deedeanne

Hi Julie!
I just read your posts and wanted to say thank you for sharing them
with all of us. I too would like to be straight forward with people
about how my children learn, so that they can learn how natural and
joyful it can be.

At my children's evaluations this year, we just brought the
accordion folder full of things we had collected throughout the year
and a book list. The evaluator knows us from being in the same group
activities, but I haven't ever announced, "We unschool". I have
answered questions about curriculum with, "We don't use any. We just
follow whatever their interests are." Anyway, she was able to see
the progress, but I really like the idea of a narrative to tie it
all together.

At my 13yo son's eval. last year, he was surprised by what he had
done throughout the year too. He was only looking at the things we
had saved: drawings, pictures, ticket stubs, directions for
experiments, recipes, etc. This year he decided to take a
standardized test, to assure himself he was learning. If I could
verbalize, or keep a narrative record to show him, maybe he wouldn't
have those doubts.

If you wouldn't mind, I would love to see any/all of the narratives
you wrote to give me some inspiration. You could e-mail them to me
privately. Thanks again for sharing!

Deanne