organizing for unschooling

anyone else unschooling? we're unschooling the kids, ages 2 and 6. the state is going to require real record-keeping next year. my oldest learns best through less-structured, interest-led learning. how do i keep organized records for this type of learning?

 

Search around for some programs that make unschooling easier, there's a lot. My old earth-science teacher homeschooled her children and, while she always said that it was definitely a pain in the ass, it was well worth it.

If you'd like I'll ask a friend of mine who still goes to school to ask her (Mrs Frederickson, the earthscience teacher) for some tips for you.

 

What you show the school board and what you actually do are two different things. You can give them an actual curriculum that shows how many minutes per day of English, Science, History, Math. But that doesn't mean you have to follow it. Just keep examples of some of the written work you do and make an attendence book. You could actually spend an evening in Septembe and fill out an attendence book for the entire year and then you're done with it.

Where in NY are you. I'm just across the river in Jersey. We also have a 2 year old. At least he will be in 11 days.

Kathi

 

I'm way way upstate, appx four to five hours from the city.

By the way I don't have kids I just like this forum because I love to see good parenting, and I like to start building my ideas for how I would raise my child early in my years.

 

i'm in rochester.

the attendance book: i just can't get over that one. the state requires attendance records for homeschoolers! ummmm...he lives here! of course he's "in attendance".

 

Hi! It's so great to hear people talking about unschooling!!! I was unschooled (that shows what hippies my parents were, to be doing THAT back in the day, wow!) and I am unschooling my children (which isn't saying that much as the oldest is not yet 3yo.)

The laws differ from state to state, as I am sure you know, and everyone does it differently. What seems easiest to me at the moment would be "notebooking" (I think that's what they call it.) Which is when you documeant the things that you're child does (by saving it if you can, or by taking pictures, or just wright it down) and then having a teach evaluate it. You will have to find a teacher that is unschooling, or at least homeschooling friendly/aware! This was always the easiest for us as my father is a teacher. Some people find it a little harder.

MosaicThreads is the person to talk to, as she has been doing it for around twenty years. She's my mommy. I will tell her to come to this thread, as she will be able to talk extensivly on the subject.

Here is John Holt's web site, you may find some helpful advice and/or information.

http://www.holtgws.com/index.html

Sorry I'm not more helpful!

 

Thanks Ana for the intro.

Now what do I say after that....hmmm....you gave the link I was gonna give.

Well, when I started out I kept a daily log where I would jot down time spent on things that would be considered educational subjects. For example if my son read a book about dinosaurs for an hour, I'd mark down one hour for reading (or english) and one hour for science. This worked pretty well for record keeping, but tended to hinder the UNschooling mindset I was appempting to cultivate in myself.

Another way to keep records is to journal what you do each day. This makes for a nice keepsake as well.

However you do it, remember to include weekends and evenings also. Unschooling (or any type of homeschooling) happens 24/7, not just during the "school hours!"

Here are some links of interest:
http://www.howstuffworks.com/index.htm
http://www.liveandlearnconference.org/index.html
http://www.notebooking.org/
http://sandradodd.com/unschooling

 

http://geocities.com/moonwindstarsky/unschooling

http://geocities.com/moonwindstarsky/unschoolingbooks


related

http://geocities.com/moonwindstarsky/life
http://geocities.com/moonwindstarsky/lifestyle

 

Nice to see this thread revieved. Anyone want to chat about unschooling? It is kind of that time of year when everyone starts asking when do you go back to school? Or when do you start schooling? What kind of answers do you have for those pesky questioners?

We are planning a "We don't have to go to school" party at the beach with some other home educating families.

 

I know what you mean. People get this horrified look when I say that Dakota isn't going to school. They just don't understand it at all. The biggest question I get is about socialization. Someone yesterday wanted to know what I was going to do when he wants to go to the prom or graduation. I'm sorry, he's 2. That's not really an issue today. And I don't think it will be an issue in 16 years. I can't wait to get into issues other than 1, 2, 3 and yellow, blue, red. But like I said, he's two. He is so funny these days. I ask him if he's ready and he replies, "I raddy".

Kathi

 

LOL people are so stuck on that whole socialization issue. They also have such fantasies about highschool. I don't know anyone that really enjoyed prom or graduation! And if that is really important there are options. Most of my kids don't care much about it. My son did and we found an alternative school that had a home education program that allowed him to play highschool sports and take a few art and music classes. He graduated with the seniors just as if he had attended, and went on to college. My other son and daughter choose to simply apply directly to college from home education. I doubt my little ones will care.

Anyway, I think TV tends to glamorize the highschool years also, so no one remembers how miserable they really were stuck in grade segregated cubicals for 6 to 8 hours a day! (Sorry for the rant)

 

i hope i don't get flamed by "traditional" schoolers like i did the last time i brought this topic up, but are there any single parent unchsoolers around here? i know that some single parents do it, but it's a lot of work, and i'm afraid i might have to work more than one job in order to make ends meet after the divorce. the last time i posted about this i was flamed by public schoolers accusing me of elitism & wanting to "shelter" my son from the "bad" world.

actually, to be honest my son socializes better than i do, and my reasons for keeping him home are many & varied, but none have to do with "sheltering" him from anything. if there are other unschoolers here i'm sure they know that with unschooled kids, it's quite the opposite. traditional schoolers just can't deal with it when they meet real unschoolers who don't match the wealthy, full-time-mom, passive-wife-of-a-lawyer stereotype. fortunately we've been able to keep expenses really low so far, but it's possible once we move i'll need to get a car, and i'm really worried about affording both a car & rent at the same time. there's got to be some way i can still homeschool, and i don't want to give up before i've found it!

 

kitty, I'm not a single parent, but I do know of some that are successful homeschooling their children. With Unschooling I think it would be much easier as your schedule will be more flexible. It won't be easy but it can be done. If you will need to have child care while you are at work maybe you can find another unschooling family, or a family member who understands the unschooling concept. I have a friend with a large family who homeschooled in traditional way. When she found herself as a single parent she was able to work and have her mom provide child care. Grandma would help the kids with their workbook/text book lessons during the time mom was working and mom would do the extra stuff when she was with them. When her kids got older she was able to have the teens do a lot of the child care instead of her mom. they have managed just fine and one of her kids is now in college. it can be done!

 

http://ourcry.tripod.com

Our Cry

 

I'm fascinated by unschooling. I'm one of those crazy people who gets interested in a topic and just researches it until my thirst is totally quenched. i would have absolutely flourished in an unschooling environment. i'm also interested in sudbury schools--they follow the same kind of ideology as unschoolers. unfortunately for our family, the closest sudbury school is in edmonton!


anyways, i stumbled across a very interesting bb today, and thought i'd plunk the url into this thread. maybe there's a single unschooling mama on there? http://p080.ezboard.com/ftheedgycatinmamasfrm19

 

http://ourcry.tripod.com

Our Cry

"My name is Michelle and I am making this website because Teens have a voice and we need to use it! My homepage will be a brief introduction into the world-changing event that I am asking you to join in, because I can't do it alone."

"What I am asking you to do is to stop going to school. Think that's crazy...or even worse, that it's illegal? Okay, then. Exit this site right now and return to your nice safe little school. Have I caught your interest? Good.
What I just said might be crazy. And yes, in a few places it is against the law. But school, believe it or not, is crushing you. Instead of helping to to become even one iota of what you are capable, it is destroying your natural curiosity and love of learning. And you CAN do something about it. You can quit and start truly LIVING, doing the things that you want to do, and learning those things which interest you most. "But wait!" I can hear you saying. "It's not that simple!" And you would be quite right. Delve into the depths of this website and I'll tell you more about it, suggest books, movies, and websites that you can check out to learn even more, and offer you a part in what can be a revolution with your help.

Yes, it is not only that I want you to quit your school and start living and enjoying life. I want you to spread the word, to everyone, your friends, your sisters and brothers, anyone at all who is attending school. And once we have enough people, I want you to sit out of your school for an entire week in Protest. I know you think I'm nuts; I would think I was nuts, too, if I didn't know anything except the lies they tell us in school, like "If you drop out, you'll be flipping burgers for the rest of your days," or "The only way to get to college and therefore have a successful career and life is by going to school." Which are both lies. But you don't have to take my word for it. After all, I'm only 15. I'll give you studies done by scientists, Words of Wisdom from those older than I, and site links where you can access hundreds of teens and adults who have never gone to school and talk with them first hand!

I hope that you enjoy my site, but most of all, I hope you join me and add one more voice to Our Cry. Your voice can make all the difference. "

"Our Cry's mission is to spread the word about unschooling, to show everyone that teens have a voice and opinions of their own, and to show all that LIFE is learning. We need to shout it out that we can learn all we need to know without compulsory schooling, that we can live our lives to the fullest and be everything we can be without being stuck insde a classroom for eight hours a day.
Our mission is to redefine the way America thinks about learning, and to throw compulsory schooling out the window. We want to be free to learn on our own, without being monitored and tested to see if we are "up to scratch," and to have a nation of free-thinkers who do not come out of an institution as simply a record on play-back mode.
Our mission is to protest, to fight for our right to do this. We want the freedom to make our own choices and live our own lives! Our cry is "Hell no, we won't go!" Echoeing the slogan of protesters before us.
Our mission is to live, learn, and love the best that we can, without school taking up our time and energy. "

 

Same here

I've read a bit about homeschooling and it sounds really cool. Not sure about unschooling though, if motivation is genetic my kids won't learn much more than M*A*S*H quotes.

Can't remember any links per say, but found most through the links page at the natural child project (naturalchild.org/home )

 

I did 99% of my socialising outside school, wouldn't speak to the other kids (having convinced myself we had nothing in common, and was frequently proved right) done me the world of good, having built retaionships in the context of 'real life' and I can converse/debate with people my parents age as an equal.

For the record: I loved my prom
Didn't really buy into the date, fancy limo and associated crap, but it was a good laugh. We didn't really have a graduation. There was a presentation evening but I didn't go, would have been too embarrasing. Might go to the college one though (in December) just to see my friends again.

Oh the memories of high school; they better not be the best years of my life, because then the rest is going to suck so badly. Some parts of school were bearable, but most was at best mind numbingly boring and at worse suffocating, frustrating hell.

 

Here are some links for those of you that want to explore this subject in more depth.

http://learninfreedom.org/
http://www.holtgws.com/
http://home.rmci.net/abell/
http://home-educate.com/unschooling/index.shtml
http://www.waldorfhomeschoolers.com/
http://www.unschooling.com/
http://sandradodd.com/unschooling
http://www.notebooking.org/
http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/index.htm

 

http://geocities.com/moonwindstarsky/unschooling

http://geocities.com/moonwindstarsky/unschoolingbooks

http://geocities.com/moonwindstarsky/life

http://geocities.com/moonwindstarsky/life