpstart Yr 3 and Cluefinder Year 5) to his
rountine.
The above pretty much sums up how we unschool. So yu see, unschooling
it's not an overnight process- it's an evolving process that invlves
the whole family. Unschooling is about living together harmoniously,
whereby the learning will come naturally for the child, when she's
ready for it.
There is no deadline to meet, no data to measure against, no targets
to achieve, other than your child's own natural milestone.
One advice given to me when I first started "Take it one step a time.
By the end of every year, review where you are, and which direction
you wanna go".
Hope this helps.
Best Wishes,
SharonBugs.
All homeschoolers generally advises (whether they are unschoolers or
not) that our homeschooling will starts off with the process
of "deschooling". If you've picked up any homeschooling book, there's
most likely a section on it, if not google keyword "deschooling".
This is a process whereby the kid and family just kinda "detox"
anything schooly out of thier system, and eventually life. This very
often includes books, routine and possibly most anything
that's "linked to school life". In my son's instance, his deschooling
includes isolating himself away from his school mates/ friends and all
afterschool clubs, we cannot walk on any routes that leads to his old
school and he will not wear anything that has the same feel to what he
used to wear during his school life. General activities like reading,
brushing his teeth, getting dress in the morning, mealtime and bedtime
all went thru a very dramatic changes.
" I tried different books and publishers.. each and
every day was a painful and tearful repeat of the day before.. and
ending with my daughter saying - I thought this was going to be
fun?
I will say, KEEP TRYING, until you find the right way. Don't be afraid
to ditch anything that doesn't work. If it doesn't fit, it doesn't
fit. Do not try to "get used to it". Just try another method. If it is
the right shoe, it will fit in naturally, with no pain!!
For me, the idea of homeschooling was to do things differently
entirely from school. It is all about facilitating the child's
learning, according to his/ her style. You didn't write about what you
were doing.
I will say, start by listening to your daughter and following her
lead. What's making it "un-fun"? Listen to her for her point is very
legit.
Ask her, what would make it fun for her?
No matter how small or insignificant or ridiculous, remember, it is
all about her needs first, education 2nd and trust me when I say, it
will follow naturally, because it will. It's built-into a kid that
they will want to improve themselves, whether it's thru reading,
writing or merely just "doing".
But doing what's "relevant/ important to her emotionally now, at this
very moment" is more important than learning to wirte or read. Don't
worry about exams and college, for that will not happen, not for at
least another 5 -10 years, so you can afford to think and worry about
this in a year's time. But for now, focus on what's on her priority
list, what matter most, to her.
I always say to anybody starting to unschool, "Imagine you're giving
yourself and your kid a long holiday - about a whole year long! Do not
expect to do any lesson during this year, for you're on holiday, and
since you're on holiday, you'll only learn to do "all those fun
holiday stuffs" like baking, camping, visiting places, shopping etc
etc etc. And this way, giving you(the parent and facilitator), a whole
year to figure out how you guys are going to unschool/ homeschool
yourself. In the mean time, treat yourself by doing fun things
together by going shopping for sweets/ treats/ books/ toys. This will
mean having to learn to save those pennies (and inevitebly, counting/
add/ sub/ division)
Take this one year to understand and observe your child- what makes
her tick? what sort of learner is she? Visual? Kinesthetic? What's
turns her off? What time of the day does she learn better? My child
learns at 8ish - 9pm at night LOL!!!
Keep reading- You'll learn more about the many different approaches to
homeschooling, unschooling, educating, about how children learn thru
play, how thier brain works, and stay POSITIVE. The more info you
have, the more confident of your doing, you'll be, for there will be
lots of trail and error along your unschooling way, evolving to one
approach that you and your kid'll be happy with. No family's the same-
what might work for my family, might not work for your family.
I'm gave my kid the a year long break to deschool, by not expecting
him to do anything at all, no lessons for 1 year. By doing so, I kinda
reckoned 1 wouldn't have set myself up for dissapointment, for I
wasn't expecting anything from him. Instead I happily "homeschool"
myself. So I did kinda set myself up a routine whereby I went about
doing what I want like fixing my very bad Maths- I did Maths on the
internet, on all those kiddie learning sites that we subscribed to for
our son- BrainPoP and Time4Learning. In the beginning my kid was
totally not interested, absord into his PS2 world. Eventually, he
decided to peep at what I was doing, he asked what I was doing, I told
him I was learning to undo my fears for Maths for I was a very bad
Math student when I was young. After that, on and off, he'll asked
me "So, how are you doing now?" I replied "I'm not so stupid
afterall!! It's easy!!" I have to admit I was genuinely pleased to
find that all my fears for maths was unfounded, and that Maths wasn't
that scary and hard afterall!. My son's reply was "No mummy, you
can';t possibly be stupid. You know so much stuff. How can you be
stupid. Maybe you can tell me about what you've learn, later on, after
I finish my game"
And so that's how we transitioned into academic learning, at month 16
into our unschooling journey. It entails me re-learning, in
preparation of me facilitating my son's learning, and re- discovering
the joy of science, history, geography and all sorts that I loved; and
then relaying what I've learn to my son. Very often, I can be heard
exclaiming loudly of the discovery or achievement I've made, like
rattling off the list of the planets in the right order as "Sometimes
My Very Earthy Mother Jumps Start Uranus N Pluto" - Sun, Mercury,
Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto LOL!!!
And this has certainly got my son's attention, for he thought it was
hilarious LOL!!!
He very often now points out to me, if certain shows relating to my
reading/ interest, is coming on the documentary channel. Or if he's
come across a book at the library that he thinks I might be
interested. So, he is facilitating my learning, just as much as I am
facilitaing his learning, sub-conciously.
I like the Classical Education philosophy, a three-part process of
training the mind. The early years are spent in absorbing facts,
systematically laying the foundations for advanced study.
Which explains that my son is now absorbing all those facts that
I'm "chatting about", systematically laying the foundations for his
advanced study.
"his concern with there not being tests and such is that when they go
to college -technical/4yr/ or otherwise - or even go to apply to jobs
that require you to take an entrance test - they will freak out having
never done(or doing very few) a test before."
I'm currently reading "Homeschooling for Excellence" by David and
Micki Colfax. Maybe you can get this book for your hubby? They
homeschooled thier 4 sons, out of which 3 enter Harvard and the 4th is
most likely to follow suit. All these boys with exception of the 1st
son for a brief moment, never set a foot in any school at all. Not
sure if they unschooled but it did seem to come across like they are
unschooling. Even tho David and Micki are trained educator but they
have mentioned that this didn't necessary made them cleverer than any
of us. In within my local unschooling group, I know of a lady whose
kid never been to school at all is now doing a PHd in the uni here, we
have heard of lots of unschooling kids doing fantastically well in
thier GCSE's exams, which suggest that they can handle test pretty
well, despite never been tested at all. Over here in UK, some uni's
have express interest in selecting homeschooled children simply
because these children has shown genuine interest and in depth
knowledge and dedication in their chosen fields.
Whose to say "what will happen" in 5 or 10 yrs time? Perhaps by then,
testing and exam is of the least importance when it comes to
getting "that job"? In 10 yrs time, maybe Phds will be as common as
diplomas is nowadays.
Nowadays, my unschooling son's life is still very much revolves around
his ps2, ds, psp, tv, and his computer but since 4 months ago, he's
managed to include Maths, English, Geography and History (in the form
of Time4Learning, Jumpstart Yr 3 and Cluefinder Year 5) to his
rountine.
The above pretty much sums up how we unschool. So yu see, unschooling
it's not an overnight process- it's an evolving process that invlves
the whole family. Unschooling is about living together harmoniously,
whereby the learning will come naturally for the child, when she's
ready for it.
There is no deadline to meet, no data to measure against, no targets
to achieve, other than your child's own natural milestone.
One advice given to me when I first started "Take it one step a time.
By the end of every year, review where you are, and which direction
you wanna go".
Hope this helps.
Best Wishes,
SharonBugs.
Melissa Dietrick
> She did well in the classes because they sounded interesting and sheHi joyce, I was just wondering how she got the interest to take the
> took them for fun. I think a big factor is that she hadn't been
> sitting in a classroom for 12 years like the other students getting
> the idea that school was hard and dull. It was something she wanted
> to do and sitting in a classroom and taking tests and doing homework
> were just part of the deal.
>
classes?... Im trying to see how that possibility could happen in
Italy, also given our country bumpkin isolation .
Not that *I* am looking for this for shanti, but I imagine you have
"strewn" the possibility for her and I am wonder how it looks...
thanks, melissa
in italy
mamma of 7
some at home some at school.
carnationsgalore
> I was realizing what damage I had already done with our schoolyI
> homeschooling - my DD was watching a show on jellyfish yesterday..
> TOTALLY into it.. (she did this on her own I might add).. so later
> asked her why they were catching the jelly fish..First, *why* did you ask her that question? Habit? Interest?
Just to share how I would have acted in that situation: I would have
sat down with my dd to watch the show because she showed such an
interest. We usually talk about what we're watching while it's
playing.
Which brings me to my second thought, testing isn't really a good way
to find out what someone knows. It's such a schoolish thing because
one teacher in a room of 25 childen needs a way to gauge what they
are learning. But it's not really learning to spit out something
crammed in unwillingly. When I was using a curriculum at home with
my kids, I was proud to see their test scores were always very high.
But I noticed that the same material they were testing so high on one
week was barely retained a few weeks later. I remember talking with
a friend about it because she was encountering the same thing. We
were trying to figure out what that meant. Should we go back and
relearn the material? Do we just go on and hope the kids will pick
it up again later? I felt like my kids and I were wasting so much
time. Yet they are both so smart and constantly surprise me with
things they know and have figured out because those things have
relevance in their lives.
I didn't jump into unschooling from that point, but I did stop
testing. I just talked with my children while we were doing
schoolwork. From there, the unschooling ball seemed to be gathering
momentum. The more I examined WHY we were doing the things we were
doing, the bigger steps I took toward unschooling. Anytime my
questions lead to an answer of 'but it's always done that way' I
found I wanted to change. Oh, and asking myself, "How's that working
out?" :)
Beth M.
Pamela Sorooshian
On Aug 10, 2008, at 10:34 PM, Melissa Dietrick wrote:
ANYTHING that might open up new opportunities for them?
The unschooling parent has to be on the ball - constantly on the look-
out, constantly aware, constantly considering possibilities.
Supporting our child's interests does not mean waiting for the child
to discover their own interests, it means bringing the world to them
and them to the world (as John Holt put it).
I don't know what IS available for your child, living where you do. So
I can't help you there. But that's your role - figure it out and offer
it to her as yet another opportunity to consider.
The way your post is written, it sounds like you're saying she is
unlikely to run across something on her own so how do you set it up so
she does? If she's old enough to consider college courses, then you
don't have to make it look like an happenstance, do you? You can just
say, "I was wondering if you might be interested in taking a college
course." And if she is interested, you give her more information.
"Strewing" doesn't mean never directly offering. "Strewing" is just
ONE thing unschooling parents do. It is a way of creating a rich
environment for the whole family to live happily and naturally learn
all kinds of stuff, but it isn't like "strewing" is our "educational
method."
I thought my daughter might enjoy karate - knowing her as I do, I
thought it would be a really good fit for her. I didn't have to figure
out how to strew karate, I said, "Hey, I was thinking you might like
to take karate. Want to go watch a class?" Even THEN, after she'd
watched a class, she was hesitant, but I really thought it would be
something she'd love if she got started. So I talked to the instructor
- found out she could train for a month for free AND they'd even give
her a free uniform. So I urged her - just try one class yourself and
see how it goes. She did. Years pass. Now she's a black belt and an
instructor herself, and yesterday she got her first degree. It has
turned into the most important thing in her life and I really doubt
that would have ever happened if I hadn't used my influence to get her
started.
Now - keep in mind, I didn't make her go. I didn't even push very
hard. But I did do the legwork of getting the information and I did
talk her into checking it out and I did talk her into trying out a
class. I reminded her it was just a try - she wasn't committing to
anything. I felt strongly that she'd take to it like a fish to water
and I'm glad to say I was right. If I'd been wrong, that would have
been okay, too, though.
-pam
> Hi joyce, I was just wondering how she got the interest to take theI think this is a bigger question - how does your child get exposed to
> classes?... Im trying to see how that possibility could happen in
> Italy, also given our country bumpkin isolation .
>
> Not that *I* am looking for this for shanti, but I imagine you have
> "strewn" the possibility for her and I am wonder how it looks...
ANYTHING that might open up new opportunities for them?
The unschooling parent has to be on the ball - constantly on the look-
out, constantly aware, constantly considering possibilities.
Supporting our child's interests does not mean waiting for the child
to discover their own interests, it means bringing the world to them
and them to the world (as John Holt put it).
I don't know what IS available for your child, living where you do. So
I can't help you there. But that's your role - figure it out and offer
it to her as yet another opportunity to consider.
The way your post is written, it sounds like you're saying she is
unlikely to run across something on her own so how do you set it up so
she does? If she's old enough to consider college courses, then you
don't have to make it look like an happenstance, do you? You can just
say, "I was wondering if you might be interested in taking a college
course." And if she is interested, you give her more information.
"Strewing" doesn't mean never directly offering. "Strewing" is just
ONE thing unschooling parents do. It is a way of creating a rich
environment for the whole family to live happily and naturally learn
all kinds of stuff, but it isn't like "strewing" is our "educational
method."
I thought my daughter might enjoy karate - knowing her as I do, I
thought it would be a really good fit for her. I didn't have to figure
out how to strew karate, I said, "Hey, I was thinking you might like
to take karate. Want to go watch a class?" Even THEN, after she'd
watched a class, she was hesitant, but I really thought it would be
something she'd love if she got started. So I talked to the instructor
- found out she could train for a month for free AND they'd even give
her a free uniform. So I urged her - just try one class yourself and
see how it goes. She did. Years pass. Now she's a black belt and an
instructor herself, and yesterday she got her first degree. It has
turned into the most important thing in her life and I really doubt
that would have ever happened if I hadn't used my influence to get her
started.
Now - keep in mind, I didn't make her go. I didn't even push very
hard. But I did do the legwork of getting the information and I did
talk her into checking it out and I did talk her into trying out a
class. I reminded her it was just a try - she wasn't committing to
anything. I felt strongly that she'd take to it like a fish to water
and I'm glad to say I was right. If I'd been wrong, that would have
been okay, too, though.
-pam
BRIAN POLIKOWSKY
I will say, start by listening to your daughter and following her
lead. What's making it "un-fun"? Listen to her for her point is very
legit.
Ask her, what would make it fun for her?
No matter how small or insignificant or ridiculous, remember, it is
all about her needs first, education 2nd and trust me when I say, it
will follow naturally, because it will. It's built-into a kid that
they will want to improve themselves, whether it's thru reading,
writing or merely just "doing".
But doing what's "relevant/ important to her emotionally now, at this
very moment" is more important than learning to wirte or read. Don't
worry about exams and college, for that will not happen, not for at
least another 5 -10 years, so you can afford to think and worry about
this in a year's time. But for now, focus on what's on her priority
list, what matter most, to her.
I always say to anybody starting to unschool, "Imagine you're giving
yourself and your kid a long holiday - about a whole year long! Do not
expect to do any lesson during this year, for you're on holiday, and
since you're on holiday, you'll only learn to do "all those fun
holiday stuffs" like baking, camping, visiting places, shopping etc
etc etc. And this way, giving you(the parent and facilitator), a whole
year to figure out how you guys are going to unschool/ homeschool
yourself. In the mean time, treat yourself by doing fun things
together by going shopping for sweets/ treats/ books/ toys. This will
mean having to learn to save those pennies (and inevitebly, counting/
add/ sub/ division)
Take this one year to understand and observe your child- what makes
her tick? what sort of learner is she? Visual? Kinesthetic? What's
turns her off? What time of the day does she learn better? My child
learns at 8ish - 9pm at night LOL!!!
Keep reading- You'll learn more about the many different approaches to
homeschooling, unschooling, educating, about how children learn thru
play, how thier brain works, and stay POSITIVE. The more info you
have, the more confident of your doing, you'll be, for there will be
lots of trail and error along your unschooling way, evolving to one
approach that you and your kid'll be happy with. No family's the same-
what might work for my family, might not work for your family.
I'm gave my kid the a year long break to deschool, by not expecting
him to do anything at all, no lessons for 1 year. By doing so, I kinda
reckoned 1 wouldn't have set myself up for dissapointment, for I
wasn't expecting anything from him. Instead I happily "homeschool"
myself. So I did kinda set myself up a routine whereby I went about
doing what I want like fixing my very bad Maths- I did Maths on the
internet, on all those kiddie learning sites that we subscribed to for
our son- BrainPoP and Time4Learning. In the beginning my kid was
totally not interested, absord into his PS2 world. Eventually, he
decided to peep at what I was doing, he asked what I was doing, I told
him I was learning to undo my fears for Maths for I was a very bad
Math student when I was young. After that, on and off, he'll asked
me "So, how are you doing now?" I replied "I'm not so stupid
afterall!! It's easy!!" I have to admit I was genuinely pleased to
find that all my fears for maths was unfounded, and that Maths wasn't
that scary and hard afterall!. My son's reply was "No mummy, you
can';t possibly be stupid. You know so much stuff. How can you be
stupid. Maybe you can tell me about what you've learn, later on, after
I finish my game"
And so that's how we transitioned into academic learning, at month 16
into our unschooling journey. It entails me re-learning, in
preparation of me facilitating my son's learning, and re- discovering
the joy of science, history, geography and all sorts that I loved; and
then relaying what I've learn to my son. Very often, I can be heard
exclaiming loudly of the discovery or achievement I've made, like
rattling off the list of the planets in the right order as "Sometimes
My Very Earthy Mother Jumps Start Uranus N Pluto" - Sun, Mercury,
Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto LOL!!!
And this has certainly got my son's attention, for he thought it was
hilarious LOL!!!
He very often now points out to me, if certain shows relating to my
reading/ interest, is coming on the documentary channel. Or if he's
come across a book at the library that he thinks I might be
interested. So, he is facilitating my learning, just as much as I am
facilitaing his learning, sub-conciously.
I like the Classical Education philosophy, a three-part process of
training the mind. The early years are spent in absorbing facts,
systematically laying the foundations for advanced study.
Which explains that my son is now absorbing all those facts that
I'm "chatting about", systematically laying the foundations for his
advanced study.
"his concern with there not being tests and such is that when they go
to college -technical/4yr/ or otherwise - or even go to apply to jobs
that require you to take an entrance test - they will freak out having
never done(or doing very few) a test before."
I'm currently reading "Homeschooling for Excellence" by David and
Micki Colfax. Maybe you can get this book for your hubby? They
homeschooled thier 4 sons, out of which 3 enter Harvard and the 4th is
most likely to follow suit. All these boys with exception of the 1st
son for a brief moment, never set a foot in any school at all. Not
sure if they unschooled but it did seem to come across like they are
unschooling. Even tho David and Micki are trained educator but they
have mentioned that this didn't necessary made them cleverer than any
of us. In within my local unschooling group, I know of a lady whose
kid never been to school at all is now doing a PHd in the uni here, we
have heard of lots of unschooling kids doing fantastically well in
thier GCSE's exams, which suggest that they can handle test pretty
well, despite never been tested at all. Over here in UK, some uni's
have express interest in selecting homeschooled children simply
because these children has shown genuine interest and in depth
knowledge and dedication in their chosen fields.
Whose to say "what will happen" in 5 or 10 yrs time? Perhaps by then,
testing and exam is of the least importance when it comes to
getting "that job"? In 10 yrs time, maybe Phds will be as common as
diplomas is nowadays.
Nowadays, my unschooling son's life is still very much revolves around
his ps2, ds, psp, tv, and his computer but since 4 months ago, he's
managed to include Maths, English, Geography and History (in the form
of Time4Learning, Jumpstart Yr 3 and Cluefinder Year 5) to his
rountine.
The above pretty much sums up how we unschool. So yu see, unschooling
it's not an overnight process- it's an evolving process that invlves
the whole family. Unschooling is about living together harmoniously,
whereby the learning will come naturally for the child, when she's
ready for it.
There is no deadline to meet, no data to measure against, no targets
to achieve, other than your child's own natural milestone.
One advice given to me when I first started "Take it one step a time.
By the end of every year, review where you are, and which direction
you wanna go".
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I have so much to say about the things written here that I don;t know where to start.
This group is a place where people come to get unschooling advice not general homeschooling advice.
Unschooling is not about getting your children to do math, history or geography.
Of course there is nothing wrong if they want to do anything that looks schooly.
Unschoolers do not divide learning into subjects.
They learn form life. Math is everywhere. Kids will learn what they need, when they need and want to.
Unschooling is about trusting that they will learn what they need, when they need , want to and are ready to.
Unschooling is not about preparing children for life.
Unschoolers understand that children are already living life and this is not a rehearsal for the future.
There was some good advice in this post. But I think the writer's goal of "education" might be
taking her away from fully unschooling but in the direction of a more schooly goal of getting kids ready for
higher education.
Unschoolers that have done nothing in their life's that resembles school in any way have gone to college and succeeded because they wanted to
Here are some good links to understand a little more :
http://joyfullyrejoycing.com/
http://sandradodd.com/unschooling
and this is a great read:
http://sandradodd.com/screwitup
Alex Polikowsky
http://polykow.blogspot.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unschoolingmn/
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
lead. What's making it "un-fun"? Listen to her for her point is very
legit.
Ask her, what would make it fun for her?
No matter how small or insignificant or ridiculous, remember, it is
all about her needs first, education 2nd and trust me when I say, it
will follow naturally, because it will. It's built-into a kid that
they will want to improve themselves, whether it's thru reading,
writing or merely just "doing".
But doing what's "relevant/ important to her emotionally now, at this
very moment" is more important than learning to wirte or read. Don't
worry about exams and college, for that will not happen, not for at
least another 5 -10 years, so you can afford to think and worry about
this in a year's time. But for now, focus on what's on her priority
list, what matter most, to her.
I always say to anybody starting to unschool, "Imagine you're giving
yourself and your kid a long holiday - about a whole year long! Do not
expect to do any lesson during this year, for you're on holiday, and
since you're on holiday, you'll only learn to do "all those fun
holiday stuffs" like baking, camping, visiting places, shopping etc
etc etc. And this way, giving you(the parent and facilitator), a whole
year to figure out how you guys are going to unschool/ homeschool
yourself. In the mean time, treat yourself by doing fun things
together by going shopping for sweets/ treats/ books/ toys. This will
mean having to learn to save those pennies (and inevitebly, counting/
add/ sub/ division)
Take this one year to understand and observe your child- what makes
her tick? what sort of learner is she? Visual? Kinesthetic? What's
turns her off? What time of the day does she learn better? My child
learns at 8ish - 9pm at night LOL!!!
Keep reading- You'll learn more about the many different approaches to
homeschooling, unschooling, educating, about how children learn thru
play, how thier brain works, and stay POSITIVE. The more info you
have, the more confident of your doing, you'll be, for there will be
lots of trail and error along your unschooling way, evolving to one
approach that you and your kid'll be happy with. No family's the same-
what might work for my family, might not work for your family.
I'm gave my kid the a year long break to deschool, by not expecting
him to do anything at all, no lessons for 1 year. By doing so, I kinda
reckoned 1 wouldn't have set myself up for dissapointment, for I
wasn't expecting anything from him. Instead I happily "homeschool"
myself. So I did kinda set myself up a routine whereby I went about
doing what I want like fixing my very bad Maths- I did Maths on the
internet, on all those kiddie learning sites that we subscribed to for
our son- BrainPoP and Time4Learning. In the beginning my kid was
totally not interested, absord into his PS2 world. Eventually, he
decided to peep at what I was doing, he asked what I was doing, I told
him I was learning to undo my fears for Maths for I was a very bad
Math student when I was young. After that, on and off, he'll asked
me "So, how are you doing now?" I replied "I'm not so stupid
afterall!! It's easy!!" I have to admit I was genuinely pleased to
find that all my fears for maths was unfounded, and that Maths wasn't
that scary and hard afterall!. My son's reply was "No mummy, you
can';t possibly be stupid. You know so much stuff. How can you be
stupid. Maybe you can tell me about what you've learn, later on, after
I finish my game"
And so that's how we transitioned into academic learning, at month 16
into our unschooling journey. It entails me re-learning, in
preparation of me facilitating my son's learning, and re- discovering
the joy of science, history, geography and all sorts that I loved; and
then relaying what I've learn to my son. Very often, I can be heard
exclaiming loudly of the discovery or achievement I've made, like
rattling off the list of the planets in the right order as "Sometimes
My Very Earthy Mother Jumps Start Uranus N Pluto" - Sun, Mercury,
Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto LOL!!!
And this has certainly got my son's attention, for he thought it was
hilarious LOL!!!
He very often now points out to me, if certain shows relating to my
reading/ interest, is coming on the documentary channel. Or if he's
come across a book at the library that he thinks I might be
interested. So, he is facilitating my learning, just as much as I am
facilitaing his learning, sub-conciously.
I like the Classical Education philosophy, a three-part process of
training the mind. The early years are spent in absorbing facts,
systematically laying the foundations for advanced study.
Which explains that my son is now absorbing all those facts that
I'm "chatting about", systematically laying the foundations for his
advanced study.
"his concern with there not being tests and such is that when they go
to college -technical/4yr/ or otherwise - or even go to apply to jobs
that require you to take an entrance test - they will freak out having
never done(or doing very few) a test before."
I'm currently reading "Homeschooling for Excellence" by David and
Micki Colfax. Maybe you can get this book for your hubby? They
homeschooled thier 4 sons, out of which 3 enter Harvard and the 4th is
most likely to follow suit. All these boys with exception of the 1st
son for a brief moment, never set a foot in any school at all. Not
sure if they unschooled but it did seem to come across like they are
unschooling. Even tho David and Micki are trained educator but they
have mentioned that this didn't necessary made them cleverer than any
of us. In within my local unschooling group, I know of a lady whose
kid never been to school at all is now doing a PHd in the uni here, we
have heard of lots of unschooling kids doing fantastically well in
thier GCSE's exams, which suggest that they can handle test pretty
well, despite never been tested at all. Over here in UK, some uni's
have express interest in selecting homeschooled children simply
because these children has shown genuine interest and in depth
knowledge and dedication in their chosen fields.
Whose to say "what will happen" in 5 or 10 yrs time? Perhaps by then,
testing and exam is of the least importance when it comes to
getting "that job"? In 10 yrs time, maybe Phds will be as common as
diplomas is nowadays.
Nowadays, my unschooling son's life is still very much revolves around
his ps2, ds, psp, tv, and his computer but since 4 months ago, he's
managed to include Maths, English, Geography and History (in the form
of Time4Learning, Jumpstart Yr 3 and Cluefinder Year 5) to his
rountine.
The above pretty much sums up how we unschool. So yu see, unschooling
it's not an overnight process- it's an evolving process that invlves
the whole family. Unschooling is about living together harmoniously,
whereby the learning will come naturally for the child, when she's
ready for it.
There is no deadline to meet, no data to measure against, no targets
to achieve, other than your child's own natural milestone.
One advice given to me when I first started "Take it one step a time.
By the end of every year, review where you are, and which direction
you wanna go".
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I have so much to say about the things written here that I don;t know where to start.
This group is a place where people come to get unschooling advice not general homeschooling advice.
Unschooling is not about getting your children to do math, history or geography.
Of course there is nothing wrong if they want to do anything that looks schooly.
Unschoolers do not divide learning into subjects.
They learn form life. Math is everywhere. Kids will learn what they need, when they need and want to.
Unschooling is about trusting that they will learn what they need, when they need , want to and are ready to.
Unschooling is not about preparing children for life.
Unschoolers understand that children are already living life and this is not a rehearsal for the future.
There was some good advice in this post. But I think the writer's goal of "education" might be
taking her away from fully unschooling but in the direction of a more schooly goal of getting kids ready for
higher education.
Unschoolers that have done nothing in their life's that resembles school in any way have gone to college and succeeded because they wanted to
Here are some good links to understand a little more :
http://joyfullyrejoycing.com/
http://sandradodd.com/unschooling
and this is a great read:
http://sandradodd.com/screwitup
Alex Polikowsky
http://polykow.blogspot.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unschoolingmn/
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Joyce Fetteroll
On Aug 11, 2008, at 1:34 AM, Melissa Dietrick wrote:
two more) of his classes. They went through the catalog together and
she found two more that were taught by others that she also took.
So that particular route isn't very useful for most others :-/
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> Hi joyce, I was just wondering how she got the interest to take theMy husband teaches at the college and she took one (and then at least
> classes?... Im trying to see how that possibility could happen in
> Italy, also given our country bumpkin isolation
two more) of his classes. They went through the catalog together and
she found two more that were taught by others that she also took.
So that particular route isn't very useful for most others :-/
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
k
In school even relaxed teachers giving tests in a relaxed manner are
generally *grading* these things.
Grades in themselves are terribly anxiety producing. Getting good grades
just means that the one time you "fail" is the time you are the most likely
to be freaked after the freak level at test time itself (over your potential
grade) and you may feel it for a LONG time *and* .... the failure is the one
you're likely to remember because it is that big ugly blot ruining your
culmulative GPA... your grade point average ... the thing on your transcript
sitting there waving at you on your college applications. You're less
likely to feel so much toward uneventful good grades.
So focus on asking questions to gain new knowledge and share rather than to
see if your daughter gleaned anything "gradeworthy." It's subtle but
important. A similar experience to compare with covert grading by adults is
not measuring up with your peer in-crowd by the way you look or dress or
carry yourself. A real killer for self-confidence, with the increased
anxiety such grading evokes, even if you do well by the standards.
Raise joy levels in relationships not grade levels.
~Katherine
generally *grading* these things.
Grades in themselves are terribly anxiety producing. Getting good grades
just means that the one time you "fail" is the time you are the most likely
to be freaked after the freak level at test time itself (over your potential
grade) and you may feel it for a LONG time *and* .... the failure is the one
you're likely to remember because it is that big ugly blot ruining your
culmulative GPA... your grade point average ... the thing on your transcript
sitting there waving at you on your college applications. You're less
likely to feel so much toward uneventful good grades.
So focus on asking questions to gain new knowledge and share rather than to
see if your daughter gleaned anything "gradeworthy." It's subtle but
important. A similar experience to compare with covert grading by adults is
not measuring up with your peer in-crowd by the way you look or dress or
carry yourself. A real killer for self-confidence, with the increased
anxiety such grading evokes, even if you do well by the standards.
Raise joy levels in relationships not grade levels.
~Katherine
On 8/10/08, mommasgoodiesandgifts <cty70667@...> wrote:
>
> wow thank you Joyce and Pamela! you really set my mind at ease.. I
> truly suspect that my husband is projecting his own fears about tests
> onto our kids.. he struggled a lot in school - although he ended up as
> the class president and got really good grades, but he worked his butt
> off to get them. I believe if you make the tests seem scary to the
> kids, then they are goign to be scared, but if you are relaxed and
> calm - they will be too. I still dont have him convinced yet, but he
> isn't forcing me to make out a test tomorrow - so I will let him see
> for himself how well it's working and talk to him again at another
> time.. or not.. perhaps I wont have to.
>
> I was realizing what damage I had already done with our schooly
> homeschooling - my DD was watching a show on jellyfish yesterday..
> TOTALLY into it.. (she did this on her own I might add).. so later I
> asked her why they were catching the jelly fish.. and she said - I
> don't know. I said you mean u watched all this time and dont know??
> Then she said - well I didn't want you to test me on it.. and then she
> proceeds to give me quite a good answer to my question....so I walked
> away thinking she would pretend NOT to know something in fear that I
> might test her.. I felt really bad. But it also let me know -
> unschooling was so totally right for us - and in particular
> deschooling.. we need to relax and have fun again - so she can share
> with me what she has learned without fear...
> .
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
k
On 8/11/08, BRIAN POLIKOWSKY <polykowholsteins@...> wrote:
For instance, today he didn't want to leave someone's house and after he got
into the car he asked how much is "10 + 10." I said 20. He said "that's
how long I wanted to stay... 20 hours! Wah!!" Using numbers to let me know
how far off we were on the proper length for that visit. ;) Pretty good
persuasive thought he came up with. He wanted a number fact for me right
then so that he could use it to express his feelings right then.
So yes.... "Kids will learn what they need when they need and want to."
~Katherine
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>True. My 5 year old takes to numbers because he often finds them useful.
> They learn form life. Math is everywhere. Kids will learn what they
> need, when they need and want to.
>
For instance, today he didn't want to leave someone's house and after he got
into the car he asked how much is "10 + 10." I said 20. He said "that's
how long I wanted to stay... 20 hours! Wah!!" Using numbers to let me know
how far off we were on the proper length for that visit. ;) Pretty good
persuasive thought he came up with. He wanted a number fact for me right
then so that he could use it to express his feelings right then.
So yes.... "Kids will learn what they need when they need and want to."
~Katherine
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
carenkh
=-=They learn from life. Math is everywhere. Kids will learn what they
need, when they need and want to.=-=
And I want to add, so much learning occurs at a level you don't even
SEE. When I first started, I would look for "obvious" learning -
something that looked like what they might learn in school, even if
they didn't arrive at that by a schooly method. After a couple years,
I completely gave up the idea that they HAD to learn ANYTHING.
Originally, I believed "unschooling is living your life as if there
were no such thing as school" - and I still like that a lot! It can
bring a lot of clarity. But it's evolved into "unschooling is living
your life as if there were no *need* to learn *anything*".
I hope I'm getting across what I mean, here! It sounds kinda
negligent. LOL But it's not that way at all. That decision brought SO
MUCH freedom into our lives - whether or not they're learning just
doesn't enter into my thoughts. I completely trust they are learning,
because we are alive and engaged.
And wouldn't you know - they've learned a lot! I saw something Evan
had written to a friend not too long ago - and it was incredibly
well-written, well thought-out and moving. I hadn't seen him write
like that before, and there it was! I never worried about making him
sit down and write an essay because it might be required of him one
day. (well, not for the last 6 years or so - when we first started
unschooling, I used to worry! I wouldn't make him do it, but I'd
worry.) But there it was!
This life is magic in so many ways. Being able to trust that they are
learning - just drop everything and TRUST - was the best thing that I
could have done to facilitate that.
peace,
Caren
need, when they need and want to.=-=
And I want to add, so much learning occurs at a level you don't even
SEE. When I first started, I would look for "obvious" learning -
something that looked like what they might learn in school, even if
they didn't arrive at that by a schooly method. After a couple years,
I completely gave up the idea that they HAD to learn ANYTHING.
Originally, I believed "unschooling is living your life as if there
were no such thing as school" - and I still like that a lot! It can
bring a lot of clarity. But it's evolved into "unschooling is living
your life as if there were no *need* to learn *anything*".
I hope I'm getting across what I mean, here! It sounds kinda
negligent. LOL But it's not that way at all. That decision brought SO
MUCH freedom into our lives - whether or not they're learning just
doesn't enter into my thoughts. I completely trust they are learning,
because we are alive and engaged.
And wouldn't you know - they've learned a lot! I saw something Evan
had written to a friend not too long ago - and it was incredibly
well-written, well thought-out and moving. I hadn't seen him write
like that before, and there it was! I never worried about making him
sit down and write an essay because it might be required of him one
day. (well, not for the last 6 years or so - when we first started
unschooling, I used to worry! I wouldn't make him do it, but I'd
worry.) But there it was!
This life is magic in so many ways. Being able to trust that they are
learning - just drop everything and TRUST - was the best thing that I
could have done to facilitate that.
peace,
Caren
Julie Dutt
Regarding testing...I'll never forget the first test I failed...it was
a history test in 4th grade. The teacher handed it to me and
whispered "julie, what happened?" and I didn't know...but I can tell
you this...ever since that test, I've never done well in history...I
thought i was stupid and that it was not possible for me to learn
history. I just shut down about history and just told myself "i'm not
good in history".
julie
_____
a history test in 4th grade. The teacher handed it to me and
whispered "julie, what happened?" and I didn't know...but I can tell
you this...ever since that test, I've never done well in history...I
thought i was stupid and that it was not possible for me to learn
history. I just shut down about history and just told myself "i'm not
good in history".
julie
_____
On Aug 12, 2008, at 1:03 AM, k wrote:
> In school even relaxed teachers giving tests in a relaxed manner are
> generally *grading* these things.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
natasha lawson
Hello All,
Is any aware of any upcoming Homeschool Confereces being held in the MD/DC/VA area? If so please send the information. Thank you.
Natasha Lawson
www.pamperedchef.biz/nlawson
301-420-3367
"Change your thoughts and you change your world." Norman Vincent Peale
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Is any aware of any upcoming Homeschool Confereces being held in the MD/DC/VA area? If so please send the information. Thank you.
Natasha Lawson
www.pamperedchef.biz/nlawson
301-420-3367
"Change your thoughts and you change your world." Norman Vincent Peale
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
Live and Learn Unschooling Conference in Black Mountain, NC in two
weeks. Sept 3-7, 2008.
You won't find anything any closer. <g>
~Kelly
Kelly Lovejoy
Conference Coordinator
Live and Learn Unschooling Conference
http://www.LiveandLearnConference.org
-----Original Message-----
From: natasha lawson <nlawson2@...>
Hello All,
Is any aware of any upcoming Homeschool Confereces being held in the
MD/DC/VA
area? If so please send the information. Thank you.
weeks. Sept 3-7, 2008.
You won't find anything any closer. <g>
~Kelly
Kelly Lovejoy
Conference Coordinator
Live and Learn Unschooling Conference
http://www.LiveandLearnConference.org
-----Original Message-----
From: natasha lawson <nlawson2@...>
Hello All,
Is any aware of any upcoming Homeschool Confereces being held in the
MD/DC/VA
area? If so please send the information. Thank you.
Faith Void
We are working on a regular meet up for unschoolers in SC PA, right up 83
from Baltimore. If you are interested in hearing more email me. Or join our
yahoo group
<a href="http://us.groups.yahoo.com/group/MidAtlanticRadicalUnschoolers/join">
<img src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/yg/img/i/us/ui/join.gif"
style="border: 0px;"
alt="Click to join MidAtlanticRadicalUnschoolers"/>
<p>Click to join MidAtlanticRadicalUnschoolers</p>
</a>
Faith
from Baltimore. If you are interested in hearing more email me. Or join our
yahoo group
<a href="http://us.groups.yahoo.com/group/MidAtlanticRadicalUnschoolers/join">
<img src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/yg/img/i/us/ui/join.gif"
style="border: 0px;"
alt="Click to join MidAtlanticRadicalUnschoolers"/>
<p>Click to join MidAtlanticRadicalUnschoolers</p>
</a>
Faith
On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 11:43 AM, natasha lawson <nlawson2@...> wrote:
> Hello All,
> Is any aware of any upcoming Homeschool Confereces being held in the
> MD/DC/VA area? If so please send the information. Thank you.
>
> Natasha Lawson
> www.pamperedchef.biz/nlawson
> 301-420-3367
> "Change your thoughts and you change your world." Norman Vincent Peale
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
--
www.bearthmama.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
DJ250
Natasha
Not sure where you live but a group of us unschooling moms (dads welcome, too!) meet once a month across from Arundel Mills mall. Our next one is Aug. 30th, from 6-9pm. You're welcome to join us! Email me and I'll give you directions.
~Melissa :)
Not sure where you live but a group of us unschooling moms (dads welcome, too!) meet once a month across from Arundel Mills mall. Our next one is Aug. 30th, from 6-9pm. You're welcome to join us! Email me and I'll give you directions.
~Melissa :)
----- Original Message -----
From: natasha lawson
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2008 11:43 AM
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re: New to homeschooling and REALLY new to unschooling...
Hello All,
Is any aware of any upcoming Homeschool Confereces being held in the MD/DC/VA area? If so please send the information. Thank you.
Natasha Lawson
www.pamperedchef.biz/nlawson
301-420-3367
"Change your thoughts and you change your world." Norman Vincent Peale
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com
Version: 8.0.138 / Virus Database: 270.6.6/1626 - Release Date: 8/21/2008 6:54 PM
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Zoa Conner
If you join the marylandorganiclearning yahoo group, you can get notices of
gatherings and other fun stuff in MD. I post there about Unschooler
Gatherings for families in various places.
Zoa
gatherings and other fun stuff in MD. I post there about Unschooler
Gatherings for families in various places.
Zoa
On 8/21/08 11:43 AM, "natasha lawson" <nlawson2@...> wrote:
> Hello All,
> Is any aware of any upcoming Homeschool Confereces being held in the MD/DC/VA
> area? If so please send the information. Thank you.
>
> Natasha Lawson
> www.pamperedchef.biz/nlawson
> 301-420-3367
> "Change your thoughts and you change your world." Norman Vincent Peale
----------------
Zoa Conner, PhD
Physicist and Organic Learning Mother
zoaconner@...
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]