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Give me some ideas of how to go about this please! My son (in 3rd grade and 8 years old) is on the autism spectrum and obsessed with insects and reptiles/amphibians, he knows quite a bit by reading online and watching anything he can about them, he also reads field guides, textbooks and encyclopedias so he knows way more than I do about them. We are considering homeschooling him again because my anxiety and his about school is pretty bad (I'm not sure I can deal with the calls I get about him and he hates school) also it seems like the timing is right again. My question is how do I do inter -
I could use a little help here. We started out unschooling and when I realized that that was going to takes to a dead end I turned our ship and we've been trying to catch up since then. Both my 13yos are neuro-typical kids. What I've been doing is I've been assigning them about a weeks worth of work and then when they finish it they get a day of free time (plus regular chores). The next day is then a chore day and then we're back to another week of work. Because they're motivated to get their free-time day this usually gets done in about 4 days. They're managing to do school work 3-4 hours -
ETA: changed the title for clarity This is an X-post, and many of you have already read it. But given the other thread might be deleted or titled in an unsearchable manner, I've decided to pull my post out so that it might help someone one day..... X-post I will stick my head out and differentiate between unschoolers and Notschoolers. I was an unschooler for my first 3 years of homeschooling, and ran the unschoolers group here in town for 4 years. I have met and been good friends with many unschoolers. I have read every unschooling book I could get my hands on and done quit -
I'm playing with the idea of starting a social group for folks with unschooling tendencies. Doesn't have to be strict unschooling (I've heard some folks get finicky about what qualifies!) but maybe a tendency towards a more self-directed philosophy and style. Anyone interested? -
I'm trying to create a DIFFERENT 6th grade year for my 10.5yo guy. It needs to be advanced in content/style of materials or he won't be interested. The funnier and more eccentric, the better. I have asked him what else he wants to learn and he says he can't think of anything atm. He says that whatever he did this year for 5th was great...so yes, I am honoring that by following his wishes for Math (he will be doing 2-3 math threads as has been the norm for him since he was young) and German and piano. I will work with him on writing. For other areas, I want to give him a year or two to "bre- 52 replies
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Interest Led Science - Tell me how this works for you!
Wonder posted a topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
Okay, so I'll just say it like it is - we don't like science curriculum, at least none that we've tried up until now. The farther along we get in this homeschooling adventure, the more I'm drawn to unschooling / interest led when it comes to science. Okay, and for history somewhat, too. :) But back to science - my oldest will be in 7th grade next year, so I'm just wondering what is enough but thorough at that point? Others who are drawn to interest led for science - what have you done at this point (middle school)? If you have kids separated by 3 grade levels, do you still try t -
Hello all, I'm looking to supplement a get it done economics curriculum with historical fiction that would teach economics concepts. Could you all please help me out??? Thanks so much! Oh, and if some are juvenile fiction that's fine too. Here are the topics I'm trying to cover... US Founding Pre Industrial Revolution Post Industrial Revolution Great Depression Communism A broad sampling of world history focusing on economic development I have thought of several books... Pride and Prejudice or Mansfield Park The Great Gatsby The Merchant of Venice -
I am curious with parents who have kids that specialize early, how much is too much? When do you draw the line and say, "This is a wonderful opportunity, but no. Too much stress/time/responsibility/specialization at the risk of childhood/time/well rounded education." Most of you know that my son's passion is environmental advocacy. It is an outlet for his big heart as well as his extroversion. He is just plain good at it, and it has aligned him with a stack of professional mentors who are doing national level work. We live in a very good area for this right now. All great and awesome -
I need help with my upcoming 8th grader. He has a passion for learning, but we are stuck in BJU mode for most of his studies ( we school year-round and will finish 7th in November). I'm feeling guilty, because I know I appreciate the classical more traditional mode as I feel like we're covering everything on paper, but he could be learning so much more, if I just let his eclectic side free. We worry about transcripts and high school, but I don't want him to hate school, which is what I've heard recently. This makes me sad, he used to love school. -
Hands-on elementary science (not curric)
Jackie posted a topic in General Education Discussion Board
After having looked at just about every science curriculum out there, and having read many threads here about unschooling science in the younger years, I've decided to do without a curriculum. Books should be easy to access; I'm fortunate to have a very good library. DD loved the Magic School Bus kits, but we're pretty well through those. What would you want for hands-on exploration for K-6? What I've thought of: - Lego Education kits - Zometool - Snap Circuits - microscope - chemistry set (anyone have a good one to recommend?) What else would be fun, educational, and encourag -
HI, We are a family of 5 living in FL currently but my dh might get a job in Oahu as a DoD employee. I've been reading about Oahu and Hawaii and homeschooling and many suggested to come over here to ask question regarding homeschooling in HI. My questions- 1. I'm currently in FL (small city), do I need to terminate the intent here and register there as a homeschooler? If I am under a umbrella school here, do I still need to register as a new homeschooler in HI? 2. How is the homeschool law there, is it lenient or strict? I read that you need to test a child at 3,5,8,10 grade. Has i -
I just read a book called skip high school and go to college. Or something along those lines. It's basically about unschooling for high school and still building an impressive enough portfolio to get into any college you want. It really challenged me to think about some of the drudgery we are currently experiencing in our schooling. But mainly, I just could not see how a child would ever be motivated enough on their own to do the sort of things required to move on in life successfully. I mean, they are so short sighted. If I just told my 14yo tomorrow that she only had to do what s -
I am interested in how unschoolers handle wrting with students. My dd is a reluctant writer (aspie), and we have tried many writing programs. I have finally started to wonder if we really need a writing curriculum at all. She will write stories/poetry on her own time, but when faced with an assignment, the you know what hits the fan. Is it really necessary to teach the writing process, or should she just write and let it come naturally?
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So, I've been talking a lot to my son and my husband and bouncing ideas off of my daughter, too. The result is that I'm strongly considering loosening the academic reigns a bit next year. I've been feeling for the last two or three years like my son is just going through the motions with school. Any subject he doesn't like gets stalled and stalled. Eventually, when pushed, he'll do a half-hearted job with it. If pushed some more, he'll revise and re-do until assignments meet the bare minimum required. (This is true of both subjects I teach and the ones we outsource.) If his grade suf -
The other unschooling thread made me think about this. I kinda wanted to share my thoughts, and figured I'd post my own thread about it. Something clicked for me within the last few months about how unschoolers see things and why I ultimately don't agree with it [anymore]. A good friend of mine IRL has been unschooling her kids for many years. She was telling me what her fifteen year old is up to. He apparently spends 30 hours a week doing on-line gaming. He does nothing that most people would consider "school," whether "fun" or "creative" schoolwork or avant garde schoolwork or otherw
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Unschooling/lifelearning/etc forums?
LidiyaDawn posted a topic in General Education Discussion Board
Does anyone happen to know of any large forums like this one that are for those interested in the unschooling/lifelearning approach? Yes, I can google :p but that doesn't always turn up the active locations. Thanks! :) -
Just curious here. Does anyone know of anybody in real life who unschooled their High School kids, and it was a success? I know of a number who unschooled successfully in the early years, and I have read of stories in books about kids who all seem to be mega geniuses, but does anybody know of real kids in real families where this has worked? I ask because ds asked......:tongue_smilie: Willow.
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I am genuinely curious about this. Do you purchase books and/or kits? Do you get a membership at the zoo or arboretum? Do you "unschool" or "free-range" your science all the time? one year (just to do something differently)? a semester every now and then? Do you decide to focus on a broad topic (e.g., Birds), or something more specific (e.g., the migration of Canadian geese)? Do you try to line up your "free-range" science with the type of science you would have been doing, if you had gone the more traditional route (i.e., textbooks & curriculum)? For example, if you would be s -
Yesterday, I was talking with an unschooler about my daughter's math obsession. She has wanted a "math lesson" pretty much every day for the last three weeks. I joke that I've "fallen off the wagon," because I really didn't intend to do math lessons with her until next year (her K year). But if she's begging for it, I see no reason to deny her math instruction. We're mostly doing MEP year 1, with some other stuff thrown in. So anyway, this unschooling father (whose only child is under 4), seemed to feel that even if my daughter was asking for math lessons, I shouldn't be providing a
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Anyone teach reading without a program? I've tried several programs with all my boys. None have learned to read early. I was reading through Charlotte Mason Volume 1 and it just sounds so easy to teach reading her way. My two oldest ended up in ps. They both came home in 1st grade and honestly neither could read. They had memorized a lot but couldn't really read. They both ended up teaching themselves to read. My 6 year old is struggling to read. He forgets each lesson. We have tried Phonics Pathways and OPGTR. We have alway read a lot of rich literature. We play lots of ga
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What is the difference between Homeschooling, Unschooling and "Radical" Unschooling? I was watching a youtube video on Dr. Phil regarding homeschooling and Unschooling. This video would make people assume that "radical" unschoolers run wild (No time set for bedtime and no discipline). I want to be objective and not just listen to only one person's definition or point of view. Dr. Phil Also, would you consider unschooling. Why or Why not? -
I know this is a weird place to ask, but I am really curious what makes someone self-motivated to learn. I am an unschooler at heart - have been since I was in school. School was an absolute waste of my time and I spent the majority of my school hours "doing my own thing" while I waited for everyone else to get done. I skipped school in high school (at least 1/3 of the year) in order to go to court to learn about the justice system, go to the zoo, museums, and libraries. I still teach my self TONS of stuff. I have given myself a crash course in Economics in the past few months (and
