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If You Want Children to Love Learning, Let Them Lead
It’s 11 a.m., the first day of the new year, and my 14 year old has just come out of his room. Hair disheveled, loving grin on his face as his tall body bends over to give me a hug. This is how every morning begins if I’m home when he wakes. A warm embrace and a grin almost immediately followed with, “What’s for breakfast?” Today he says, “Mom. Did you know that the largest tsunami created a wall of water 3 miles high?” “I didn’t know that. That’s unbelievable.” I’m obviously interested and he continues with stories about prehistoric weather events, asteroids, the power of atomic bombs, and engineering…
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Funny Bones- A Craft Project
I’m a sucker for a good craft so when I saw an idea for a skeleton that sticks to the front of the refrigerator that could be moved about, I had a feeling our family needed this. We are constantly in and out of the kitchen making food and messes now we can make a skeleton dance. Who doesn’t like a little entertainment while waiting on your mom to make your pancakes? I shared the idea with my youngest and she was immediately sold. We got out our supplies and got to it. Total time to make? About 30 minutes. Total amount of fun? Up to you. You will need: white card…
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What is Unschooling?
We ‘un’ school. But what does that mean? For us it means this: We do not approach learning the way most think of when they hear the word ‘school’. We eschew the traditional approach of going into a building filled with resources and plans, teachers and administrators, who are doling out a mandated curriculum during an inflexible time frame without much consideration for individuality all in the name of education. It could be concluded that if we don’t ‘do school’ then we must be lazy, unmotivated people who just like to sleep in and not be bothered with schedules or commitments. While part of that may be true, we do LOVE our…
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Why We Chose Homeschooling- A Letter to My Son
D, In three more days, I could be sending you, my four year old son, off to Kindergarten. Your carefree days would be replaced with homework, inflexible schedules, and demands. You would no longer get to greet your five month older sister when she awakes from her naps or play with your Legos uninterrupted. You would no longer get to sleep until your body was ready to rise or enjoy the freedom of moving from one activity to another, from inside play to outside play, to quench your thirst without waiting in line or relieving your bladder without getting permission. Your thoughtful questions and inquisitive nature would likely go unappreciated…
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How Pokemon Sealed our Unschooling Fate
My son was six when Pokemon entered our world. The cute and odd-looking characters quickly became his thing, his focus, the topic he explored in as many ways as possible. For a little while, I was like the Pokemon themselves–using my ‘special powers’ (i.e. my debit card to purchase or not purchase cards each time we entered a Target) and my personal experience points, (a masters degree in Special Education, past work in public schools, and organizing/suggesting curriculum for a private school), to justify why I needed to be in control of what and how he learns. I just knew my skills gave me insight more powerful than my son’s. How…
