Cana
So how does doing school at home differ in what Callie and I are doing? Well most importantly I am not telling Callie she has to do anything, she doesn't. She wants to do what she is doing, everything that she is doing. She has even decided there are a few things she would rather skip, but the benefits for working through the tough things for her is worth it. I asked myself if I would be OK if she decided to do something else tomorrow and when I said yes and meant it, I knew this was more about her than me; as it should be.
We have decided to not use lesson plans. First of all, I spent about 6 hours at the computer looking for the right lesson to fit what we wanted to learn and still couldn't find it, plus I wasted 6 hours. I know that I don't have that kind of time. Who does? We are using a more individual approach. We are starting off with the Big Bang. What better place to start than the beginning! We have found some hand-on activities that we want to do. A interesting video from netflix staring our favorite Astrophysicist (yes we have one), and plan on looking for used textbooks at the used book store. Callie plans on summarizing what she has learned and putting it on this blog.
Here is a
link to the outline page on our website
Cana
This morning we all woke when we felt like it. From my bed I could see Brent cleaning his room. Something we had all agreed the day before needed to be done. Callie was already watching Anime. I nicely reminded her about the decision to clean our rooms today and she quickly began. Brent reminded me that we were going to practice for the 5K walk this morning, so him and I headed out to map a 3.11 mile route. After we got back JT had coffee made and Brent went and grabbed his bike. Callie decided to sit this one out and work on her room. JT, Brent and I headed out for a very pleasant walk on a beautiful, quiet Sunday morning. Who says you need to be at a church to feel God's presence. Brent is getting much better on his bike. We only made it 2/3rds of the way when the call of breakfast was overwhelming.
JT started cleaning the meatball mess from the night before and I headed to the store; remembering that we had just tossed my broken electric skillet. I currently don't own a frying pan. I got a cute new griddle. Yes, kitchen appliances are cute to me. I got home to a clean kitchen and soon the house was filled with the smells of bacon and french toast. Brent was on the computer and JT was catching up on what he missed of yesterdays draft picks.
Half way through cooking, Callie popped her head in to let me know her room was clean and ask if I needed any help. She unloaded the dishwasher and set the table on the back patio for breakfast. I am frequently astonished with how helpful my kids are without the tension of actual chores. I am pretty sure they do more now and are much happier about it.
Breakfast was lovely with lots of chatting. Everyone helped clear. After breakfast we all sorta did our own thing, sharing with each other anything interesting. There was napping, video games, computer time, TV, movies, cups of coffee, meatballs, reading, writing, drawing, cuddling, gardening and more.
Nice day. We have a lot more of them now that the kids are out of school.
Cana
I have been homeschooling a little over a year. I am currently loving Sandra Dodd's website.
http://www.sandradodd.com/unschooling I feel like it all makes perfect sense. When I implement artificial constraints on the kids, they resist and though learning does occur, the ability to remember what was learned is lost as is the love of learning. Also they seem less happy. I have spent the last 3 weeks or so learning everything I can about this homeschooling method. My husband has teased me about the constant emails on my phone. During this time we were mostly on vacation so it was easy to allow the kids to take a break from school and just do what they wanted. No surprise to a more seasoned homeschooler, but the kids didn't become mindless lazy little people. As the return to school time approached my hubby and I had several talks about the kids choosing what they wanted to learn. He agreed to give it a try, knowing change was needed.
Sandra's site has been very helpful at allowing me to see what the method really is. For me, the name unschooling was frightening, I saw it as unlearning. I was nervous and the site reassured me. Now my kids are reassuring me. Callie is completely passionate about music and is more excited about the arrival of her violin than an upcoming holiday. Brent is so interesting and intelligent, I couldn't force him not to learn.
So Monday came and went and no major back to school moment occurred. The kids are still filling their time with what they want and a whole lot of learning is going on.
Cana
Every month or so I have been running into roadblocks with homeschooling. I find myself frequently asking myself "Did the kids learn something today or did we just complete the checklist?" I remind myself that homeschooling was my kids idea and the purpose was to give them a safe environment that encouraged their love of learning.
I have been journaling in hopes that I could identify what worked and what didn't. I have noticed that most of the learning moments that stand out were not doing the planned curriculum, but when the kids were independently pursuing their own interests. So I have decided to investigate what unschooling is. I find it intriguing and confusing at the same time.
