A thought just hit me. I like the idea of unschooling. Child-led learning, all the time. But I believe in my heart that it is important to teach/guide them through the basics. I think that there is a core set of knowledge that a child SHOULD have. But just now it hit me. While a child should be able to read “Hop on Pop” at a certain age, a child is NOT required to color in worksheets, create diaramas, orchastrate presentations/performances all about “Hop on Pop”. Those activities do not enhance the child’s ability to read..they don’t really assist a child to engage with a text. They don’t add anything to the process unless initiated BY the child (unschooling!)! Those are the hoops that my unschooling side rebells against. Lapbooks, worksheets, projects, unit study – GAG me. I will sit with my children, teach them the basics, and then they have the rest of the day to play and explore on their own. Why waste their time or mine on this stuff? If they aren’t into it, then all this is just extra fluff that won’t help them to retain information…just takes up time, is a pain to plan for, set up, clean up, etc.
So it hit me, to incorporate my unschooling side and my belief in laying a foundation, I do actually do both! And if my kids want to create a diarama on their own because they are personally involved with the material, then groovy. Otherwise, I am just laying a foundation..teaching the skills needed for them to acquire an education…….I am not going to sing a song or dance a jig in the hopes that it motivates them to become engaged with the process. Their engagement is their responsibility, and has to come from internal motivations….