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teachingmyown
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| Posted: June 10 2008 at 7:07pm | IP Logged
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Here is my current dilemma:
My dd 12 will be a 7th grader next year. Up until now, we have been VERY relaxed with her schooling. Basically, we have always had a loose mix of Sonlight and CHC.
She reads constantly. She will do the various math, LA and history books I give her. But she prefers to do her own thing. Other than her workbooks, I worry that I don't have any consistent or measurable evidence of what she has learned.
I am thinking that I want to enroll her somewhere, most likely Kolbe. She is very much opposed. She even presented me with her plan for next year. On paper, it looks like a good plan. She listed what she wants to study and what books she will use. My fear is that without some accountability (for both of us) she won't stay on track or push herself beyond where she is quite comfortable. For example, she decided to teach herself Latin this year, Henle Latin. She worked for weeks and was doing well. Then she just put it aside. She likes to work in spurts which may work for some things but not others.
As I realized last year, I am not a teacher. I just can't stay on top of it. I am so proud of her desire to be self-taught and to pursue what interests her. I certainly don't want to squash that. But she has inherited some of my inconstancy and would spend days reading Jane Austen rather than doing "school work".
I would love some input here. Knowing my limits, it can't be that I give her meaningful assignments to challenge her. There is a very good chance that I won't follow through. 
Maybe you unschoolers (you know who you are!  ) can reassure me that she is fine, or tell me that she does need to learn to follow someone else's structure.
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In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: June 10 2008 at 8:22pm | IP Logged
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Molly,
I'm hesitant to include anything here because I also depend on a "loose mix" of CHC and Seton workbooks to cover certain areas.
I have always been serenaded by the unschooler's song but I can't say I know how to play their music by ear. I'm very much a visual learner and need the sheet music.
I have embraced Teaching Textbook to have a total consistency and "measurable evidence" regarding math. That's my biggest ally outside of the literary approach.
You mentioned: "She likes to work in spurts..."
So do I. In fact, I think many people are this way and the things that get accomplished are the things God wants accomplished.
You also wrote "she...would spend days reading Jane Austen rather than doing "school work"." and my first impulse is to say, "Let her read."
When I think of all that schooled children don't know today that they could know if they only read, read, read...I think your dd sounds like a fine scholar and is fine, and will be fine.
I am currently reading the book Leonie mentioned on her blog and really loving it. It's pretty much the approach I would have taken for my own had I not gone to high school and college. Basically the author read and traveled her way to an education.
Of course I'm always curious to see what these literary-type people make of themselves and I would like to see what she's doing today; but, whatever she became would be who she is and what she made of herself---not what her parents did for her. That is never something we, as parents, can do for our children.
Give your daughter the books and the praise. What you offer her today is up to you. What she does with them and the rest of her life will be up to her.
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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MacBeth
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| Posted: June 10 2008 at 8:33pm | IP Logged
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You know what I'm going to say, Molly. I would let her go with it, and design her own education (I put that neatly in the cover letter for college). Have regular conversations, encourage her to journal or blog, and supply her with good books.
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God Bless!
MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
Nature Study
MacBeth's Blog 
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: June 10 2008 at 8:43pm | IP Logged
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Ditto what Cay and MacBeth are saying. The fact that she is willing and able to put thought into designing her own curriculum is an indicator of success right there.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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cathhomeschool
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| Posted: June 10 2008 at 8:57pm | IP Logged
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Gotta say I agree with these three ladies. And reading Jane Austen *is* doing "school work." 
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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Leonie
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| Posted: June 11 2008 at 6:17am | IP Logged
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I, too, would let her go with her idea and plan. And I find regular meetings with the kids helps for accountability - how are things getting on? This is what we wrote down at the start of the year, what's working, what's not?
Cay, glad you like that book. Kendall Hailey grew up to write plays, shown off Broadway, and is now married and, I think, a mother...One of my kids did an internet search last year cos they got so curious abut hern life..
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Leonie in Sydney
Living Without School
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Lara Sauer
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| Posted: June 11 2008 at 7:11am | IP Logged
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This is our 10th year homeschooling...after 7 years of planning my own curriculum with recommendations from Berquist and The Well-Trained Mind and following my own children's interests, I decided to enroll all of my children in STAA (St. Thomas Aquinas Academy). It had nothing to do with whether or not I thought my children could learn from what they were already doing...I just knew that I was getting to a point where I needed to have some accountability. STAA is a pretty flexible curriculum and can be entirely compatible with a "Living Books" Charlotte Mason approach.
I have received a lot of peace of mind knowing that I am not inadvertently omitting something from my children's education.
However only you know your own individual strengths and weaknesses, and those of your daughter. Writing up a curriculum is entirely different from following it...trust me, I know this only too well. If your daughter is great at organizing, but lacks follow through, then you might want to consider enrolling somewhere, or at a minimum putting her on a schedule that must be adhered to. This is one of my concerns for my son who will be transitioning from homeschool to college soon. I love the freedom of homeschooling and the ability to study at one's own pace, but the reality is they must know how to comply with deadlines if they are going to be successful in a college environment. I think teaching them this information is also an essential part of their home education.
I am not suggesting rigidity, just accountability.
Good luck with your decision. You will be in my prayers,
Sara Beatty
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You can take the girl out of Wisconsin, but you can't take the Wisconsin out of the girl!
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DeAnn M
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| Posted: June 11 2008 at 10:05am | IP Logged
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I'm not necessarily an unschooler, but I like a very loose, flexible structure. From that standpoint...just a few suggestions to take or leave:
I think it's great that she came up with her own plan. That shows great initiative. A great life lesson for her now would be to actually follow through with those plans. I still struggle with this myself. I can make the best plans in the world, but consistently following through can be problematic.
Anyway, since her education has been and is a collaborative effort, sit down with her and set up a very loose timetable in which to complete the plans. Maybe this is going to rub some folks the wrong way, but I don't think there is anything wrong with some sort of small reward for her if she completes her work within the timetable. For now, that's her motivation to follow through. Frankly, that's life...that's what I do with myself and housework. If I finish a load of laundry, I allow myself 15 min. of computer time or maybe a little chocolate. Eventually, the reward of fresh laundry neatly folded and put away will be the reward, but for now, I have to take baby steps.
Maybe you guys could go out to dinner or lunch...a little reward for both of you...Or a new book, or CD-- whatever would really motivate her. Keep the amount of work and timeline reasonable...not too long... so that she will be encouraged to reach the goal rather than give up because it seems too unattainable.
Allow her flexibility in that if something in her plan is not working then give her a chance to propose a change in the actual work and/or timetable. For most kids, allowing them a certain amount of independence and showing them that you trust them to make decisions and follow through, will make them more willing to take your suggestions in the future.
That's all really. Take Care!
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Leonie
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| Posted: June 11 2008 at 4:53pm | IP Logged
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More on accountability - I know I have posted articles by Cafi Cohen before but her form of unschooling with accountability always resonates with me.
I just schedule in time for meetings in my diary - every term is good here, about three months or so. We write down what the child plans on doing and I add in my thoughts and we keep this in their diary or my diary or hs log or on the fridge. We review this on a date or coffee time or meeting.
I must admit, though, that we change plans and we don't always meet - we kinda wing the meetings - but they are still scheduled in as reminders to talk about what we are doing. If things are working and we don't feel the need to talk about how homeschooling is going, that's okay! If I or they think we need to change something, do more writing, you name it - well, that will be a good time to make sure we keep to our meeting.
Right now, we have note on the fridge about Thomas' maths agreement - four half Kumon books a week, in order to finish the Kumon maths programme by September 2009. We are not making that goal this week but it does act as a reminder.
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Leonie in Sydney
Living Without School
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Need to make a decision!
