Alternative LearningAre you a homeschooling mama? or maybe you unschool... or maybe you are interested in another alternative learning style? or maybe you don't have any idea what i am referring to?? this forum might just be for you! share your thoughts and ideas
I think David is onto something important, thankyou for sharing his thoughts. I too struggled with dh's money being our money (not him, me) but he said something similar... that he wanted our kids education to be more important than the other discretionary expenditures. Homeschooling can be done in soooo many ways, even for free as has been pointed out, but when I think about ways to spend what money we have learning new things always tops the list. And this is not always available at no cost. I am obsessed with learning, so when dh or i want to take a class or whateveer that goes at the top of the list too.
I think the thing about Enki is that is is a guide that will help me. Someone else may not want the same things as I do and spending money on it would be a mistake for them.
By the way, I'm in South western MA if anyone lives near and wants to see my books, I'm always up for a visit!
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formerly known as sagemama
Sage Emma 10-21-99
Torin Rory 05-05-02
Rhys Maryn 11-15-04
MacEwan Arthur 05-23-2007
As I am just beginning to think about education a little, I am watching this with interest. Can someone help point me to resources which talk about how Enki differs from Waldorf education?? I Still don't know about homeschooling... still looking at options. Even if we don't homeschool, i will probably do some sort of loose curriculim the year Liam turns 5-- his birthday is in December, so he wil not start "regular" school until the following year. I think that first year will be a good tester year for us. Anywa, ramble, ramble, lol. I am interested in reading more about this, especially since some of my favorite mamas seem to hold it in such high esteem
btw, the only reading I have done is from the enkieducation website, so other resources are welcome !
heather
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Heather , mama to Liam, born 12-19-01, and Simon, born 04-17-05 wife to Mark, married 09-23-97
So could I work Enki in with TWTM? I really like the pedagogy of TWTM, but I don't like workbooks , some of Waldorf, and some of Charlotte Mason.
I'm still processing the response from Beth. It seems like she's saying "No matter if your daughter knows all the letters, she should learn them our way" which is a big turn off for me. Maybe it's dealing with an advanced learner (what phrase can i use that don't make me unhappy!) but it's hard to find the right fit for Annabelle and I. Heck, at this point I just want a good fit for *her*.
However, everything that everyone has said in this thread really makes me think. It's also from people who I really adore and respect.
Off to the WE_HS site to read up there.
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Elizabeth
Mama to Annabelle who is making me feel ancient now that she's EIGHT!
I think I understand what you are saying Elizabeth. Sage could be called advanced or whatever (she is capable of doing phonic pathways, has read a bit, ect) I spent the last year or so trying out TWTM stuff because of this. I realized after this time though, that just because she is able to do something doesn't mean it's the best thing for her entire self developmentally. For instance, she became very perfectiionist about herself esp her 'schoolwork' she also seemed to be spending more and more time with the adults and being' intellectual' instead of playing.... I could go on. These are all things that many people (Sage's Grandparents esp.) thought were wonderful ~ "look at her persistence... see how grown up she is" ect . But spiritually I don't think that it has been a good experience for her to be so focussed on her brain instead of her body, there will be many more years for her to do that.
I think that Beth's point may also have been that just because a child knows something~ say her letters~ doesn't mean they have been made a true functioning part of her being. She will still benefit from learning them in an integrated manner when she is at the older developmental stage. I think. Of course i'm no expert, I a mom who's just trying to figure it out too. But there's my 2cents.
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It's funny, Jenny, I had typed out the whole conversation Matt and I had about whether we should buy Enki, but I deleted it b/c I felt it was lengthy and b/c I didn't want it to seem like I was asking his permission..but in essence I was...I was asking for his help in determining whether this was an acceptable expenditure b/c I tend to overspend or impulsively spend, and b/c our budget is something we work on together and we discuss any major purchases with each other.
He said just about exactly what your dh said. Matt is a teacher, btw - teaches high school English.
That reassured me. Of course, our budget is so tight that it was a surprise "salary enhancement" or bonus that allowed us to buy the Resource Book. I don't know how I will afford the TG but I'm saving up for it and may consider asking the grandparents for it for a birthday present for the kids.
Heather, a good resource would be to search "enki" in the archives of WE_HS@yahoogroups.com. There has been a ton of discussion on it there, with moms that have been online for a long time in various circles (like AMU! in the early days) and whom I admire greatly. It should give you a good idea of how it differs from Waldorf.
Elizabeth, I'm not sure what to say. Enki is a good fit for us partly because my daughter is not super-precocious academically. I don't know if I've been "successful" at doing heart/hands development or if she is just naturally more heart/hands oriented. I suspect she is naturally that way. She knows her letters, numbers, can read, write, and if I assessed her for math she'd come out somewhere in the middle of first grade (can add/subtract single digits, understands fractions, etc, does not quite get place value). But she isn't "into" academics and doesn't ask to do them often. (Except science experiments and such...but she likes to do them on her own and not if I set them up for her.) If I had a profoundly advanced child like Sam, Hadyn or Annabelle seem to be, I'm not sure how well Enki or any "delayed academics" approach would work. I can't really speak to it...except to say that it *seems* flexible enough that it could be integrated with an unschooling approach where you pursue the child's interests. I'm not sure how that works past Kindergarten but I can see that the K level stuff could easily be integrated with more "advanced" work if the child were interested.
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Jolene, we were posting at the same time. Thanks for posting that as it helps me to understand...I have been having issues lately with the whole approach of waiting until later to begin academics. Your explanation is very clear and helps me reframe my own issues/expectations.
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Do any of you feel like others think you are *crazy* when you mention delayed academics? I get some blank stares and wonder if everyone just thinks my child is less intelligent than theirs. So many people I meet homeschool in order to accellerate academics, so I come off as a freak.
I've been trying to come up with a good reason, one that validates what I do without pointing accusatory fingers at them for accellerating academics.
I have made no formal attempt to teach my boys letters or numbers. DS#1 (5YO) knows about half the uppercase alphabet, and most numbers 0-9. DS#2 (almost 4YO) knows almost no letters or numbers. They have no math knowledge other than what they have picked up naturally, which is counting some items.
Originally posted by JennyC ...and he thought that if it was what I thought would work, paying a little over $1 a day to facilitate our children's learning would be a bargain.
He talked a long time about how because we perceive education as "free", Americans also think it's cheap. It's not cheap at all and to his way of thinking, if we should skimp anywhere in our spending (which we do), it shouldn't be with education.
We are starting a homeschooling account - separate from our checking and measley savings - to be sure we always have cash available to do field trips and buy supplies.
I thought that was a fabulous idea myself.
::: standing ovation :::: from me on this note! We agree wholeheartedly, and I think that what you and your husband were talking about is an extension of the whole homeschooling 'thing.' I mean, think about it, you are already spending dollars homeschooling by the very fact that you have chosen to do it rather than go back to work. Know what I mean? I could go back into the workforce and bring in a good chunk of change which would make many things possible for our family, but it would mean giving up homeschooling. And we don't think the extra money is anywhere near being worth that.
I learned of Enki years ago & really liked the sound of it, but somehow never got around to just buying it. Recently an Enki co-operative was nearly started in our area, but too many people wanted pure Waldorf. She is still adding Enki to it,though. I saw her curriculum & will definitely be purchasing it.
Kimberly- I absolutely feel that way - even in the midst of homeschoolers - even around UNSCHOOLERS! I can not tell you how many times people have heard me say i delay my kid's reading and they say yes, but kids should definitely know how to read by 7! Sigh.... my dd taught herself to read at 10 & at 13 LOVES to read! My ds is 9 & neither he nor his almost 7 yr old sister read and I am HAPPY for it! They spend their days in creative play & such & I never have to worry what information they are taking in from the words around them. Soon there will come a day when they read & that part of the world will fill them up. But I am so glad that time is not now for them!
Sigh.....I definitely feel like a freak (and often allow myself to be full of self-doubt while listening to conversations between other homeschoolers who could ship their kids off to college by 9 LOL)
(P.S. - Everybody thought my dd was brilliant from talking with her - they never knew she couldnt read! LOL! She knows more than I do about everything! LOL!)
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Yes, I do feel "crazy" in some ways. I just met a homeschool mom yesterday who took her dd out of 1st grade because she was bored, and told me she is now reading Harry Potter. I think that sparked some of my "issues" once again.
I was a very precocious young child and I got a lot of positive attention for it. I taught myself to read by 3 years old, dictated stories until I learned to write fluently at 4, read the whole Little House series by second grade, Little Women in 4th grade, and so on. It has been very difficult for me to accept that my daughter is *not* this way. Though I believe firmly in not pushing, I don't have the Waldorf/child development background to articulate clearly *why* her not reading yet is not only okay, but good. I just know that I haven't pushed or tried to sit down with her to "teach" her at all - I have not discouraged either, but expressed the same appreciation for her "play" with reading and writing as I have in other areas, like arts and crafts, or creative play.
Anyway, Jolene, your description was very eloquent and makes sense to me. It's hard (but I think you did it) to frame it in a way that also values and appreciates "precocious" (and please know I also don't find any of the terms suitable) children - there are children that will be reading & writing ahead of the curve no matter what parents do, and I think to actively discourage is just as bad as pushing too hard. I'm still learning how this would be handled in an Enki approach, and even in a Waldorf approach.
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