homeschool to unschool
amethystmoonx
we are a family of 5 & have 3 daughters. (4, 12, & 16) we are making
the transition from homeschooling to unschooling. i have been reading
the unschooling handbook & gave our oldest the teenage liberation
handbook to read as well. i have also been pouring over sandras site &
these boards.
we believe life experience is the BEST teacher. what they learn from
us as their parents & their own personal experiences are better than
what the school system could ever teach them! unschooling has been our
desire the past few months. i still have questions about math. that is
the subject that bothers me most. our oldest is not strong in math. i
worry for her future in that regard. she knows her basic math & i know
deep down this is all that matters. why do i worry so much about this?
especially since she is getting closer to age 18. she has no desire to
go on to school. no college or tech school. the girls love to read &
write so no worries there. our middle girl is quick with math. we dont
use workbooks or textbooks either. never have. we believe they are
very well rounded! both girls tell me often how glad they are to be
home after hearing the horrors of p.s./private school from their
friends & family. they feel they arent missing out on anything special.
we have discussed this many times. the girls want to unschool & i want
them to be happy. so that is the direction we will take. if others
here have EVER been in our position, how did you make the transition
to unschooling? how did you let all the fears melt away? i would
appreciate hearing about what others have done. thanks!
*now for a little background info. i hope this makes sense so bear
with me. lol!
weve been homeschooling for 7 years. we are happy with the results &
are happy all around as a family. We never had any probs with our
previous methods of homeschooling. it worked for us. we used the cmm
method & we were very eclectic at the time. we have always been close,
open, & honest with the girls. we talk with them & vice versa. we are
attentive to their needs & feelings. when our youngest (& not our last
child that's for sure! lol) was born we unschooled for almost a year
but then went back to homeschooling because the girls missed the
structure i guess. (& so did mum i will admit.) hubby doesn't mind
what method or style we use. he is for them being at home bottom line.
he feels what i am doing is right & as long as everyone is happy
that's cool with him. the girls & i (when hubby is at work or out of
town hunting) together enjoy sharing our interests & just hanging out.
when hubby is home we do this together.
the girls help around the house without us asking. we do chores
together. they love to cook/bake & are handy. very mechanically
inclined. especially our oldest. there are no bedtimes & hasnt been in
7 years! we try not to place too many restrictions on them. we are
looked at in the neighborhood, by our friends, & in the family as very
"cool" parents! the ones with the tats who dont conform not to mention
the openness we have with our girls.
currently we are watching our favorite show babylon 5 (i have the
whole series on dvd-all 5 seasons) in the evenings. usually on mon &
tues we (the girls & i) camp out in our bedroom. we love to discuss
the characters & the worlds with their high tech space life. we refer
to the books on the show (i have them all. lol!) when we dont get
something. we watch it every year along with centennial. (which we
have on vhs & a childhood fav of mine!) we tape a lot of our fav
sci-fi/fantasy shows & educational shows to watch during the
afternoon. hubby is not watching with us this time around cuz he is
busy attending the tech college for his associate degree on mon & tues
nights after work. he comes in around 10 p.m. on these nights.
since they were very young we have kept a lot of art supplies, dvds,
computer & ps2 games, videos, crafts, board games, books, puzzles, &
other resources always available for them. we have a big interest
together in religion/spirituality, history & science fiction/fantasy.
last march we-the girls & i decided to make our very own "spirit
book". it is an ongoing project! it is filled with religious &
spiritual online info & personal info we have found on the net & have
written ourselves. it is eclectic. we have everything from catholic,
christian topics to paganism topics. there are 3 binders with almost
600 pages to date. we often refer to these binders. it is another one
of my legacies to our children. the girls even started their own
spirit books!
we attend zoos, take trips, go hunting, (oldest) museums, concerts,
enjoy nature, & other functions together as a family.
thanks again to anyone who responds. :) Amethyst
the transition from homeschooling to unschooling. i have been reading
the unschooling handbook & gave our oldest the teenage liberation
handbook to read as well. i have also been pouring over sandras site &
these boards.
we believe life experience is the BEST teacher. what they learn from
us as their parents & their own personal experiences are better than
what the school system could ever teach them! unschooling has been our
desire the past few months. i still have questions about math. that is
the subject that bothers me most. our oldest is not strong in math. i
worry for her future in that regard. she knows her basic math & i know
deep down this is all that matters. why do i worry so much about this?
especially since she is getting closer to age 18. she has no desire to
go on to school. no college or tech school. the girls love to read &
write so no worries there. our middle girl is quick with math. we dont
use workbooks or textbooks either. never have. we believe they are
very well rounded! both girls tell me often how glad they are to be
home after hearing the horrors of p.s./private school from their
friends & family. they feel they arent missing out on anything special.
we have discussed this many times. the girls want to unschool & i want
them to be happy. so that is the direction we will take. if others
here have EVER been in our position, how did you make the transition
to unschooling? how did you let all the fears melt away? i would
appreciate hearing about what others have done. thanks!
*now for a little background info. i hope this makes sense so bear
with me. lol!
weve been homeschooling for 7 years. we are happy with the results &
are happy all around as a family. We never had any probs with our
previous methods of homeschooling. it worked for us. we used the cmm
method & we were very eclectic at the time. we have always been close,
open, & honest with the girls. we talk with them & vice versa. we are
attentive to their needs & feelings. when our youngest (& not our last
child that's for sure! lol) was born we unschooled for almost a year
but then went back to homeschooling because the girls missed the
structure i guess. (& so did mum i will admit.) hubby doesn't mind
what method or style we use. he is for them being at home bottom line.
he feels what i am doing is right & as long as everyone is happy
that's cool with him. the girls & i (when hubby is at work or out of
town hunting) together enjoy sharing our interests & just hanging out.
when hubby is home we do this together.
the girls help around the house without us asking. we do chores
together. they love to cook/bake & are handy. very mechanically
inclined. especially our oldest. there are no bedtimes & hasnt been in
7 years! we try not to place too many restrictions on them. we are
looked at in the neighborhood, by our friends, & in the family as very
"cool" parents! the ones with the tats who dont conform not to mention
the openness we have with our girls.
currently we are watching our favorite show babylon 5 (i have the
whole series on dvd-all 5 seasons) in the evenings. usually on mon &
tues we (the girls & i) camp out in our bedroom. we love to discuss
the characters & the worlds with their high tech space life. we refer
to the books on the show (i have them all. lol!) when we dont get
something. we watch it every year along with centennial. (which we
have on vhs & a childhood fav of mine!) we tape a lot of our fav
sci-fi/fantasy shows & educational shows to watch during the
afternoon. hubby is not watching with us this time around cuz he is
busy attending the tech college for his associate degree on mon & tues
nights after work. he comes in around 10 p.m. on these nights.
since they were very young we have kept a lot of art supplies, dvds,
computer & ps2 games, videos, crafts, board games, books, puzzles, &
other resources always available for them. we have a big interest
together in religion/spirituality, history & science fiction/fantasy.
last march we-the girls & i decided to make our very own "spirit
book". it is an ongoing project! it is filled with religious &
spiritual online info & personal info we have found on the net & have
written ourselves. it is eclectic. we have everything from catholic,
christian topics to paganism topics. there are 3 binders with almost
600 pages to date. we often refer to these binders. it is another one
of my legacies to our children. the girls even started their own
spirit books!
we attend zoos, take trips, go hunting, (oldest) museums, concerts,
enjoy nature, & other functions together as a family.
thanks again to anyone who responds. :) Amethyst
[email protected]
> i still have questions about math. that ishttp://sandradodd.com/timestables
> the subject that bothers me most. our oldest is not strong in math. i
> worry for her future in that regard. she knows her basic math & i know
> deep down this is all that matters. why do i worry so much about this?
>
There's no more to really say. People worry. It's not helpful.
-=- if others
here have EVER been in our position, how did you make the transition
to unschooling? how did you let all the fears melt away?-=-
Been in your position in what way?
Lots of people have been in all the whole range of positions. There's only
one way to understand unschooling, and that's to try it a little, gain a
little confidence, and go some more. You can't jump across a football field, but
you can walk across or run across or crawl or roll across. You just have to
make the first move. If you're closer to the other side than you were before
and you like that, make another move.
-=-
currently we are watching our favorite show babylon 5 (i have the
whole series on dvd-all 5 seasons)-=-
My husband loves those, but he's the only one who is of that religion. <g>
I've thought of watching them so we can discuss them, but it just doesn't
appeal to me much so I stall.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
Amethyst,
I am fairly new here but I also homeschooled for a few years before I
actually made the full transition to unschooling. It sounds to me that you have
all the bases covered when it comes to what's most important.
As Sandra said" People worry It's not helpful"
I for one still have the days where I worry. But then I realize what I am
doing and go back to living a happy life with my children and trust all will
be fine. I know I have made the right choice. As long as you don't start
throwing worksheets and tests at them (grin) It will all even out!
It took me a year and a half to make the full trasition.Just take one step
at a time and you will start seeing the things they learn all on there on in
there own time(yes Math too)
If they need the further math skills besides basic.....they will know what
they need to know.
My husband taught himself chemistry at the age of 28 due to a job position.
Anyone can do it if they need to or choose to.
Hope this helps!!!!
Tonya
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I am fairly new here but I also homeschooled for a few years before I
actually made the full transition to unschooling. It sounds to me that you have
all the bases covered when it comes to what's most important.
As Sandra said" People worry It's not helpful"
I for one still have the days where I worry. But then I realize what I am
doing and go back to living a happy life with my children and trust all will
be fine. I know I have made the right choice. As long as you don't start
throwing worksheets and tests at them (grin) It will all even out!
It took me a year and a half to make the full trasition.Just take one step
at a time and you will start seeing the things they learn all on there on in
there own time(yes Math too)
If they need the further math skills besides basic.....they will know what
they need to know.
My husband taught himself chemistry at the age of 28 due to a job position.
Anyone can do it if they need to or choose to.
Hope this helps!!!!
Tonya
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]