Intro with questions about strewing
aspire4higher2008
I am quite hesitant to post because the other boards I belong to can
be quite honest and brutal though I know they mean well. I am a
mother of 4 beautiful, creative, free spirits. I have not yet made
the "switch" to unschooling though I am slowly adding elements to our
life. I love the ideology of John Holt and unschooling, and there
are many moments in our daily life where I can see how unschooling
works. I am coming to realize that learning is hard-wired and my dc
are naturally inquisitive and fearless. Unfortunately, I am still
way too neurotic to be radical yet, but that is the direction I would
like to take.
My question is regarding strewing. I have read several posts on it,
including Sandra Dodd's website. I am limited on where I can place
things (we have a very small home,1000sq. ft) Currently, I have a bin
of odds and ends on a livingroom table. I will place bits of puzzles
and prized objects on the kid's bedroom table. Each child has a
raingutter bookshelf near their bed that I will rotate books and
such. How often do you change out the old. I wait and watch and if
the kids are interested and use what is it, I leave it. If not, I
leave it out for awhile (1 -2 weeks) and then switch it around
again. I am constantly watching and I realize that we have stuff
that never has been used. How long should I wait and how often
should I place these things in their path before donating or tossing
them?
be quite honest and brutal though I know they mean well. I am a
mother of 4 beautiful, creative, free spirits. I have not yet made
the "switch" to unschooling though I am slowly adding elements to our
life. I love the ideology of John Holt and unschooling, and there
are many moments in our daily life where I can see how unschooling
works. I am coming to realize that learning is hard-wired and my dc
are naturally inquisitive and fearless. Unfortunately, I am still
way too neurotic to be radical yet, but that is the direction I would
like to take.
My question is regarding strewing. I have read several posts on it,
including Sandra Dodd's website. I am limited on where I can place
things (we have a very small home,1000sq. ft) Currently, I have a bin
of odds and ends on a livingroom table. I will place bits of puzzles
and prized objects on the kid's bedroom table. Each child has a
raingutter bookshelf near their bed that I will rotate books and
such. How often do you change out the old. I wait and watch and if
the kids are interested and use what is it, I leave it. If not, I
leave it out for awhile (1 -2 weeks) and then switch it around
again. I am constantly watching and I realize that we have stuff
that never has been used. How long should I wait and how often
should I place these things in their path before donating or tossing
them?
lyeping2008
Hi There,
My idea of strewing is not just limited to visually presented items.
It can be anything from the songs we listen to, to what we'll be
watching, to what shall I cook for lunch or dinner. It's about
making everything accessible.
It is discussions like this that can actually triggers off alot of
other discussions, research or activities, which can actually lead
to picking out a cd/ dvd/ book off the shelf.
We have books in every corner of our home, on the sofa, on the
coffee table, on the side of the stairs. But they are all mixed up,
some are mine, some my son's, some hubbies. I don't separate them.
My son do flick thru some of my picture books.
Perhaps you can try mixing everyone's book into 1 common shelf/
area. This way, everybody is welcome to pick-up any book that
catches thier attention and you don't have to rotate them. Books
shouldn't have age limitation on them. Anybody can pick up a book,
and just enjoy looking thur them.
I have toys anywhere and everywhere that's accessible by any child.
This doesn't mean they are constantly lying on the floor, tho they
can be most of the times. But my kid's Lego is on the coffee table
that's been relegated to the corner of the living room. It's on the
dining table that is no longer in use because we prefer eating on
the sofa, in front of the tv. Infact, he and his little friends has
built an entire city out of Lego, on the dining table.
His transformers is in a big plastic crate on the floor in a corner.
On the dining table, we have a globe, we have game boxes stacked up,
we have shoes boxes filled with lots of interesting stuff labelled
on the side like playdoughs, army sets, batteries, more Lego bricks,
a vase of paintbrushes, a plastic tube of pens and pencil and
another stack of books with 5 boxes of mini experimental kit on top
of it.
On my window sill, I have photographs, a microscope, a bug viewer,
an electric motor that son built, some clay model he made, a huge
model train, more books, chessmen, a vase filled with long drinking
straws, some Lego structures that he built and sold to me (LOL!!),
I find boxes with lids, like shoes boxes, very useful. They can be
stacked up in a corner, helping to keep things neat and tidy without
having to put it away.
And of course, the tv is always on either on his cartoon channels or
my documentary/ news channels.
This is my strewing. I like evrything to be close at hand, I don't
like having to climb and take something off the top of the wardrobe
or go to the shed for my kid's bike. This way, we can into alot of
things without any obstacles/ fuss.
Hope this helps
SharonBugs.
My idea of strewing is not just limited to visually presented items.
It can be anything from the songs we listen to, to what we'll be
watching, to what shall I cook for lunch or dinner. It's about
making everything accessible.
It is discussions like this that can actually triggers off alot of
other discussions, research or activities, which can actually lead
to picking out a cd/ dvd/ book off the shelf.
We have books in every corner of our home, on the sofa, on the
coffee table, on the side of the stairs. But they are all mixed up,
some are mine, some my son's, some hubbies. I don't separate them.
My son do flick thru some of my picture books.
Perhaps you can try mixing everyone's book into 1 common shelf/
area. This way, everybody is welcome to pick-up any book that
catches thier attention and you don't have to rotate them. Books
shouldn't have age limitation on them. Anybody can pick up a book,
and just enjoy looking thur them.
I have toys anywhere and everywhere that's accessible by any child.
This doesn't mean they are constantly lying on the floor, tho they
can be most of the times. But my kid's Lego is on the coffee table
that's been relegated to the corner of the living room. It's on the
dining table that is no longer in use because we prefer eating on
the sofa, in front of the tv. Infact, he and his little friends has
built an entire city out of Lego, on the dining table.
His transformers is in a big plastic crate on the floor in a corner.
On the dining table, we have a globe, we have game boxes stacked up,
we have shoes boxes filled with lots of interesting stuff labelled
on the side like playdoughs, army sets, batteries, more Lego bricks,
a vase of paintbrushes, a plastic tube of pens and pencil and
another stack of books with 5 boxes of mini experimental kit on top
of it.
On my window sill, I have photographs, a microscope, a bug viewer,
an electric motor that son built, some clay model he made, a huge
model train, more books, chessmen, a vase filled with long drinking
straws, some Lego structures that he built and sold to me (LOL!!),
I find boxes with lids, like shoes boxes, very useful. They can be
stacked up in a corner, helping to keep things neat and tidy without
having to put it away.
And of course, the tv is always on either on his cartoon channels or
my documentary/ news channels.
This is my strewing. I like evrything to be close at hand, I don't
like having to climb and take something off the top of the wardrobe
or go to the shed for my kid's bike. This way, we can into alot of
things without any obstacles/ fuss.
Hope this helps
SharonBugs.
Faith Void
> ****How long should I wait and how often should I place these things inThis is a great question. I find myself asking it all the time. I go by how
> their path before donating or tossing
> them?****
>
long have we had the object/book/whatnot and how likely I think it may be
used.
For example, I have some books about science experiments. The kids haven't
looked at them in months because they have been into other things. But I
know that winter is nearing and the colder weather means more indoor times.
They will likely use them in the next few months. We have the space so I
keep them.
Another example is ds5 was into Power Rangers but now he isn't. So I
gathered up all the PR stuff that hasn't been touched in months and asked
his thoughts on moving it out. At first he wanted to keep it. So I set the
box aside. A few days later he came and told me that he'd like to give it to
a friend that loves PR. So we did.
Other examples are things I pick up for my kids that just don't interest
them. I let it hang out for a while, maybe even directly show it to them. If
there is no interest I let it go. I pick up free junk all the time so there
is constant flow in our house. And there are 5 humans of various ages and
interests. I try not to form attachments to things *I* think my kids
*should* like or be interested in. (like an awesome bird calling tape) If I
didn't get it for me and they don't want it, it goes. Freecycle and
craigslist are great place to get rid of things and try things out.
About placing things in their path; I don't think that this is something I
even think about (until you write it). I just show them cool stuff I find.
More often they are with me and pick up cool stuff along with me. If not
(dd11 usually stays home) she greets me to see what cool stuff I have. I
have been finding her amazing clothes lately which makes her super happy.
Otherwise our home is laid out to live in. We have books, toys, games, odds
and ends, kitchen stuff, water toys, outdoor toys, you name it hanging out
to be used in one way or another.
My mother always talks about how much *stuff* we have in our house. She has
suggested we minimize and make it easier to clean etc. But we like it like
this, full of life and creativity. We even have a project room full of weird
stuff and art supplies.
My kids also make amazing discoveries when we have "clean out" days. I'll
pick out a stack of books that seems like no one wants and ask everyone to
go through them before I donate them. I typically find a human or two
sitting and reading soon after. This works for toys as well. It is fun like
an adventure in its own. We unearth cool stuff.
Faith
--
http://faithvoid.blogspot.com/
www.bearthmama.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Meredith
--- In [email protected], "Faith Void"
<littlemsvoid@...> wrote:
LOL! That happens here, too. I half-jokingly call it "unstrewing."
Sometimes just standing all the books back up on the book shelf, or
neatly sorting the toys back into the bins (Mo loves to use the
bins...) has the same effect as getting something entirely new -
hey, mom, look at this! Wow! Cool! Oh, you like that? We've had it
for five years, y'know.
One of the questions I ask before I get rid of something is how much
it interests *me*. Is this something I'd like to read/try if I
ever "find the time"? Those I'll keep, even if my kids seem to have
outgrown them - like making goofy stuff with pipe cleaners. I just
know that One Day I'll "find the time" to do that!
---Meredith (Mo 7, Ray 15)
<littlemsvoid@...> wrote:
>> My kids also make amazing discoveries when we have "clean out"days.
LOL! That happens here, too. I half-jokingly call it "unstrewing."
Sometimes just standing all the books back up on the book shelf, or
neatly sorting the toys back into the bins (Mo loves to use the
bins...) has the same effect as getting something entirely new -
hey, mom, look at this! Wow! Cool! Oh, you like that? We've had it
for five years, y'know.
One of the questions I ask before I get rid of something is how much
it interests *me*. Is this something I'd like to read/try if I
ever "find the time"? Those I'll keep, even if my kids seem to have
outgrown them - like making goofy stuff with pipe cleaners. I just
know that One Day I'll "find the time" to do that!
---Meredith (Mo 7, Ray 15)
Meredith
--- In [email protected], "lyeping2008"
<lyeping2008@...> wrote:
of "strewing". Mo and I did that last night - the xmas catalogs are
starting to come out and we looked and looked, talked about this and
that, do you want one? could we make our own? There were some things
that reminded me of when I was a kid, and we talked about that -
hey, I had one of those! or my uncle made one of these when he was a
teenager... all sorts of fun family stories came up.
The most important thing to remember about strewing is to be open to
possibilities. A picture of a tea cup can lead to buying a tea-set,
or it could lead to learning about Japanese tea ceremony, or it
could lead to a conversation about ceramics and what's "bone china"
and on to talking about the Great Wall of China and panda bears and
making a new blanket for Teddy.
---Meredith (Mo 7, Ray 15)
<lyeping2008@...> wrote:
> My idea of strewing is not just limited to visually presenteditems.
> It can be anything from the songs we listen to, to what we'll beGoing shopping together, or looking through catalogs, is a kind
> watching, to what shall I cook for lunch or dinner. It's about
> making everything accessible.
of "strewing". Mo and I did that last night - the xmas catalogs are
starting to come out and we looked and looked, talked about this and
that, do you want one? could we make our own? There were some things
that reminded me of when I was a kid, and we talked about that -
hey, I had one of those! or my uncle made one of these when he was a
teenager... all sorts of fun family stories came up.
The most important thing to remember about strewing is to be open to
possibilities. A picture of a tea cup can lead to buying a tea-set,
or it could lead to learning about Japanese tea ceremony, or it
could lead to a conversation about ceramics and what's "bone china"
and on to talking about the Great Wall of China and panda bears and
making a new blanket for Teddy.
---Meredith (Mo 7, Ray 15)