It took me until my 30’s to even begin to learn what it even means to be in control of my own problems. I’m still working on it as I look ahead into my 40’s. I was rereading this post about unschooling apraxia by Jennifer McGrail. The following phrase jumped out at me:
“His not being able to tie well or write neatly are not an issue unless he decides they’re an issue.”
Did anyone along the way ever teach you that there isn’t a problem unless you decide there’s a problem? Or, like me, did you learn from early childhood that everyone else around you must be right about what’s problematic… and they have the right to define it for you? Continue Reading
“Encouragement and support to unschool” are the two most-repeated reasons people give for joining the Christian Unschooling Facebook group. The group has a brief application form to let moderators know which requests are intentional, versus which are random “you might also like” clicking or spam.
But when people join and ask questions from a school-oriented viewpoint (a normal part of the learning curve), they’re often surprised to receive questions in return. Continue Reading
Some days just seem so ordinary– but if we have eyes to see, the extraordinary will appear.
Miss 9 was awake watching television when I got up …
… She was also looking at a diary and last year’s calendar, and was using her new blue clipboard (a longed-for acquisition). She seemed deeply engrossed but slowly managed to raise her head from her paper world, and the questions began: “Mum, how do you spell February?” “Mum, how many days are in March?” Which naturally progressed to discussions about leap years, the history of calendars, and a little rhyme I learned as a child, to help with remembering how many days were in each month. Continue Reading
When I got to kind of introduce myself to the Christian Unschooling community through the Unschooling Portraits series, I described myself like this:
I’m Joan Otto, wife to Chris and mom to Sarah (who’s 12). We live in central Pennsylvania in a house that also includes my mom, a large dog, 5 cats, and a hamster. We’re new to homeschooling of any sort, sort of – I was homeschooled for several years, but our daughter had been in public school until Leap Day – Feb. 29 of this year. We blog about our life at Our School at Home. (Which was a funny choice for a title, really, given that we aren’t “school at home” types at all.)
Our “Unschooling in Action” series highlights photographs of real, live unschoolers doing real, live unschooling. If you’d like to see your unschooling photo here, please post it on our Facebook wall!Continue Reading
Our “Unschooling in Action” series highlights photographs of real, live unschoolers doing real, live unschooling. If you’d like to see your unschooling photo here, please post it on our Facebook wall!
When boredom strikes, climbing the walls (or in this case the door frame) IS an option.
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Coming up with creative solutions for washing a magnetic marble track.
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Watching the mamas and calves play and eat while getting raw milk straight from the farm.
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The boy LOVES watching the milk coming straight from the cow when we go get milk.
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Discussing programming and game design with Dad, who is working on building a game engine.
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Homework during a camping trip? Nope. Unschooling. 🙂
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Full time care of baby lamb. 🙂
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Doing picture find puzzles.
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”Mom, I just want to go home and read quietly.”
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Unschool friends from across the country meet in real life and choose to play scrabble.
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Brothers sharing their race cars and entertaining the dog all at the same time. 🙂
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Out for a walk and giving the flowers new names!
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Share your unschooling photos on our Facebook wall for a chance to see them showcased here next week! Meanwhile if you crave more, you can browse previous Unschooling in Action posts, or check out the Unschoolers’ Art Gallery blog for cool art from unschooled kids.
Our “Unschooling in Action” series highlights photographs of real, live unschoolers doing real, live unschooling. If you’d like to see your unschooling photo here, please post it on our Facebook wall! Continue Reading
Our “Unschooling in Action” series highlights photographs of real, live unschoolers doing real, live unschooling. If you’d like to see your unschooling photo here, please post it on our Facebook wall!
With V-Readers in the go-cart.Archery lessons with grandpa.Bug watching.Statues carved directly into still-planted tree stumps.Nature walk with dad.Nature walk with dad.After a field trip.Reading about Wild Bill Hickok and frontiersmen.Thinning kale.Playing one of several versions of Monopoly.Oregon Museum of Science"What's making the air bubbles?"Enjoying nature's beauty.Owl pellets.Teaching mom to make paper flowers.Making a surprise for a penpal.Reading ... even at the lake!Mini planetariums with Boy Scouts.Reading Car and Driver magazine.Spring butterfly!Unschooled teen volunteers at local museum and shares knowledge with visitors.Daddy explains his toolbox.Helping dad hook up electronics.Watching the workers outside.Inspecting old x-rays.
Share your unschooling photos on our Facebook wall for a chance to see them showcased here next week! Meanwhile if you crave more, you can browse previous Unschooling in Action posts, or check out the Unschoolers’ Art Gallery blog for cool art from unschooled kids. Happy unschooling!
Our “Unschooling in Action” series highlights photographs of real, live unschoolers doing real, live unschooling. If you’d like to see your unschooling photo here, please post it on our Facebook wall! Continue Reading
Our “Unschooling in Action” series highlights photographs of real, live unschoolers doing real, live unschooling. If you’d like to see your unschooling photo here, please post it on our Facebook wall! Continue Reading
