Earth Moon

>
> > > Hi. I have a 3 year old daughter and I am planning on homeschooling
> > > her. I am new to this and looking for all the information I can find.
> > > Anyone from Arkansas? Would love to hear from someone. Thnaks.
> > > Melissa
> > >

I love The Teenage Liberation Handbook by Grace Lewellyn (sp?) and Growing
Without Schooling Magazine is wonderful, too :)
ANYTHING by John Holt will inspire and give you confidence in the learning
ability of your kids. The Natural Child Project is full of amazing
articles www.naturalchild.org

earthmoon, the spirited 3yo pooter and little bean due in Jan
Please come join us on the Positive Parenting e-list
at: http://www.egroups.com/group/PositiveParenting-Discipline
what did people do before diapers? what we're doing now :) Come check out
my Elimination Communication e-list
: http://www.egroups.com/group/eliminationcommunication
We've got to give kids independent time right away because that is the key
to self-knowledge, and we must re-involve them with the real world as fast
as possible so that the independent time can be spent on something other
than more abstraction. This is an emergency, it requires drastic action to
correct - our children are dying like flies in schooling, good schooling or
bad schooling, it's all the same. Irrelevant.

aworthen

Hi Melissa,
Welcome to the list and the wonderful world of homeschooling! I'm Amy
Unschooling mom to 3 girls 7, 4, and 2. One of my first suggestions is to
get out of the mindset that you are planning on hsing..you already are and
have been for 3 years. My second suggestion is read everything you can get
your hands on. For starters, you can try: The Homeschooling Book of Answers
by Linda Dobson, And the Skylark Sings With Me by David Albert, The Big Book
of Home Learning-Getting Started-Vol.1 By Mary Pride and The Successful
Homeschool Family Handbook by Raymond and Dorothy Moore. Good Luck.
Amy

----- Original Message -----
From: Melissa Wood <bbsmum@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, July 30, 2000 9:40 PM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] new to group


> Hi. I have a 3 year old daughter and I am planning on homeschooling
> her. I am new to this and looking for all the information I can find.
> Anyone from Arkansas? Would love to hear from someone. Thnaks.
> Melissa
>
>
>
>
> Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
> Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
>
> Addresses:
> Post message: [email protected]
> Unsubscribe: [email protected]
> List owner: [email protected]
> List settings page: http://www.egroups.com/group/Unschooling-dotcom
>
>

Tracy Oldfield

seconded! with the addition of Mary Griffith's Unschooling
Handbook! Welcome, Melissa!

Tracy

On 31 Jul 2000, at 20:22, aworthen wrote:

Hi Melissa,
Welcome to the list and the wonderful world of
homeschooling! I'm Amy
Unschooling mom to 3 girls 7, 4, and 2. One of my first
suggestions is to
get out of the mindset that you are planning on
hsing..you already are and
have been for 3 years. My second suggestion is read
everything you can get
your hands on.

Cathie _

Don't forget Home Education Magazine-Helen or Mark, what are the names of
the books with letters from the magazine? I got one of them from the library
the first year we hs'd and it was great to hear what other people were
doing.

Cathie

>From: "aworthen" <aworthen@...>

>Hi Melissa,
>Welcome to the list and the wonderful world of homeschooling! I'm Amy
>Unschooling mom to 3 girls 7, 4, and 2. One of my first suggestions is to
>get out of the mindset that you are planning on hsing..you already are and
>have been for 3 years. My second suggestion is read everything you can get
>your hands on. For starters, you can try: The Homeschooling Book of Answers
>by Linda Dobson, And the Skylark Sings With Me by David Albert, The Big
>Book
>of Home Learning-Getting Started-Vol.1 By Mary Pride and The Successful
>Homeschool Family Handbook by Raymond and Dorothy Moore. Good Luck.
>Amy
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Melissa Wood <bbsmum@...>
>To: <[email protected]>
>Sent: Sunday, July 30, 2000 9:40 PM
>Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] new to group
>
>
> > Hi. I have a 3 year old daughter and I am planning on homeschooling
> > her. I am new to this and looking for all the information I can find.
> > Anyone from Arkansas? Would love to hear from someone. Thnaks.
> > Melissa
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
> > Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
> >
> > Addresses:
> > Post message: [email protected]
> > Unsubscribe: [email protected]
> > List owner: [email protected]
> > List settings page: http://www.egroups.com/group/Unschooling-dotcom
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
>Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
>
>Addresses:
>Post message: [email protected]
>Unsubscribe: [email protected]
>List owner: [email protected]
>List settings page: http://www.egroups.com/group/Unschooling-dotcom
>
>

________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

LisaKK

Are you thinking of "The Homeschool Reader"? It's one of my favorite
books...... and um.. could it be time for a 3rd edition? Or maybe an
"Unschool Reader.........

Lisa, taking chances tonight for sure. <G>
-----Original Message-----
From: Cathie _ <cathie_98@...>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Date: Monday, July 31, 2000 11:23 PM
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] new to group


>
>Don't forget Home Education Magazine-Helen or Mark, what are the names of
>the books with letters from the magazine? I got one of them from the
library
>the first year we hs'd and it was great to hear what other people were
>doing.
>
>Cathie
>
>>From: "aworthen" <aworthen@...>
>
>>Hi Melissa,
>>Welcome to the list and the wonderful world of homeschooling! I'm Amy
>>Unschooling mom to 3 girls 7, 4, and 2. One of my first suggestions is to
>>get out of the mindset that you are planning on hsing..you already are
and
>>have been for 3 years. My second suggestion is read everything you can get
>>your hands on. For starters, you can try: The Homeschooling Book of
Answers
>>by Linda Dobson, And the Skylark Sings With Me by David Albert, The Big
>>Book
>>of Home Learning-Getting Started-Vol.1 By Mary Pride and The Successful
>>Homeschool Family Handbook by Raymond and Dorothy Moore. Good Luck.
>>Amy
>>
>>----- Original Message -----
>>From: Melissa Wood <bbsmum@...>
>>To: <[email protected]>
>>Sent: Sunday, July 30, 2000 9:40 PM
>>Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] new to group
>>
>>
>> > Hi. I have a 3 year old daughter and I am planning on homeschooling
>> > her. I am new to this and looking for all the information I can find.
>> > Anyone from Arkansas? Would love to hear from someone. Thnaks.
>> > Melissa
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
>> > Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
>> >
>> > Addresses:
>> > Post message: [email protected]
>> > Unsubscribe: [email protected]
>> > List owner: [email protected]
>> > List settings page: http://www.egroups.com/group/Unschooling-dotcom
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
>>Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
>>
>>Addresses:
>>Post message: [email protected]
>>Unsubscribe: [email protected]
>>List owner: [email protected]
>>List settings page: http://www.egroups.com/group/Unschooling-dotcom
>>
>>
>
>________________________________________________________________________
>Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
>
>
>
>
>Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
>Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
>
>Addresses:
>Post message: [email protected]
>Unsubscribe: [email protected]
>List owner: [email protected]
>List settings page: http://www.egroups.com/group/Unschooling-dotcom
>
>
>

David Albert

LisaKK wrote:

> Are you thinking of "The Homeschool Reader"? It's one of my favorite
> books...... and um.. could it be time for a 3rd edition?

It's coming soon! (I just read the galleys, and it's great!)

David


--
"And the Skylark Sings with Me is to homeschooling what Tom Paine's "Common
Sense" was to the American Revolution."-Greg Bates, Common Courage Press. to
read a sample chapter or reviews, or to check out my speaking schedule, visit my
website -- www.skylarksings.com -- or send an e-mail to shantinik@...

LisaKK

>> Are you thinking of "The Homeschool Reader"? It's one of my favorite
>> books...... and um.. could it be time for a 3rd edition?
>
>It's coming soon! (I just read the galleys, and it's great!)
>
>David

Well, I'll be!
>
>
>--
>"And the Skylark Sings with Me is to homeschooling what Tom Paine's "Common
>Sense" was to the American Revolution."-Greg Bates, Common Courage Press.
to
>read a sample chapter or reviews, or to check out my speaking schedule,
visit my
>website -- www.skylarksings.com -- or send an e-mail to
shantinik@...
>
>
>
>
>
>Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
>Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
>
>Addresses:
>Post message: [email protected]
>Unsubscribe: [email protected]
>List owner: [email protected]
>List settings page: http://www.egroups.com/group/Unschooling-dotcom
>
>
>

Helen Hegener

At 4:22 AM +0000 8/1/00, Cathie _ wrote:
>Don't forget Home Education Magazine-Helen or Mark, what are the names of
>the books with letters from the magazine? I got one of them from the library
>the first year we hs'd and it was great to hear what other people were
>doing.

Do you mean articles? That would be our book "The Homeschool Reader:
Collected Articles from Home Education Magazine." We published a
collection of the best articles in the first edition in 1985, and
then added more in the second revised edition in 1994, but the book
is now out of print. Many libraries still have copies, however - it
was the first homeschooling book to reach the Library Top Ten List!

Helen

Helen Hegener

At 11:38 PM -0500 7/31/00, LisaKK wrote:
>Are you thinking of "The Homeschool Reader"? It's one of my favorite
>books...... and um.. could it be time for a 3rd edition? Or maybe an
>"Unschool Reader.........

LOL, Lisa! Maybe if some big mainstream publisher took an interest,
but we got out of the book publishing end of this business many years
ago.

Helen

Helen Hegener

At 9:54 PM -0700 7/31/00, David Albert wrote:
>LisaKK wrote:
>
> > Are you thinking of "The Homeschool Reader"? It's one of my favorite
> > books...... and um.. could it be time for a 3rd edition?
>
>It's coming soon! (I just read the galleys, and it's great!)

Say what? And all this is going on without me having a clue? Hmmm...

I think you're thinking of Jean Reed's revision of "The Home School
Source Book," from Brook Farm Books, David. We received that
well-worn volume today with an Olympia postmark and I thought to
myself "Hmmm... I know where *this* galley's been..."

It is terrific, isn't it? Lillian reviews it for our Sept/Oct issue!

<g>
Helen

[email protected]

In a message dated 8/11/2000 9:22:02 PM Pacific Daylight Time, j1986@...
writes:

> I have just recently heard about unschooling, but I have heard so many
things
> from different people that contradict each other.
> I would also love any advise you may have. Thanks
> Dianna
>

You're still gonna get a lot of that! (contradictions, I mean)

Essentially (IMO) homeschool is any activity that is education at home rather
than a traditional school. Well, that isn't good either. How about
education directed by the parents/guardians/family and based from home...?
Unschooled is less structure. For some it means no structure and strictly
child-led.

I avoid grade labeling. At first it was difficult for ds to know how to
answer when someone asked what grade he was in; he felt like he somehow
didn't belong because he didn't have a label like everyone else he knew. So,
I took opportunities to point out to him when he had just learned something
and say something like 'Look! You just counted the correct change to the
clerk. That counts as our math lesson for the day.' A few examples and he
started feeling more confident that he was getting enough 'school'.

Now when someone asks what grade he's in, he simply responds that we
homeschool and don't use grade categories!

He will be 12 in October. He has never been to ps. We have at times tried a
more structured approach, but always fall off the wagon. I finally gave
myself permission to decide that our homeschool style was unstructured and
we've done great every since! At first I got real nervous about the 'what if
we miss something' dilemma. But, as time has gone on I see how silly I was
to be concerned. There is no way to STOP ds from learning! He explores
things on his own. When I insist on a time table or set curriculum, I get in
his way.

I still use a text for math, but not for any other subjects. That may change
in the future, depending on the needs as we go. Even the math text is used
very loosely. We don't follow the schedule and will do a lot of on again,
off again work. It often depends on the weather! If it's dreary outside (or
too hot!) we'll do more inside things which may include the math text.

As for assessments...I rely on conversations with my child. I can clearly
tell he understands use of the English language, for instance (or at least
our Americanized version!). He often comes to me with a theory he has come
up with about xyz which will lead to exploration to discover if he is
correct. It truly amazes me what I can learn about my child by just talking
and sharing with him.

We read a lot aloud and silently. I have him read to me as well as my
reading to him. Family reading time leads to great discussions and lets me
know how well he is understanding what he reads and the world around him.
The questions he asks as we are reading are great clues. For instance, the
reading might have the word 'racism' in it; he has difficulty pronouncing the
word, so we sound it out; then he asks what it means and it leads to a
discussion. Now, the next time we run into that topic, we'll have a
different discussion and I can tell he's learned from one time to another.

As for nouns, verbs, etc. As far as I'm concerned an 8 yr old has no need to
worry about such things. If he can instinctively put together decent
sentence structure, who cares whether he knows how many nouns, verbs,
adverbs, adjectives, etc., were used in the sentence.

Best real life use I've ever had for such information was a fill-in-the blank
story game asking me to list nouns, verbs, etc., which were then put into a
story line. Very humorous and lots of fun, but hardly an essential life
skill.

Eiraul

aworthen

 
----- Original Message -----
From: Joseph May
Sent: Saturday, August 12, 2000 12:17 AM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] new to group
 
Welcome Dianna,
I'm Amy unschooling mom to 3 girls, 7, 4, and 2. I will attempt to answer your questions, but I think there are a lot of variables in unschooling. Keep in mind this is what works best for my family.
 
    I am a little confused about homeschool vs. unschool.
 
I think the biggest difference is that the learning is child led vs. parent led. I do not assign any work to my kids. I do however, have workboks and texts available to them anytime they want. Some unschoolers I know do not have any such materials in their homes at all.
 
   1. How do you know if your kids are learning all the basics.
       Nouns, verbs, etc.?
 
A lot of this is simply a matter of trusting the proccess of natural learning. I have a little one around the house, so it's easy for me to be reminded of this. I watch the leaps and bounds that she grows and learns by everyday and so much of it is natural. I did not teach her how to walk, yet she does. I did not teach her how to talk, yet her vocabulary grows everyday. I have to trust that the older ones are learning in this manner also. for some added reassurance you could also check out the core knowledge series. "What your x grader needs to know"
 
    2. Do you say you are in a certain grade?
 
We do, simply because I find it easier when we're out and about. A lot of things, like scouts and sports go by grade level. We do not do this at home however. MY oldest dd would be entering gr. 2 this fall, but a lot of her reading skills are only 1st grade level and a lot of her math is 3rd or 4th grade level.
 
       3. Do you use any type of worktext items at all?
 
I guess I answered this under # 1.
 
Hope this helps :)
Amy
Mom to Samantha, Dana, and Casey
 


[email protected]

Welcome to the group I am sure that you will find your answers here. This is
a great loop

Candy
"I never let schoolin interfer with my education"
Mark Twain

[email protected]

In a message dated 8/12/2000 4:23:59 AM, j1986@... writes:

<<1. How do you know if your kids are learning all the basics.

Nouns, verbs, etc.?

2. Do you say you are in a certain grade?

3. Do you use any type of worktext items at all?>>

3. I have a friend who's kids sincerely love workbooks, so they use them.
My son really dislikes them, so we don't use them.

2. I find it social convenient to be able to answer the grade question, so
if it came up, I would say, "He's a 1st grader."

1. I define basics pretty narrowly right now. To me the basics are reading
and computing, at this age. I can see my son progressing in what he reads
(road signs and comic strips, was nothing 2 months ago) and the complexity of
the math questions he asks me ("what's a billion plus 2"). He's been exposed
to the terms "noun", "verb" and "adjective" from MadLibs, but doesn't deeply
grasp them yet. I'm confident that he'll understand it more easily when his
brain is more mature.

Betsy