hopeacademyhs

We have raised 4 children through the public school system. We are
now homeschooling our youngest 11year old. This is our 1st year and
want to know more about "unschooling" as I think that is what we are
doing but would appreciate any and all info, comments and suggestions
anyone has.
Thanks-Teresa

p/s Our older 4 have all graduated public school and gone on the
colleges.

kayb85

Could you give us something specific about unschooling that you'd
like us to discuss?

Are you wanting to know if what you're doing is unschooling? Maybe if
you gave us an idea of what your days are like?

Sheila

> We have raised 4 children through the public school system. We are
> now homeschooling our youngest 11year old. This is our 1st year
and
> want to know more about "unschooling" as I think that is what we
are
> doing but would appreciate any and all info, comments and
suggestions
> anyone has.
> Thanks-Teresa
>
> p/s Our older 4 have all graduated public school and gone on the
> colleges.

Teresa Chapman

Maybe that's what I'm asking--Am I unschooling?? Our typical day begins with my husband & I up by 5 am watching the local news and weather. Then we proceed to getting showered and dressed for the day. After breakfast around 6:45 he leaves for work at a local furniture frame shop where he is office manager/HR. My daughter usually sleeps in until 8-9. she then gets up, eat breakfast, showers etc..She likes to watch PBS for a little in the morning. She is VERY self motivated and will either work in 4H booklets or her project booklets, read or play educational programs on the computer. We've downloaded several "games" that teach presidents, states, math etc that she really enjoys. I am a freelance paralegal, so if I have to go to the courthouse to do title searches, she'll bring along a workbook or a book to read. she is also learning how to search birth, death and marriage records at the courthouse for geneology. She loves doing that. She loves reading the "cause of deaths" and
how the doctors write up the causes. Then we are back at our consignment shop by 12 noon. She will sew or work on crafts, read or play on computer or the shop. By playing I mean, Math Blaster, Reading Blaster etc...We close at 5 pm and go home to start dinner. She loves cooking and helping out in the kitchen, which I let her but make her read the directions of the recipe and measure out ingredients. After dinner and straightening up the house, she'll ride bikes, swim in our pool, jump on trampoline, play with her dog until dark. Her father and her are currently taking a beekeeping class together at the local agriculture office once a week at night. She and I work on sewing, cross stitching and crafts together either in the morning, or at the shop or even in the evenings.
I guess I'm concerned because we have no set schedule. She has tested with the CAT and was 7th grade in one subject and 8th-12th in all others. Public school had her in 5th grade by age and would not let her advance or challenge her with beyond 5th grade work.
THanks for any and all help--Teresa

kayb85 <sheran@...> wrote:

Could you give us something specific about unschooling that you'd
like us to discuss?

Are you wanting to know if what you're doing is unschooling? Maybe if
you gave us an idea of what your days are like?

Sheila

> We have raised 4 children through the public school system. We are
> now homeschooling our youngest 11year old. This is our 1st year
and
> want to know more about "unschooling" as I think that is what we
are
> doing but would appreciate any and all info, comments and
suggestions
> anyone has.
> Thanks-Teresa
>
> p/s Our older 4 have all graduated public school and gone on the
> colleges.





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queenjane555

"She loves cooking and helping out in the kitchen, which I let her
but make her read the directions of the recipe and measure out
ingredients. "

I used to think unschooling was something like unit studies, a fun
way to learn subjects.I think i finally realized i "got"
unschooling, when it hit me (after much reading on this list and the
website)that true unschooling isnt "cooking/measuring so that my
child can learn math" but "cooking because its fun or we need food
to eat" and realizing (*trusting*)that the learning will come
naturally from those activities. They arent the "point" of the
activity, or the focus, but a wonderful, unavoidable by-product.

When my son helps out in the kitchen, or wants to cook, i encourage
him to do as much as he's comfortable with. Sometimes that means
stirring the pot, or reading the recipe, or chopping food. But all
of this is "optional". I'm not sure if by using the word "make" in
the above paragraph, you really meant that exact thing, coercion,
force...or if you meant encourage. I think you'll find that
the "best" learning comes in the absence of force, its longer
lasting if the desire/motivation comes from within the individual.
Maybe someone else can more clearly articulate what i'm trying to
say!


Katherine

[email protected]

-=- By playing I mean, Math Blaster, Reading Blaster etc...-=-

If she's enjoying those, that's great. If you consider them "schoolwork" or acceptable because they're schoolish, you could stand to move away from that to see the learning in ANY kinds of video games.

-=- She loves cooking and helping out in the kitchen, which I let her but make her read the directions of the recipe and measure out ingredients.-=-

I wouldn't "make her" do any such thing. If she wants to help, let her help in the way she wants to. If you're "making her" do those things so she will learn, it would help you, as a homeschooling mom, to take a few steps back (mentally, philosophically) and see the world from a wider angle.


I think it's wonderful that she gets to be with you and her dad so much, and your days sound rich and full, but still more schoolish than they need to be, or than they should be if you want to experience as much natural learning as you can.

Caring what grade levels her test scores were ties you to the school. As long as you live in the shadow of the school, school is part of your lives. You don't need to have it. It doesn't help you.

There's a good list for seeing unschooling called UnschoolingBasics. It's listed here:
http://sandradodd.com/lists/other

Stay here too, if you want. I'm not at all trying to run you off. <g> But that list might be a good place for seeing others newer to unschooling really making the few crucial changes that get them away from school and fully into real life.

Here are a couple of quickie things, too. The changes are small but vital:

http://sandradodd.com/deschooling
http://sandradodd.com/checklists

Sandra

kayb85

I think everything going on sounds good, and definitely more relaxed
than someone who uses Abeka and has to sit at the kitchen table doing
workbooks 5 hours a day.

I guess I'd need to know just a bit more to determine if I'd consider
what you're doing to be unschooling or not.

You said your daughter likes to watch PBS. PBS is good. But could
she also choose cartoon network or Nicelodeon or anything else? Do
you recognize that learning can happen anywhere, even things that
aren't labeled "educational"?

You said she likes educational games on the computer. Educational
games on the computer are good, but do you also recognize that "just
for fun" games are equally good? If she'd rather play Mario Sunshine
or Animal Crossing on the gamecube would that be just as okay as
playing a game that teaches presidents' names? Does she have a
choice?

"She loves cooking and helping out in the kitchen, which I let her
but make her read the directions of the recipe and measure out
ingredients."

What if she just wanted to play around in the kitchen? What if she
wanted to play around with ingredients and invent her own recipe?
Would that be okay too?

"Her father and her are currently taking a beekeeping class together
at the local agriculture office once a week at night."

That sounds good, as long as she had the choice to say, "No, I don't
want to take a beekeeping class, or any class at all for that
matter".

" I guess I'm concerned because we have no set schedule."

It sounds to me like she has just as much of a set schedule as you
do. She goes to work with you, she takes classes at a regular time,
etc.

"She has tested with the CAT and was 7th grade in one subject and 8th-
12th in all others. Public school had her in 5th grade by age and
would not let her advance or challenge her with beyond 5th grade
work."

I think you'll do better with unschooling if you forget about the
concept of grade levels and stop having her tested. She'll learn
what she needs to learn when she needs to learn it if you trust her
enough to give her the freedom to make her own choices about what she
learns about and how she learns it. She doesn't need to be compared
to anyone else.

Sheila





> Maybe that's what I'm asking--Am I unschooling?? Our typical day
begins with my husband & I up by 5 am watching the local news and
weather. Then we proceed to getting showered and dressed for the
day. After breakfast around 6:45 he leaves for work at a local
furniture frame shop where he is office manager/HR. My daughter
usually sleeps in until 8-9. she then gets up, eat breakfast,
showers etc..She likes to watch PBS for a little in the morning. She
is VERY self motivated and will either work in 4H booklets or her
project booklets, read or play educational programs on the computer.
We've downloaded several "games" that teach presidents, states, math
etc that she really enjoys. I am a freelance paralegal, so if I have
to go to the courthouse to do title searches, she'll bring along a
workbook or a book to read. she is also learning how to search
birth, death and marriage records at the courthouse for geneology.
She loves doing that. She loves reading the "cause of deaths" and
> how the doctors write up the causes. Then we are back at our
consignment shop by 12 noon. She will sew or work on crafts, read or
play on computer or the shop. By playing I mean, Math Blaster,
Reading Blaster etc...We close at 5 pm and go home to start dinner.
She loves cooking and helping out in the kitchen, which I let her but
make her read the directions of the recipe and measure out
ingredients. After dinner and straightening up the house, she'll ride
bikes, swim in our pool, jump on trampoline, play with her dog until
She has tested with the CAT and was 7th grade in one subject and 8th-
12th in all others. Public school had her in 5th grade by age and
would not let her advance or challenge her with beyond 5th grade
work.dark. Her father and her are currently taking a beekeeping class
together at the local agriculture office once a week at night. She
and I work on sewing, cross stitching and crafts together either in
the morning, or at the shop or even in the evenings.
> I guess I'm concerned because we have no set schedule.
> THanks for any and all help--Teresa