Susan

Hi! this is wonderful!
My name is Susan I also live in WA state (Chehalis) I took my 13 yo
daughter out of ps in April. I am an RN, I work part-time nights. Until
very recently (thanks to the internet) I had no idea this was possible. My
daughter truly believes she is stupid. We have struggled for years with
homework, ect.. I started with a school @ home schedule but I am learning
fast!
Her attitude is already much brighter.
Talk Later
Susan R

aworthen

Welcome Newbies,
I'm Amy, unschooling mom of three girls, ages 7, 4, and 2. We live in MA with my dh Keith, our dog and 2 cats. Hope you enjoy the list.
Amy
Mom to Samantha, Dana, and Casey
The World Is Our Classroom

shazdb

Hi all,

I just joined the group. I'm from BC Canada. I started
homeschooling my son in 2000. We started with Distance Education
and after a while found the work load overwhelming. We have
recently changed to be a part of the local school district's
homelearner's program and now finding that the expectations being
impose is still too much.

We thought that by changing programs we would be much able to do
more of things that interest my child more, but trying to complete
all the school district expectations doesn't give us much time to
pursue much other things.

I read a little bit about unschooling, but am still unsure about how
and if it really works. I want my child to have lots of flexibility
but I also want to make sure that he is learning what he needs to.

I'm sure my concerns are very similar to others when they start
out. But I would like to hear more about how things are going with
unschoolers, what they do and how the kids are learning.

Thanks,
shaz

catherine aceto

Original post:
I read a little bit about unschooling, but am still unsure about how
and if it really works. I want my child to have lots of flexibility
but I also want to make sure that he is learning what he needs to.

******************************************

What do you think he needs to learn?

-cat



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Kelli Traaseth

----- Original Message -----
From: shazdb

**I read a little bit about unschooling, but am still unsure about how
and if it really works.**
*********************************

I would read more. Really.
Have you read at unschooling.com and at Sandra's site?

When I started unschooling, I learned so much from both of those sites. And also from asking questions here. :)

I think I read for days on stuff. Pretty much immersed myself in unschooling. That is what got me to a place where I felt secure in what I was doing and what my kids were doing.


***I want my child to have lots of flexibility
but I also want to make sure that he is learning what he needs to.**

******************************

If you allow your son to do what he enjoys, he will learn what he needs. He will find his passions and they will lead to all sorts of paths that you never would have dreamt of! Sandra has some stories like these at her site, I think the typical days section and strewing are good. (Well, all of them are good, but those are sections that might relate to what you asked.)

The longer time we unschool the more I see how freedom for my children opens up a whole new world for them. The have the whole world to learn from so how could they not learn what they need?? My job is to then assist them in their journey. Some of my responsibilities lately: driving them to places(visiting friends, shopping), finding craft items(my dd wants to start making Valentine stuff), grocery shopping(my ds, wanted to plan, cook and "present"a fancy dinner for all of us), remember times for them (special TV shows,meeting times for Yu-Gi-Oh playing), getting magazine subscriptions for them (strewing), finding web sites for them(more strewing). Researching, researching, researching.... never knew I'd be a research scientist when I became a Mom! <g> I love it!

Enough about me,

Keep reading Shaz and let your doubts go!

Kelli~





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[email protected]

In a message dated 1/7/04 9:46:34 AM, tktraas@... writes:

<< Sandra has some stories like these at her site, I think the typical days
section and strewing are good. >>

sandradodd.com/typical

sandradodd.com/strewing

(I tried to name main pages so that people could guess their names, or at
least remember them.)

-=-**I read a little bit about unschooling, but am still unsure about how
and if it really works.**-=-

If it didn't work why would there be even ONE book or website? Why would
anyone have done it for years if it didn't work?

If it didn't work, I'd have my kids in school. But school doesn't work very
well. It has a very high failure rate, a very low satisfaction rate, and it
doesn't respect children as individuals.

Sandra

Tia Leschke

>
>I just joined the group. I'm from BC Canada.

So am I, near Victoria. Where are you?

> I started
>homeschooling my son in 2000. We started with Distance Education
>and after a while found the work load overwhelming. We have
>recently changed to be a part of the local school district's
>homelearner's program and now finding that the expectations being
>impose is still too much.

Have a look at the Wondertree Self-Design program. We changed from the
Nechako E-bus this year when they got too rigid for unschoolers. At
Wondertree we have to log hours of learning, but everything counts. I write
down movies Lars watches, all his sports activities, driving practice (he's
16), trail and stunt building that he does for his mountain biking.
Whatever. It all counts. So if you don't mind telling them what he does but
don't want to be told what he has to do, Wondertree might be for you.
www.wondertree.org. Check out the Self-Design program.


>I read a little bit about unschooling, but am still unsure about how
>and if it really works. I want my child to have lots of flexibility
>but I also want to make sure that he is learning what he needs to.

I'll echo here what Sandra said to someone else. Try to just read and
absorb what people tell you about unschooling for awhile without getting
defensive about their answers. (The reason for telling people to read for a
couple of weeks first - people *do* get all defensive and then can't really
hear what people are telling them and go away in a huff.)


>I'm sure my concerns are very similar to others when they start
>out. But I would like to hear more about how things are going with
>unschoolers, what they do and how the kids are learning.

My son only learned to read at age 12 after pushing from me (something I
regret now) and then didn't want to read for another 4 years or so. He's
only just now starting to read voluntarily, first non-fiction and lately
fiction. And I'm really happy with the way unschooling is going. There's
lots that he doesn't know that schooled or schooled-at-home kids "know". He
can learn those things if and when he needs them. He also knows lots of
things those other kids don't know. He's far more responsible than most
other kids his age. Adults comment often about how much they like him. (His
girlfriend wasn't going to be allowed to date until she was 16, coming in
February, but her mother let her go out with Lars because she likes him -
and trusts him.)
Tia

[email protected]

In a message dated 1/7/2004 1:01:39 PM Central Standard Time, leschke@...
writes:


> There's
> lots that he doesn't know that schooled or schooled-at-home kids "know". He
> can learn those things if and when he needs them. He also knows lots of
> things those other kids don't know.

Oh thank you!!!! I have been thinking about this for a good while now but
have felt like a heretic when I have actually ventured to say it out loud. The
problem has been that I'm not really at a point where I have explored my
argument (for lack of better word) enough (due to lack of someone to talk to about
it) to feel totally at ease discussing it with someone who would challenge it. I
am not afraid of being challenged it's just that I have kind of come to this
conclusion in my own way and have nothing save my own experience to back it
up. (I mean my own life of learning)

Laura - Ohio


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Tia Leschke

>
>
>-=-**I read a little bit about unschooling, but am still unsure about how
> and if it really works.**-=-
>
>If it didn't work why would there be even ONE book or website? Why would
>anyone have done it for years if it didn't work?

Well, the Ezzos have a website and books. <g> I suppose you could say that
their method "works", at least in the way *they* want it to.
Tia