I’ve been thinking a lot over the past year about the concept of unschooling.
I know that unschooling means different things to different people. To me it simply means self-directed education.
Even though I am quick to link myself to the unit study approach, I believe I’m an unschooler at heart. I try my best to supply the resources for my children, but I give them a choice in the matter.
This is why we do not always have a unit study going. Sometimes we’re busy learning about Stan Lee or Japanese anime’, or graphic arts.
Time 4 Learning has beome a great tool in our unschooling toolbox. It’s so easy to use and it’s so fun!
Jennifer
March 26, 2008 | 11:57 am1
Thank you so much everyone! I have always wondered what exactly unschooling is, but no one really has an answer!! I have been thinking that for my neighbor student that this might be a great way to make learning more tolerable and interesting!! I just investigated Spelling City from a link on this blog! Wow! I always thought it cost. I cannot believe that it is free!
Thank you again for these ideas. I think doing t4l in addition to unschooling would free the parent up to follow the child’s interest!
Jeaton
March 26, 2008 | 10:37 am2
Angie, Great idea for the spelling lists. Have you seen www.spellingcity.com? It is a free site that allows you to put in spelling lists and is a great tool. All of you should take a look at it.
Angie
March 25, 2008 | 12:17 am3
Jennifer, I know a lot of unschoolers, I’ll see if I can explain it. In a nutshell, you still teach the basics, but in a format that they respond to. Unschooling allows the parent to teach in a way that the child is comfortable with. It incorporates learning into every day things. For example, baking a cake is an opportunity to learn reading, following directions, measuring,science and learning to tell time, all wrapped into one thing. Going to the grocery store and giving them a list and money to pay for the items is a chance to learn reading, money management, and social skills (talking to the cashier, saying thank you, etc.). Most unschoolers use educational channels like the Discovery channel for learning about history and science, and they take a lot of field trips and do a lot of hands-on experiments. They also typically build lessons around the interests. So, for my son the movie Cars is his interest. I could make spelling lists out of the names of the characters or words that have to do with Cars. We would find a book based on the movie to practice reading comprehension. We could incorporate math by picking something to count, to see how many times we see it in the movie, or make work sheets where he’s adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing the characters or events. Another interest could be built by talking about how so many things in the movie Cars relates to real cars, or how events in that movie are so much like real things, like ghost towns that were made by the freeways being built. The possibilities are endless if you can just channel their interests! It’s all about having fun while learning, and while teaching.
Lisa
March 24, 2008 | 11:40 am4
I believe there is a little unschooler in everybody. I agree that very few are brave enough to completely commit to it!
Thinking about it as an adult sort of puts it into perspective. If I want to learn something new, I might ‘google’ it, find online resources, books at the library, a class, etc. Over time, I have learned a new skill; something of interest and I’ve done it on my own, kwim?
I try to give my kids the freedom to learn things of interest in the same manner.
BUT….I cannot commit myself total unschooling. That part of me that says, “What about the basics!?!?!” is always screaming and jumping up and down in the background. LOL
So, I happily commit to the Three Rs and allow space when it comes to the other stuff. T4L has made this so much easier!
I make plans for the unit studies, knowing that someone may decide to skip this one because of another interest. As long as the math, reading and grammar are done, I’m okay with that.
Jennifer,
I hope this has answered your questions. :o)
When my son was studying Stan Lee, he made a notebook. He found information on the internet, including a video interview. He wrote paragraphs about each comic book character, drew pictures, etc.
This is where he learned a little about animation and found a stick people animator online! Tons of fun with that one….
We just finished a winter study on Alaska and the Iditarod sled dog race-a huge hit!
Jennifer
March 22, 2008 | 11:24 pm5
Please give me more information on unschooling. The little boy that I homeschool has no joy when it comes to school. I get so sad when I think how happy he was to leave school and come homeschool w/ us and now he hates homeschooling too!
How do you go about letting the child initiate the learning? Do you let them chose t4l subjects? How would you study Stan Lee? I think all my kids would enjoy that!
Homeschooling Forum
March 22, 2008 | 8:18 am6
I love the unschooling idea. Unschooling might be one of those things which many people want to do. Some kids are perfect for it, some maybe not. Also, there are degrees of unschoolingishness. Everyone likes a little of it, only a few are brave enough to be extreme about it.