Hoping you can help
Claudia <[email protected]>
Hi all,
I'm new to the list.
We're an orthodox Catholic homeschooling family of three children --
actually only one girl (10) - my other two are still little babes -
Bernadette is almost 3 and my son, Francis Patrick is 19 months.
Here's my question -- I'm interested in learning more
about "unschooling" -- we have been doing our own curriculum (books,
etc.) but to be honest, it hasn't been working very well.
Catie is smart -- she is a good learner and very mature for her
age...
my problem is that I have trouble formally teaching her with the
littler ones running amok. My kids are abnormally active children -
always on the go.
I can't sit down and do 30 problems of Saxon math -- or do English -
etc...the other two are always ready to pounce on us and we get
NOTHING accomplished.
It's gotten to the point where all I do is yell at everyone and this
homeschooling is feeling terrible.
:(
What do I do?
I'm one of those anal retentive individuals who feels like they have
always gotta be in control -- and it's not good.
I feel that if I don't "monitor" and keep Catie up to speed that
she's going to fall behind and get lost.
How do I do this????
How do I let the littler ones start to learn too?
How do they learn to read, do math....so many questions.
Am hoping you can help me with some suggestions.
Thanks!
Claudia
www.padrepiohomeschool.com
I'm new to the list.
We're an orthodox Catholic homeschooling family of three children --
actually only one girl (10) - my other two are still little babes -
Bernadette is almost 3 and my son, Francis Patrick is 19 months.
Here's my question -- I'm interested in learning more
about "unschooling" -- we have been doing our own curriculum (books,
etc.) but to be honest, it hasn't been working very well.
Catie is smart -- she is a good learner and very mature for her
age...
my problem is that I have trouble formally teaching her with the
littler ones running amok. My kids are abnormally active children -
always on the go.
I can't sit down and do 30 problems of Saxon math -- or do English -
etc...the other two are always ready to pounce on us and we get
NOTHING accomplished.
It's gotten to the point where all I do is yell at everyone and this
homeschooling is feeling terrible.
:(
What do I do?
I'm one of those anal retentive individuals who feels like they have
always gotta be in control -- and it's not good.
I feel that if I don't "monitor" and keep Catie up to speed that
she's going to fall behind and get lost.
How do I do this????
How do I let the littler ones start to learn too?
How do they learn to read, do math....so many questions.
Am hoping you can help me with some suggestions.
Thanks!
Claudia
www.padrepiohomeschool.com
Gerard Westenberg
<I feel that if I don't "monitor" and keep Catie up to speed that
she's going to fall behind and get lost.
How do I do this????
How do I let the littler ones start to learn too?>>
Hi!
I found it helped to start unschooling by being on holiday! You know - judt do the things together, and separately, that you would do in vacation time. Read together. Watch videos. Go to the library, the park, other outings. Spend time cooking. My little ones used to always.lov being with me, cleaning with a water spritz bottle or baking and talking...
I kept a journal during this time too. Well, still do, on and off. It helped me to really see what was going on - yes, there was learning - without control.
Decide to give it time - a good long time - and keep on being together and journalling, And read all you can - I really like The Unschooling Handbook by Mary Griffith or Homeschooling Our Children Unschooling Oursleves by Alison McKee. And the messages at www.unschooling.com
Oh, and a few of us are on a little list of Catholic unschoolers, if you are interested, you can email me... The discussion here, on this unschooling list, is TOTALLY helpful, too. :-)...Leonie W.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
she's going to fall behind and get lost.
How do I do this????
How do I let the littler ones start to learn too?>>
Hi!
I found it helped to start unschooling by being on holiday! You know - judt do the things together, and separately, that you would do in vacation time. Read together. Watch videos. Go to the library, the park, other outings. Spend time cooking. My little ones used to always.lov being with me, cleaning with a water spritz bottle or baking and talking...
I kept a journal during this time too. Well, still do, on and off. It helped me to really see what was going on - yes, there was learning - without control.
Decide to give it time - a good long time - and keep on being together and journalling, And read all you can - I really like The Unschooling Handbook by Mary Griffith or Homeschooling Our Children Unschooling Oursleves by Alison McKee. And the messages at www.unschooling.com
Oh, and a few of us are on a little list of Catholic unschoolers, if you are interested, you can email me... The discussion here, on this unschooling list, is TOTALLY helpful, too. :-)...Leonie W.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Fetteroll
on 1/14/03 7:37 PM, Claudia <sanfrancesco@...> at sanfrancesco@...
wrote:
(http://www.unschooling.com) Probably every question you have has been
answered a number of different ways. And they stay put for thoughtful
browsing ;-) unlike the list which flows along like a raging river
sometimes!
I know anal :-) And one of the things that's tough to get over is finding a
way to calm those fears without letting them spill all over our kids and
interfering with what they already do naturally: learn.
Think about how they learned and are learning English. Do you need to
monitor their English and keep them up to speed so they don't fall behind?
But think about how kids learn Spanish in school and how hovering over them
and keeping them working is necessary. And how well it lasts after the class
ends!
It's *hard* to learn something you aren't using and see no personal use for.
How well would you learn to repair the controler for an aluminum extrusion
press? And what if you had to spend 12 years learning things that seemed
similarly and uselessly esoteric to you?
It's very easy to learn something as a side effect of doing something we're
interested in. Manipulating numbers (and as a side effect learning how
numbers work) so you can figure out if you can afford 2 toys with the money
you have works pretty effortlessly without even having to compare it to
Saxon ;-)
don't even notice the profoundness of what they're doing because it's
effortless. Advertisers want us to think programs designed to teach little
kids a foreign langauge are amazing. But they can't come close to what the
kids already did all on their own to learn a "foreign" language from scratch
as toddlers.
things, having pleasant expreiences with it, needing it for their own
purposes. Same way they learned English.
Joyce
wrote:
> What do I do?A big help would be reading the message boards at Unschooling.com
> I'm one of those anal retentive individuals who feels like they have
> always gotta be in control -- and it's not good.
> I feel that if I don't "monitor" and keep Catie up to speed that
> she's going to fall behind and get lost.
> How do I do this????
>
(http://www.unschooling.com) Probably every question you have has been
answered a number of different ways. And they stay put for thoughtful
browsing ;-) unlike the list which flows along like a raging river
sometimes!
I know anal :-) And one of the things that's tough to get over is finding a
way to calm those fears without letting them spill all over our kids and
interfering with what they already do naturally: learn.
Think about how they learned and are learning English. Do you need to
monitor their English and keep them up to speed so they don't fall behind?
But think about how kids learn Spanish in school and how hovering over them
and keeping them working is necessary. And how well it lasts after the class
ends!
It's *hard* to learn something you aren't using and see no personal use for.
How well would you learn to repair the controler for an aluminum extrusion
press? And what if you had to spend 12 years learning things that seemed
similarly and uselessly esoteric to you?
It's very easy to learn something as a side effect of doing something we're
interested in. Manipulating numbers (and as a side effect learning how
numbers work) so you can figure out if you can afford 2 toys with the money
you have works pretty effortlessly without even having to compare it to
Saxon ;-)
> How do I let the littler ones start to learn too?They already are. They've learned tons since they were born. And yet we
don't even notice the profoundness of what they're doing because it's
effortless. Advertisers want us to think programs designed to teach little
kids a foreign langauge are amazing. But they can't come close to what the
kids already did all on their own to learn a "foreign" language from scratch
as toddlers.
> How do they learn to read, do math....so many questions.They learn by being around reading and math, seeing it used for useful
things, having pleasant expreiences with it, needing it for their own
purposes. Same way they learned English.
Joyce
[email protected]
In a message dated 1/17/03 3:22:27 AM, fetteroll@... writes:
<< > I'm one of those anal retentive individuals who feels like they have
embroidery, or planning a flower and vegetable producing yard. Meanwhile,
your children can enjoy life at their own speed, with great food and
beautiful surroundings, and a mom who has not focussed her control-beam on
them!
Sandra
<< > I'm one of those anal retentive individuals who feels like they have
> always gotta be in control -- and it's not good.You can transfer your "anality" to meal-planning, or quilt-making, or
> I feel that if I don't "monitor" and keep Catie up to speed that
> she's going to fall behind and get lost. >>
embroidery, or planning a flower and vegetable producing yard. Meanwhile,
your children can enjoy life at their own speed, with great food and
beautiful surroundings, and a mom who has not focussed her control-beam on
them!
Sandra
Pam Hartley
----------
had I not other outlets, I would probably have the urge to plan and organize
my children, with predictably disastrous results.
So, I breed fancy rabbits and guinea pigs and own a home business and
there's enough paperwork and advanced planning and study and busyness to
keep me out of trouble. ;)
Pam
>From: [email protected]I'd second this advice, it works very well. I'm a planner and organizer and
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] Digest Number 2887
>Date: Fri, Jan 17, 2003, 8:51 AM
>
> << > I'm one of those anal retentive individuals who feels like they have
>> always gotta be in control -- and it's not good.
>> I feel that if I don't "monitor" and keep Catie up to speed that
>> she's going to fall behind and get lost. >>
>
> You can transfer your "anality" to meal-planning, or quilt-making, or
> embroidery, or planning a flower and vegetable producing yard. Meanwhile,
> your children can enjoy life at their own speed, with great food and
> beautiful surroundings, and a mom who has not focussed her control-beam on
> them!
had I not other outlets, I would probably have the urge to plan and organize
my children, with predictably disastrous results.
So, I breed fancy rabbits and guinea pigs and own a home business and
there's enough paperwork and advanced planning and study and busyness to
keep me out of trouble. ;)
Pam