I want homeschooling to be more of a lifestyle but honestly with the books/workbooks that we use sometimes I feel like we are just doing "school at home". Does anyone else feel that way? If so, how did you make it feel more of a lifestyle? I was talking to a friend about it today and she was saying how she wanted this year, first grade, to be more fun. My son is also going to be in first grade and I want it to be more enjoyable and not the questions about when is it over(LOL) It also may be his personality, but it seems I should be able to work it more as our life rather than a time frame.

No, I make an effort to not imitate the public (or private) school atmosphere in my home. I do love classroom materials (bulletin boards, posters, etc) but don't buy them (thank goodness they're expensive so I don't consider it).

We do use workbooks in our hs'ing for math and some grammar but we do what most schools would consider unconvential science and history (ala _Well Trained Mind_).

I don't think that recreating school is necessarily a bad thing, I have even looked into Abeka DVD program, but at this time its not what I'm interested in.

If you aren't interested in recreating the "school" in your home, look into other learning options (lapbooking, literature studies, unit studies); but if your satisfied with the education your child is getting, even while using workbooks then go with it!

ITA Teresa. I would love to unschool my DD, but she is 12 and a product of public school; she likes the structure of a daily schedule.

I hope to unschool my son but I'm afraid to do it. He doesn't even know his ABC's yet! :wah: I am thinking he won't read until he's 14 if I unschool. Anyway, I love the freedom that unschoolers have; thery are so enthusiastic about learning.

Sorry didn't offer any advice. I fee the same was as you!

Amy

I love the "idea" of unschooling and that life. My aunt and uncle raised their daughter that way and I've always thought it was neat. I think for me and maybe my personality it's hard. I also think that if I let ds go that he'd just play outside all day (LOL) It's a hard thing to figure out :-)

I also think that if I let ds go that he'd just play outside all day (LOL) It's a hard thing to figure out :-)

My DS would do the same thing. Maybe we could teach them how to conjugate French verbs while they played with Hot Wheels?
Maybe while they dug in dirt, we could remind them that earth is dirt, or terre, and discuss Latin, then the Roman Empire, then eat spaghetti??? LOL Wait, that sounds like a unit study to me, LMBO.

ITA Teresa. I would love to unschool my DD, but she is 12 and a product of public school; she likes the structure of a daily schedule.

I hope to unschool my son but I'm afraid to do it. He doesn't even know his ABC's yet! :wah: I am thinking he won't read until he's 14 if I unschool. Anyway, I love the freedom that unschoolers have; thery are so enthusiastic about learning.

Sorry didn't offer any advice. I fee the same was as you!

Amy


unschooling means child-led learning not just kids jumping on the trampoline all day.
unschooling means when they show an interest is something you show them how to look it up or experiment with it. unschooling means you have a rich environment for discovery. it means if they want to use textbooks and workbooks, they do (not because one sits them down and drills them on the facts but because they pull the workbook out and like working in it).

for years i wrestled with how to "really" unschool. i look back and laugh, bc there is no way to "really" unschool. each child is different and each child learns differently (as i am sure you all know). i will call up the stairs and ask máire was she is doing, "i'm playing!" she calls back. i will go upstairs ad she will be working on a math workbook. lol

bak

Great ideas (LOL)


My DS would do the same thing. Maybe we could teach them how to conjugate French verbs while they played with Hot Wheels?
Maybe while they dug in dirt, we could remind them that earth is dirt, or terre, and discuss Latin, then the Roman Empire, then eat spaghetti??? LOL Wait, that sounds like a unit study to me, LMBO.

I think the problem for me is that I don't see what he's interested in that would really be learning so much. He's spend all day playing on the floor w/ cars and outside riding his scooter. I think that's my fear, is where I'd go with that (LOL)


unschooling means child-led learning not just kids jumping on the trampoline all day.
unschooling means when they show an interest is something you show them how to look it up or experiment with it. unschooling means you have a rich environment for discovery. it means if they want to use textbooks and workbooks, they do (not because one sits them down and drills them on the facts but because they pull the workbook out and like working in it).

for years i wrestled with how to "really" unschool. i look back and laugh, bc there is no way to "really" unschool. each child is different and each child learns differently (as i am sure you all know). i will call up the stairs and ask máire was she is doing, "i'm playing!" she calls back. i will go upstairs ad she will be working on a math workbook. lol

bak

I think the problem for me is that I don't see what he's interested in that would really be learning so much. He's spend all day playing on the floor w/ cars and outside riding his scooter. I think that's my fear, is where I'd go with that (LOL)

I'd be at the library having him type in searches for car books, reading car books, looking into the history of the auto, then go where that leads us.

We unschool, but that doesn't mean we do nothing. My girls DO play a lot of the day, but I happen to believe they learn a lot from "just playing". They really got into Little House and play that all the time. They are even digging "Plum Creek" in the backyard and I had to ask them to stop washing their clothes in it. So we started studying frontier expansion and we got a book from a native american girl's point of view. We also have a book filled with activities that children did back then and we are cooking from it (math) and doing some crafts.

Ara is also really into butterflies, so she is reading some books on bugs and butterflies and we got a buttefly house (science).

We also do a math curriculum (MathUSee). I really like it because I can skip around and easily tune it to each child. I'm not much of a rule follower. We don't do it every day though. When one of the girls wants to do math, we get it out. I find when they are interested, they will spend an hour or two doing it. If they aren't, I'm lucky to get them to concentrate for a few minutes.

Ara wanted to learn about artists after visiting my friend that was an art major and museum curator (SAHM now) so we got Meet the Masters. Again, no struggle in doing it because she WANTED to learn it.

We know an 18 month old that uses sign, so the girls wanted to learn that. We got videos from the library, flash cards from the used homeschool store, and a couple books. It is amazing how much sign they pick up! They keep signing to me, so I've had to learn along with them.

I homeschool because I believe learning should be enjoyable. There are so many interesting things to learn out there. I want them to have the freedom to explore their interests. My job is to be the facilitator and tailor our schooling around what they want to do, trying to touch on whatever topics I think need to be included.

(copying my post from MD)

We don't do school-at-home at all. We have plenty of books and even some workbooks, and we have loose learning objectives. But almost everything is on his own schedule and learning time can be for 5 minutes or 5 hours. Every day is a little different. Most of the time that he is learning something he is not in typical school mode--meaning, we don't do much 'sitting down' work.

We just got back from a trip and it was an intensive learning period for Sam. One of the things he is interested in is code writing. He is also becoming interested in Native American history. Our trip destination (Tulsa) dovetailed really well with both of these new interests. We were able to spend a lot of time visiting various Native American museums to learn about various NA cultures and histories. We spent one entire day in the Cherokee Nation, where we spent time with tribe members learning about their culture and history. Also, the Cherokees have their own alphabet, and this was a great discovery for my code-loving son. We bought a book with all of the symbols and are writing messages to each other in Cherokee. He is viewing it as a "secret code" game, when in fact he is learning another language as well. None of these activities fit into a school-at-home model.

When we are at home, I stay attuned to his interests and try to find things for us to do (and books for him to read) that speak to those interests. Sometimes it's something obvious like a museum or a specific book or a kitchen science experiment, and other times it's something less obvious, like finding someone for him to spend time with who knows a lot about his interest.

Sometimes an interest is sparked because of something that happens in our life. For instance, my parents recently discovered a pack of letters that my great uncle (who was in the army infantry during WWII) wrote home to his sister (my nana) and his parents (my great-grandparents). The letters were written from basic training, other stateside forts, as well as the front lines of the battlefields of France. I was the only person able to decipher his cursive, so I read them aloud to my parents, my uncle, and Sam. My uncle died in France in 1944 while he was fighting on the front lines, so these letters are a valuable part of our family history. Since then, Sam has been wanting to learn more about WWII, and I plan to try to find more soldier letters for him to read. I might try to find a way for him to speak with veterans. We looked at a map of France to see where the letters were written. We started to make a timeline of where uncle Henry was during the progression of the war.

We find that these resources are much more dynamic than books and workbooks, and the experience is more meaningful than doing seatwork. I understand that school-at-home can be necessary for some families, especially with many children, but for us it isn't optimal and we prefer the child-led approach. Is it possible for you to do less seatwork and have more time exploring his interests even if they aren't part of the predetermined curricula? I hope my note has made sense and has been helpful in some way. Homeschooling is such a personalized approach that every family seems to tweak it a little through the years as their needs and situations change.

Tara

The definition of school is, an institution for the teaching of children.

The definition of institution is a significant practice, **relationship**, or organization in a society or culture.

So yes, I am a relationship for the teaching of children. I try not to get too caught up in the "unschooler"/"school at home" labels. It makes unschoolers feel bad for not having structure, and school at homers' feel bad for having too much structure. I try to remind myself that I do a much better job than the school down the street, no matter what we do and how we do it.

nak :thumbsup:
great thread!

Great replies ladies. I think for me I need to use textbooks and while I love the concept of unschooling I just can't do it. I don't easily see how to bring it into our life like most unschoolers seem to. I think I worry after all the work is done the kids are outside etc that it doesn't seem like a lifestyle whereas unschoolers it just seems it's more a part of their day. I don't know....

We're somewhere in the middle. We use curriculum but follow dd's lead with it. For example, we use Living Learning Science and this past year did the astronomy and earth science one. We did space and rocks and haven't gotten any further. lol! Chanel just really got into the space part so we're pretty much unschooling there. History we used Story of the World but she just really didn't get into the middle ages so we're going to just get books on different historical subjects that she might like and when inspiration hits then we'll go with that.

I homeschool because I believe learning should be enjoyable. There are so many interesting things to learn out there. I want them to have the freedom to explore their interests. My job is to be the facilitator and tailor our schooling around what they want to do, trying to touch on whatever topics I think need to be included.

I agree with Allison. We are not unschoolers, and both of my girls really like doing worksheets. But, I try to focus on fun and learning together. We do have a general plan for what we'd like to get in for the year, but we don't do "sit down work" on a daily basis.

I try to introduce a lot of fun games and activites.

When I think about what and how to teach the girls, I think about the things I *really* disliked while in school. I hated having to sit for long periods, I loathed things like dictation, things that required no creativity. So, I like to incorporate learning with fun, moving around, creativity....

For writing, Nico loves to write letters to her pen pals and family. Kaya loves to copy words from her word flash cards. So, we go with that.

We also try to get in lots of field trips, like our latest to the Native American music fest in Ganondagan. Observations and talks while hiking and spending time in the woods teaches them a lot about Science without sit-down time in front of a textbook. Hands on activities with Dad in the workshop help teach about measuring, carpentry, angles in a fun way.

Our main goal, when teaching the girls, is to cater to their interests and always be thinking of fun activities that can enrich their lives.

We are sort of in the middle. I certainly don't feel like what we do is school at home, because we do so much that wouldn't be done in a typical school setting. I feel that we use a more unschooling approach with Nathan - because he works well that way. Austin and I are discussing what to read about this coming school year - and we are thinking Egypt again, and dinosaurs. He is loving reading a variety of books - so I picked up the Sonlight 2 Intermediate reading program... and they look like books he will enjoy reading. The schedule helps me - not that I follow it religously, I can't follow rules (can't even follow a sewing pattern in it's intireity before going off on my own.).

Even when I taught music in a school, I would have my lesson plans, but I rarely followed them. I would have an idea, then go off on whatever the kids were interested in that day. It was more fun, they enjoyed it, and I did too.

However, Nathan also loves order. For math we have a curriculum - Singapore - but we also do a LOT of other math activities, which are child led.

I honestly feel that with Nathan, Adam and Lauren -child led would much better describe our learning. I have lots of resources (lol - so THAT'S what we can call all those bookshelves!) and I introduce them to topics that I think will interest them - or that I am interested in. ;)