It’s been a while since my last post, and I have not posted about last summer, yet. I will soon. These past few months have been a whirl wind, and I have not taken the time to post on a regular schedule, I hope to change that. Then last night K told me about a new project they started that I feel compelled to share.
K decided they wanted to write a story about friends who travel across the US living off of art commissions. They want it to be accurate, so they have spent the last few days researching the best way to get commissions for artwork, budgeting for all needs including, but not limited to: gas, insurance, food, and other needs. K also chose a car that could get the characters around, and can be slept in. Now, K is researching camp sites to stay at that are either very cheap or free. Once K is completely finished with the research they will not only have the basis fora story they want to write, but they will also have an economics report that will show they understand the basics of high school economics.
One of the best parts about child led learning is when the students take complete control, and create a project that allows them to not only learn, but really enjoy the process. This is a project K will not forget.
In our house, unschooling means teamwork. When Jude (8) is doing research on a topic we work together to get a better understanding about what he wants to learn. We use books of his choosing to decide what to research. Right now he is reading a Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, so I asked him what topic he would like to take from the book to research. He chose manners, which is a very broad topic, so we worked together to narrow it down. We decided to focus on proper manners for dining in Russia. After we finish the research on Russian manners, we will then focus in on the countries we plan to visit this summer, giving more meaning to the study. We use a cooperative approach to the research where we discuss where to look for quality information, and then I take the notes using The Cornell Note-taking System (http://lsc.cornell.edu/study-skills/cornell-note-taking-system/). We find this works well for us, as Jude can focus on the learning, and not trying to find the best word to describe what he wants to retain. At the end of the research Jude will decide how to present the information he learned. His choice will determine my involvement in the final product. The best part is, in the end, we both learn something interesting.
Keturah (12) is more independent, but we still work as a team. For example, if she struggles with ideas, we brainstorm and then she chooses how to approach the learning or the presentation of the material she learned about. She uses some of my ideas but not others, and that is okay. Another example of how we work together is when our Co-op decided to offer High School Biology this year; she insisted on taking it, but then had some trouble with her eyes making it difficult to read for long periods of time. We dealt with this by me read the book to her while she takes notes or doodles. Working together on her Biology not only helps her to understand it, but also refreshes my memory so that I can better help her when she needs it.
The best part of our teamwork is when my kids act as a sounding board for me. One example of this is the day I began writing this blog. My husband, an English Professor, suggested that I do a free write exercise to get out all of my ideas, but it was the first time for me to write using this method, and I did not know what to do after I finished the exercise. I explained my frustration to my daughter who told me that she had the same predicament when I advised her to do a free write exercise a few months back. She explained that she used the free write as a way to clear her mind, and then rewrote the paper from scratch. I advised her that she should also keep a copy of her writing beside her so that her ideas were handy, which led to me to color code my writing so that I can use it for future posts. The most important part of our unschooling is to instill a love of learning, which means we focus on my children’s interests, and to acknowledge we are most successful when we work together as a team.
Eclectic Unschooling with Pickles and Tickles 