Gosh, I can hardly believe it's been so long since I last wrote.
It's been 4 years since we started unschooling... and quite a while since I last updated this blog!
Looking back at the early days of Blake's home education, I realize that my thoughts/practices of unschooling have changed.
In the beginning, I thought the process of unschooling would be completely led by my kids. They would choose what they wanted to do each day and somehow, they would end up with a well-rounded education.
That may be the reality for many other unschoolers, but it's not what it looks like around these parts of the woods.
Yes, my kids do have a lot of input into their education.
But no, they cannot simply "play all day" and call it schooling.
This leads me to the question:
Looking back at the early days of Blake's home education, I realize that my thoughts/practices of unschooling have changed.
In the beginning, I thought the process of unschooling would be completely led by my kids. They would choose what they wanted to do each day and somehow, they would end up with a well-rounded education.
That may be the reality for many other unschoolers, but it's not what it looks like around these parts of the woods.
Yes, my kids do have a lot of input into their education.
But no, they cannot simply "play all day" and call it schooling.
This leads me to the question:
What REALLY is unschooling anyway?
According to Wikipedia:
Unschooling is a range of educational philosophies and practices centered on allowing children to learn through their natural life experiences, including play, game play, household responsibilities, work experience, and social interaction, rather than through a more traditional school curriculum. There are some who find it controversial.[1] Unschooling encourages exploration of activities, often initiated by the children themselves, facilitated by the adults. Unschooling differs from conventional schooling principally in the thesis that standard curricula and conventional grading methods, as well as other features of traditional schooling, are counterproductive to the goal of maximizing the education of each child.
My feeling is that unschooling is a mindset more than a practice.
Let me explain with an example close to home—my son Blake.
Blake is incredibly skilled when it comes to hands-on activities. He can swing a hammer like a pro, dam any river or creek imaginable, put together complex mechano sets, etc. But when it comes to the "books", he resists.
To me, unschooling means "real life experiences".
Real life experience = ya still do stuff you don't like.
The key lesson and mindset I try to convey to my kids is this:
"Focus on what you love and do that. The things you know you need to do but don't really feel like doing—do them quickly, efficiently and with good energy."
In other words:
Jenn
Unschooling is a range of educational philosophies and practices centered on allowing children to learn through their natural life experiences, including play, game play, household responsibilities, work experience, and social interaction, rather than through a more traditional school curriculum. There are some who find it controversial.[1] Unschooling encourages exploration of activities, often initiated by the children themselves, facilitated by the adults. Unschooling differs from conventional schooling principally in the thesis that standard curricula and conventional grading methods, as well as other features of traditional schooling, are counterproductive to the goal of maximizing the education of each child.
My feeling is that unschooling is a mindset more than a practice.
Let me explain with an example close to home—my son Blake.
Blake is incredibly skilled when it comes to hands-on activities. He can swing a hammer like a pro, dam any river or creek imaginable, put together complex mechano sets, etc. But when it comes to the "books", he resists.
To me, unschooling means "real life experiences".
Real life experience = ya still do stuff you don't like.
The key lesson and mindset I try to convey to my kids is this:
"Focus on what you love and do that. The things you know you need to do but don't really feel like doing—do them quickly, efficiently and with good energy."
In other words:
Get the drudgery over with by doing it quickly and well. And spend your life doing what you love!With smiles,
Jenn
