Thoughts on this blog post?

[Desert Strawberry]

http://simplehomeschool.net/paradigm-shift-curriculum/

 

I think I like this. I am trying to make this shift and be comfortable with it.

 

Anyone trying to find balance between the schedule and life?

[happypamama]

Meh. I don't like how it's kind of presented as "either-or." I think most of us probably do both -- we see the value in both academic instruction AND in life learning/experiences. I think most public school parents do as well; I think most of them are probably saying, "Yes, this vacation week in August is going to do all of us good," same as we homeschooling parents are. We just have more flexibility for having those types of experiences in January or November or whenever. I do think kids need all of it, and it's good not to be too much of a slave to a schedule, and I certainly want my children to have a range of experiences and places they've visited and such, but I also want them to have the academic skills they need to succeed in whatever they choose to do.

[Mouseketeer67]

Thats how my family homeschooled and my kids have excelled. :)

[momma2three]

I think it's a nice essay about the unschooling life philosophy.  Which isn't one that I, personally, subscribe to, though I agree that it can work out very well in some families.

 

The primary reason that I homeschool is so that we have plenty of time to fit in both formal curriculum and life-enriching adventures through our world.  I think that most families do try to find a balance, within the best of their abilities.  I don't like how the discovery-based learning/unschooling would be pushed to such a small portion of time if my kids all go to public school, which is why I do plan on homeschooling all of them.  But, at the same time, I think (and this is my just personal homeschooling style, and I know lots of people disagree) that the 36-week formal curricula is important for some subjects that require a strong foundation and build from there.

 

We afterschool in the unschooling style.  :lol:

[Guest]

I have a different take on it, or maybe it's just where I am right now. I collect curriculum because it's fun and cool. I need to learn how to use my treasures in ways that are relevant and helpful to my own family and life circumstances instead of feeling like a "bad mommy" because I can't find liquid laundry starch for the craft on page 176 and I don't wanna teach the Saxon Math K lesson  entitled "How to follow a recipe" that involves mixing a glass of water with yellow food colouring in it with a glass of water with blue food colouring in it to make green water to the same kid who made breakfast for his home ec assignment that morning.

 

I don't always need to buy a new product when what I really need is a new attitude towards what I already own.

[MinivanMom]

I think it's a nice essay about the unschooling life philosophy.  Which isn't one that I, personally, subscribe to, though I agree that it can work out very well in some families.

 

The primary reason that I homeschool is so that we have plenty of time to fit in both formal curriculum and life-enriching adventures through our world.  I think that most families do try to find a balance, within the best of their abilities.  I don't like how the discovery-based learning/unschooling would be pushed to such a small portion of time if my kids all go to public school, which is why I do plan on homeschooling all of them.  But, at the same time, I think (and this is my just personal homeschooling style, and I know lots of people disagree) that the 36-week formal curricula is important for some subjects that require a strong foundation and build from there.

 

We afterschool in the unschooling style.  :lol:

 

I love this.

[regentrude]

Not exactly earth shattering news.

 

And "when our children look back on their childhood, what are they most likely to remember with pleasure?" does not strike me as a useful guideline for setting academic goals. They will remember with pleasure our trip to the mountains and at the same time they will have a firm grasp on the algebra they learned from a textbook. Yes, there is a lot of learning outside formal curricula, but the amount of pleasure recalled years later is not how I decide my educational objectives or the materials used to reach them.

 

[TheAutumnOak]

Not exactly earth shattering news.

 

And "when our children look back on their childhood, what are they most likely to remember with pleasure?" does not strike me as a useful guideline for setting academic goals. They will remember with pleasure our trip to the mountains and at the same time they will have a firm grasp on the algebra they learned from a textbook. Yes, there is a lot of learning outside formal curricula, but the amount of pleasure recalled years later is not how I decide my educational objectives or the materials used to reach them.

 

This...

 

Work is work and play is play, even a child knows the difference...I don't expect for everything we do to be pleasurable...

 

Homeschooling is like building and decorating or moving to a house...I don't look back with pleasure at painting walls or moving around furniture, but it was necessary steps for me to be able to enjoy my home once those things are done...Getting an education is work...There are necessary steps to take while getting an education that are just not fun...I don't expect my kids to look back on studying with pleasure, but the end result of the education is what will be enjoyed in the future...

 

We are not at all over the top with academics here, but I realize that work is work and there is no way around that...We have plenty of memories that do not involve school work ;)

[LibraryLover]

There is also pleasure in working really hard to learn something. This might sound corny, but my youngest and I have a lot of fun making French flash cards together.  There aren't limits on where one can find pleasure.

 

I'm also not sure I follow the 'not taking time to make a meal for a family with a new baby' because we might be looking at supplies? Not helping in a soup kitchen? 

 

 

 

 

[a27mom]

I definitely struggle more with the opposite extreme. I tend to have too little schedule, and too much "life".

 

I generally use my materials as a guide, not a schedule. And though there are definite benefits from that approach, I need to regularly remind myself that actually using materials somewhat close to how they were designed can sometimes be helpful.

 

One has to be careful to balance. Too much unstructured just "life" can turn into "chaos" instead of poetry. Too much "schedule" can turn into "tyranny" instead of education.

 

It's that whole balance thing.

 

I also try to avoid trying to "make memories" for my children. A few years ago I wrote memory book for my parents about things they said and taught me. The stories/memories that meant the most to me were often random unintentional incidents. They had nothing to do with the setting or activity we were involved in and everything to do with my parents being who they are and sharing that with me.

[KSinNS]

Now, I'm a pretty relaxed homeschooler anyway, though by no means an unschooler, but I think maybe her point is that a kid's curriculum is everything they learn, not just what and the way they learn from a book. So, for example, my kids are learning math from MUS (see levels below) but they are also learning lots of other math that I think is important (fractions, problem solving, etc) and they think is important. So my 9 and 6 year old spent hours this week figuring out scientific notation which meant teaching them exponents. No, they won't do them in the books for a while, and that's okay. Steve Demme is not the boss of me! :-} Science doesn't always need to happen in a written lesson in a science book. It can happen on a walk on the beach or in the park or making supper. History can be a reading and writing assignment or it can be a child directed rabbit hole and 3 act play on French Revolution. That doesn't mean you have to give up "formal" studies. How I operationalize this is I have a set of goals for the school year, based in part on the priorities of book writers that I trust and the department of education. How we meet those depends on the kid's interests and the best way to meet them. Some will involve textbooks and seat work. Some will involve living life. Some of those goals will change if the kids find something that inspires them, and they learn more than I'd planned. But there are lots of ways to do this, and more structure or less structure are not necessarily bad. It depends on the goals of the family and the kids and parents involved. 

[stripe]

Not exactly earth shattering news.

 

And "when our children look back on their childhood, what are they most likely to remember with pleasure?" does not strike me as a useful guideline for setting academic goals. They will remember with pleasure our trip to the mountains and at the same time they will have a firm grasp on the algebra they learned from a textbook. Yes, there is a lot of learning outside formal curricula, but the amount of pleasure recalled years later is not how I decide my educational objectives or the materials used to reach them.

 

I agree.  My reaction to "When our children look back on their childhood, what are they most likely to remember with pleasure? The history paper on the Hundred Years War? Or the family trip to the local museum taken on a rainy afternoon? The chapter in the science book about waterfowl, or the trumpeter swans seen on a weekend hike?" is that I actually do remember some of my academic accomplishments with a great deal of pleasure! ha. And I have some bad memories of field trips and camping excursions and so forth. I think it's not wise to be so dismissive of "book larnin'," and  I don't think books are always supreme, either. But there are people who have had emotionally moving experiences as a result of reading a book. I always felt this way about my own mother, growing up, and Rebecca Mead's "My Life in Middlemarch" is a recently published book about it. 

 

For that matter, I have a lot of memories from my childhood of things both good and bad that my parents don't remember at all. And a lot of my appreciation for my parents is for small things that were done consistently, rather than one momentous excursion. And my parents remember some things that I've totally forgotten.

 

There are just so many momentous occasions one can have. Seeing a waterfowl in person may be one of them, but maybe only if you rarely get outside. It's unlikely to be repeated for insects, other birds, multiple species of mammals, and so forth. It's hard to maintain the same level of fascination with absolutely everything you see. I have a memory of looking up at the sky and seeing thousands of stars when arriving late at night at a relative's house. I don't think anyone else noticed. So it's also false that family activities always result in each family member having the same experience with it, much less emotional response and treasured memory.

[a27mom]

I think stripe has an excellent point. I am not a kinesthetic learner. So things I did don't have much meaning to me unless they are contextualized by something I read or heard.

 

The chapter on waterfowl would be way more meaningful to me than the Swan on the lake. Though seeing the swan would certainly excite me after I read the chapter.

[regentrude]

I think stripe has an excellent point. I am not a kinesthetic learner. So things I did don't have much meaning to me unless they are contextualized by something I read or heard.

The chapter on waterfowl would be way more meaningful to me than the Swan on the lake. Though seeing the swan would certainly excite me after I read the chapter.

 

Completely agree. The reason I was excited about all the old castles and fortresses I saw as a kid was that I already had a good understanding of the historical periods from reading copious amounts, both fiction and non-fiction. The experiences were powerful because they were in front of the backdrop of this book knowledge.

 

[momma2three]

I know this was touched on, but I just want to say that I think I'm not sure it's worth it to place too much emphasis on "creating perfect memories."  I agree with some of the above posters that some of the most memorable moments of my life were really "nothing" moments for the adults around me (funny, I have a very similar clear memory of looking at the stars in the car on the way to distant relatives that we only saw once a year!).  Meanwhile, I know that certain things that my parents set up to be really important happy childhood memories I have absolutely no recollection of.  

 

My kids are still young so their memories are pretty shaky, but I had a great conversation with my six year old, where I asked "remember when we went to New York City and saw the dinosaur skeletons?" Blank look.  "There was the huge hall of elephants, and you were a little scared, but then you thought they were really cool?"  Blank stare.  "And there was the big model of the solar system?"  Blank stare.  "And there were chicken nuggets in the shape of dinosaurs?"  Her face lights up and "Oh YEAH!  That place was great!  Can we go back there and eat there again?"  :glare:

 

I think that the best memories are made, and all sorts of important life lessons, taught just through the course of normal, everyday life.  And I think that it's important to take time to smell the roses and go off on rabbit trails and to be able to have some room for spontaneity and flexibility within your life.  But I think that there's plenty of room for both rose smelling and sitting down for structured seat work.

[LibraryLover]

You can't get as excited about historical sights unless you have some knowledge of what happened there. The Tower of London is cool building on it's own, sure, but you're going to get more of a tingly sensation if you know about Queen Elizabeth I, for instance.

 

If you know nothing about gladiators, what would visiting the Colosseum in Rome mean to you?

 

I think she's trying to say 'enjoy the journey', yet there is no one way to journey. kwim? ;)

 

[NASDAQ]

I'm going to sound like a jerk here. Warning in advance.

 

Some people, including a disproportionate percentage of this particular board, could chill out a bit and find themselves better for it. Some of us lean rigid. Some of us tend to work our kids harder than necessary. This is my particular failing, and I own it. Got it.

 

But _at least_ as many people, possibly more, lean in the opposite direction. And articles like this make the problem worse. If you have a child over about six or seven, and you aren't getting schoolwork done at least 180 days a year for several hours a day (flexible on several hours with six or seven year olds, but it gets up there fast), that is a problem. If the children aren't habitually making it through their math text for the year, that's a problem. "Relax and trust they will learn through going on walks in the woods" is not a solution to that problem.

 

There comes a point when schoolwork needs to be a primary priority, and this article doesn't present that. For most kids, learning to write well and do math are not skills that will materialise as they do service projects and free-play. Yeah, yeah, you can set it up so they learn all those things through unschooling, but try it and I don't think you'll find it's less difficult than bullying them through the workbook every day.

 

And "experience knowledge" is not some super special level of knowledge. People do learn some things better through experience, but it's fraught with its own issues -- it's not an efficient way of learning most things after early childhood, and what the children learn may or may not be accurate.

 

Sometimes anxiety is something you should move past, and sometimes it's something you should pay attention to

[albeto.]

.

 

[NASDAQ]

I think service work is just as important as math or literature or other academics and I'm very happy to make room for it in my own daughters' schedules.

 

Service work isn't academic. It's practical, vocational, applied, what-have-you.

 

And it's a great and important thing, but it's not an excuse for not finishing the math book. Which is what that article seemed to be suggesting.

[a27mom]

Service work isn't academic. It's practical, vocational, applied, what-have-you.

 

And it's a great and important thing, but it's not an excuse for not finishing the math book. Which is what that article seemed to be suggesting.

I don't think the blogger is necessarily meaning not learning math when she refers to not finishing the math book. We don't do every page in the math book, but my daughter is proficient in the topics in the mathbook, often because of math we do in "life".

[shinyhappypeople]

The author of the post isn't talking about unschooling.  Seriously, people.  I can't believe THAT was the big take-away thought for so many of us.  It's not unschooling when mom has an overall plan and learning goals for each year (or even for 12 years).

 

Curriculum isn't a product we buy, curriculum is the course of study.  We use products to help us teach our curriculum, but the products are servants to the overall learning goals.  

 

And it IS important to make time for free play, imagination, walks in the woods, and real life.  I want my kids to live life, not just read about it in books.   That doesn't mean that I don't encourage my kids to read for pleasure and for study.  I do.  But, some things you just have to experience.  

 

Balance.  It's all about balance.

 

(p.s. I really like the blog post. :) )

[OneStepAtATime]

The author of the post isn't talking about unschooling.  Seriously, people.  I can't believe THAT was the big take-away thought for so many of us.  It's not unschooling when mom has an overall plan and learning goals for each year (or even for 12 years).

 

Curriculum isn't a product we buy, curriculum is the course of study.  We use products to help us teach our curriculum, but the products are servants to the overall learning goals.  

 

And it IS important to make time for free play, imagination, walks in the woods, and real life.  I want my kids to live life, not just read about it in books.   That doesn't mean that I don't encourage my kids to read for pleasure and for study.  I do.  But, some things you just have to experience.  

 

Balance.  It's all about balance.

 

(p.s. I really like the blog post. :) )

Honestly, I didn't get the message that she was advocating unschooling either.  I thought she was asking for balance.  Use whatever curriculum you have, but don't be the slave, be the master.  Incorporate a wider perspective in what constitutes learning.  For many (most?), learning is much more effective and memorable when there is book learning AND real life experiences.  If a child has one without the other, they may be missing out on a whole lot...and not everyone has that balance, one way or the other.  At least that was my take.  And I agree with that message.

[momma2three]

I dunno, maybe I'd be in a better mood for this message if it wasn't February, it wasn't freezing cold, and there weren't 2 feet of snow outside.   :lol:  Right now all I want to do is sit in bed under the duvet and tell DD to study her spelling words.

[llifeon18wheels]

I'm going to sound like a jerk here. Warning in advance.

 

Some people, including a disproportionate percentage of this particular board, could chill out a bit and find themselves better for it. Some of us lean rigid. Some of us tend to work our kids harder than necessary. This is my particular failing, and I own it. Got it.

 

But _at least_ as many people, possibly more, lean in the opposite direction. And articles like this make the problem worse. If you have a child over about six or seven, and you aren't getting schoolwork done at least 180 days a year for several hours a day (flexible on several hours with six or seven year olds, but it gets up there fast), that is a problem. If the children aren't habitually making it through their math text for the year, that's a problem. "Relax and trust they will learn through going on walks in the woods" is not a solution to that problem.

 

There comes a point when schoolwork needs to be a primary priority, and this article doesn't present that. For most kids, learning to write well and do math are not skills that will materialise as they do service projects and free-play. Yeah, yeah, you can set it up so they learn all those things through unschooling, but try it and I don't think you'll find it's less difficult than bullying them through the workbook every day.

 

And "experience knowledge" is not some super special level of knowledge. People do learn some things better through experience, but it's fraught with its own issues -- it's not an efficient way of learning most things after early childhood, and what the children learn may or may not be accurate.

 

Sometimes anxiety is something you should move past, and sometimes it's something you should pay attention to

Yep, what she said. (I don't like abbreviations ;))

[llifeon18wheels]

I agree with the last posters, this wasn't about unschooling. It's about not allowing the Curriculum be the boss and that lots of learning, experiencing life, finding pleasure - all of that is it's own brand of curriculum. Right?

 

I will say this about curriculum though. I LOVE it and I VALUE it for guiding me. I'm thankful for schedules because they give me somewhere to start. My personality just resonates order and order and more order. When momma is happy, she finds ways to incorporate those bunny trails of learning.

 

In our lifestyle (truck drivers that homeschool their daughter on the truck), our job/life is 24/7 and I have a flexible-constantly moving-adaptable-yet consistent style and at any given moment

 

a dog-gone blizzard or

tornado or

traffic jam or

car accident or

a sick dog (he throws up sometimes) or

a blown trailer tire or well, you get the picture.

Changes my schedule :0

 

Learning happens here ALL the time but I LOVE my schedule :D

[OneStepAtATime]

I agree with the last posters, this wasn't about unschooling. It's about not allowing the Curriculum be the boss and that lots of learning, experiencing life, finding pleasure - all of that is it's own brand of curriculum. Right?

 

I will say this about curriculum though. I LOVE it and I VALUE it for guiding me. I'm thankful for schedules because they give me somewhere to start. My personality just resonates order and order and more order. When momma is happy, she finds ways to incorporate those bunny trails of learning.

 

In our lifestyle (truck drivers that homeschool their daughter on the truck), our job/life is 24/7 and I have a flexible-constantly moving-adaptable-yet consistent style and at any given moment

 

a dog-gone blizzard or

tornado or

traffic jam or

car accident or

a sick dog (he throws up sometimes) or

a blown trailer tire or well, you get the picture.

Changes my schedule :0

 

Learning happens here ALL the time but I LOVE my schedule :D

I agree, I need the structure and the schedule or it just doesn't work as well for us.  I need to plan ahead and see our end goals and our goals for the week and the day.  That being said, I also know that I can get tunnel vision.  I can be so focused on getting through a particular material that I may miss a great opportunity to EXPERIENCE that very same material in a real world setting, or to experience something truly amazing that we may not have the opportunity to do again, just because I have become a slave to the schedule on said curriculum.  Real life experiences are something I know that at least my own kids usually remember and can then practically apply far more effectively than just book learning alone.  Balance.  Gotta have balance.  Still working on that balance.

 

[And lifeon18wheels, wow, what a different lifestyle from my own experience (although as a military brat I did move around a lot)...I hope your daughter writes a book someday about being homeschooled on an 18 wheeler!   :)  Actually, perhaps that should be a family endeavor.   I would buy that book in a heartbeat.   :hurray: ]

[sunnyday]

Curriculum isn't a product we buy, curriculum is the course of study.  We use products to help us teach our curriculum, but the products are servants to the overall learning goals.  

 

I agree completely with this, and in fact agreed when I first heard Christopher Perrin say it on the Circe podcast (with his characteristic reference to the Latin roots of the word: "curriculum", from "currere", meaning running, same root as "career".) But the blogger went from there and off onto a tangent where she kind of tried to say too much, I think? Her conclusion *seemed* to be that, given a choice between academics and experiences, ditch the academics every time without guilt, because anyway you're learning through life and that's the only curriculum that matters. But I think she *meant* to say that it's okay to let go of rigid "we must complete X workbook pages every Monday through Friday" schedules and just adopt a more flexible "let's do 4 hours of math this week" approach that makes room for all the richness of field trips, bunny trails, and life experience while still giving academics its place and giving students freedom to pursue a subject to mastery at their own rate instead of the one dictated by the textbook.

[llifeon18wheels]

[And lifeon18wheels, wow, what a different lifestyle from my own experience (although as a military brat I did move around a lot)...I hope your daughter writes a book someday about being homeschooled on an 18 wheeler! :) Actually, perhaps that should be a family endeavor. I would buy that book in a heartbeat. :hurray: ]

Thanks! We were truck drivers before she was born and we didn't come back out here until she was almost 6 so she dies know "normal" life but I agree, I want her to write a book. I've tried to blog but I just don't have time. I take gobs of pictures and our Australian Labradoodles even have their own FB page (although they are not famous like that little Pomeranian dog). If she does it, it will be a book with 1000's of pictures. I'm a camera nut, slightly professional and I document lots of our life adventures. Over on the post about naming our homeschool, I announced that our school Cross Country Christian Academy chose Road Runners as our mascot :)

 

Michelle

[momma2three]

Thanks! We were truck drivers before she was born and we didn't come back out here until she was almost 6 so she dies know "normal" life but I agree, I want her to write a book. I've tried to blog but I just don't have time. I take gobs of pictures and our Australian Labradoodles even have their own FB page (although they are not famous like that little Pomeranian dog). If she does it, it will be a book with 1000's of pictures. I'm a camera nut, slightly professional and I document lots of our life adventures. Over on the post about naming our homeschool, I announced that our school Cross Country Christian Academy chose Road Runners as our mascot :)

 

Michelle

 

That is so cool.  I have a friend whose father was a truck driver, and every summer she and her mom would travel with him (she went to regular school the rest of the year!).  She is such a cool person, and has such happy memories of those summers.

[IsabelC]

I quite liked the blog post. Seems like a lot of common sense. 

 

And put me down for a copy of the book about Truckschooling :)

[llifeon18wheels]

I agree completely with this, and in fact agreed when I first heard Christopher Perrin say it on the Circe podcast (with his characteristic reference to the Latin roots of the word: "curriculum", from "currere", meaning running, same root as "career".) But the blogger went from there and off onto a tangent where she kind of tried to say too much, I think? Her conclusion *seemed* to be that, given a choice between academics and experiences, ditch the academics every time without guilt, because anyway you're learning through life and that's the only curriculum that matters. But I think she *meant* to say that it's okay to let go of rigid "we must complete X workbook pages every Monday through Friday" schedules and just adopt a more flexible "let's do 4 hours of math this week" approach that makes room for all the richness of field trips, bunny trails, and life experience while still giving academics its place and giving students freedom to pursue a subject to mastery at their own rate instead of the one dictated by the textbook.

That podcast was good. I haven't heard him speak before but it did give me food for thought. I've got some relaxing to do but like an earlier post-er said, it's about balance.

 

I want my daughter to excel because she can and when I see pressure piling up on her OR me, I have to step back and allow God to show me what's going on. I'm pondering if I maybe have pushed too hard on some days.

 

I definetly chose to school over 12 months versus 9 because I want to give us time to absorb not skim.

 

Thank you for sharing.

[kolamum]

You know I have issues with that post on a lot of levels, many of which are all ready addressed. I'd also be curious to know how old her children are, the pictures shared make them all seem quite young still. Which is often how we schooled at a young age, but now we use the "both" method because let's face it if my highschooler wants to go on to higher education he has to meet specific goals. Being shamed for helping him do that, or shaming him for having those goals doesn't sit well with me.

 

On top of that, in all honesty while her kids are going to remember seeing the swans on the family hike, it will stick with them more because they previously learned about them. The same is true of the museum, they will remember it because it was fun but more so because they understand what they were seeing. It's all connected. They will appreciate taking the meal to a new mom to be, helping the elderly neighbour, & so forth when, in years down the road, the same happens to them because they are in need of something at that moment. 

 

I'm not downplaying the good deeds theory or being out & living life or even NOT being a slave to your books, but I think there's a few things missing in the post as well.. 

[OneStepAtATime]

You know I have issues with that post on a lot of levels, many of which are all ready addressed. I'd also be curious to know how old her children are, the pictures shared make them all seem quite young still. Which is often how we schooled at a young age, but now we use the "both" method because let's face it if my highschooler wants to go on to higher education he has to meet specific goals. Being shamed for helping him do that, or shaming him for having those goals doesn't sit well with me.

 

On top of that, in all honesty while her kids are going to remember seeing the swans on the family hike, it will stick with them more because they previously learned about them. The same is true of the museum, they will remember it because it was fun but more so because they understand what they were seeing. It's all connected. They will appreciate taking the meal to a new mom to be, helping the elderly neighbour, & so forth when, in years down the road, the same happens to them because they are in need of something at that moment. 

 

I'm not downplaying the good deeds theory or being out & living life or even NOT being a slave to your books, but I think there's a few things missing in the post as well.. 

I wouldn't say I have issues, but I do think she was not presenting her idea as fully as she could have (and I do wonder if she is homeschooling any older children).  That being said, I know a lot of overly structured homeschoolers who are slaves to the resources they have chosen and some are in a constant state of stress over completing every single thing they have purchased.  And the stacks of stuff they are using is rather intimidating.  One ends up in tears nearly every week because she has bought into the idea that if her children aren't doing every single thing people have convinced her that her kids need, they are going to end up homeless and jobless.  She NEEDS this message.  

 

I don't know any unschoolers or extremely relaxed schoolers personally, so I saw the message the blogger was trying to send as very useful, at least here in the community I am a part of.  If I were surrounded by a lot of unschoolers at the middle school and highschool level, I guess my focus would have been on the parts that are not well emphasized in the message regarding the other side of the learning coin.   I agree that without deeper knowledge of something (and that deeper knowledge usually comes from a good balance of book learning and experience), you may miss a great deal.  

 

In other words I think her point is a good one, and I appreciate very much what she was saying, but it was not as well presented as it could have been because she didn't have "balance".   :)

 

Thank you, OP, for putting it out there.  I have enjoyed reading it and thinking upon our own homeschooling choices....   :)

[shinyhappypeople]

As I read her post I kept thinking of all the "What are your plans for X grade" posts that pop up each spring.  Our tendency (and I definitely include myself in this) is to make a big, long, list of products.  Next year will be our 6th year homeschooling.  Between my two kids, I've spent in the neighborhood of $10,000  on curriculum products (most paid for by our former homeschool-charter program).  Most went unused or just partially used.  So, the bloom is off the rose, so to speak. 

 

I think it might be useful for me to outline the most important big ideas I hope to cover in terms of skill, content, and experiences.  For example: for 11 yo (5th/6th gr) DD, I want her to master long division, I want her to learn to use the internet, library, and people in the community for research.  I want her to write 1-2 page research papers, and also find other ways to present what she's learned.  She wants to learn martial arts, so we'll sign her up for that.  Etc.....  (obviously that's not a complete list, but you get the drift, right?)

 

 

 

[Desert Strawberry]

The author of the post isn't talking about unschooling.  Seriously, people.  I can't believe THAT was the big take-away thought for so many of us.  It's not unschooling when mom has an overall plan and learning goals for each year (or even for 12 years).

 

Curriculum isn't a product we buy, curriculum is the course of study.  We use products to help us teach our curriculum, but the products are servants to the overall learning goals.  

 

And it IS important to make time for free play, imagination, walks in the woods, and real life.  I want my kids to live life, not just read about it in books.   That doesn't mean that I don't encourage my kids to read for pleasure and for study.  I do.  But, some things you just have to experience.  

 

Balance.  It's all about balance.

 

(p.s. I really like the blog post. :) )

 

 

Honestly, I didn't get the message that she was advocating unschooling either.  I thought she was asking for balance.  Use whatever curriculum you have, but don't be the slave, be the master.  Incorporate a wider perspective in what constitutes learning.  For many (most?), learning is much more effective and memorable when there is book learning AND real life experiences.  If a child has one without the other, they may be missing out on a whole lot...and not everyone has that balance, one way or the other.  At least that was my take.  And I agree with that message.

 

 

This is how I understood it as well. I am only slightly surprised by the backlash, given the general tone of this forum. 

I know for me personally, I regret having pushed my kids too hard when they were very young. I didn't think I was at the time, but now I can see that it didn't help, and did some damage.

I find myself charging through history, curtailing conversation so we can "get through this lesson!"

At this moment, I am struggling with how much "help" to give Sagg with his 4H project book. It doesn't nearly meet my standards, but it is his book and he is happy with it. I need to back up off of him and let him do this himself. 

I may be the only one who struggles to find time to go hiking because my kids take too long over their lessons. I certainly don't toss the books in the trash, but taking an afternoon off once a week isn't likely to keep my 7 year old out of Stanford. It will give him some real life experiences that may help him find his true calling in life.

I know some posters have had terrible experiences with radical unschoolers, but I have never encountered that. I'm sure there are pockets of homeschoolers who do very little and discourage others from formal learning. In my experience, there are far more stressed out, guilt and anxiety ridden  moms -often of very young children- who feel they are failing their children if their 5 year old isn't reading fluently, or their 6 year old doesn't have lovely penmanship, or their 11yo's 4H book looks like it was prepared by a prepubescent boy. Oh, wait. That's me. 

I took this post to mean, " Chill out a little. Laugh over your kid's jokes. Enjoy making flashcards. Let your kids discuss their history lesson. Take them on a hike after reading about ducks. It's not a race to the end of the book. It's a journey. Enjoy it."

[hepatica]

Honestly, I didn't get the message that she was advocating unschooling either.  I thought she was asking for balance.  Use whatever curriculum you have, but don't be the slave, be the master.  Incorporate a wider perspective in what constitutes learning.  For many (most?), learning is much more effective and memorable when there is book learning AND real life experiences.  If a child has one without the other, they may be missing out on a whole lot...and not everyone has that balance, one way or the other.  At least that was my take.  And I agree with that message.

 

 I agree. I thought the blog post was lovely, and really about finding that balance between the rational/intellectual part of education and the sensual/passionate, experiential part. I didn't see it as an unschooling post at all. 

 

Ultimately, I don't think homeschooling is just about setting academic goals, and that seems to be what the author was trying to point out. Sure, academic goals are part of homeschooling, but it is just as much a lifestyle choice. Free from the tyranny of the school schedule, homeschoolers have the luxury of finding that balance. And if we are conscious about it we can carve it out as a part of the "curriculum." It's really about thinking about what the larger purpose of education, rather than just the means we choose to get there. 

[LibraryLover]

Balance is great. I think most of us agree that we need to follow rabbit trails and give to our communities. I just don't agree that older kids who do academics towards mastery are not also following rabbit trails, engaging in community service, or experiencing pleasure. 

[kolamum]

So many lovely points made. I think it's very easy, especially when homeschoolers first start out, to be easily distracted by everything in regards to books & programmes available. I think it's when you're at that time/place in your homeschool journey that you worry if you're doing enough, too much, not enough & no matter what choice you make you often find yourself comparing your children to the others around you. Does Jane know as much as Jill who goes to a brick & mortar school? Does Billy know as much as John who's mamma says he's reading 6 grades above his age & has knocked out 4 math books this year?

 

We look for that perfect answer, often in the form of the newest curriculum being sold by the latest & greatest homeschooling company. We read blogs that often overwhelm us, all though we think we're being encouraged. They drag us down & make us feel inadequate. We forget that most people only share the rosy side of the story & not the tears & tantrums that got them there. Or that not every day is perfect even if there are many wonderful ones. We see the glossy pictures, the warm smiles, & the fun had. We listen to the retelling of amazing grades, test scores, & high achievements & we convince ourselves that if we do it the way Jane does then our children will reach those things too.

 

Maturity comes with time, for some, & once you find that place it's easier to see that you don't live & die by the curriculum, the checklist, or the planner. You don't care what Jane does or how it works for her family. You're happy with what you've got & what you're doing & how it works for you. You're happy to join in the chatter of what your child is doing because you're content with it & joining those threads won't make you feel inadequate. 

 

I've been on both sides of that line before & I most especially love this side of it. ;) Having said that we weren't super strict/heavy homeschoolers with young children. We had our moments & thankfully had the sense knocked into us quickly & learned that less was more at that younger age for sure! But now that we've crossed the whole threshold of leaving primary/elementary school behind us we've stepped it up a notch. We're happy with that! 

 

I think, at least for me, is that I see posts like that & I remember what it was like in those early years & how easy it was to feel guilty for not doing it this way or that & I think my defence system kicks in. Not that it was the objective of the post, not at all! Anyway, yeah, where I'm at now we need more & I don't think it has to be an either or, I think you can be both if you can obtain a balance that is perfect for your family. :D

[momto2Cs]

As I read her post I kept thinking of all the "What are your plans for X grade" posts that pop up each spring.  Our tendency (and I definitely include myself in this) is to make a big, long, list of products.  Next year will be our 6th year homeschooling.  Between my two kids, I've spent in the neighborhood of $10,000  on curriculum products (most paid for by our former homeschool-charter program).  Most went unused or just partially used.  So, the bloom is off the rose, so to speak. 

 

I think it might be useful for me to outline the most important big ideas I hope to cover in terms of skill, content, and experiences.  For example: for 11 yo (5th/6th gr) DD, I want her to master long division, I want her to learn to use the internet, library, and people in the community for research.  I want her to write 1-2 page research papers, and also find other ways to present what she's learned.  She wants to learn martial arts, so we'll sign her up for that.  Etc.....  (obviously that's not a complete list, but you get the drift, right?)

 

Yes, I am guilty of planning (over-planning?) for next year (as evidenced here and here). I like the idea of starting with goals and working from there to pick the tools to reach those goals!

 

For example, I'd like my ds to build strong essay writing skills in 8th grade. Instead of simply planning to use WWS2, or whatever other book/curriculum, I can target what we do and use to that end. I want him to be comfortable moving through pre-algebra concepts, which may mean more than one approach. I'd like my dd to master multiplication and division concepts, and be able to write a decent narrative, and to maybe, just maybe, develop a love for reading (I can wish, right? :tongue_smilie: )

 

I would like both my kids to be more active in our community, to spend some time volunteering. I would like them to develop research skills, and find ways to follow their interests that include some good output.

 

Science doesn't always need to happen in a written lesson in a science book. It can happen on a walk on the beach or in the park or making supper. History can be a reading and writing assignment or it can be a child directed rabbit hole and 3 act play on French Revolution. That doesn't mean you have to give up "formal" studies.

 

Exactly! I would love to assist my children in developing a better balance between written and non-written work. Some room for exploration and expression of learning that isn't always just a writing assignment.

 

The author of the post isn't talking about unschooling.  Seriously, people.  I can't believe THAT was the big take-away thought for so many of us.  It's not unschooling when mom has an overall plan and learning goals for each year (or even for 12 years).

 

Curriculum isn't a product we buy, curriculum is the course of study.  We use products to help us teach our curriculum, but the products are servants to the overall learning goals.  

 

And it IS important to make time for free play, imagination, walks in the woods, and real life.  I want my kids to live life, not just read about it in books.   That doesn't mean that I don't encourage my kids to read for pleasure and for study.  I do.  But, some things you just have to experience.  

 

Balance.  It's all about balance.

 

(p.s. I really like the blog post. :) )

 

This (the bolded).

 

So many lovely points made. I think it's very easy, especially when homeschoolers first start out, to be easily distracted by everything in regards to books & programmes available. I think it's when you're at that time/place in your homeschool journey that you worry if you're doing enough, too much, not enough & no matter what choice you make you often find yourself comparing your children to the others around you. Does Jane know as much as Jill who goes to a brick & mortar school? Does Billy know as much as John who's mamma says he's reading 6 grades above his age & has knocked out 4 math books this year?

 

We look for that perfect answer, often in the form of the newest curriculum being sold by the latest & greatest homeschooling company. We read blogs that often overwhelm us, all though we think we're being encouraged. They drag us down & make us feel inadequate. We forget that most people only share the rosy side of the story & not the tears & tantrums that got them there. Or that not every day is perfect even if there are many wonderful ones. We see the glossy pictures, the warm smiles, & the fun had. We listen to the retelling of amazing grades, test scores, & high achievements & we convince ourselves that if we do it the way Jane does then our children will reach those things too.

 

Maturity comes with time, for some, & once you find that place it's easier to see that you don't live & die by the curriculum, the checklist, or the planner. You don't care what Jane does or how it works for her family. You're happy with what you've got & what you're doing & how it works for you. You're happy to join in the chatter of what your child is doing because you're content with it & joining those threads won't make you feel inadequate.

 

And yes, yes, yes. It is SO easy to be distracted by the latest and greatest, and to compare what we're doing with what everyone else is doing, especially when it all looks perfect on their side of the fence compared to mine.

[RootAnn]

I'd also be curious to know how old her children are, the pictures shared make them all seem quite young still.

 

She has six kids, including baby twins & a very young toddler. Her oldest appears to be about 6th grade with a 4th grader and a 2nd/3rd grader. (Here's her blog post about curriculum plans for 2013-2014 pre-newborn twins.) I think she's definitely coming from a place right now where life is a little hectic. I'm finding her blog (not the blog linked in the original post here - she's just a guest there) very interesting. She's a guest Circe writer!?  :driving: