Amie

I really thought that I had a handle on what unschooling is. The definitions I see here totally resonate with me. And everything I have read, I feel comfortable with. However, I am struggling on what it "looks" like IRL, if that makes any sense. Do you "plan" any learning? I believe whole heartedly that my boys(age 5 yrs) can and will learn without having curriculums to follow, and without me formally teaching them everything. But, I don't really get how the whole picture goes together. Do you set up or "stage" things, then see if they get interested in something, and then find more info and/or activities to relate to that subject? Or, do you just kind of go about your day with your interests and let them discover things on their own and ask you questions? I don't mean that I would just sit around eating bon-bons and not have to be present , but I guess it just doesn't seem like we have enough excitement around here. I am worried that I somehow need more to spur their curiosity? They really seem bored at times. I keep thinking, how can they be bored already, they are only 5! I hope this question is clear.
Can anyone help me understand?

Thanks!
Amie


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

the_clevengers

--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., "Amie" <tcee1@f...> wrote:
> I really thought that I had a handle on
> what unschooling is. The definitions I see
> here totally resonate with me. And everything
> I have read, I feel comfortable with. However,
> I am struggling on what it "looks" like IRL,
> if that makes any sense.

I'm sure it looks different for every different family who follows
this path.

>Do you "plan" any learning? I believe whole
> heartedly that my boys(age 5 yrs) can and
> will learn without having curriculums to follow,
> and without me formally teaching them
> everything. But, I don't really get how the
> whole picture goes together. Do you set up or
> "stage" things, then see if they get interested
> in something, and then find more info and/or
> activities to relate to that subject? Or, do you
> just kind of go about your day with your interests
> and let them discover things on their own and ask you questions?


I don't plan "learning" at all, but I do bring up all sorts of things
that I think my kids will be interested in. I go through our town's
weekly calendar once a week with the kids and we put stuff on our own
calendar that they might be interested in, stuff like plays,
readings, story times, parades, peace vigils, classes, or whatever.

I buy things -- like my recent purchase of some early reader books
that are themed on the Lego characters my son loves, knowing he would
just be overcome with excitement when he saw them (he was) -- because
I know he's bored with the early reader-type books we have around the
house (Dr. Seuss and Bob books). That doesn't mean I expect him to
sit down and read them, which I guess would be "planning learning",
but he does some times, and some times he asks me to read them to
him. They're there, they're available, sparking interest in the world
of reading. I buy other things that I think the kids will be
interested in. Sometimes I'm right (word magnets for the
refridgerator, a scale to measure things), sometimes I'm wrong
(cuisinaire rods). I think where unschooling really comes in is that
there's no pressure on the kids to use them, especially in the case
where I'm wrong and they're not interested. Also, I can watch their
interest wax and wane without anxiety. My son will use the
refridgerator magnets for a solid week, making up poems and writing
them down on paper. Then for several weeks he might not touch them at
all. Both are okay.

We also attend homeschooling and other events that the kids are
interested in, on a weekly basis. They always get to choose a class
or two to do as well if they want to - last year my daughter chose
gymnastics and my son horseback riding and swimming. At times when
they see something that they're interested in, as my son was at a
Japanese festival we went to that had martial arts demonstrations, I
will mention that classes are available in that subject if they're
interested (neither was interested in pursuing martial arts at that
point).

There's also things that I do just for me that they come along to.
Often they ask to be included in my activites. Sometimes they don't
want to be or can't.

>I don't mean that I would just sit around eating bon-bons and not
>have to be present , but I guess it just doesn't seem like we have
>enough excitement around here. I am worried that I somehow need more
>to spur their curiosity? They really seem bored at times. I keep
>thinking, how can they be bored already, they are only 5! I hope
>this question is clear.

Sometimes boredom can be a great spur to finding new interests. But
sometimes (especially with kids this young), it can be very
frustrating for the parent. I know my kids tend to act out a lot more
if they're bored, picking fights with each other, etc. So if that
starts happening, we just go out of the house on some adventure or
another. My kids are both pretty high-energy, gregarious, extroverts.
So they need/want a lot of interaction, stimulation, movement, etc.
They are always asking me to call someone to come play or to go
somewhere (even if we've just gotten home from a 6-hour playtime at
the park with friends, LOL!). So what works for us is to be busy most
of the time, doing things, usually with other people. That might not
work for others though, I have friends whose kids prefer to stay home
a lot more than mine do.

Don't know if this answers anything. I do think that once a person
releases the expectations of "learning" and the way that looks, then
anything they feel free to do or suggest to their kids will just flow
along - sometimes working, sometimes not, but not causing anxiety
either way.

Blue Skies,
-Robin-