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3 Regrets of an Unschooling Mom
We have been homeschooling for 12 years, unschooling for close to 11. My kids have been unschooling since birth, though. I am the one who needed to catch up to what they instinctively knew to be true, which is: Learning happens ALL THE TIME even without adult involvement, control or meddling. Below are three things I sort of/kind of regret. I say sort of/kind of because I believe all our experiences teach us something. Even the failures–especially the failures. So, do I REALLY regret the following? Not necessarily. I mostly mourn the time I lost worrying and comparing. The upside, however, is by sharing my experiences in those early days…
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The Power of Curiosity
By social standards, we have taken a non-conventional path to education, but biologically speaking my children are doing exactly what nature intended: learning by engaging in activities and topics that intrigue them, draw them in, and pique their curiosities. Read the full article on ASDE’s Tipping Points here.
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The Day My Teen Built His Own Computer
If you’re not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you’re determined to learn, no one can stop you. -Unknown It happened. The Amazon cart filled with computer parts for well over a month was finally emptied. On his 15th birthday, the money he saved from summer jobs combined with monetary birthday gifts from family and friends was enough to fulfill the goal he set months ago. What? An actual, working computer? But how? These were absolutely my questions too. When he first started talking about the idea I remember thinking, “Yea. Ok.” Then I drifted off wondering many things…Am I going to need to hire someone? Am…
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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…
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Learning to Read the Natural Way
I know it is hard to trust, but trust you must. Children can and will learn to read without school. This has been proven time and time again, yet it is a difficult concept to accept in a culture that spends billions of dollars on curriculum and programs to teach children how to read and start them as early as five. Naturally, when this kind of money is being spent it makes sense to defend the stance that reading must be directly taught, in a setting by certified individuals, and started as early as kindergarten. I am aware that there will always be outliers–those who do in fact need additional…
