Growing WarriorsJust your typical family…

Ok, in my new attempts at combining my unschooling core with my husband’s needs to see “something happening”, I resumed “schooling” today. Allison has been asking to do math for a few days, so she was delighted to see her math book again (really guys, Right Start ROCKS). Afterwards, I decided to do a bit of history. I will use our history and science curriculums purchased from Classical Home Education, if not as written, than as a guide for me…a starting off point. If something catches their fancy, we can hang out with that subject for a while. Anyway, I pulled out the history one and realized that I may want to start with a bit of prehistory (the history starts with the ancients), so instead, I pulled out A Child’s History of the World, and read the first chapter on the begining of the Earth. Afterwards, we looked at our Usborne Internet Linked Encyclopedia of World History. And….Ok….I was NOT expecting this. Allison was SO excited! She LOVED it. While we were reading about life on Earth and the dinosaurs, etc., she was bustling with questions and comments, and I kid you not, she even said that she was so excited to be learning this stuff that her heart was beating SO fast. She even had me feel her heart! And it was POUNDING. This kid was atwitter with excitment to be learning. We visited some of the sites on the internet, and learned about dating methods regarding early life on Earth, etc. And then we broke for lunch, and she BEGGED me to take her to the library so she could get MORE books on this subject…so we did On the way home, she was reading to me about dinosaurs. She is especially interested in the theories regarding the extinction of dinosaurs.

So here are a few points:

1. I was introducing this as a prelim to ancient history, but looks like we may stay here for a while. I figured we would read a bit about it this week and be done with it for now.. Probably not Although, you never know!
2. Ok, if I was TOTALLY unschooling, this would not have happened – at least not today and not in this way….She knew about dinosaurs, and about their extinction, and a bit about early life on Earth, but she didn’t know that she would be THIS excited until I introduced her to it formally……don’t know what to think about that one, lol.
3. When we were at the library I found some stupid book that had all sorts of crafts, activities, and experiments to do regarding dinosaurs, and I thought, “wow, this would be a great fun way for her to learn more about this” but when I showed her that book, she replied, “Why do I want to do activities about dinosaurs? I want to LEARN about them!” Ok…so I got a bit too schooly there for a minute. But she’s right. If she were learning about dinosaurs in school, she wouldn’t get to immerse herself like this, would she? She would be doing all sorts of busy work, projects, etc., that may be fun…but really? What do they add? They are there to try to “hook” the student in and create an egagement with the material. She doesn’t need or want that. Plus if she was all thrilled to be learning this stuff in school and had to stop to fill out a worksheet or create a mosiac or something else, I think it would kill her joy….stop that pounding heart of hers.
4. Her excitment drew Meredith in, and she was thrilled to teach Meredith all she was learning. It was so neat!

And my favorite:

5. Several times today she was bursting and would louldy proclaim, ” I LOVE LEARNING” – this happened at home, while we were reading, while we were on the internet, while we were at the library, and again in the car.

School Makes Students Use Buckets Instead Of Bathrooms

So is this that socialization thing I always hear of?

Recently on a list I joined, I engaged in a discussion about my radical views on the educational system, and as I was politely asked to justify my beliefs regarding public schooling, and consequently my reasons for homeschooling, I realized that I really am an unschooler, lol. Like to the core unschooler. Perhaps I require some things of my kids that radical unschoolers would be appalled at, and perhaps I use some curriculums in their education, but when I listened to myself explain why I feel the public school system needs to be burned to the ground, what needs to go up in its place, and what I hope to get out of homeschooling my children, I realized that my homeschooling beliefs truly are that of an unschooler…and I realized that while I may use curriculums, I have always used them to guide ME, not the kids. And if the kids don’t feel like doing something I suggest, we don’t, and I don’t grade or lesson plan, or push or coerce, and the curriculums I have chosen are play-based curriculums or literature-based curriculums, or experiential-based curriculums, and even using them, as I said, I don’t require anything. Allison loves our math curriculum, so we sit down to do math…not every day. I do do what I call history, but it is me sitting down and reading her story books – I abhor textbooks, and will only use a workbook if a child requests it, and then it is hers to do when and if she wants (Meredith has some workbooks, Allison is like me, and doesn’t understand the purpose)….Allison wants to start learning about science and doing “experiments” so I do have a science curriculum (which I haven’t started), but it is only to guide ME in helping her learn about science… because I am science-deficient (thanks Oak Crest Elementary School! Where I spent K through 3rd grade!)

I have had people in the past tell me that I was an unschooler. A local friend got me to attend an unschooling meeting, telling me that I was more unschool than I thought. And I remember another friend writing about her homeschool a while back and saying that I was more on the unschooling side of things than she was (and I thought she was pretty much an unschooler, and I have never attempted to define myself in that way!). Maybe they all saw something that I refused to see.

So now to embrace my unschool side, and make it work with my love of quality curriculum and my husband’s need to see identifiable progress…..hmm

Last night the weatherman on the news said that they are doing a program for students to cover weather. Something about a weather fair, and a free DVD for teachers AND homeschoolers. The local news. We are not the fringe

Today we were at Einsteins and some older lady took a fondness to my girls. She asked Allison where she went to school and Allison said she was homeschooled. The woman looked at me, smiled and said, “That is the way to do it, you should be very proud, you are doing right by your girls”. Then went on to say that she would be terrified to teach math though, lol. Ok.

ETA – I forgot to mention that this woman had two grown daughters….named Allison and Meredith! Imagine!

I registered our homeschool. We are now officially a school – Almely Academy. Whoever can figure out the rationale for the name wins a prize (a big virtual smooch).

Allison turns 7 in about 3 months, and we have to register before she turns 7, so there ya go. Now I never have to do it again. All three of the kids will be enrolled automatically, and we are totally left alone by the state. I didn’t even have to mention the name(s) of my students, their grades or anything! No mandated assessments, no annual registration, no required courses or attendance records. A big reason I love Kansas

School is actually going very well around here. Just if you are wondering. Allison is reading and enjoying it, and reads daily on her own for fun now (whoo hoo). She is EXCELLING in math. I love Right Start. It rocks. Allison blows me away daily…and reports that math is her very favorite subject (although she can’t wait for spring when we start doing insects and other creepy crawlies for science). And in other news, Meredith is the proud owner of some workbooks. Sigh. Yes, it wasn’t that long ago that I was claiming that you would not find a workbook in my house! But Meredith was begging for school, and kept asking about workbooks when we would see them in the store, so I finally buckled and got her a large K-math and K-reading book, which she works out of at her leisure. She will often do 2-4 pages while Allison has her school…but many times she opts not to. Either way is fine by me. April first we are going to start her on 100EZ lessons for reading (V E R Y S L O W L Y), along with a bit of Spell to Write and Read along with Allison, just to reinforce pre-reading for Meredith and start some spelling stuff with Allison. She will also start her level A of Right Start…a couple of lessons a week…so also S L O W. And Allison will continue on her current track….We are currently doing AO across the board (only on week five of year one…), with some minor secularization of the readings , but next year I may modify it somewhat and do the Classical Education’s history program. Anyone ever use that? Opinions? And then just use AO for literature, geography, etc.

We are all sick this week so taking it easy. I tried to do a bit of school today. I read a chapter from Paddle-to-the-sea, and both Allison and I were so out of it, at the end, neither of us knew what I just read, so instead we played some math games, did some handwriting, and did Music Ace on the computer.. Meredith did some workbook pages, and Lydia stands at the table and scribbles. Fair day considering we all feel yucky.

Eric has a Very Important Job Interview today, which required the purchase of a suit jacket. I am on the edge of my seat waiting for updates.

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….

Homeschool rocks! Everyone thinks so. EVERYONE.

Home-schooling in the modern world: Success of home-schooled children