What do you do all day?
[email protected]
In a message dated 7/30/2000 2:59:47 AM US Mountain Standard Time,
[email protected] writes:
<< May I ask what a typical day of unschooling is for others? Do you have
I know that unschools. I now know what it means for my family... so heres an
example of a week that we've had and it isn't typical because there isn't any
such thing in my family as it varies with whatever else is going on. I'm
going to break it down into morning and afternoon otherwise it would take up
about 10,00000 pages.
Monday Morning - Max up at 5:30am, Zak up at 6:30am. Breakfast. Zak wants
to play Madeline Grade 1 Math on the computer (Zak's 4) to learn more about
numbers. He plays on the computer for about 3 hours. I'm cleaning house
with Max following me around while doing it. Stop into Zak's room and see if
he needs me periodically. Couple of times he asks me about numbers and we
get his dinosaurs out on the floor of his room and put them in rows according
to the number he's counting. While the dinosaurs are on the floor he asks
about where they came from and if they are still alive. I pull out a book in
his closet about dinosaurs and we looks at those pictures for about 5 mins
before he wants to go back to Madeline. Max is watching all this
interaction. I put Max down for a nap and work on my business for 45 mins,
while Zak is still on the computer.
Afternoon: Dylan comes over for a playdate (he lives next door and is the
typical daycare - through public school, son of a single mother child)...
They get along great. They play in the garden baseball, decide they are
going to take their clothes off and run through the sprinkler (It's 109
degrees here). Max plays in the sand while Dylans' mother and I catch up on
what's going on. Zak tells Dylan about counting dinosaurs and they decide to
go look at them in his room.... After 40 mins they call out for help. Zak
wants to know what is America? Dylan has been talking about living in
Tucson, Arizona, USA and Zak wants to know what that means. I get out his
globe and show him where I was born in England and Where we live now in the
US. He seems quite happy about that and pulls out a map book he's got to
show Dylan all the other places we've looked at one the map.
Grocery Store.. .Zak helps me pick food out by prices. Max holds packages
and tries to eat them. I ask Zak to get me items that have a 5 and 6 in them
and count how many he has. He does this happily.
Steve comes home and takes over: Lots of play and racing and chasing around
the house with both boys. Steve baths them both... Zak and Steve watch a DK
video about the Jungle. We went to the zoo the other day and Zak wanted to
see where Elephants came from. Again we talk about where places are such as
Africa.
This is just one day and varies greatly by whatever we are doing. Of course
it may seem to lots of people that we don't do anything but we do lots. I
didn't even add about the socialization he gets from going to the grocery
store where he talks to lots of people. I ask him to ask for the cheese and
turkey breast and he weighs the fruit and veg and I have him put things in
bags for me.
I'm sure this is different from other people as well, but as far as I'm
concerned that's what unshcooling is all about. If you read between the
lines you can see what Zak learned that one day.
Hope this helps
Dawn F
Tucson, AZ
[email protected] writes:
<< May I ask what a typical day of unschooling is for others? Do you have
> certain lesson plans that you go with? Also, do any of you enroll yourThis is a good question and one that I asked over and over again of everyone
> children in classes given by the school districts >>
I know that unschools. I now know what it means for my family... so heres an
example of a week that we've had and it isn't typical because there isn't any
such thing in my family as it varies with whatever else is going on. I'm
going to break it down into morning and afternoon otherwise it would take up
about 10,00000 pages.
Monday Morning - Max up at 5:30am, Zak up at 6:30am. Breakfast. Zak wants
to play Madeline Grade 1 Math on the computer (Zak's 4) to learn more about
numbers. He plays on the computer for about 3 hours. I'm cleaning house
with Max following me around while doing it. Stop into Zak's room and see if
he needs me periodically. Couple of times he asks me about numbers and we
get his dinosaurs out on the floor of his room and put them in rows according
to the number he's counting. While the dinosaurs are on the floor he asks
about where they came from and if they are still alive. I pull out a book in
his closet about dinosaurs and we looks at those pictures for about 5 mins
before he wants to go back to Madeline. Max is watching all this
interaction. I put Max down for a nap and work on my business for 45 mins,
while Zak is still on the computer.
Afternoon: Dylan comes over for a playdate (he lives next door and is the
typical daycare - through public school, son of a single mother child)...
They get along great. They play in the garden baseball, decide they are
going to take their clothes off and run through the sprinkler (It's 109
degrees here). Max plays in the sand while Dylans' mother and I catch up on
what's going on. Zak tells Dylan about counting dinosaurs and they decide to
go look at them in his room.... After 40 mins they call out for help. Zak
wants to know what is America? Dylan has been talking about living in
Tucson, Arizona, USA and Zak wants to know what that means. I get out his
globe and show him where I was born in England and Where we live now in the
US. He seems quite happy about that and pulls out a map book he's got to
show Dylan all the other places we've looked at one the map.
Grocery Store.. .Zak helps me pick food out by prices. Max holds packages
and tries to eat them. I ask Zak to get me items that have a 5 and 6 in them
and count how many he has. He does this happily.
Steve comes home and takes over: Lots of play and racing and chasing around
the house with both boys. Steve baths them both... Zak and Steve watch a DK
video about the Jungle. We went to the zoo the other day and Zak wanted to
see where Elephants came from. Again we talk about where places are such as
Africa.
This is just one day and varies greatly by whatever we are doing. Of course
it may seem to lots of people that we don't do anything but we do lots. I
didn't even add about the socialization he gets from going to the grocery
store where he talks to lots of people. I ask him to ask for the cheese and
turkey breast and he weighs the fruit and veg and I have him put things in
bags for me.
I'm sure this is different from other people as well, but as far as I'm
concerned that's what unshcooling is all about. If you read between the
lines you can see what Zak learned that one day.
Hope this helps
Dawn F
Tucson, AZ