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Nedra in So. CA
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Angie Mc
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Nedra, because my dd wants to go to a particular college and a particular program, they set the standard for what is expected for admission. On paper we look like we follow a typical course of high school study but it is how we study some of these topics that isn't typical. Yes, I would say that we heavily base her study on interests and strengths yet she has needed to plow through a few subjects she wouldn't have chosen for herself - Algebra comes to mind although she's loving it now  . We don't lock into any one approach and look for interesting opportunities, too. One of the biggest perks of this approach has been her ownership (to include mostly successes and a few blunders) of her studies. We've had our share of nail-biting because we're not doing a particular program, but we've been very blessed by and pleased with this approach with dd.
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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lapazfarm
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Nedra, my ds is only in 8th grade, but I can see this is where we are headed.
I'm not sure exactly what high school will look like around here, but I can assure you it will be anything but typical.
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Theresa
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Angie Mc
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lapazfarm wrote:
Nedra, my ds is only in 8th grade, but I can see this is where we are headed.
I'm not sure exactly what high school will look like around here, but I can assure you it will be anything but typical. |
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Hi Theresa . My ds is in 7th and I'm curious how this path will look for him. Hope to read more about your adventures along the way.
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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Bookswithtea
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Angie Mc wrote:
lapazfarm wrote:
Nedra, my ds is only in 8th grade, but I can see this is where we are headed.
I'm not sure exactly what high school will look like around here, but I can assure you it will be anything but typical. |
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Hi Theresa . My ds is in 7th and I'm curious how this path will look for him. Hope to read more about your adventures along the way.
Love, |
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Theresa, that goes for me, too. I always love reading about how you homeschool. You are an inspiration to us all. So tell us more, please???? 
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
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Nedra in So. CA
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Erin
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Nedra
We would fit your description, however we are in Australia so our requirements are different. We try to follow the main subject areas but dd chooses what and for how long she studies them, This term she is studying American History, and Geography; next who knows. We focus more on skills rather than knowledge, knowledge is good but more as an ends to develop the skills needed, kwim?
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Bookswithtea
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Erin wrote:
| We focus more on skills rather than knowledge, knowledge is good but more as an ends to develop the skills needed, kwim? |
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I find this intriguing, especially since most homeschoolers seem to focus a lot on academic goals such as getting into college. What kinds of skills are high on your priority list?
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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Erin
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Books
Apologies for not getting back to you sooner.
Actually your question sparked a great discussion with dh and I over the weekend.
I need to clarify regards knowledge, we do see the need for a core base of knowledge. Now as to skills, academically; high on our priority list is to read well, and to communicate well, both written and verbal. And to have a solid grasp of mathematics. Research skills are also highly important. We cannot teach our children everything, therefore if they can research they can find out what they need to, when necessary or interested.
Spiritually, to love God and love their Faith. You could say the 5Rs. 
I do require the children to work on their skills so as to be prepared for whatever God calls them to.
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Erin
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lapazfarm
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Let me preface this by saying that we have over the years become closer and closer to what some might call unschoolers. I am not sure this is the best label for us, but then again, it may be. (And as such my response may or may not be relevant to others.)
I like to think of us more as exploratory learners.
Most of what my son does is through following his own interests (obsessions) wherever they may lead. My role at the present is to encourage, guide, mentor, inspire, and help him locate/acquire resources. I encourage him to stretch and dig deeper, I prod a bit when he gets lazy, and I get out of his way when he is on a roll. I find that by working this way he learns so very much more than anything I would ever have planned for him.
And I honestly don't see why this has to change because he crosses some arbitrarily defined threshold called high school.
This is kind of off topic, but (by way of explaining where I am coming from) it disturbs me to see our society put so much emphasis on childhood as "preparation". The preschool years are spent getting them ready for kindergarten. In grade school we worry if they are prepared for high school. High school is all about preparing for college, which is then supposedly a preparation for a job. So a person is 22 years old before they finally get to live in the present?
No. I think we will step off this treadmill and I'll let my children live their lives right now. And I think a life well lived is as good a preparation for whatever the future holds as you can get, whether that future includes college, the military, apprenticeships, or who knows what else.
So. I think high school will look for us pretty much like what we are doing now. Just more so.
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Theresa
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Leonie
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Well, we unschool so we really don't follow a typical course of study. The only subject they keep up with formally is Maths, and then I encourage lots of writing and reading for university preparation. We attend a Latin Breakfast Club and have a French class in our house, one son is studying Italian through Open University - external study here in Australia - we read religion books, other things just come up.
This worked with my older sons, so I see no reason to change now! Although, some of the older sons also did Saxon Physics and/or a Chemistry course as I could see they had Science leanings...
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Bookswithtea
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lapazfarm wrote:
Let me preface this by saying that we have over the years become closer and closer to what some might call unschoolers. I am not sure this is the best label for us, but then again, it may be. (And as such my response may or may not be relevant to others.)
I like to think of us more as exploratory learners.
Most of what my son does is through following his own interests (obsessions) wherever they may lead. My role at the present is to encourage, guide, mentor, inspire, and help him locate/acquire resources. I encourage him to stretch and dig deeper, I prod a bit when he gets lazy, and I get out of his way when he is on a roll. I find that by working this way he learns so very much more than anything I would ever have planned for him.
And I honestly don't see why this has to change because he crosses some arbitrarily defined threshold called high school.
This is kind of off topic, but (by way of explaining where I am coming from) it disturbs me to see our society put so much emphasis on childhood as "preparation". The preschool years are spent getting them ready for kindergarten. In grade school we worry if they are prepared for high school. High school is all about preparing for college, which is then supposedly a preparation for a job. So a person is 22 years old before they finally get to live in the present?
No. I think we will step off this treadmill and I'll let my children live their lives right now. And I think a life well lived is as good a preparation for whatever the future holds as you can get, whether that future includes college, the military, apprenticeships, or who knows what else.
So. I think high school will look for us pretty much like what we are doing now. Just more so.
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Theresa, you are so brave! And you challenge me with your thoughts. And I appreciate immensely your description of the treadmill, as well as giving kids the full range of options for adult life rather than the assumption that college is the right destiny for all (I admit, that's a pet peeve of mine). So I have a question for you...how do you deal with state laws and your commitment to letting children follow their passions through high school?
I sometimes feel very resentful of compulsory laws. I think my own ds would have thrived with an Amish style education...get the basics well and then work with your hands and muscles alongside your father or another apprentice at the conclusion of the 8th grade. Chores are a poor physical substitute for that kind of life. Being Catholic is not a good mix for joining the Amish though and I happen to really like air conditioning! 
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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Bookswithtea
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Erin wrote:
I need to clarify regards knowledge, we do see the need for a core base of knowledge. Now as to skills, academically; high on our priority list is to read well, and to communicate well, both written and verbal. And to have a solid grasp of mathematics. Research skills are also highly important. We cannot teach our children everything, therefore if they can research they can find out what they need to, when necessary or interested.
Spiritually, to love God and love their Faith. You could say the 5Rs.
I do require the children to work on their skills so as to be prepared for whatever God calls them to. |
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Thanks for getting back to me, Erin. For some reason, I'm not getting notifications on this thread, so I missed the latest responses until now. So when you say 'skills' you are referring to the ability to find and utilize information when needed. That makes a lot of sense to me.
__________________
Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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Bookswithtea
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Leonie wrote:
Well, we unschool so we really don't follow a typical course of study. The only subject they keep up with formally is Maths, and then I encourage lots of writing and reading for university preparation. We attend a Latin Breakfast Club and have a French class in our house, one son is studying Italian through Open University - external study here in Australia - we read religion books, other things just come up.
This worked with my older sons, so I see no reason to change now! Although, some of the older sons also did Saxon Physics and/or a Chemistry course as I could see they had Science leanings... |
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Out of curiosity, Leonie, do you have any problems with formal government expectations and unschooling?
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Blessings,
~Books
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lapazfarm
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Bookswithtea wrote:
So I have a question for you...how do you deal with state laws and your commitment to letting children follow their passions through high school?
...
I sometimes feel very resentful of compulsory laws. |
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I don't care for the laws,either, but until they disappear, we unschoolers have to find creative ways to work within them.
We have lived in three different states in the past year alone, so it is a bit of a hoot for me to try to keep up with what all the different requirements are.
Alaska was by far the best situation, with no reporting required at all. No problem there!
Florida isn't so bad. Kids need to take a standardized test or have a licensed teacher do a portfolio review and write a letter to the county superintendent saying your child is working "to potential." Luckily I have several family members who are licensed teachers here in FL who would be more than happy to write that letter for me. Again, no problem!
But the truth of the matter is I have no doubt my kids would do fine on any standardized test the state could throw at them if they had to take them. They are learning everything they should be learning, just in their own way, without the need for curriculum to tell them what they should be interested in.
Currently Superboy is taking an online course to update his NC boater safety certification for Florida, he is writing two different novels(one on his own, one by using a course he picked out called One Year Adventure Novel)he is working through algebra using several different resources (because at this point he wants college to be an option), he reads voraciously (currently "Be Amazing" by Mental Floss)he is studying tide tables to figure out the best fishing times for several spots he likes to fish, he taught himself today to throw a cast net, he explored the seawall down the road and identified several critters there and came rushing back to tell me about them, he put together a crab trap, he is designing a cart to help him tow his kayak behind his bike, he does art often, he watched a video about the equinox at Chechen Itza(sp??) and this spurred a research trail on the Maya, he has plans to learn how to make sushi ...
all this without me or anyone else telling him he had to.
This is why I don't feel like high school will be an issue.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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Angie Mc
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lapazfarm wrote:
...High school is all about preparing for college, which is then supposedly a preparation for a job. So a person is 22 years old before they finally get to live in the present?
No. I think we will step off this treadmill and I'll let my children live their lives right now. And I think a life well lived is as good a preparation for whatever the future holds ... |
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My dd and our family agree...I'll be back to share more on this in a separate topic soon .
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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4Real Forums : High School Years and Beyond
Topic: I would love to hear from those of you...
