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Leonie
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| Posted: April 27 2007 at 9:56pm | IP Logged
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Cindy has a good series of posts on her blog. She discusses how she uses planning while unschooling.
Thought you might like to take a peek!
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Leonie in Sydney
Living Without School
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Mary G
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You're right, Leonie -- these are very good posts. It's interesting that planning and unschooling do go together somewhat!
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MaryG
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my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
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Wendy
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Thanks for pointing them out, Leonie. Great posts!
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God bless,
Wendy
Wife to Chris
Momma to Grace, Sam, Ben, Maggie, Mary Cate, and Jamie
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Leonie
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Julia also has some nice posts on her blog, wrt unschooling and adapting the ideas from the book "A Thomas Jefferson Education". 
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Leonie in Sydney
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Cindy
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Hello all
Well, thank you for the mention, Leonie... :)
Every once in a while I just get in that mode you know? I would love to hear how others plan. It seems to be an ongoing balance/dance to plan enough but not too much.
I just love the feeling when i find that neat resource that gives us fodder and we all grow from it.. but still after all these years have to be careful not to let the plans take over me, and judge myself against not doing all I had planned... or if the boys don't take to what I come up with. When to encourage, when to step back... :-)
I find if I can just stop, listen to the Holy
Spirit and not let the other voices overtake me... then things go much better. Why don't I do that every time? I think because as
Peter Kreeft
www.peterkreeft.com
says, we are all insane! We know where to gain peace but we keep going everwhere else in search of it!
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Cindy in Texas
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Rachel May
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Cindy, I loved the planning posts too. You sound super organized,and it made me wonder if the successful unschooler has to be more organized than the successful homeschooler who buys a curriculum. My curriculum spoon feed me and keeps me on track without my having to do the work, but I really like the sound of your school.
Now I need to read Julia's posts.
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Rachel
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Leonie
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Rachel, I don't think one needs to be super organized - but a little bit of organization certainly helps! 
Here is a link to an unschooling planner - can be used as both a planning tool for strewin and a record keeping tool...
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Leonie in Sydney
Living Without School
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Rachel May
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| Posted: May 13 2007 at 5:34pm | IP Logged
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Thanks, Leonie. This looks great!
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Rachel
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JenniferS
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Wow! Leonie, that link looks just like what I need. Thank you!!
Jen
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Leonie
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Jen, I also thought that unschooling planner could work for older kids - as a tool for meeting with teens and talking about the week...
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Leonie in Sydney
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JenniferS
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Leonie, I don't have a teen yet(It won't be long, though), but I can see how the planer could be a really good tool for teens. I learn so much from you all!!!!
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MarilynW
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Rachel May wrote:
| Cindy, I loved the planning posts too. You sound super organized,and it made me wonder if the successful unschooler has to be more organized than the successful homeschooler who buys a curriculum. My curriculum spoon feed me and keeps me on track without my having to do the work, but I really like the sound |
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I really love all the unschooling ideas - in fact some of the very first homeschooling books I read were by John Holt, John Taylor Gatto and Thomas Armstrong. But I echo Rachel's quote - does unschooling take more planning.
Also - how do you get your kids into the unschooling mindset? How much guidance? I think that if I gave my 7 year olds no plan - they would be happy to spend all day reading, playing soccer and baseball and playing with their little brother - not so bad I know - but what about math?
My husband chuckles because I started off homeschooling on a very rigid WTM schedule - and I have gradually become more relaxed I still plan - but I am also discovering how much more kids learn and enjoy when relaxed and able to do what they enjoy.
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Mary G
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Leonie -- thanks for the link to the planner. I've always used Michele Q's but am finding that it just doesn't quite work -- not enough space to write things and keep track of everything.
I'm thinking this year (in the next week or so) I'm going to sit down and create a planner that will carry me through August 2009 -- just to get all the liturgical year stuff, birthdays, 6-month dental appts etc all in one spot and really be able to look at the whole year. I'm envisioning a 3-ring binder with month pages in plastic sleeves and then being able to add and pull out as I need ... the site you mentioned above should really help! Thanks!
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MaryG
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lapazfarm
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MarilynW wrote:
But I echo Rachel's quote - does uhschooling take more planning.
Also - how do you get your kids into the unschooling mindset? How much guidance? I think that if I gave my 7 year olds no plan - they would be happy to spend all day reading, playing soccer and baseball and playing with their little brother - not so bad I know - but what about math?
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Here is where I think there is a bit of a misconception about how unschooling works.
Unschooling does not mean hands-off. Though we are not sitting down with our children at tables doing textbooks, it also doesn't mean that they run fee doing whatever and we get to sit back and drink our lattes in blissful oblivion!LOL!
In our unschoolish seasons I am no less involved with dc's education. It is just a different sort of involvement. It's a more cooperative involvement.It doesn't require more planning, but it does require more of a conscious effort on my part to grab hold of those teaching moments and incorporate them into every day life. To model love of learning and encourage, enable, or guide when their interests strike.
How would math be addressed for 7 year olds in an unschooling environment? Well, perhaps by involving dc in the shopping. Looking at prices, estimating costs, counting change, figuring savings on sale items and coupons. By playing games such as war and yahtzee and doing puzzles like sudoku. By counting and sorting a shell collection or a coin collection or their Yugi-oh cards. By having them help with cooking, measuring ingredients, doubling cookie recipes, halving sugar. By taking a trip to the hardware store for materials for a building project. Measuring and cutting the wood for a birdhouse or doghouse, checking angles and estimating the area for painting.
I could go on but I will spare you!
In short (ha!) unschooling is no less mom-intensive than other forms of schooling. It is a just different kind of intensity that demands (I think) less planning but more flexibility and certainly the ability to recognize and take advantage of learning opportunities that present themselves in everyday life.
Ok, now if you are not convinced, I am! I think I just talked myself into taking a step closer to unschooling!LOL!
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Theresa
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Mary G
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lapazfarm wrote:
In short (ha!) unschooling is no less mom-intensive than other forms of schooling. It is a just different kind of intensity that demands (I think) less planning but more flexibility and certainly the ability to recognize and take advantage of learning opportunities that present themselves in everyday life.
Ok, now if you are not convinced, I am! I think I just talked myself into taking a step closer to unschooling!LOL! |
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I'm with you Theresa....this is what I think unschooling is also ... I just hate using the term "school" at all as I want the children learning 24/7 as we all do ... according to Frank Smith this is really "classic theory" of education as we keep it very organic and natural ... maybe "natural learning"
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MaryG
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lapazfarm
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It just struck me how many nature metaphors we use to describe what we do: "natural" structure, "organic" learning, "seasonal" unschooling, "tidal" learning...
Despite our lofty ambitions, we are organic, earthbound beings after all!LOL! 
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Theresa
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Willa
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lapazfarm wrote:
It just struck me how many nature metaphors we use to describe what we do: "natural" structure, "organic" learning, "seasonal" unschooling, "tidal" learning...
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Willa
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Leonie
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I agree with Theresa - our unschooling season are not hands off - they are hands on, but in a different way. More active strewing, perhaps?
I think it takes a little bit of organization to homeschool successfully, regardless of method. A little bit of self discipline and stick-to-it-ness, so we actively engage with our children.
For me, a planner/To Do list is the secret. Perhaps this takes the place of curriculum - the planner holds my hand, reminds me of things I want the kids to do and things they want to do...
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JuliaT
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Marilyn, I use to be a WTM'er but now I am extremely relaxed in our schooling. I don't know whether you would call us unschooers because there are a few things that I require during the day. Those requirements are Bible, and math. We do those every day. There is no choice involved in that. I also teach a 'lesson' every day. The lesson varies from day to day. One day it might be science, the next day it might be history or grammar. So for an hour a day, we are doing something that I require. The rest of the morning is up to my dd. She can do whatever she wants but it is has to be learning oriented. She can't play with Barbies or Polly Pockets. I have been very surprised at her choices during her free time. She chooses latin, chemistry and art quite often.
In doing school this way, there is some planning involved, but it quite minimal compared to the amount that I used to do.
I am also seeing that I am moving away from prepared curriculum in favor of doing more 'living subjects.' I think by the time my youngest is ready for Gr. 1, we will be doing school in a more natural way than we have been doing.
Blessings,
Julia
mom to 3(7,6,4)
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Juliainsk
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Willa
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JuliaT wrote:
| I also teach a 'lesson' every day. The lesson varies from day to day. One day it might be science, the next day it might be history or grammar. So for an hour a day, we are doing something that I require. |
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That sounds good, Julia! I like that idea.
Our minimums are usually Math, Latin and some religion catechesis. Religion is the most important of course, but it's also the one of those three that can be fit in very informally during the course of the day.
I also like the idea of a shelf or list of things to choose from. I remember Leonie doing something like that when she had some health things going on and had to leave the house a lot.
That would give an outlet for planning energies, too. I spent a lot of my planning energy last year in planning things to bring out and strew -- things that we "never had time for" previously. It was nice because it didn't really matter if the kids weren't that interested THiS time -- I could put it away again for another day. But most of the time, they were interested, and we started some fun learning projects that way.
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Willa
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4Real Forums : Planning and Ordering our Days
Topic: Planning and Unschooling
