I can’t remember, I may have written about video games already, but I just read an amazing post I want to, no NEED to, share. After the whole hullabaloo recently, many people are pointing to unschoolers as lazy, tv-watching, video-game-playing hoodlums. And, we unschoolers become very accustomed to defending our non-traditional concept of the world […]
Archive > April 2010
Concrete Details
Recently, one of these wonderful members replied with some details about what her unschooled children do during the day.
A New FAQ
With all of the attention brought upon unschooling lately, I decided to write an unschooling FAQ page for this blog. I thought, “If someone is researching unschooling and, against all odds, stumbles onto my blog, I’d want them to get some answers.”
Listen
This is Adora Svitak, a 12-year old author who does public speaking to educators and kids around the country. She exhibits just a little of the wisdom our kids can share, if we’re willing to listen to them.
A Shameless Plug
I just wanted to say, go to the library. Support it. Find out when the story times are. Volunteer with your kids. Buy some super cheap books. Just go.
We know they hate it
Adults KNOW that kids hate school. They EXPECT kids to hate school. And, yet, they STILL send them there and see nothing wrong with the whole arrangement.
The Myth of High Expectations
So, I have one expectation for my son (and future children). That is that he follow his passion. I don’t care if that passion is trash collecting, hair dressing, movie making, or even engineering.
Happy Easter!
I always think that holidays are excellent catalysts for unschoolers. The entire society is celebrating something, and kids are often curious about why. And, as a testament to our schooled society, many of us don’t know the answers to their questions.
On the Love of Reading
With unschooling, there’s really not that same stress about “instilling a love of reading” as there is in a schooled environment. We model to our kids what we want for them. My son sees my husband and I reading for pleasure and information on a near-daily basis. Unschooled kids get absolute freedom to read what they want and when. They can stop a book halfway through or read it twice in a row. They don’t have to take comprehension quizzes or write book reports. If they aren’t perfect readers by a certain age, that’s fine. If they hate Shakespeare, that’s fine. If they read comic books all day, that’s fine. And, if they dislike reading altogether, that’s fine too. Without the pressure to read,
Easter Eggs
I couldn’t help but share a couple of posts on two other blogs relating to Easter eggs. These projects would be really fun for anyone with kids.