Love it!!!

"I am beginning to suspect all elaborate and special systems of education. They seem to me to be built upon the supposition that every child is a kind of idiot who must be taught to think. Whereas, if the child is left to himself, he will think more and better, if less showily. Let him go and come freely, let him touch real things and combine his impressions for himself, instead of sitting indoors at a little round table, while a sweet-voiced teacher suggests that he build a stone wall with his wooden blocks, or make a rainbow out of strips of coloured paper, or plant straw trees in bead flower-pots. Such teaching fills the mind with artificial associations that must be got rid of, before the child can develop independent ideas out of actual experience." -- Anne Sullivan

So very true.

A Video From Charlotte Iserbyt.

An interesting video from someone on the inside;) Government education is not benign. Government should not control 'education'. Why, as Americans, have we rolled over and allowed a group of 'experts' with something other than our children's well-being in mind, tell us what we need to learn and when? Their tactics are subtle and dangerous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDyDtYy2I0M&feature=player_embedded

Ok, here is another video, though a bit dramatic, it gives a short history of compulsory government-run education. It has some good quotes, and you may find yourself dancing:)) I wonder why we haven't thought of this before. Why could we not set up our own schools, teaching how we would like...Tell me what is so wrong with that idea, and why we are so concerned about what the government wants us to do??? We are, in fact, raising children who cannot think for themselves. They are materialistic and selfish. They are incubated for hours on end in a building devoid of 'real life'. But that is just my take....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uexMYBkfCic&NR=1

A John Gatto Essay or Speech...not really sure which one:)

Here is a link to a speech or essay from John Gatto. winner of the New York State Teacher of the Year award. Very interesting and thought-provoking. I have a lot of thoughts on the current state of public education, but others have already explained it much better than I could at this moment. It is pretty long, but worth the read. Let me know what you think....

http://www.newciv.org/whole/schoolteacher.txt

A Much Needed Update...

So, it is time to update:) I have yet to figure out this picture deal on blogger. Anyway, life was puttering along nicely when I was struck low by a case of Mastitis. This caused a severe standstill, but we are slowly recovering. I wanted to share a few pictures. E is helping mommy re landscape the maple out front:)

Here A is holding a slug:) He loves playing in the dirt and helping mommy.

This one is of C helping scrape the dirt from a landscaping block.

Our yard is slowly but surely taking shape. Luckily, I have some of the best helpers around. This is a short update, but I gotta go to bed:)) Thanks for reading!

A Clear 'Definition' of Unschooling

http://www.naturalchild.com/guest/earl_stevens.html

If you cannot get to the page, let me know.

A Quote....

"What we want to see is the child in pursuit of knowledge,
not knowledge in pursuit of the child."

- George Bernard Shaw

A Title Should Go Here:))

I thought I would update the blog to clear my mind.   Doing a sort of unschooling approach to learning takes some getting used to...I still struggle with how to keep records, but a plan is formulating....This relaxed form of 'education' has brought so much relief to my life.  I forgot how much fun learning can be, and the kids respond much better when they are allowed to play and explore.    

This is a queen's thrown built by C, complete with curly, sparkly things from a bouquet of flowers she had gotten when she was sick.

Before I forget, I want to share a cute quote from C.  I asked her what kind of things she was interested in or wanted to know about so I could get a book for her at the library.

Me: "So, what do you like to do?"

C: Quick response, "Math."

Me: "What do you think about?" Trying to get more results....

C: "You being pretty."

How cute is she!

Here is a picture of Daddy and E discussing the fascinating world of gears.  E LOVES to know how things work.  The book they are using is The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay.  It is full of pictures and descriptions on a wide array of machines.

Puzzle time!  My kids love puzzles.  I like this one because it is all kinds of magical, and you can rub the shadowy parts to reveal a secret.  For example, swords, kitties, or magical books:)  Sadly, we are missing a piece.

We got the kids some really cool wooden blocks from Toys r Us a while back..This is just something that E and I had built...Blocks can keep kids occupied for hours!!!  The round red block is to be rolled down the hill through the "gate" at the end.  We also got to look at cool bridges around the world via the Internet.

Here is another view of the block road thingy.
On Wednesday, I finally let the kids get out the play dough.  This makes my heart race because of the chaotic mess it can make.  I remind myself to let it dry then it can be vacuumed:)  They spent literally hours, maybe 3...playing with this stuff!  Of course, C loves to mix colors:)

Today, we are making a trip to the library.  I have not really gotten out of the house with all of the kids during the day.  I am trying to get used to getting out more because I think the kids need the 'world'.  

We are currently reading The Sugarbush Family by Miriam E. Mason.  It is about a family that makes a living by harvesting syrup from maple trees.  As a result, we are getting books from the library about maple syrup.  Also, on Saturday, we get to have pancakes with real maple syrup.  I would not normally spend so much money, but it is all in the name of learning:)

We have yet to leave the house, but the morning has been fun.  E decided she wanted to do a yoga video, and C slept late (That kids LOVES to sleep), A is carrying around a car and watching Wall-E on Roku.  Little E, my baby boy, is piddling around the living room with blocks.  I am thinking about exercising, but I would love to nap!  Anyway, we will see how the day goes....Thanks for reading.

A Day and Some Pictures....

So, what did we do today??  Not too much.  It is the day after a holiday weekend, so one needs to recover:) I made banana muffins for breakfast.   Arthur is on Roku now...So we watched a few episodes.  And a day cannot be complete without Kim Possible.  A loves Caillou, too.  I guess we watched a bunch of TV:) 

 Here are a few pics that help describe our day:)

E spent the morning fashioning envelopes with messages that fit into bigger envelopes:)

'C'  is for eclectic bag lady:))  For some reason I can see my dear girl running around the city when she grows up with all her favorite things in a shopping cart.  Here is a picture of her top drawer...You can usually find her treasures in here:)

Thanks for reading:)  

A Poem by Christina Rossetti....

Today we are memorizing a poem to recite for daddy, complete with leaves. The kiddos are gonna be the trees...E was not too excited about this idea until I told her we could make leaves and put movement to the poem.  Christina Rossetti is one of my favorite poets.  I believe her poems do a wonderful job of portraying child-like wonder about nature...

Who Has Seen the Wind?

Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you.
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.
Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I.
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by

We shall see how it goes....

So, we had an impromptu lesson on how the brain works with the rest of the body...Here is a link that puts the info into kid language   http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/brain.html

Just an idea into how unschooling works....E asked how her brain works...I looked it up and we had a lesson.  Unschooling is by no means passive.  On the contrary, it requires a lot of attention and purpose.  Parents need to be aware of what their kids are interested in...They need to take the time to answer those endless questions.  Learning is continuous, Observation is endless...Take a deep breath because there is no need to push our children to learn...it is a natural God-given part of being human.  We just have to be willing to respond to their inquiries.  Why have we turned something so wonderful and amazing into a chore or a sign of superiority?  Just so you know, I ask myself these same questions....This is a learning process for our family.  Enjoy.

The First Day

Well, today was the first day of unschooling...sort of.  I say sort of bc as of yet I am not a hardcore unschooler.  My kids do have bedtimes and mealtimes.  I am not sure what I think about letting them make all those decisions by themselves...Regardless, today has started out great.  I printed off some worksheets about parts of th body...a map of the human skeleton, organs, outer body part word jumble (which E loved, and kindley helped C do), and a body part word jumble.  I use worksheets bc the children like them.  If they did not, I would use soemthing else.  Now, the kids are watching tv, while I get computer work done:)  I think I will get some books from the library about the body.  I do not think I will ge to math today bc the kiddos have to prepare for Awana.  Well, that is all now...Here are a few quotes that are thought-provoking....Also, here is a link to an unschooling website:  http://anunschoolinglife.com/

“It is nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wreak and ruin. It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty.”
-Albert Einstein

“Schools and schooling are increasingly irrelevant to the great enterprises of the planet. No one believes any more that scientists are trained in science classes or politicians in civics classes or poets in English classes. The truth is that schools don’t really teach anything except how to obey orders.”
-John Taylor Gatto

“The true test of intelligence is not how much we know how to do, but how to behave when we don’t know what to do”

-John Holt

“The most important thing any teacher has to learn, not to be learned in any school of education I ever heard of, can be expressed in seven words: Learning is not the product of teaching. Learning is the product of the activity of learners.”

-John Holt

That is all for now.  I do want to express that I am not against those who choose school or teachers...the above is the path we have chosen for our children, and what works best for our family.  Thanks for reading.

An Ode to unschooling...sort of....

So, it is finally decided.  After months of anguish and confusion, we have decided on a course of education for our children.  And the winner is....a mix of regular homeschool with a good dose of unschooling thrown in.  Unschooling is a type of homeschooling that is student led...The child gets to decide what they learn.  I am going to continue to do math, reading, and handwriting on a regular basis.  Other than those subjects, my kiddos get to decide.  I believe this approach will allow the children to see learning as a part of life....So, I am excited and relieved!  This is also my first try at blogging....I am going to keep an online journal of our day to day adventures:)  Well, maybe not everyday:)