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Bethany
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| Posted: Jan 28 2010 at 11:45am | IP Logged
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I definately have an ebb and flow between whether I think I'm an unschooler or whether I should have more structure. I guess in may ways it is a result of my life situation, with 4 young children and a baby due in 3 months, how much structure can I handle. I've been reading John Holt recently, as well as Melissa Wiley's post's on Tidal Homeschooling and in so many ways this makes so much sense to me and is really what we do around here. I've often tried to implement more structure, but I burn out very quick. But then I wonder why do I even need structure? Is it just because that's what everyone else seems to be doing or that I'm shirking my duty by not having structure? Or is it because that's all I know from my schooling?
My question, for those that consider yourselves unschooly types, is do you structure or require anything or just go with the flow? I see many say they don't require anything but in Math. However, recently I see how my own math instruction actually hindered me in seeing various ways to come to answers. Everything depended on "showing your work" and if you didn't it was considered incomplete. I was considered a good math student and even have a degree in Finance, but I'm just now discovering short cuts and mental math that makes so much more sense than what I was taught. All that to say I'm not sure how I feel about requiring rote math work everyday  . Just the other day my oldest and I were talking about yards (football game on  ), acre's and I used the term square foot and began to tell her how to measure a square foot and she said "Oh, like the tiles on the kitchen floor!". Precisely! How many workbook pages and tests would it have taken for a school to proclaim her knowledge of a square foot? She understands it perfectly at 7 in a real way without ever having to work the problem the "right" way.
So I'm wondering, what to you require and does that change with age?
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Bethany
Wife to Mike, Mommy to Amelia (6/02), Sarah (10/03), Martha Grace (10/05), Rebecca Anne (12/07), Laura Catherine (3/10) and Reed Michael 7/4/14.
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Sarah M
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| Posted: Jan 28 2010 at 1:24pm | IP Logged
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Unschooly here. Okay- let's see. Yes, I do require some things-- but even those "requirements" don't look very structured or regimented. For example, we do math in some form on most days. Not workhseets or any formal math program-- usually we play card/board games, do activities from Mathwire, or things of the like. I'm not a fan of daily math drill in the early grades. I see it being far more helpful later on- but for 8-and-unders? Nah. My dd8 has never done a formal math program (except for a waldorfy one we used for approximately 3 weeks), and she recently tested in the 99th% percentile in math. She has a great real-life understanding of numbers and mathematical concepts- no daily drill needed.
We also do language arts every day, but that's not very formal either. I read aloud from a chapter book every day. And the 2nd grader reads to herself everyday. And sometimes I work with the kinder-girl on some basic phonics. Sometimes they work in Explode the Code. Sometimes they do Handwriting Without Tears. But not everyday- and I don't plan it all out in advance.
So it's kind of a "freedom within limits" approach that we take here. Work with numbers, and read/write every day in some capacity. The rest is just icing on the cake.
Sometimes I plan more. Right now I'm reading saints stories at bedtime, and we are doing narrations/pictures of each story, and then adding them to a book of saints. We'll see how long that lasts- I haven't set a fixed time period for this "unit".
Sometimes I plan less. And I couldn't tell you in September which months are going to be higher or lower tide.(Oh how I love the tidal homeschooling series you linked in the post above!) We just sort of go with it. I can see this shifting/changing slightly as we go along-- next year, I'll probably use a math program (for the first time) with my 3rd grader. We'll see how it goes.
Have you seen this post at High Desert Home, Bethany? All the learning posts at High Desert Home are inspiring to unschooly types, but that one is my favorite. And she homeschooled all of her children this way, all the way through high school!
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Bethany
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| Posted: Jan 28 2010 at 3:50pm | IP Logged
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Sarah,
I think I may have gotten over to the Tidal Homeschooling posts from your blog  . You also got me reading Ruth Beechick which has definately changed my opinion on some things (or maybe just confirmed it). What you're describing sounds like what we've always done. We were going along pretty good and then the second week of Advent everything went south. Throw in some kitchen remodeling around Christmas/New Years and I just wanted some down time. Now were back to regular daily read alouds and working on my 7yo's reading. I do a little phonics here and there with my 6 yo. She's more in that stage of just asking what everything "says". My 7 yo did do MUS Alpha a while back, but I haven't bothered with Beta yet. I just came home with Dollar Store calculators for everyone and you would of thought it was Christmas. My 6 yo immediately discovered how to skip count with it and my 7 yo was wanting to know to use the multiplication and division buttons. That was definately math for the day.
I have been to High Desert Home, but haven't spent a lot of time there. That's next .
Thanks so much, I know in may ways I just need to go with the flow (or tide) and take it as it comes. Things always change and I may decide in a few years I need more stucture for the older ones, but then again, I may decide they've done just fine and continue on. I really just need to get rid of the idea that a pre-packaged curriculum would make it so easy for me, because the times when we've tried that it never fits precisely where we are, so what's the point.
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Bethany
Wife to Mike, Mommy to Amelia (6/02), Sarah (10/03), Martha Grace (10/05), Rebecca Anne (12/07), Laura Catherine (3/10) and Reed Michael 7/4/14.
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Bethany
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| Posted: Jan 28 2010 at 4:01pm | IP Logged
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Oh, I had to add a link to this post from High Desert Home  . What a perfect analogy and advice I need to take.
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Bethany
Wife to Mike, Mommy to Amelia (6/02), Sarah (10/03), Martha Grace (10/05), Rebecca Anne (12/07), Laura Catherine (3/10) and Reed Michael 7/4/14.
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Chris V
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| Posted: Jan 28 2010 at 9:05pm | IP Logged
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Thanks for taking the time to post these thoughts; as with Bethany, I sometimes need to read, re-read, and re-re-read helpful blog posts that reassure me of my own method to the daily madness  ... I've got too many "schooly" relatives that tend to cloud my own resolve to school the way it works with us. And sometimes feel the need to show (maybe show-off is a better term) my beloved better-half what we've been "doing all day" .
Somehow I always meander back to true-self inspired learning.
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SusanJ
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| Posted: Jan 29 2010 at 9:38am | IP Logged
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You know, I've heard the term "tidal homeschooling" for years and I even read Melissa's blog from time to time but I'd never read anything about what the term means. I did just now and I thought it was fantastic. Thanks to Bethany and Sarah for pointing me in that direction. I loved, especially, her distinction about what they do and how they do it. I love so many of the elements from both Charlotte Mason and Classical education but I chafe against structure and at least one of my kids does as well. They're still very young but they're doing so well left--most of the time--to their own devices. On the other hand, I've never really liked the unschooling idea. I don't doubt that many families can flourish on that model but I, at least, would be too tempted to give in to laziness if we called ourselves unschoolers.
Thank you!
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Mom to Joseph-8, Margaret-6, William-4, Gregory-2, and new little one due 11/1
Life Together
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Sarah M
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| Posted: Jan 29 2010 at 11:14am | IP Logged
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SusanJ wrote:
I loved, especially, her distinction about what they do and how they do it. I love so many of the elements from both Charlotte Mason and Classical education but I chafe against structure and at least one of my kids does as well.
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Susan, I totally agree! I realized, after reading Lissa's posts, that we could still work with living books, living ideas, nature study, great books, and a generous education (CM principles) within a framework that better matches our family's lifestyle (free-form and unschooly). This has been very freeing- and a way for us to incorporate the great ideas of CM with what works for our family. I'm always attracted to Classical/CM booklists, but the idea of following a classical/CM schedule through even one term makes me want to hide under a rock. It just wouldn't work here.
I wish Lissa talked more about tidal homeschooling these days!
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: For you unschooler types?
