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Mari
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| Posted: April 03 2008 at 3:06pm | IP Logged
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Children playing peacefully and joyfully in the mornings in their home sweet home....without a moment's hesitation, YES! I do let them and mine aren't so young anymore. What a joy and what a blessing. Imagine how those moments will shape and form them.
In your mind, take those moments away - does it look so good??? Whatever happens in those afternoons, at least the mornings will be cherished and only made possible becuase you chose to nurture the environment that enticed the children to do this.  Where's the guilt in that?
I love you all.
Blessings
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Mari, mother of 2 loving daughters aged 8 and 10
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mama251ders
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| Posted: April 03 2008 at 10:22pm | IP Logged
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I do this a lot and will more as the weather here gets nicer! I think that usually whatever they have thought up is way better than anything I could have imposed on them. All winter they had "band" practice every morning! It was a horrible cacophony of noise, but they were so excited to put on concerts every night after dinner! And they took it so seriously that I didn't have the heart to break it up. I am hoping that they will move onto something less painful to my ears now that it's getting warmer  !
Blessings,
Betsie
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Benny, Braidon, Olivia, Anna and Saragh
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domchurch3
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| Posted: April 03 2008 at 10:34pm | IP Logged
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I find that I lean more towards letting my daughter play. But, sometimes I feel like I'm doing her a disservice because I should be teaching her something of order. At the same time if I structure her day and say okay, between the hours of 3-5 are the times you can play, it probably is not going to happen! Is there a way to train them in order and have spontaneous play?
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Joelle
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| Posted: April 03 2008 at 10:49pm | IP Logged
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Oh yeah! If they are playing nicely and having fun, I see no reason to interrupt. And yes, it almost always occurs in the morning! I'd love it if it happened between 3-5; but those are our "howling hours" as well! These are the good memories they are making and they are building close relationships with their siblings without realizing it--one of the biggies of why we homeschool!
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God Bless, Joelle
Mom to 7: Boy (96), Girls (00, 02, 04), Boy (05), Girl (07), Boy (09)
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: April 04 2008 at 12:16am | IP Logged
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All the time!
Funny, but for me it usually happens after lunch. Because we usually take a little brain break at lunch time they often will use that time to get into something that I don't have the heart to interrupt. Especially when ds (12) gets going on some woodworking project of his own invention. I will be cleaning up after lunch and hear the drill or jigsaw crank up in the garage, and I know he is up to something!LOL! Why would I want to stop that? I figure as long as he is active and engaged, then it's all good!
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Theresa
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mariB
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| Posted: April 04 2008 at 5:10am | IP Logged
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YES! i do this a lot! My eight year old isn't a morning person... so I let her play with the 4 year old!
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marib-Mother to 22ds,21ds,18ds,15dd,11dd and wife to an amazing man for 23 years
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Shari in NY
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Yes!! The boys always play longer than they normally would (without bickering) if they think school is waiting for them  Plus, we just don't get that many lovely outdoor days here in the Great Lakes region. Another thing we used to do before our town got a library of its own is "Reading Day" where we finished all the books we had gotten from the bookmobile so we could return them and restock. Although it is much more convenient to have a local library I really miss the specialness of those bookmobile days.
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cathhomeschool
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| Posted: April 04 2008 at 9:31am | IP Logged
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I do this all the time too! The part that makes me feel guilty at times is that I often do it with the 14 and 12 yo too. I guess that't the unschooler in me! 
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: April 04 2008 at 10:17am | IP Logged
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cathhomeschool wrote:
| I do this all the time too! The part that makes me feel guilty at times is that I often do it with the 14 and 12 yo too. I guess that't the unschooler in me! |
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Oh, I didn't realize I am supposed to feel guilty for this!LOL! No guilt here!
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Theresa
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cathhomeschool
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| Posted: April 04 2008 at 10:28am | IP Logged
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lapazfarm wrote:
| Oh, I didn't realize I am supposed to feel guilty for this!LOL! No guilt here! |
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The guilt comes with the fact that it happens (too?) often. Maybe I should "officially" become an unschooler so that it will be part of the plan.  (Going back to the other thread in which Leonie and Theresa said that the "unscheduled" breaks are the hardest to accept -- and I agree. Hence the guilt! But they're learning so much.. Right? It's currently pouring here and the oldest 2 are building a very detailed scale lego model of the POTC Flying Dutchman. Can't I turn that into school somehow??)
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: April 04 2008 at 10:44am | IP Logged
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cathhomeschool wrote:
| Can't I turn that into school somehow??) |
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What? And spoil all the fun? 
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Theresa
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cathhomeschool
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| Posted: April 04 2008 at 10:51am | IP Logged
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lapazfarm wrote:
cathhomeschool wrote:
| Can't I turn that into school somehow??) |
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What? And spoil all the fun? |
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OK.. you had me rolling on the floor! That's why we've never done a Star Wars or LOTR (movie or book) study. My kids love it all way too much and the "school" aspect would ruin it for them!
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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Tina P.
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| Posted: April 04 2008 at 5:31pm | IP Logged
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You know what, Theresa? When I think of unstructured play, I *don't* think of my son independently woodworking ~ actually doing something (shhh!) educational!
At my house, the educational benefits of their downtime are more subtle. Sometimes I can't figure out whether they're just entertaining each other or whether there's actually some brain action going on in there.
My kids swing, daydream, pretend that they're pirates or medieval knights, play dress-up tea party, experiment with play dough or other art mediums, play their guitars or piano. It's just not so concrete that they're getting any benefits from this as your son doing his woodworking projects (the measuring, using tools, cutting ...)
Does that make sense? And I know there *must* be a good reason for daydreaming. I just get antsy when I see them (I'm talking about the bigger ones, here) ~ sort of ~ do nothing.
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Tina, wife to one and mom to 9 + 3 in heaven
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lapazfarm
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Tina P. wrote:
You know what, Theresa? When I think of unstructured play, I *don't* think of my son independently woodworking ~ actually doing something (shhh!) educational!
At my house, the educational benefits of their downtime are more subtle. Sometimes I can't figure out whether they're just entertaining each other or whether there's actually some brain action going on in there.
My kids swing, daydream, pretend that they're pirates or medieval knights, play dress-up tea party, experiment with play dough or other art mediums, play their guitars or piano. It's just not so concrete that they're getting any benefits from this as your son doing his woodworking projects (the measuring, using tools, cutting ...)
Does that make sense? And I know there *must* be a good reason for daydreaming. I just get antsy when I see them (I'm talking about the bigger ones, here) ~ sort of ~ do nothing.
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Well, I look at it this way. When you look at the big picture, say, the year as a whole-- are they adequately progressing in knowledge, skills, and abilities? Are they meeting your goals for their education, or at least coming close? Are the truly important things getting done, even if the "extras" may not?
If so, then why worry? Let them daydream.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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Mari
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| Posted: April 05 2008 at 6:21am | IP Logged
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Just an afterthought - I knew a "strict" school at home family - their kids would never dare play without permission.
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Mari, mother of 2 loving daughters aged 8 and 10
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Mary K
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| Posted: April 05 2008 at 7:11am | IP Logged
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If you let a child play:
at 6 she will sew a doll from an old sweater
as she gets older she will sew many things
at 17 she will be an intern with a local opera company and be listed as assistant costume designer in the program for Don Giovanni
God bless,
Mary-NY
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Shari in NY
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I was talking to my son,Sam, who started college this year, about this thread. He said he had a great advantage over his non-homeschooling buddies because he had the ability to muse. To pause when something is too confusing. Walk away and think of something else, drink tea, stare into space...He said his friends don't seem to be able to think about something without consciously thinking about it. They are either pouring over their books or on to something else that takes all their attention. He attributed his ability to muse to just this sort of thing... uninterupted play. So, it's more valuable than you might think. BTW, he made the Dean's list last semester and is at the top of his Electrical Engineering class. This from a boy who was the most underachieving adolescent ever! Really.
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Tina P.
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Shari in NY wrote:
| So, it's more valuable than you might think. BTW, he made the Dean's list last semester and is at the top of his Electrical Engineering class. This from a boy who was the most underachieving adolescent ever! Really. |
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This is very encouraging, Shari. Thank you so much for posting!
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Tina, wife to one and mom to 9 + 3 in heaven
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Leonie
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In our house, it's jumping on the trampoline, not necessarily playing - I see my 12 year old out jumping, off in an imaginary world and I let him be. He's having fun, he's building his imagination, he's getting exercise. 
Or it is reading, instead of formal work ~ I see kids curled up somewhere reading and I can't bear to interrupt the flow for schoolwork.
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Leonie in Sydney
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Ouiz
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Thank you all for making me feel so much better!
There's the hyper-organized part of me, that wants to start HSing promptly at 9 with NO excuses...
...and then there's the Mommy side of me who sees her kids playing nicely together, creating imaginary worlds out of Legos or blocks (or whatever), and doesn't have the heart to break it up to sit at the table and start doing math.
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Ouiz
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B-17, G-16, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, G-7, B-4
Chez Ouiz
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Topic: Just let 'em play ....
