questions?
[email protected]
Dear Unschooling friends,
I am new to this list and am going to ask a question that had probably been
asked...oh... a hundred times before.....So please forgive ahead of time and
feel free to email off list or point me to threads that pertain to this
but.....here goes.
I am new to many things right now, new state, new friends, new to
homeschooling, and I am interested in doing the best that I can do for my
kids(as all of you are!!).
My questions is this, would any of you be willing to share with me what a
day of unschooling is like? I like the little that I know about this
approach as my family is learning in every situation that we are in. whether
it be going to the seashore, cooking in the kitchen, working in the garden or
just reading at bedtime. and I think that we might fit with unschooling
ideals but wouldlike to know more.
I realize that there must be about as many ways to unschool as they are
unschoolers, but anyone who would like to share just a small glimpse of their
style would be so appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Darci
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I am new to this list and am going to ask a question that had probably been
asked...oh... a hundred times before.....So please forgive ahead of time and
feel free to email off list or point me to threads that pertain to this
but.....here goes.
I am new to many things right now, new state, new friends, new to
homeschooling, and I am interested in doing the best that I can do for my
kids(as all of you are!!).
My questions is this, would any of you be willing to share with me what a
day of unschooling is like? I like the little that I know about this
approach as my family is learning in every situation that we are in. whether
it be going to the seashore, cooking in the kitchen, working in the garden or
just reading at bedtime. and I think that we might fit with unschooling
ideals but wouldlike to know more.
I realize that there must be about as many ways to unschool as they are
unschoolers, but anyone who would like to share just a small glimpse of their
style would be so appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Darci
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
AprilWells
I am not knowledgeable enough to answer this thouroughly, but if I might
give it a shot, it might give you *oldies (no reference to age) a hint
at what a newbie is learning through this group.
Unschooling is letting your child take up interests that are his/her
own. Whethor it be pokemon or Knights. Unschooling is opening the door
to learning by facilitating your childs learning by turning their
interests into learning opertunities.
example: A child interested in Knights, would enjoy books on king
Arthur which might lead to an interest in the History of Great Britain.
The History of Great Britain might lead to an interest in Royal
Families which could lead to an interest in Royals from other countries
which could lead to learning about the renaisance and the black
plague...While learning about knights the child might like to take a
fencing lesson or two, Royal Families could lead to wanting horseback
riding lessons. Learning about the renaissance could lead to learning
about the different type of Art and learning to draw / paint/ sculpt.
Learning about the black plaugue could lead to an interest in health,
disease, biology, (you know the growing the mold on the bread ... look
mom I grew penicillin lol){{and realize that many of these things would
be happening simutaneously..}}}
My point is that as you provide a home that is filled with oppurtuniity
for learning then your child will lead him/herself to the things they
want to know. The great thing so far that I have heard about and
gleaned from this is that unschooling your child isnt just that, because
when you are unschooling your child you yourself have to learn so many
things right along with them that you pull yourself out of the
stagnation left over from high school and begin to have a new
perspective of the world around you.
Well thats my thoughts late tonight on the meaning I have gleaned from
this unschooling list.
April
give it a shot, it might give you *oldies (no reference to age) a hint
at what a newbie is learning through this group.
Unschooling is letting your child take up interests that are his/her
own. Whethor it be pokemon or Knights. Unschooling is opening the door
to learning by facilitating your childs learning by turning their
interests into learning opertunities.
example: A child interested in Knights, would enjoy books on king
Arthur which might lead to an interest in the History of Great Britain.
The History of Great Britain might lead to an interest in Royal
Families which could lead to an interest in Royals from other countries
which could lead to learning about the renaisance and the black
plague...While learning about knights the child might like to take a
fencing lesson or two, Royal Families could lead to wanting horseback
riding lessons. Learning about the renaissance could lead to learning
about the different type of Art and learning to draw / paint/ sculpt.
Learning about the black plaugue could lead to an interest in health,
disease, biology, (you know the growing the mold on the bread ... look
mom I grew penicillin lol){{and realize that many of these things would
be happening simutaneously..}}}
My point is that as you provide a home that is filled with oppurtuniity
for learning then your child will lead him/herself to the things they
want to know. The great thing so far that I have heard about and
gleaned from this is that unschooling your child isnt just that, because
when you are unschooling your child you yourself have to learn so many
things right along with them that you pull yourself out of the
stagnation left over from high school and begin to have a new
perspective of the world around you.
Well thats my thoughts late tonight on the meaning I have gleaned from
this unschooling list.
April
Fetteroll
on 6/29/02 1:00 AM, AprilWells at dawnwells@... wrote:
Unschooling is like you describe but less ... academic.
Unschooling isn't a free-form path through what school teaches but it does
often get described that way because school is the only point of reference
for learning most of us have.
Unschooling is a free form path through life. :-) And the interests connect
to stuff in the real world, not just to stuff in textbooks. A factoid from
an interest that connects to a TV show is just as important as a factoid
that connects to a textbook. (In fact the references to TV shows will be
more valuable to someone who works for TV Guide than the reference into a
chemistry text ;-)
facilitating your child's interests." The interests don't need turned into
learning opportunities because that implies that the child's interests are
of lesser importance than what their interests could lead to.
So it's more helpful in terms of learning how to help children be who they
are to appreciate how everything connects to everything rather than how
interests can connect to academics.
Joyce
> Well thats my thoughts late tonight on the meaning I have gleaned fromYou are very close! :-)
> this unschooling list.
Unschooling is like you describe but less ... academic.
Unschooling isn't a free-form path through what school teaches but it does
often get described that way because school is the only point of reference
for learning most of us have.
Unschooling is a free form path through life. :-) And the interests connect
to stuff in the real world, not just to stuff in textbooks. A factoid from
an interest that connects to a TV show is just as important as a factoid
that connects to a textbook. (In fact the references to TV shows will be
more valuable to someone who works for TV Guide than the reference into a
chemistry text ;-)
> Unschooling is opening the doorPerhaps it's closer to say "Unschooling is opening the door to learning by
> to learning by facilitating your childs learning by turning their
> interests into learning opertunities.
facilitating your child's interests." The interests don't need turned into
learning opportunities because that implies that the child's interests are
of lesser importance than what their interests could lead to.
So it's more helpful in terms of learning how to help children be who they
are to appreciate how everything connects to everything rather than how
interests can connect to academics.
Joyce
[email protected]
In a message dated 6/28/02 5:42:49 PM, svn4heaven@... writes:
<< My questions is this, would any of you be willing to share with me what a
day of unschooling is like? >>
Like a really great Saturday. Like the best summer weeks you remember from
being a kid, when school seemed far away, but the world was right there.
Sandra
<< My questions is this, would any of you be willing to share with me what a
day of unschooling is like? >>
Like a really great Saturday. Like the best summer weeks you remember from
being a kid, when school seemed far away, but the world was right there.
Sandra
[email protected]
In a message dated 6/29/02 5:33:22 AM, fetteroll@... writes:
<< So it's more helpful in terms of learning how to help children be who they
are to appreciate how everything connects to everything rather than how
interests can connect to academics. >>
But "academics" will both cease to exist and then appear everywhere like
mushrooms as soon as you truly stop thinking of them as "academics."
They shouldn't be goal OR obstacles, those topics, but just the real parts of
the world that they are.
People died about religion in England during and after the reign of Henry
VIII. It was "Off with their Heads" season. Someone can get to that
knowledge from an interest in
knights
history of the Bible in English
printing
costume
Scotland
London
Spain/England
France
shipbuilding
Sir Walter Raleigh/New World
piracy
pearls (no small interest if you consider the Renaissance, technology...)
lace (handmade lace was big business, and there was none that was NOT
handmade)
Protestant movement in general
history of the Catholic church in general
genetics (what causes a baby to be a boy or a girl?)
English law
women's rights
The White Tower (National Geographic had a great article not long ago)
And those interests might take a week or a year or thirty years to all tie
together.
Sandra
<< So it's more helpful in terms of learning how to help children be who they
are to appreciate how everything connects to everything rather than how
interests can connect to academics. >>
But "academics" will both cease to exist and then appear everywhere like
mushrooms as soon as you truly stop thinking of them as "academics."
They shouldn't be goal OR obstacles, those topics, but just the real parts of
the world that they are.
People died about religion in England during and after the reign of Henry
VIII. It was "Off with their Heads" season. Someone can get to that
knowledge from an interest in
knights
history of the Bible in English
printing
costume
Scotland
London
Spain/England
France
shipbuilding
Sir Walter Raleigh/New World
piracy
pearls (no small interest if you consider the Renaissance, technology...)
lace (handmade lace was big business, and there was none that was NOT
handmade)
Protestant movement in general
history of the Catholic church in general
genetics (what causes a baby to be a boy or a girl?)
English law
women's rights
The White Tower (National Geographic had a great article not long ago)
And those interests might take a week or a year or thirty years to all tie
together.
Sandra
Betsy
**People died about religion in England during and after the reign of
Henry
VIII. It was "Off with their Heads" season. Someone can get to that
knowledge from an interest in... ** (list omitted)
And people can also get interested in Henry VIII from movies and end up
learning a lot about history.
I saw the movie _Anne of a Thousand Days_ at an impressionable age (12)
and became fascinated by the time period. I read both serious and
fluffy books about the Tudors for about a year afterwards.
As has been mentioned here so often, movies can really make history
intriguing.
Betsy
Henry
VIII. It was "Off with their Heads" season. Someone can get to that
knowledge from an interest in... ** (list omitted)
And people can also get interested in Henry VIII from movies and end up
learning a lot about history.
I saw the movie _Anne of a Thousand Days_ at an impressionable age (12)
and became fascinated by the time period. I read both serious and
fluffy books about the Tudors for about a year afterwards.
As has been mentioned here so often, movies can really make history
intriguing.
Betsy
Betsy
<< My questions is this, would any of you be willing to share with me
what a
day of unschooling is like? >>
I've been doing a better job taking brief notes about what's happening
around here. These are my on the fly notes from Wednesday. We were
home all day, which is unusual for homeschoolers, but not for us. I
have one child, who is 8.
This is probably somewhat more "academic" than average around here.
James had a stuffed up nose, so sitting and reading got more priority
than usual.
June 26
Mom read two chapters from a Star Trek kids novel. Looked briefly at
Discovery channel's internet site. Cartoons (Pokemon). Played
Monopoly. Mom read more from the Star Trek book. James did a puzzle
search book with realistic undersea pictures. Playing outside on the
grass. Computer games with dad. Watched 2 Amazing Animals videos: Apes
and Primates and Extinct Animals. Played Mario Kart. Watched
Enterprise (1/2) and an episode of Buffy on tape
Betsy
what a
day of unschooling is like? >>
I've been doing a better job taking brief notes about what's happening
around here. These are my on the fly notes from Wednesday. We were
home all day, which is unusual for homeschoolers, but not for us. I
have one child, who is 8.
This is probably somewhat more "academic" than average around here.
James had a stuffed up nose, so sitting and reading got more priority
than usual.
June 26
Mom read two chapters from a Star Trek kids novel. Looked briefly at
Discovery channel's internet site. Cartoons (Pokemon). Played
Monopoly. Mom read more from the Star Trek book. James did a puzzle
search book with realistic undersea pictures. Playing outside on the
grass. Computer games with dad. Watched 2 Amazing Animals videos: Apes
and Primates and Extinct Animals. Played Mario Kart. Watched
Enterprise (1/2) and an episode of Buffy on tape
Betsy
Tia Leschke
>Oh I like that!
>
>Like a really great Saturday. Like the best summer weeks you remember from
>being a kid, when school seemed far away, but the world was right there.
An unschooling day at our house rarely includes anything academic at
all. It took me a long time and lot of reading on this list to come to
terms with that. Basically my kid rides his mountain bike, builds trails
for his mountain bike, plays baseball or soccer, listens to music,
downloads music, reads magazines and web sites about biking, and lately
finds a little time for the girl he's interested in. Doesn't look academic
at all, but when I have to find *something* academic to send the teacher of
the program he's registered with, I can always find some.
I just finished reading a cool kid's book. It's about a 10 year old boy
whose soul is being destroyed by school until he finds a man who does
wildlife rehabilitation to take him on as an apprentice instead. It's a
wonderful description of one kind of unschooling life. It's called A Time
to Fly Free by Stephanie S. Tolan. I got it from our library.
Tia
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt
*********************************************
Tia Leschke
leschke@...
On Vancouver Island
Tia Leschke
>As can historical novels, my favourite.
>As has been mentioned here so often, movies can really make history
>intriguing.
Tia
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt
*********************************************
Tia Leschke
leschke@...
On Vancouver Island
[email protected]
In a message dated 6/29/02 9:59:05 AM, ecsamhill@... writes:
<< I saw the movie _Anne of a Thousand Days_ at an impressionable age (12)
and became fascinated by the time period. I read both serious and
fluffy books about the Tudors for about a year afterwards. >>
I watched that (again) last month, and just this morning at the thrift store
bought an Elizabeth I biography I hadn't read. <g>
Sandra
<< I saw the movie _Anne of a Thousand Days_ at an impressionable age (12)
and became fascinated by the time period. I read both serious and
fluffy books about the Tudors for about a year afterwards. >>
I watched that (again) last month, and just this morning at the thrift store
bought an Elizabeth I biography I hadn't read. <g>
Sandra