Cats Meow

I have two daughters, 10 and 6, who have been homeschooled forever. We did
a little formal homeschool, but have really been unschooling most of the
time. I was wondering how, to what extent or even if, you explain
unschooling to your children.

I thought I had explained it to my daughters, but every time we meet
someone who asks how school's going, they have a totally blank look and say
something like, "Oh we didn't do anything today, we just played." I'm
really glad that they don't realise that they're being "schooled" and that
they're free to play a great part of their day (I consider that to be a job
well done on my part) but at the same time their response worries me. I
reminded my older daughter today that many people don't understand how
unschooling works- that we don't need lessons to learn, that they're
learning all the time even through games and just playing. She said, "Well
I don't understand how it works either."

Her response has left me speechless! Part of me agrees with Hafidha...
" They don't know that unschooling isn't about what you can
necessarily see on paper. It's about development, growth, independence
and love of learning - none of which can be conveyed on television in
a 2 minute video segment."... or in a 2 minute conversation. But I also
feel we need to let people know that we're not flakes who just let their
children play all day. And I also think my daughter needs to understand
what we're doing.

Anyway, I'd love some feedback on this- what do you tell your children
about your homeschooling methods?
Thanks,
Lyn

Stephanie Holzbaur

Last year when my son was 4 one of his ps friends asked why he does
not go to school, he said "because I am a teacher"
I did talk more with him about how he does decide what he wants to
explore so yes he is his own teacher.
Stephanie H. upstate NY