[email protected]

In a message dated 4/22/02 9:00:11 AM Central Daylight Time,
[email protected] writes:

<< So the question remains unanswered, How do you go about finding
people to "trade lessons" with if your kids want to learn something
you can't help them with? >>

The original post was asking about a younger child, and trading math for
history or geography.
I think the advice to not try and shunt these into subjects and try to make
lessons out of them was right on......not at all like an older child that has
decided they want higher math or some specialized information the parent
would have a hard time helping them get.
But as to trading, if that's what you choose. Don't you just find a parent
willing to trade and do it?
Ren

[email protected]

In a message dated 4/22/2002 7:19:28 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
starsuncloud@... writes:


> The original post was asking about a younger child, and trading math for
> history or geography.
> I think the advice to not try and shunt these into subjects and try to make
>
> lessons out of them was right on......not at all like an older child that
> has
> decided they want higher math or some specialized information the parent
> would have a hard time helping them get.
> But as to trading, if that's what you choose. Don't you just find a parent
> willing to trade and do it?

As an unschooling parent, we don't/didn't do lessons in math, geography,
history, science, reading or writing or any other subject -- not for the
young kids - not until, as teenagers, they got interested in going to
community college and taking actual courses.

But for a while, we did trade violin lessons for my daughter in exchange for
me playing math games with someone else's kids during the lessons. This is
someone who uses the Calvert Curriculum -- playing math games was really a
BREAK for her kids and fun for them. My younger daughter would play with us
when her sister was having her lesson, she LOVES math and games and was happy
to have me coming up with games and to have another kid to play them with, on
a regular basis -- my older daughter wasn't interested so she did something
else. The violin teacher's kids had to play - their mom was paying for it, by
giving my kids the violin lessons they wanted. They played eagerly and had
fun. When I say "math games" - it was activities out of books like the "Math
for Smartypants" book by Marilyn Burns.

Somebody is helping my daughters build a dollhouse and I'm tutoring her 16 yo
in math because she wants to take the CHSPE. But we're friends - it isn't a
"trade" - it is just her doing something with my kids because she likes them
and wants to do it and me doing something for hers because I like them and
want to do it - but not "in exchange" -- we do all kinds of things together.

I guess the best advice about this that I can think of is not to be too shy
to just ask someone to help your kid out with something. IF the child wants
to learn it - and the person has the expertise - they'll usually be happy to
share. It won't work out well if it turns out that it is the parent pushing
the child to learn it and the child isn't really interested.

I have helped a number of teenagers learn to write an "essay" -- because they
have to do it on the CHSPE as well as study for the math part of the exam. I
wouldn't do it if the parent came and said they wanted the kid to learn it,
etc. But I willingly and happily give up some of my scarce time to help any
teenager who asks me themselves and says that THEY want to do it.

--pamS


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