Re: typical day
Russ Anderson
Hi Carol,
No 'typical' day for our family, but heres some of the things our girls have
done in the past 2 months or so. Some days it seems nothing is going on, and
then others are very busy. Writing just fits in when there is a need for it.
I have 3 daughters, ages 16, 10 and 5 yrs.
The oldest takes gymnastics & piano lessons, so a big part of her day is
spent practicing both of those.. She also has a part time job 2 days a week
working at an Art Print Shop. She is into survivalist/nature stuff right
now..learning animal tracking and finding out about wild edibles and making
outdoor shelters. She is also planning an extended backpacking trip just as
soon as it warms up. She just finished with an in-depth study of Ireland
after reading the book "Angelas Ashes". She works on art projects, likes to
paint animal forms on rocks..and is now learning pysanky. She has many
e-pals and spends time writing letters..is also working on her own web page.
She recently took an on-line writing class taught by another homeschool mom.
The 10yo recently discovered books and reads and reads.. the Dear America
series and anything about Dinosaurs. She spends lots of time working on art
stuff as that seems to be the particular 'bent' of our family. Loves to
count her money, and is learning to use the keyboard so she can type her own
emails to a penpal. She plays chess and puts together puzzles. Watches allot
of Wishbone, Animal Planet and Science/History videos we rent from the
library.
The 5yo joins in with most of the 10yo activities. She is also into art and
draws so well for her age. Lots of pretend games with the older sister,
using dolls and stuffed animal collections. We have a real cash register
that the girls love to play store and restaurant with.
We visit the library every other week..and usually have a family read-a-loud
book in progress too. We take indoor field trips in the winter months and go
camping/hiking/fishing in the summer.
Hope that is what you were wanting..I think ended up being more than
'alittle' sorry I tend to get long winded.
Blessings,
Julie in MO
No 'typical' day for our family, but heres some of the things our girls have
done in the past 2 months or so. Some days it seems nothing is going on, and
then others are very busy. Writing just fits in when there is a need for it.
I have 3 daughters, ages 16, 10 and 5 yrs.
The oldest takes gymnastics & piano lessons, so a big part of her day is
spent practicing both of those.. She also has a part time job 2 days a week
working at an Art Print Shop. She is into survivalist/nature stuff right
now..learning animal tracking and finding out about wild edibles and making
outdoor shelters. She is also planning an extended backpacking trip just as
soon as it warms up. She just finished with an in-depth study of Ireland
after reading the book "Angelas Ashes". She works on art projects, likes to
paint animal forms on rocks..and is now learning pysanky. She has many
e-pals and spends time writing letters..is also working on her own web page.
She recently took an on-line writing class taught by another homeschool mom.
The 10yo recently discovered books and reads and reads.. the Dear America
series and anything about Dinosaurs. She spends lots of time working on art
stuff as that seems to be the particular 'bent' of our family. Loves to
count her money, and is learning to use the keyboard so she can type her own
emails to a penpal. She plays chess and puts together puzzles. Watches allot
of Wishbone, Animal Planet and Science/History videos we rent from the
library.
The 5yo joins in with most of the 10yo activities. She is also into art and
draws so well for her age. Lots of pretend games with the older sister,
using dolls and stuffed animal collections. We have a real cash register
that the girls love to play store and restaurant with.
We visit the library every other week..and usually have a family read-a-loud
book in progress too. We take indoor field trips in the winter months and go
camping/hiking/fishing in the summer.
Hope that is what you were wanting..I think ended up being more than
'alittle' sorry I tend to get long winded.
Blessings,
Julie in MO
>I am interested in hearing a little of a typical day in the life of an
>unschooling family.
>Does each child have a project they are working on?
>How do you approach the art of writing with unschooling?
>Carol in NC
Carol Gilliam
Thanks to all of those who have answered my question as to a typical
unschooling day.
Carol in NC
----------
unschooling day.
Carol in NC
----------
>From: "Russ Anderson" <anderclan@...>
>To: <[email protected]>
>Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] Re: typical day
>Date: Fri, Jan 5, 2001, 8:56 AM
>
>Hi Carol,
>No 'typical' day for our family, but heres some of the things our girls have
>done in the past 2 months or so. Some days it seems nothing is going on, and
>then others are very busy. Writing just fits in when there is a need for it.
>I have 3 daughters, ages 16, 10 and 5 yrs.
>
>The oldest takes gymnastics & piano lessons, so a big part of her day is
>spent practicing both of those.. She also has a part time job 2 days a week
>working at an Art Print Shop. She is into survivalist/nature stuff right
>now..learning animal tracking and finding out about wild edibles and making
>outdoor shelters. She is also planning an extended backpacking trip just as
>soon as it warms up. She just finished with an in-depth study of Ireland
>after reading the book "Angelas Ashes". She works on art projects, likes to
>paint animal forms on rocks..and is now learning pysanky. She has many
>e-pals and spends time writing letters..is also working on her own web page.
>She recently took an on-line writing class taught by another homeschool mom.
>
>The 10yo recently discovered books and reads and reads.. the Dear America
>series and anything about Dinosaurs. She spends lots of time working on art
>stuff as that seems to be the particular 'bent' of our family. Loves to
>count her money, and is learning to use the keyboard so she can type her own
>emails to a penpal. She plays chess and puts together puzzles. Watches allot
>of Wishbone, Animal Planet and Science/History videos we rent from the
>library.
>
>The 5yo joins in with most of the 10yo activities. She is also into art and
>draws so well for her age. Lots of pretend games with the older sister,
>using dolls and stuffed animal collections. We have a real cash register
>that the girls love to play store and restaurant with.
>
>We visit the library every other week..and usually have a family read-a-loud
>book in progress too. We take indoor field trips in the winter months and go
>camping/hiking/fishing in the summer.
>
>Hope that is what you were wanting..I think ended up being more than
>'alittle' sorry I tend to get long winded.
>Blessings,
>Julie in MO
>
>>I am interested in hearing a little of a typical day in the life of an
>>unschooling family.
>>Does each child have a project they are working on?
>>How do you approach the art of writing with unschooling?
>>Carol in NC
>
>
>
>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
>
>
A. Yates
Carol....Where are you in NC?
I am also in NC...in the Western Mountains...almost the foothills of SC.
We are unschoolers too...
Ann
I am also in NC...in the Western Mountains...almost the foothills of SC.
We are unschoolers too...
Ann
[email protected]
In a message dated 1/6/01 1:40:05 AM Eastern Standard Time,
hooperck@... writes:
I'm another western NC girl.....the other end of the foothills, in
Wilkesboro. I have three children and I am homeschooling my youngest two
sons, ages 6 and 9. We just started this year, after Thanksgiving. We began
using Calvert, but we are becoming more like "unschoolers" everyday.
Debi
hooperck@... writes:
Carol....Where are you in NC?
I am also in NC...in the Western Mountains...almost the foothills of SC.
We are unschoolers too...
Ann
I'm another western NC girl.....the other end of the foothills, in
Wilkesboro. I have three children and I am homeschooling my youngest two
sons, ages 6 and 9. We just started this year, after Thanksgiving. We began
using Calvert, but we are becoming more like "unschoolers" everyday.
Debi
[email protected]
Sure is fun reading about everyone's days!
We do a lot of our social studies in the car! Questions will come up and
I have time to answer, since I'm not busy trying to get something else
done (like I always seem to be when I'm home).
Mary Ellen
Gain weight... Stay Active... Get Smarter...
New Year's Resolutions are EASY for Babies!
<Hi and Lois>
you wrote: If we're out and about in the car, lots of different topics
come up. Spelling, math questions, geography, medical stuff, whatever.
We do a lot of our social studies in the car! Questions will come up and
I have time to answer, since I'm not busy trying to get something else
done (like I always seem to be when I'm home).
Mary Ellen
Gain weight... Stay Active... Get Smarter...
New Year's Resolutions are EASY for Babies!
<Hi and Lois>
you wrote: If we're out and about in the car, lots of different topics
come up. Spelling, math questions, geography, medical stuff, whatever.
[email protected]
Hi, we have four children here ages 17, 15, 13, 11. Our typical days at the
moment start very early because the kids all received puppies for Christmas.
The kids decided they wanted to start raising puppies so I took the money I
made in my business this Christmas and bought pups. So now our days start
about 6:00 with whining pups wanting to go out. I let the kids each have half
an hour each morn to use the playstation or pc, whichever they choose. After
that and breakfast the kids wander off to do individual projects while I get
some work done on the pc. For the younger boys this may be drawing, legos, or
building one thing or another. Right now they are in the middle of building
ramps and rails for their bike stunts. My 15 yr. old likes to spend her free
time working with her dog, she trains dogs in obedience. She also enjoys
needlepoint. The 17 year old takes the other computer usually and works on
her web page, helps me with the business, or chats with friends online. She
can type a smooth 75 wpm. She is also our resident builder and often gets out
her power tools and builds something. As I type this she is building a dog
exercise pen. Late morn everyone comes in to go through a Tae Bo tape. If the
weather is nice we often go for a bike ride or run instead. We then take
turns fixing lunch. Whoever is not cooking helps with household chores.
After lunch I do ask that everyone takes some time to read for a while. This
is not a problem as we all enjoy reading. Afternoons are spent in various
ways. There is always work to be done. We usually have a book that we are
reading aloud, we enjoy that. The girls wanted to take Japanese so they
practice and do lessons. They also each play a musical instrument so they
usually practice that too. The boys like to spend some time on the computer.
They also work on a drawing program we bought. Three days a week everyone
lifts weights, it is up to them to work it in and keep track of their
progress. All four find time to work on a monthly newsletter that they send
to distant relatives. Twice a week in the evenings is karate and weekends are
spent at BMX races 8 months out of the year. TV during the day is limited to
an occasional show on the Travel Channel, Discovery, or Animal Planet. Some
of their shows are excellent. The evenings that we are home are spent
preparing the meal and we do a quick house pickup before Dad gets home. All
in all our days just seem to fly by.
peace and grace
Candy
moment start very early because the kids all received puppies for Christmas.
The kids decided they wanted to start raising puppies so I took the money I
made in my business this Christmas and bought pups. So now our days start
about 6:00 with whining pups wanting to go out. I let the kids each have half
an hour each morn to use the playstation or pc, whichever they choose. After
that and breakfast the kids wander off to do individual projects while I get
some work done on the pc. For the younger boys this may be drawing, legos, or
building one thing or another. Right now they are in the middle of building
ramps and rails for their bike stunts. My 15 yr. old likes to spend her free
time working with her dog, she trains dogs in obedience. She also enjoys
needlepoint. The 17 year old takes the other computer usually and works on
her web page, helps me with the business, or chats with friends online. She
can type a smooth 75 wpm. She is also our resident builder and often gets out
her power tools and builds something. As I type this she is building a dog
exercise pen. Late morn everyone comes in to go through a Tae Bo tape. If the
weather is nice we often go for a bike ride or run instead. We then take
turns fixing lunch. Whoever is not cooking helps with household chores.
After lunch I do ask that everyone takes some time to read for a while. This
is not a problem as we all enjoy reading. Afternoons are spent in various
ways. There is always work to be done. We usually have a book that we are
reading aloud, we enjoy that. The girls wanted to take Japanese so they
practice and do lessons. They also each play a musical instrument so they
usually practice that too. The boys like to spend some time on the computer.
They also work on a drawing program we bought. Three days a week everyone
lifts weights, it is up to them to work it in and keep track of their
progress. All four find time to work on a monthly newsletter that they send
to distant relatives. Twice a week in the evenings is karate and weekends are
spent at BMX races 8 months out of the year. TV during the day is limited to
an occasional show on the Travel Channel, Discovery, or Animal Planet. Some
of their shows are excellent. The evenings that we are home are spent
preparing the meal and we do a quick house pickup before Dad gets home. All
in all our days just seem to fly by.
peace and grace
Candy
Carol Gilliam
We are hs 3. 1 dau. 13, sons 12 and 9. This is our second year and I have been studying
up on unschooling. I have tried some Charlotte Mason methods and like a lot of it but
being kind of lazy and seemingly unable to pull everything together for a really organized
cirriculum, I have been reading about unschooling and kind of like some of it's ideas.
I would like to hear anything about how you all accomplish the education of your children.
Carol
----------
From: Threebearsmum@...
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Re: typical day
Date: Sat, Jan 6, 2001, 11:55 AM
In a message dated 1/6/01 1:40:05 AM Eastern Standard Time,
hooperck@... writes:
Carol....Where are you in NC?
I am also in NC...in the Western Mountains...almost the foothills of SC.
We are unschoolers too...
Ann
I'm another western NC girl.....the other end of the foothills, in
Wilkesboro. I have three children and I am homeschooling my youngest two
sons, ages 6 and 9. We just started this year, after Thanksgiving. We began
using Calvert, but we are becoming more like "unschoolers" everyday.
Debi
eGroups Sponsor
Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com <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 <http://www.egroups.com/group/Unschooling-dotcom>
flyerkat
Would anyone be interested in giving me a sample of their typical
day? I am just not getting the hang of this. I'm not very good at
recognizing teachable moments or integrating learning into everyday
life. So frequently I will fall back on structured lessons out of
panic, thinking they are not learning anything if I don't. Maybe if
I saw how others are doing it, I could be inspired. I often wonder
if we are doing enough.
My boys are 4 and 10. The oldest learned to read without much
intervention besides my reading to him. But he doesn't read books on
his own much yet. He does not like to write, hates math (lessons),
loves to surf, skate, fish, dirtbike.
day? I am just not getting the hang of this. I'm not very good at
recognizing teachable moments or integrating learning into everyday
life. So frequently I will fall back on structured lessons out of
panic, thinking they are not learning anything if I don't. Maybe if
I saw how others are doing it, I could be inspired. I often wonder
if we are doing enough.
My boys are 4 and 10. The oldest learned to read without much
intervention besides my reading to him. But he doesn't read books on
his own much yet. He does not like to write, hates math (lessons),
loves to surf, skate, fish, dirtbike.
Angela
OK....well, lately the kids (ages 6 and 8) get up around 8 or 8:30. I
often crawl into bed with them and snuggle and read a few chapters of
whatever book we have going. We just read the first 4 chapters of "A
Wrinkle in Time" but decided it doesn't go fast enough for our tastes,
so we are looking to start something else. One eats breakfast right off,
the other generally waits a couple hours. After we come downstairs,
most days the girls play pretend for awhile. Lilly often heads to the
computer mid-morning to play Roller Coaster or Zoo Tycoon. (very
educational!) Leigh sits with her and gives her ideas and enjoys playing
vicariously through Lilly. ;0) Sometime over the course of the
morning, I remind the kids to brush their teeth and I encourage them to
brush their hair so it doesn't get too tangled. If we are staying home
for the day, they rarely get dressed. The last few days the weather
has been nice and we went bike riding in the afternoon. I put the kids
bikes in the car and we drive to a cul de sac up the road a piece
because we live on a busy road.
Every day is different, but they do go in cycles. Lately, the TV hasn't
been very popular. I turned it from the war to cartoons this morning
when they got up. I feel like we have watched it too much. They
watched for an hour then shut it off and now are in the bathroom mixing
shampoos and conditioners to give their beanie babies a bath. They
wouldn't have turned it on, had I not done it for them. They want
company this afternoon, so I will call their friend to see if she can
come over and play.
I finally remembered to pick up some borax the last time I grocery
shopped. We made crystal snowflakes and silly putty yesterday. They
spent half the day cutting up magazines and giving the people in them
makeovers with gel pens. The gel pens write great on magazine paper.
We discussed the war a lot. They played. Oh ya, they found a wooly
worm (caterpillar) the day before yesterday and made a little home for
him in a cup with a few sprigs of green grass to eat. They let him go
when they were done playing with him.
Over the course of a week or a month, I am sure we cover and cover well,
all the required subjects. We read (I read to them, they can read, but
don't choose to read books to themselves yet, they read on zoo and
roller coaster tycoon and similar things), do science (wooly worm, zoo
tycoon, borax, cooking, discuss health issues like why we brush our
teeth), cover history/geography (war and we love our globe and maps),
language arts (how can you not? But Lilly loves to write stories), math
(zoo tycoon, roller coaster tycoon, cooking, spending money, playing
board games and card games). You can't just look at one day, you have
to look at a month to see the big picture.
I hope this helps. I started with a day and got side tracked. :0)
Angela in Maine
mailto:unschooling@...
http://userpages.prexar.com/rickshaw
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
often crawl into bed with them and snuggle and read a few chapters of
whatever book we have going. We just read the first 4 chapters of "A
Wrinkle in Time" but decided it doesn't go fast enough for our tastes,
so we are looking to start something else. One eats breakfast right off,
the other generally waits a couple hours. After we come downstairs,
most days the girls play pretend for awhile. Lilly often heads to the
computer mid-morning to play Roller Coaster or Zoo Tycoon. (very
educational!) Leigh sits with her and gives her ideas and enjoys playing
vicariously through Lilly. ;0) Sometime over the course of the
morning, I remind the kids to brush their teeth and I encourage them to
brush their hair so it doesn't get too tangled. If we are staying home
for the day, they rarely get dressed. The last few days the weather
has been nice and we went bike riding in the afternoon. I put the kids
bikes in the car and we drive to a cul de sac up the road a piece
because we live on a busy road.
Every day is different, but they do go in cycles. Lately, the TV hasn't
been very popular. I turned it from the war to cartoons this morning
when they got up. I feel like we have watched it too much. They
watched for an hour then shut it off and now are in the bathroom mixing
shampoos and conditioners to give their beanie babies a bath. They
wouldn't have turned it on, had I not done it for them. They want
company this afternoon, so I will call their friend to see if she can
come over and play.
I finally remembered to pick up some borax the last time I grocery
shopped. We made crystal snowflakes and silly putty yesterday. They
spent half the day cutting up magazines and giving the people in them
makeovers with gel pens. The gel pens write great on magazine paper.
We discussed the war a lot. They played. Oh ya, they found a wooly
worm (caterpillar) the day before yesterday and made a little home for
him in a cup with a few sprigs of green grass to eat. They let him go
when they were done playing with him.
Over the course of a week or a month, I am sure we cover and cover well,
all the required subjects. We read (I read to them, they can read, but
don't choose to read books to themselves yet, they read on zoo and
roller coaster tycoon and similar things), do science (wooly worm, zoo
tycoon, borax, cooking, discuss health issues like why we brush our
teeth), cover history/geography (war and we love our globe and maps),
language arts (how can you not? But Lilly loves to write stories), math
(zoo tycoon, roller coaster tycoon, cooking, spending money, playing
board games and card games). You can't just look at one day, you have
to look at a month to see the big picture.
I hope this helps. I started with a day and got side tracked. :0)
Angela in Maine
mailto:unschooling@...
http://userpages.prexar.com/rickshaw
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/24/03 8:02:53 AM Eastern Standard Time,
flyerrod@... writes:
your wording/thinking. First... all moments are learning moments. You can't
stop or start learning. It just happens. And I don't integrate learning
into everyday. It just happens as my boys live their lives. They can't help
it. And it they find something worth investigating they will learn more.
They will ask questions.
Yesterday.
We got up early for us, 9:00. And started with a trip to the feed store for
garden things. We tilled the garden and put straw on it. Planted some root
veggies. Seeded a bare spot on our lawn, finished marking spots for holes
for posts for our new deck. Watched "Moby Dick". Boys had a craving for
popcorn chicken so I took them to KFC, yuck!! Finished up the top for a
drunkards path quilt to donate to the unschooling conference raffle.
My boys had lots of fun with he straw. Moving it from one place to another.
Trying to push the bails up hill. Making a bed out of it. And then a bench
etc. They loved the watering part of the lawn. Helped some with the
planting. Also helped some with marking the spots for the holes. They hit
some golf balls and played in the sand. Hated shopping but compromised, KFC
after, everyone wins. Had a great productive day.
Every day is different so not sure it is a typical day.
Pam G.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
flyerrod@... writes:
> I am just not getting the hang of this. I'm not very good atI know you asked for typical day stuff but I think you might want to look at
> recognizing teachable moments or integrating learning into everyday
> life.
your wording/thinking. First... all moments are learning moments. You can't
stop or start learning. It just happens. And I don't integrate learning
into everyday. It just happens as my boys live their lives. They can't help
it. And it they find something worth investigating they will learn more.
They will ask questions.
Yesterday.
We got up early for us, 9:00. And started with a trip to the feed store for
garden things. We tilled the garden and put straw on it. Planted some root
veggies. Seeded a bare spot on our lawn, finished marking spots for holes
for posts for our new deck. Watched "Moby Dick". Boys had a craving for
popcorn chicken so I took them to KFC, yuck!! Finished up the top for a
drunkards path quilt to donate to the unschooling conference raffle.
My boys had lots of fun with he straw. Moving it from one place to another.
Trying to push the bails up hill. Making a bed out of it. And then a bench
etc. They loved the watering part of the lawn. Helped some with the
planting. Also helped some with marking the spots for the holes. They hit
some golf balls and played in the sand. Hated shopping but compromised, KFC
after, everyone wins. Had a great productive day.
Every day is different so not sure it is a typical day.
Pam G.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/24/03 6:02:40 AM, flyerrod@... writes:
<< He does not like to write, hates math (lessons),
loves to surf, skate, fish, dirtbike. >>
He's ten, so reading a lot on his own isn't natural anyway. Honestly. Don't
make him do any writing or math. Move toward making his life like a luxury
summer camp based around surfing, skating, fishing and dirtbikes. Make sure
his equipment is good. Is he old enough or have the interest to change his
own wheels or bearings? (Maybe his skates are still new.) Does he have
subscriptions to any magazines on his hobbies? I'd do that for sure, so
he'll get mail and even if he doesn't read the words yet, he'll have new
pictures and other input so he can think more and more about what he
currently loves.
Any of those interests might fade, and that's okay, but there's not one of
them that doesn't involve math, physics, words, and some will lead easily to
geography (fishing) or mechanics (dirtbikes). But don't SAY so to him. Just
look for those things yourself.
Typical moments are better to consider than typical days. Please read these
when you have a chance:
http://sandradodd.com/truck
http://sandradodd.com/museum
Sandra
<< He does not like to write, hates math (lessons),
loves to surf, skate, fish, dirtbike. >>
He's ten, so reading a lot on his own isn't natural anyway. Honestly. Don't
make him do any writing or math. Move toward making his life like a luxury
summer camp based around surfing, skating, fishing and dirtbikes. Make sure
his equipment is good. Is he old enough or have the interest to change his
own wheels or bearings? (Maybe his skates are still new.) Does he have
subscriptions to any magazines on his hobbies? I'd do that for sure, so
he'll get mail and even if he doesn't read the words yet, he'll have new
pictures and other input so he can think more and more about what he
currently loves.
Any of those interests might fade, and that's okay, but there's not one of
them that doesn't involve math, physics, words, and some will lead easily to
geography (fishing) or mechanics (dirtbikes). But don't SAY so to him. Just
look for those things yourself.
Typical moments are better to consider than typical days. Please read these
when you have a chance:
http://sandradodd.com/truck
http://sandradodd.com/museum
Sandra
the_clevengers
--- In [email protected], "flyerkat" <flyerrod@d...>
wrote:
typical. Over the course of a week or a month, we do a lot of
different and varied things.
to do at the beginning is to learn to just *get out of the way*. Kids
will learn, if we just don't try to make them.
bookstore. You can fill up on books like "Learning All the Time" by
John Holt, "The Teenage Liberation Handbook" by Grace Llewellyn
(which is not just for teenagers, it's great for anyone to read who
is starting out on an unschooling journey). Really, the hardest part
of unschooling for most people is getting their *own* head wrapped
around the idea that kids will learn *without* teaching. That
teaching them is not only not necessary, it is completely counter-
productive.
passions are. What are *you* interested in learning? When you are
occupied with following your own interests, you will accomplish two
things. The first is that you give your kids a great model of how
*you* learn new things, the mistakes you make, the things that keep
you going. The second is that it gives you something to occupy your
mind so that you don't obsess about exactly how much your kids are
learning at any given time.
So, here's a typical day for us:
My son wakes up about 6:00, he usually peeks in on me and then goes
off to build with Lego or Bionicles. I either sleep in or get up and
do email and daily organization. My daughter wakes about 7:00 or so
and we all go down and make breakfast. If I'm cooking something,
usually one of the kids helps out. After we eat, I do whatever
cleaning up needs to be done, and sometimes the kids help out or
sometimes they go to play or do writing or painting or use the
computer.
Then we're usually off for wherever we're going for the day. On
different days we have different activities - violin lessons,
homeschool singing group, homeschool park day or gymnastics day, a
playdate, our "Homeschool Hogwarts" group will be starting back up in
two weeks, and if the weather's nice we might go hiking or for a bike
ride, if not we might hit the pool or the library, or the science
center, sometimes we have homeschool field trips or other activities.
We often ride our bikes for transportation to wherever we're going.
Today we have violin lessons in the morning, and then we'll either go
to the library or to someplace outside if the weather's good.
At some point in the day, DH will take over and I'll go do my workout
(triathlon training and coaching is one of my interests), and if I've
got a writing project going, I will take time to do that as well. If
I'm in an editing stage, my son often sits with me while I read my
writing out loud and edit it. Afternoons are usually time at home and
we might do a craft project, or I'll read to the kids, or we'll cook
something for dinner, or the kids will play. We often have other kids
over to our house, it seems to be becoming the place where kids
congregate. Evenings we do different things. Monday night is
our "Family Movie night" and the kids take turns picking the movie.
We usually go swimming two evenings a week, and other nights we might
play games, read, do puzzles, or just each do our own thing.
Bedtime I always read a picture book or two and then read from
whatever chapter book we're in the middle of (Lord of the Rings right
now) and snuggle up with the kids to go to sleep.
I'm sure on any given day I could look at what we're doing and
say "We haven't done much today" and I could choose to freak out
about it and panic. But when I look back over a week or a month I can
see the rich tapestry of fun and learning that is our life. This
month we saw two baby lambs being born, we went to the science museum
and did some chemistry stuff there, we've baked bread, watched the
first bees buzz on our new flowers, worked in our garden, rode
bicycles and swam, played music together and found new music to
download on the internet that each of us liked, completed a new
puzzle, played trains and legos and raced hot wheels cars down our
driveway, hiked to the river and sailed "fairy boats", watched a war
being launched on TV, got out our globe and atlases, looked at where
Iraq and Kuwait and Turkey and all those other places are located,
the list goes on and on.
But *none* of these things were done with the intent of
creating "teachable moments" or "learning opportunities". They were
all done because one or more of us were interested in that particular
activity at that time. They were done because they were fun and
interesting and just part of an enjoyable life. The learning is in us
and of us and all around us. We don't have to seek for it, we just
have to have the faith to get out of its way.
Blue Skies,
-Robin-
wrote:
> Would anyone be interested in giving me a sample of their typicalI will below, but our days vary so much it's hard to say what is
> day?
typical. Over the course of a week or a month, we do a lot of
different and varied things.
> I am just not getting the hang of this. I'm not very good atLearning *is* a part of everyday life. I find that the hardest thing
> recognizing teachable moments or integrating learning into everyday
> life.
to do at the beginning is to learn to just *get out of the way*. Kids
will learn, if we just don't try to make them.
> So frequently I will fall back on structured lessons out ofIf you haven't done so already, I'd suggest a trip to the library or
> panic, thinking they are not learning anything if I don't.
bookstore. You can fill up on books like "Learning All the Time" by
John Holt, "The Teenage Liberation Handbook" by Grace Llewellyn
(which is not just for teenagers, it's great for anyone to read who
is starting out on an unschooling journey). Really, the hardest part
of unschooling for most people is getting their *own* head wrapped
around the idea that kids will learn *without* teaching. That
teaching them is not only not necessary, it is completely counter-
productive.
> Maybe ifI'd also suggest sitting down and thinking about what your own
> I saw how others are doing it, I could be inspired. I often wonder
> if we are doing enough.
passions are. What are *you* interested in learning? When you are
occupied with following your own interests, you will accomplish two
things. The first is that you give your kids a great model of how
*you* learn new things, the mistakes you make, the things that keep
you going. The second is that it gives you something to occupy your
mind so that you don't obsess about exactly how much your kids are
learning at any given time.
So, here's a typical day for us:
My son wakes up about 6:00, he usually peeks in on me and then goes
off to build with Lego or Bionicles. I either sleep in or get up and
do email and daily organization. My daughter wakes about 7:00 or so
and we all go down and make breakfast. If I'm cooking something,
usually one of the kids helps out. After we eat, I do whatever
cleaning up needs to be done, and sometimes the kids help out or
sometimes they go to play or do writing or painting or use the
computer.
Then we're usually off for wherever we're going for the day. On
different days we have different activities - violin lessons,
homeschool singing group, homeschool park day or gymnastics day, a
playdate, our "Homeschool Hogwarts" group will be starting back up in
two weeks, and if the weather's nice we might go hiking or for a bike
ride, if not we might hit the pool or the library, or the science
center, sometimes we have homeschool field trips or other activities.
We often ride our bikes for transportation to wherever we're going.
Today we have violin lessons in the morning, and then we'll either go
to the library or to someplace outside if the weather's good.
At some point in the day, DH will take over and I'll go do my workout
(triathlon training and coaching is one of my interests), and if I've
got a writing project going, I will take time to do that as well. If
I'm in an editing stage, my son often sits with me while I read my
writing out loud and edit it. Afternoons are usually time at home and
we might do a craft project, or I'll read to the kids, or we'll cook
something for dinner, or the kids will play. We often have other kids
over to our house, it seems to be becoming the place where kids
congregate. Evenings we do different things. Monday night is
our "Family Movie night" and the kids take turns picking the movie.
We usually go swimming two evenings a week, and other nights we might
play games, read, do puzzles, or just each do our own thing.
Bedtime I always read a picture book or two and then read from
whatever chapter book we're in the middle of (Lord of the Rings right
now) and snuggle up with the kids to go to sleep.
I'm sure on any given day I could look at what we're doing and
say "We haven't done much today" and I could choose to freak out
about it and panic. But when I look back over a week or a month I can
see the rich tapestry of fun and learning that is our life. This
month we saw two baby lambs being born, we went to the science museum
and did some chemistry stuff there, we've baked bread, watched the
first bees buzz on our new flowers, worked in our garden, rode
bicycles and swam, played music together and found new music to
download on the internet that each of us liked, completed a new
puzzle, played trains and legos and raced hot wheels cars down our
driveway, hiked to the river and sailed "fairy boats", watched a war
being launched on TV, got out our globe and atlases, looked at where
Iraq and Kuwait and Turkey and all those other places are located,
the list goes on and on.
But *none* of these things were done with the intent of
creating "teachable moments" or "learning opportunities". They were
all done because one or more of us were interested in that particular
activity at that time. They were done because they were fun and
interesting and just part of an enjoyable life. The learning is in us
and of us and all around us. We don't have to seek for it, we just
have to have the faith to get out of its way.
Blue Skies,
-Robin-
Mary
From: flyerkat
<<My boys are 4 and 10. The oldest learned to read without much
intervention besides my reading to him. But he doesn't read books on
his own much yet. He does not like to write, hates math (lessons),
loves to surf, skate, fish, dirtbike.>>
Typical days around here vary so much. For the most part, anyone coming here for a day or a week to see how and what my children are learning, would probably say nothing. All they do is play. Excluding of course those of you on this list. <bg> Even Tara is amazed what they know because as she puts it, they never really "do" anything.
My kids usually get up one at a time. Joseph (8) Sierra (7) and Alyssa (2) all have different times of waking and one never knows who will be up first. Sometimes one or all of them will come and snuggle with me in bed. Sometimes one or all of them will head to my mom's and hang out with her. (she has an attached MIL apt) Sometimes one or all will turn on the tv and not see anyone else, or just start to play a movie from the night before that they didn't finish. (meaning act out with their toys) or just start drawing. My kids are usually up for an hour before they ask for food. They usually all eat at the same time.
If we are staying in for the day, the play goes from there. It varies in activity and time spent on each one. Sometimes it's all short and moves quickly from one thing to another and sometimes they literally may spend hours doing somthing. It's tv, reading, either to themselves or to Alyssa. They play on the computer, lately a lot. They found this thing on postopia where it asks questions and then you have to fill in the right letters to spell the answer. I'm amazed at how well Sierra spells. Gameboy and playstation have been set aside for quite awhile now. Sometimes they play board games, either with me or my mom or just with the two of them. Joseph was taking great pleasure in watching Price is Right with my mom, although he hasn't in the past few days. He loves shows like that and is really good in math, all in his head. Sierra loves the Animal Planet channel. Joseph doesn't like it much and usually heads to his room when Sierra has it on in the playroom. Joseph draws a lot and spends a big portion of his days lately drawing elaborate pictures. Right now it seems to be city scenes. Sierra will join along sometimes and then there is also paints that come out and play dough or creepy crawlers. About 2 weeks ago, the play dough was out every day for a week. All 3 kids played with that.
Sierra and Joseph will take turns playing with Alyssa sometimes and sometimes the 3 of them will all play together. It's with dinosaurs or horses or Polly Pockets or Barbies. Sometimes just links, marbles and balls. There is an awful lot to choose from here for them to play with. Sometimes they help cook or bake. Sometimes they are outside in the back yard, playing ball or just swinging or hunting rocks. Lately they like an evening walk searching for snail shells. We have tons of them now.
They have also been hanging out with Tara (17) in her room and with her boyfriend when he's over. (every night!) Sierra and Alyssa spend the most time in there with them. They play games or watch tv together. Evenings they do different things with Joe when he's home. Usually games and computer stuff. Although Joe is knows to chasing them all around the house playing monster too!!! There's food and cleaning up and showers in between all this too. Never at any certain time. The children's hours are from about 10:00-11:00 a.m. until 11:30 or 12:00. Joseph usually stays up later. Sometimes with me until 2:00.
Sometimes the closest thing to seeing learning by school terms is that some encyclopedia's are missing and in Joseph's room. Some days seem more educational with the kids asking questions that we look into instead of just me answering. Those days aren't too often lately. No major research has been going on here for awhile. Doesn't bother any of us in the least. We play. A lot. And most people would say that's all we do. We're a happy family.
Mary B
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
<<My boys are 4 and 10. The oldest learned to read without much
intervention besides my reading to him. But he doesn't read books on
his own much yet. He does not like to write, hates math (lessons),
loves to surf, skate, fish, dirtbike.>>
Typical days around here vary so much. For the most part, anyone coming here for a day or a week to see how and what my children are learning, would probably say nothing. All they do is play. Excluding of course those of you on this list. <bg> Even Tara is amazed what they know because as she puts it, they never really "do" anything.
My kids usually get up one at a time. Joseph (8) Sierra (7) and Alyssa (2) all have different times of waking and one never knows who will be up first. Sometimes one or all of them will come and snuggle with me in bed. Sometimes one or all of them will head to my mom's and hang out with her. (she has an attached MIL apt) Sometimes one or all will turn on the tv and not see anyone else, or just start to play a movie from the night before that they didn't finish. (meaning act out with their toys) or just start drawing. My kids are usually up for an hour before they ask for food. They usually all eat at the same time.
If we are staying in for the day, the play goes from there. It varies in activity and time spent on each one. Sometimes it's all short and moves quickly from one thing to another and sometimes they literally may spend hours doing somthing. It's tv, reading, either to themselves or to Alyssa. They play on the computer, lately a lot. They found this thing on postopia where it asks questions and then you have to fill in the right letters to spell the answer. I'm amazed at how well Sierra spells. Gameboy and playstation have been set aside for quite awhile now. Sometimes they play board games, either with me or my mom or just with the two of them. Joseph was taking great pleasure in watching Price is Right with my mom, although he hasn't in the past few days. He loves shows like that and is really good in math, all in his head. Sierra loves the Animal Planet channel. Joseph doesn't like it much and usually heads to his room when Sierra has it on in the playroom. Joseph draws a lot and spends a big portion of his days lately drawing elaborate pictures. Right now it seems to be city scenes. Sierra will join along sometimes and then there is also paints that come out and play dough or creepy crawlers. About 2 weeks ago, the play dough was out every day for a week. All 3 kids played with that.
Sierra and Joseph will take turns playing with Alyssa sometimes and sometimes the 3 of them will all play together. It's with dinosaurs or horses or Polly Pockets or Barbies. Sometimes just links, marbles and balls. There is an awful lot to choose from here for them to play with. Sometimes they help cook or bake. Sometimes they are outside in the back yard, playing ball or just swinging or hunting rocks. Lately they like an evening walk searching for snail shells. We have tons of them now.
They have also been hanging out with Tara (17) in her room and with her boyfriend when he's over. (every night!) Sierra and Alyssa spend the most time in there with them. They play games or watch tv together. Evenings they do different things with Joe when he's home. Usually games and computer stuff. Although Joe is knows to chasing them all around the house playing monster too!!! There's food and cleaning up and showers in between all this too. Never at any certain time. The children's hours are from about 10:00-11:00 a.m. until 11:30 or 12:00. Joseph usually stays up later. Sometimes with me until 2:00.
Sometimes the closest thing to seeing learning by school terms is that some encyclopedia's are missing and in Joseph's room. Some days seem more educational with the kids asking questions that we look into instead of just me answering. Those days aren't too often lately. No major research has been going on here for awhile. Doesn't bother any of us in the least. We play. A lot. And most people would say that's all we do. We're a happy family.
Mary B
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
zenmomma *
>>Would anyone be interested in giving me a sample of their typicalday?>>
Well I don't think ay two days are same, but here's what's going on in my
house today.
I woke up at 9:30. Casey (9) was up already and had been watching TV. I made
some breakfast for us and checked a few emails. Casey wants to to get back
in gymnastics shape before she starts classes again. I helped guide her
through her warm up, stretch and work out. We took a break of tv and more
emails. Then we sat down to read the latest issue of Ranger Rick including
doing all the puzzle pages. We made plans with friends and will be going
over to their condo to swim later. Before we go, Casey wants a new bathng
suit, so she's got her money ready to stop at the store on the way over.
Conor (almost 14) woke up after 1:00 today because he was up most of the
night listenng to The Lord of the Rings-The Two Towers. He's going to come
with us to our friends condo. He may swim or he may just hang out and talk.
Later we may go to a cemetary so Conor and his friend can try their hand at
taking some artsy/cool photos with their new cameras. They'll probably play
D&D tonight.
That's just today and just what's already happened or is planned for later.
Plans are always up for change.
Lots of days with Casey are filled with board and card games, reading,
crafts, writing and drawing. Conor volunteers at the Children's Museum, goes
bowling once a week with his dad and dad's friends (he mostly likes to be in
on the discussions afterwards), snowboards, reads, and games online.
Life is good.
~Mary
"The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green
earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive."
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
_________________________________________________________________
The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE*
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail
kayb85
I'll give you two days at our house. No day is typical. :)
Yesterday we got up early and surprised dh with donuts in bed for
his birthday. (See yesterday's post on educationese--fire safety for
that whole story ;)
Downstairs we got out a root-vue kit that they had gotten for
Christmas. You are supposed to be able to see the roots of the
plants that are growing. We planted carrots, onions and radishes in
that. We had the oppportunity to get out the rulers for that. The
wicks that soak up the water needed to be cut to 6 inches, and the
seeds had to be planted 1 1/2 inches apart.
Then dd and I played a card game called Set. It is a lot of fun,
although I can't beat my daughter.
After that, dd was off to play her new pokemon ruby game and I sat
on the computer with the 3 and 5 year olds playing Putt Putt for
about an hour.
The boys also spent a lot of time playing with their matchbox cars
and water in the kitchen. They dumped all of the toys out of the
plastic containers in the playroom, carried them into the kitchen,
and filled them with water. The floor is covered with wet towels--
the kitchen has been this way for several days now. ;) They made a
waterfall in there, boat rides, and car washes.
Dh and dd went on a bike ride together in the afternoon and then he
came home and built Thomas track with the boys. Dd and I played
some more of our on-going Uno game together. (We're playing until
one of us hits 10,000).
Two of the kids helped me make manicotti and salad for supper and
they played computer games while dh and I watched a movie in the
evening.
Today the boys played on their computers for much of the morning and
dd played her new pokemon ruby game.
In the afternoon we went to the library, made a quick trip to Wal-
mart to buy supplies for girls' club which we hold in our house
tomorrow, and then went to a playground in a different town. The
kids had never been to this playground. They love it when I find
new ones to go to. This one had two really tall sliding boards, a
nice treat for them because neither of the parks in our town has any
more than a tiny rickety sliding board. It also had a merry go
round (that everyone sits on and one person runs around in a circle
to make them go fast), seesaws and monkey bars. No swings out for
the summer yet. They had me push them really fast and they
pretended that it was a time machine. As soon as it slowed down on
their own they got off and pretended it was a different time period
and that they were kings and queens.
We also found a tree that had fallen over and you could see it's
roots. We found some coal and shale--the kind where you can split
the rocks in half rather easily. We spent awhile looking for
fossils and although we found a few little things that "maybe" were
fossils, we didn't find any good ones.
We went to my mil's for dinner and I came home because someone's
coming to fix our furnace soon. They are still there, helping her
fill eggs for an easter egg hunt her church is having.
The movie Blank Check is coming on tv tonight and the kids want to
watch that.
--- In [email protected], "flyerkat"
<flyerrod@d...> wrote:
Yesterday we got up early and surprised dh with donuts in bed for
his birthday. (See yesterday's post on educationese--fire safety for
that whole story ;)
Downstairs we got out a root-vue kit that they had gotten for
Christmas. You are supposed to be able to see the roots of the
plants that are growing. We planted carrots, onions and radishes in
that. We had the oppportunity to get out the rulers for that. The
wicks that soak up the water needed to be cut to 6 inches, and the
seeds had to be planted 1 1/2 inches apart.
Then dd and I played a card game called Set. It is a lot of fun,
although I can't beat my daughter.
After that, dd was off to play her new pokemon ruby game and I sat
on the computer with the 3 and 5 year olds playing Putt Putt for
about an hour.
The boys also spent a lot of time playing with their matchbox cars
and water in the kitchen. They dumped all of the toys out of the
plastic containers in the playroom, carried them into the kitchen,
and filled them with water. The floor is covered with wet towels--
the kitchen has been this way for several days now. ;) They made a
waterfall in there, boat rides, and car washes.
Dh and dd went on a bike ride together in the afternoon and then he
came home and built Thomas track with the boys. Dd and I played
some more of our on-going Uno game together. (We're playing until
one of us hits 10,000).
Two of the kids helped me make manicotti and salad for supper and
they played computer games while dh and I watched a movie in the
evening.
Today the boys played on their computers for much of the morning and
dd played her new pokemon ruby game.
In the afternoon we went to the library, made a quick trip to Wal-
mart to buy supplies for girls' club which we hold in our house
tomorrow, and then went to a playground in a different town. The
kids had never been to this playground. They love it when I find
new ones to go to. This one had two really tall sliding boards, a
nice treat for them because neither of the parks in our town has any
more than a tiny rickety sliding board. It also had a merry go
round (that everyone sits on and one person runs around in a circle
to make them go fast), seesaws and monkey bars. No swings out for
the summer yet. They had me push them really fast and they
pretended that it was a time machine. As soon as it slowed down on
their own they got off and pretended it was a different time period
and that they were kings and queens.
We also found a tree that had fallen over and you could see it's
roots. We found some coal and shale--the kind where you can split
the rocks in half rather easily. We spent awhile looking for
fossils and although we found a few little things that "maybe" were
fossils, we didn't find any good ones.
We went to my mil's for dinner and I came home because someone's
coming to fix our furnace soon. They are still there, helping her
fill eggs for an easter egg hunt her church is having.
The movie Blank Check is coming on tv tonight and the kids want to
watch that.
--- In [email protected], "flyerkat"
<flyerrod@d...> wrote:
> Would anyone be interested in giving me a sample of their typicalat
> day? I am just not getting the hang of this. I'm not very good
> recognizing teachable moments or integrating learning intoeveryday
> life. So frequently I will fall back on structured lessons out ofif
> panic, thinking they are not learning anything if I don't. Maybe
> I saw how others are doing it, I could be inspired. I oftenwonder
> if we are doing enough.on
>
> My boys are 4 and 10. The oldest learned to read without much
> intervention besides my reading to him. But he doesn't read books
> his own much yet. He does not like to write, hates math(lessons),
> loves to surf, skate, fish, dirtbike.
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/24/2003 12:08:51 PM Eastern Standard Time,
SandraDodd@... writes:
enthusiasts that have no crude language in them?
Darla
Homeschooling Mom to Freya, Alec, and Kelson!
Wife to Jim.
Read my waterbirth story
http://ourworld.cs.com/darlathedoula/myhomepage/family.html
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
SandraDodd@... writes:
> Does he haveAnyone have any suggestions of skateboarding magazines geared toward younger
> subscriptions to any magazines on his hobbies?
enthusiasts that have no crude language in them?
Darla
Homeschooling Mom to Freya, Alec, and Kelson!
Wife to Jim.
Read my waterbirth story
http://ourworld.cs.com/darlathedoula/myhomepage/family.html
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Michelle~ms65442
Transworld is clean, and I think Thrasher is too. Avoid Big Brother.
Michelle, SF Bay Area
Mommy to the bright-eyed Rory Daniel, 5.3.02
-----Original Message-----
From: jidafral@... [mailto:jidafral@...]
Sent: Monday, March 24, 2003 10:30 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] typical day
<<Anyone have any suggestions of skateboarding magazines geared toward
younger
enthusiasts that have no crude language in them?>>
Michelle, SF Bay Area
Mommy to the bright-eyed Rory Daniel, 5.3.02
-----Original Message-----
From: jidafral@... [mailto:jidafral@...]
Sent: Monday, March 24, 2003 10:30 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] typical day
<<Anyone have any suggestions of skateboarding magazines geared toward
younger
enthusiasts that have no crude language in them?>>
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/24/2003 11:27:07 AM Eastern Standard Time,
genant2@... writes:
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
genant2@... writes:
> Finished up the top for aCOOOOOOL!!!!!!
> drunkards path quilt to donate to the unschooling conference raffle.
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
flyerkat
Thanks for all your posts.
They were helpful and inspiring. It does seem like most people that
replied had younger kids. I think they are much easier to unschool
because play is the best teacher. But when they get a bit older and
approaching teens, I think I may need to provide more direction. I
may be wrong.
They were helpful and inspiring. It does seem like most people that
replied had younger kids. I think they are much easier to unschool
because play is the best teacher. But when they get a bit older and
approaching teens, I think I may need to provide more direction. I
may be wrong.
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/25/2003 7:53:00 AM Eastern Standard Time,
kbcdlovejo@... writes:
pattern (called Churn Dash) off the internet and will be attempting a 9-patch
quilt. It looks very simple though I'm not sure what to do with it once I get
the top part done.
Amy Kagey
E-mail me for a list of used
homeschooling books for sale!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
kbcdlovejo@... writes:
>I'm so jealous of people who quilt that printed off a beginner's quilt
> > Finished up the top for a
> > drunkards path quilt to donate to the unschooling conference raffle.
>
pattern (called Churn Dash) off the internet and will be attempting a 9-patch
quilt. It looks very simple though I'm not sure what to do with it once I get
the top part done.
Amy Kagey
E-mail me for a list of used
homeschooling books for sale!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sorcha
>>>younger kids. I think they are much easier to unschool<<<This is the exact opposite of how I felt when I discovered unschooling.
I thought, "Yeah, teens can unschool because they can already read and
do basic arithmetic. They can pursue their passions! But little kids -
they need to be taught how to read, write, add, subtract, multiply and
divide." I thought I'd be strictly homeschooling until they learned
those "skills" and then let them follow their dreams. Luckily, I
realized younger kids can unschool too. :-)
Sorcha
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Heidi and Brent Ricks
I was not going to contribute to this thread b/c I thought "our days
are never typical and we don't really do anything much". Then I thought
about what we did yesterday and realized this is the essence of
unschooling and I love it when I realize that. *We* consists of me and
dh and 3 kids, daughter age 10, son age 8 and baby boy age 1.
So, yesterday we big folks and the wee one were up around 6:30 (not my
choice). We put the sap on to boil that we've been collecting from our
maples. This boiled all day and we had a quart adn a half of syrup by
bedtime. The others got up around 8 or so. We ate, messed around, read
a little (Kaleigh undoubtedly did some creative thing in here, I can't
begin to keep up with her on that score) and got dressed then had to go
grocery shopping before a dentist appointment for the two older ones.
The plan was to get done with the store and then have the baby fall
asleep on the way to the dentist. It worked and we got there early so
we sat in the car for a while and played a word association game which
led to discussions on definitions and geography. When Lochie woke up we
went in and read a magazine about birds before the kids went to their
respective chairs. This was X-ray day so they got to see what their
teeth are doing beneath the surface and I got to ask about
development(health and technology).
When we got home we had lunch and then went for a walk up the rpoad to
get the mail (1/2 mile or so each way). Actually, Kaleigh and I walked
and Cerid biked. On the way he was seeing how slowly he could bike and
explained to me that it is hard to go in a straight line when you are
going that slowly because the wheel on a bike is kind of like a
gyroscope and the speed is what keeps it on track(physics and exercise!
I had never thought about *why* it is hard to bike slowly, it just is!
Then Kaleigh told me that she thinks that the pile of unusual poop that
we saw on the day before is actually droppings from a Ruffled
Grouse(biology and physiology). She came to this conclusion because she
found another pile of it in front of the house where we had see the
grouse a few days before. (are there guide books for animal droppings?)
The kids then played outside while I tried to figure out how to rig up a
clothes line(conservation and engineering). They were using Kaleighs
kit of photoreactive fabric dyes (art and light) They also checked out
their respective perrenial gardens and compared who had the most stiuff
coming up and why (botany and weather). Then some friends stopped in to
play for a few hours. They were mostly outside but got silly inside and
took photos of eachother looking like ants. DH came home early adn
Cerid helped him dig a trench to drain the water that is collecting in
the yard from the melting snow (hydrodynamics).
DH took the two older ones to fencing class. When they got home we
played some math games before bed (from the Mensa math pack and a game
book). This just happened because the cards were in reach when we were
snuggling on the livingroom floor. We read a little before bed too.
That really was a typical go-with-the-flow kind of day for us. We have
some things on certain days (fencing, karate, sign language singing and
skiing). The rest is all as it comes. Hope this helps. I have found
as I've had to write those silly reports for the school, that it really
does help to do this once in a while and write it down. I feel so often
like we don't grab every opportunity for leaarning buit then when I look
at this I think we're doing OK.
Heidi R.
are never typical and we don't really do anything much". Then I thought
about what we did yesterday and realized this is the essence of
unschooling and I love it when I realize that. *We* consists of me and
dh and 3 kids, daughter age 10, son age 8 and baby boy age 1.
So, yesterday we big folks and the wee one were up around 6:30 (not my
choice). We put the sap on to boil that we've been collecting from our
maples. This boiled all day and we had a quart adn a half of syrup by
bedtime. The others got up around 8 or so. We ate, messed around, read
a little (Kaleigh undoubtedly did some creative thing in here, I can't
begin to keep up with her on that score) and got dressed then had to go
grocery shopping before a dentist appointment for the two older ones.
The plan was to get done with the store and then have the baby fall
asleep on the way to the dentist. It worked and we got there early so
we sat in the car for a while and played a word association game which
led to discussions on definitions and geography. When Lochie woke up we
went in and read a magazine about birds before the kids went to their
respective chairs. This was X-ray day so they got to see what their
teeth are doing beneath the surface and I got to ask about
development(health and technology).
When we got home we had lunch and then went for a walk up the rpoad to
get the mail (1/2 mile or so each way). Actually, Kaleigh and I walked
and Cerid biked. On the way he was seeing how slowly he could bike and
explained to me that it is hard to go in a straight line when you are
going that slowly because the wheel on a bike is kind of like a
gyroscope and the speed is what keeps it on track(physics and exercise!
I had never thought about *why* it is hard to bike slowly, it just is!
Then Kaleigh told me that she thinks that the pile of unusual poop that
we saw on the day before is actually droppings from a Ruffled
Grouse(biology and physiology). She came to this conclusion because she
found another pile of it in front of the house where we had see the
grouse a few days before. (are there guide books for animal droppings?)
The kids then played outside while I tried to figure out how to rig up a
clothes line(conservation and engineering). They were using Kaleighs
kit of photoreactive fabric dyes (art and light) They also checked out
their respective perrenial gardens and compared who had the most stiuff
coming up and why (botany and weather). Then some friends stopped in to
play for a few hours. They were mostly outside but got silly inside and
took photos of eachother looking like ants. DH came home early adn
Cerid helped him dig a trench to drain the water that is collecting in
the yard from the melting snow (hydrodynamics).
DH took the two older ones to fencing class. When they got home we
played some math games before bed (from the Mensa math pack and a game
book). This just happened because the cards were in reach when we were
snuggling on the livingroom floor. We read a little before bed too.
That really was a typical go-with-the-flow kind of day for us. We have
some things on certain days (fencing, karate, sign language singing and
skiing). The rest is all as it comes. Hope this helps. I have found
as I've had to write those silly reports for the school, that it really
does help to do this once in a while and write it down. I feel so often
like we don't grab every opportunity for leaarning buit then when I look
at this I think we're doing OK.
Heidi R.
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/25/03 9:46:26 AM Eastern Standard Time, amycats2@...
writes:
Pam G.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
writes:
> It looks very simple though I'm not sure what to do with it once I getVery easy but need to finish the top first. LOL.
> the top part done.
>
Pam G.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/25/03 6:39:23 AM, flyerrod@... writes:
<< Thanks for all your posts.
They were helpful and inspiring. It does seem like most people that
replied had younger kids. I think they are much easier to unschool
because play is the best teacher. >>
I have kids who weren't in school. They're 16, 14 and 11 now.
Play is a great teacher at any age.
The older kids are playing on the internet, playing games way too complicated
for me to play, playing at being medieval (and doing research to support that
hobby)...
<<But when they get a bit older and approaching teens, I think I may need to
provide more direction. I may be wrong. >>
The sooner you stop providing direction in the traditional sense and change
your own point of view to see the learning in everything, the less you will
think that older kids (who can read and are mobile and can find their own
resources easily) will need your direction to continue to learn naturally.
They don't.
They need encouragement and freedom and respect and materials.
Sandra
<< Thanks for all your posts.
They were helpful and inspiring. It does seem like most people that
replied had younger kids. I think they are much easier to unschool
because play is the best teacher. >>
I have kids who weren't in school. They're 16, 14 and 11 now.
Play is a great teacher at any age.
The older kids are playing on the internet, playing games way too complicated
for me to play, playing at being medieval (and doing research to support that
hobby)...
<<But when they get a bit older and approaching teens, I think I may need to
provide more direction. I may be wrong. >>
The sooner you stop providing direction in the traditional sense and change
your own point of view to see the learning in everything, the less you will
think that older kids (who can read and are mobile and can find their own
resources easily) will need your direction to continue to learn naturally.
They don't.
They need encouragement and freedom and respect and materials.
Sandra
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/25/03 8:39:34 AM Eastern Standard Time,
flyerrod@... writes:
it varies wildly. She spent the K through half of fourth in public school,
and has spent more than a year home with me. I don't know what you mean by
"providing direction", but I am amazed how much my dd has taken the lead in
her own interests. As I back off, she figures out what she needs herself and
goes for it. This unschooling stuff really works! When she wanted to learn
geometry, I helped where she asked. When she wanted to learn to play guitar,
she found chords online and printed them out, and asked her dad who has the
musical ability in this family. She implements her own structure, then lets
go what doesn't work for her. Trust and have faith!
Ang
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
flyerrod@... writes:
> It does seem like most people thati have an almost 11yo girl, a "tween". I haven't shared a typical day, but
> replied had younger kids. I think they are much easier to unschool
> because play is the best teacher. But when they get a bit older and
> approaching teens, I think I may need to provide more direction. I
> may be wrong.
>
>
>
>
>
it varies wildly. She spent the K through half of fourth in public school,
and has spent more than a year home with me. I don't know what you mean by
"providing direction", but I am amazed how much my dd has taken the lead in
her own interests. As I back off, she figures out what she needs herself and
goes for it. This unschooling stuff really works! When she wanted to learn
geometry, I helped where she asked. When she wanted to learn to play guitar,
she found chords online and printed them out, and asked her dad who has the
musical ability in this family. She implements her own structure, then lets
go what doesn't work for her. Trust and have faith!
Ang
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
Heidi that was a really fun typical day because it was so exotic for me (with
the maple and the snow and all <g>).
I'm saving it for my "cool typical days reports" collection.
Sandra
the maple and the snow and all <g>).
I'm saving it for my "cool typical days reports" collection.
Sandra
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/25/2003 10:50:46 AM Eastern Standard Time,
genant2@... writes:
wall-hanging or pillow top. I think it will only end up being 14" square.
Amy Kagey
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
genant2@... writes:
>Yep, I've been working on it today. It's a very small quilt, more like a
> > It looks very simple though I'm not sure what to do with it once I get
> > the top part done.
> >
>
> Very easy but need to finish the top first. LOL.
> Pam G.
>
wall-hanging or pillow top. I think it will only end up being 14" square.
Amy Kagey
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/25/2003 12:06:13 PM Eastern Standard Time,
SandraDodd@... writes:
guy is actually threatening snow, too.
Amy Kagey
E-mail me for a list of used
homeschooling books for sale!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
SandraDodd@... writes:
>We're going to a maple syrup festival this weekend, can't wait! The weather
> Heidi that was a really fun typical day because it was so exotic for me
> (with
> the maple and the snow and all <g>).
>
guy is actually threatening snow, too.
Amy Kagey
E-mail me for a list of used
homeschooling books for sale!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
zenmomma *
>>But when they get a bit older and approaching teens, I think I may need toMy kids are 9 and almost 14. I haven't found that I need to provide any more
>>provide more direction.>>
direction. But lots of times I have had to alter the direction I *thought*
we were heading, as interests change and mature and develop. I've had to
think harder about what things might be cool and interesting to strew
around. I've had to be available to have some truly incredible
conversations. And I've had to drive. Drive, drive, drive. It's all good.
Life is good.
~Mary
"The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green
earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive."
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
_________________________________________________________________
The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE*
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail
Andrea
At 10:47 AM 3/25/03 -0500, Heidi wrote:
called Animal Signatures. There must be others out there. The Natural
History Museum here has a display of animal droppings - a hit with the
kids, big and small.
We were excited last summer to find some unusual poop on the path to the
beach at our cottage. Luckily we had our book and were thrilled to find out
it was from a bobcat. Some of our neighbours have seen them around.
Donna Andrea
>(are there guide books for animal droppings?)We have one, but it is a locally printed one from the Nova Scotia Museum
called Animal Signatures. There must be others out there. The Natural
History Museum here has a display of animal droppings - a hit with the
kids, big and small.
We were excited last summer to find some unusual poop on the path to the
beach at our cottage. Luckily we had our book and were thrilled to find out
it was from a bobcat. Some of our neighbours have seen them around.
Donna Andrea