Where to start?
huntergypsywolf
hello everyone, i'm a married/sahm/ap-np/spiritual/home educator of
3 girls ages 12, 8 & 7 months. we've been h.s. for 3 years now. we
have been fairly eclectic in our approach. somedays we are strict
with the lessons & other days we unschool. with a new baby we feel
it's best to unschool at this time. i would like to do this. it
also fits our lifestyle which is AP/NP (attachment parenting/natural
parenting). i feel at times they aren't learning if we don't do
some form of work each day. we do not have workbooks in the home &
i do not plan to use them in the future. can anyone PLEASE give me
some advice? thank you!
BB
GypsyWolf~
3 girls ages 12, 8 & 7 months. we've been h.s. for 3 years now. we
have been fairly eclectic in our approach. somedays we are strict
with the lessons & other days we unschool. with a new baby we feel
it's best to unschool at this time. i would like to do this. it
also fits our lifestyle which is AP/NP (attachment parenting/natural
parenting). i feel at times they aren't learning if we don't do
some form of work each day. we do not have workbooks in the home &
i do not plan to use them in the future. can anyone PLEASE give me
some advice? thank you!
BB
GypsyWolf~
Fetteroll
on 2/26/02 8:21 AM, huntergypsywolf at huntergypsywolf@... wrote:
convinced most of the world that learning must take a certain form and offer
feedback.
The first piece of advice is stop doing *any* lessons. No formal learning.
Pretend it's summer vacation. Unschooling can't be done part time. It
undermines the confidence you're trying to instill in them and yourself that
life is life's greatest teacher :-)
And the next piece is to read at http://www.unschooling.com Read the message
boards especially. Ask lots of questions :-)
Formal learning is being certain you can't let go of the side of the pool.
Unschooling is paddling around in the deep end :-)
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> can anyone PLEASE give me some advice?Ah, you're asking for a few words to undo years of programming that have
convinced most of the world that learning must take a certain form and offer
feedback.
The first piece of advice is stop doing *any* lessons. No formal learning.
Pretend it's summer vacation. Unschooling can't be done part time. It
undermines the confidence you're trying to instill in them and yourself that
life is life's greatest teacher :-)
And the next piece is to read at http://www.unschooling.com Read the message
boards especially. Ask lots of questions :-)
Formal learning is being certain you can't let go of the side of the pool.
Unschooling is paddling around in the deep end :-)
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
psam ordener
can anyone PLEASE give me
We've been unschooling for 4 years. My children have continued to learn,
day after day, without any structured lessons. My 8yo is picking up
multiplication on his own. My 14yo has studied algebra, chemistry and
American and Texas history on his own initiative. No workbooks - just
plenty of access to the library, to the Internet, to Mom and Dad, and to
other adults who will answer his questions.
Read some of John Holt's books. Read this article that was in the Houston
Chronicle yesterday. The author, Crispin Sartwell, is chairman of
humanities and sciences at the Maryland Institute
College of Art in Baltimore:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/editorial/outlook/1262000
Deschool yourself. Know that the educational system doesn't work, so that
copying it won't work at home either. People learn naturally because that's
what Nature intends for them to do. Perhaps they won't learn the same
things kids at school are learning - but they'll be able to learn them, at
any time they become important. An education is not just a
government-mandated set of classes on specific subjects.
The longer we unschool, the happier we are with it. DH thought it would
work for our first child, who is intellectually gifted, but didn't expect it
to work for our second, who is intellectually average. It works well for
both of them. It's the "average" kid who's figuring out multiplication and
division on his own, with Legos and cookies and video games.
It works! Trust yourself, trust the kids.
psam
psamo@...
Motherhood - not just a job, it's an Adventure!
> some advice? thank you!Sure - relax and take care of the new baby!
We've been unschooling for 4 years. My children have continued to learn,
day after day, without any structured lessons. My 8yo is picking up
multiplication on his own. My 14yo has studied algebra, chemistry and
American and Texas history on his own initiative. No workbooks - just
plenty of access to the library, to the Internet, to Mom and Dad, and to
other adults who will answer his questions.
Read some of John Holt's books. Read this article that was in the Houston
Chronicle yesterday. The author, Crispin Sartwell, is chairman of
humanities and sciences at the Maryland Institute
College of Art in Baltimore:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/editorial/outlook/1262000
Deschool yourself. Know that the educational system doesn't work, so that
copying it won't work at home either. People learn naturally because that's
what Nature intends for them to do. Perhaps they won't learn the same
things kids at school are learning - but they'll be able to learn them, at
any time they become important. An education is not just a
government-mandated set of classes on specific subjects.
The longer we unschool, the happier we are with it. DH thought it would
work for our first child, who is intellectually gifted, but didn't expect it
to work for our second, who is intellectually average. It works well for
both of them. It's the "average" kid who's figuring out multiplication and
division on his own, with Legos and cookies and video games.
It works! Trust yourself, trust the kids.
psam
psamo@...
Motherhood - not just a job, it's an Adventure!