sahm2cody

(this is cross-posted on other unschooling lists, so ignore it if
you've seen it before. Thanks)

Hi ladies,

I'm curious about those of you who have only children. Although we've
been hs's for 4 years, we've only been unschooling the last 4 - 5
months. I read a lot (on message boards, in hs/us magazines, etc.)
about familes with 2+ children. Their kids play together, do projects
together, etc. I know that these parents also spend a lot of time
with their kids, but their kids also seem to spend a fair amount of
time doing things *together*. We don't have any kids nearby, nor
unschoolers (we do know some VERY strict school-at-homers, but we
don't socialize with them much). There aren't any hs co-ops or
playgroups in the area, unless the kids are 5 and under. He does have
some public school friends that come over every weekend, plus several
other weekly activities with kids, so he's not completely isolated.

I guess I'm just wonding how other familes like ours work. What
works, and doesn't work, for your families?

~Carri Ann~
mom of a Star Wars/lego obsessed 10 y/o boy

[email protected]

In a message dated 1/31/2006 9:27:09 AM Eastern Standard Time,
[email protected] writes:

Hi ladies,

I'm curious about those of you who have only children. Although we've
been hs's for 4 years, we've only been unschooling the last 4 - 5
months. I read a lot (on message boards, in hs/us magazines, etc.)
about familes with 2+ children. Their kids play together, do projects
together, etc. I know that these parents also spend a lot of time
with their kids, but their kids also seem to spend a fair amount of
time doing things *together*. We don't have any kids nearby, nor
unschoolers (we do know some VERY strict school-at-homers, but we
don't socialize with them much). There aren't any hs co-ops or
playgroups in the area, unless the kids are 5 and under. He does have
some public school friends that come over every weekend, plus several
other weekly activities with kids, so he's not completely isolated.

I guess I'm just wonding how other familes like ours work. What
works, and doesn't work, for your families?

~Carri Ann~
mom of a Star Wars/lego obsessed 10 y/o boy




***************************
I have a 16 year old son, only child. I agree that homeschooling and
unschooling will probably look different when there isn't a built-in companion that
your son can run off and play with. On the other hand, there are no sibling
fights. (Mom, wherever you are, please once again accept my apologies!)

You've been homeschooling for a while, and your son already has friends he
spends time with. I assume when you were homeschooling vs. unschooling that
every hour was NOT taken up with structured schooling. The rest of time, I
suspect, sometimes you hung out together and played together, or chatted.
Sometimes he spent hours creating with legos or watching movies. Maybe you read
together or separately, or made cookies, or maybe he rode his bike, with family,
friends, or by himself.

The difference with the unschooling is that he gets to do the fun stuff all
the time and you can stop planning lessons and do fun stuff too.

It'd be wonderful to have an unschooling companion next door. But even if
you did, they might or might not like each other. I think if it's even a bit
possible that Unschooling conferences are really great for only children,
especially as you approach teen years. I think the conferences, for teens, may
help unschoolers not decide school is a sexier option -- they have a community.
They can be in touch with their community through the internet and telephone.

Where are you? The national Live and Learn Unschooling Conference is in
Albuquerque this year, and there are other unschooling regional conferences
scattered about, including one in Massachusetts in May.

Kathryn Baptista

Come to the Northeast Unschooling Conference, Memorial Day Weekend, May
26-28, 2006 in Peabody, Massachusetts! www.NortheastUnschoolingConference.com



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