I posted a question at the 4 Real Learning Forum and at the Unschooling Catholics email list.
At the moment, I am tired. I just want to do what I have to do, all my work stuff and so on, maybe make sure the kids and I do some maths and then just PLAY. Let the kids do whatever, amidst all our busy lives and activities. I don’t want to think about read alouds or strewing or an enriching environment – the few times we are home I just want to hang if and when possible. So, can I still be an effective unschooler if we don’t do anything exciting? Apart from our busy social life that is! Does an unschool have to look very enriching and exciting? Or can there be just lots of hang out time?
I got some great replies...and I thought about my question myself..
It occurred to me that I am coming down with a cold and sore throat so that is probably also the cause of my unschooling malaise. Duh!
But I also realise that this is just the ebb and flow of life, especially unschooling life where one tends to go a little more with the flow.
And our life is pretty busy and we do a lot of group things so it is not as though the kids are missing out - it is more that I was feeling like doing less big projects with them. And I'm not going to for awhile!
I'm also taking my own advice from this thread... promoting peace in your home.....
How does one be an effective unschooling parent? This post at Joyfully Rejoycing points out that one doesn't have to plan projects but that one must interact with the kids...
[Unschooling is] not about letting my children run wild and do what they want. It's not about shirking my responsibility, but it's about embracing it. It's about spending actual time with my children, about getting to know them like I would a friend or someone I was dating.
And there is a list of behaviours/ideas/activities to guide, to show the role of the unschooling parent. Check out the link above! My favourites right now are ~
Find ways to include the child in my own daily life - live a more"open-book' life than the norm.
Live a family life that is rich with experiences of a variety of kinds both at home and outside the home.
If you want to know more about unschooling and Catholics join the Unschooling Catholics list, read the blogs in the sidebar from Nearcircle ( which is finally working again) or read about St John Bosco and his preventative method of education..
Happy feast of St Ignatius of Loyola!
4 comments:
Very true about the ebb and flow of life. Taking a banal example, I often have fortnights where I'm incredibly irritable and the smallest occurrence I didn't plan, like a poorly made cup of tea, will push me almost to exploding point! Then other weeks I'm much more relaxed and laid back. Without any difference I've noticed that can account for it.
Or again I'll go for a few weeks finding every book on the shelf boring, then one day, again without any reason at all, I'll be passionately interested in twenty and not have the time to read 10%of what I want...
As you said too fatigue has a lot to do with it. Here in the UK I'm always very positive in the mornings, but by evening I just want to go home and watch BG with everybody! :)
Oh - and I wish I could be there to see you treat T as if you were dating him!! Give him a nice big kiss from me ;)
lol re T - as if I'd go kissing while datng! BG is interesting too - a new person introduced who is a Cylon, unbeknownst to all....
Good things to think about as we prepare for our big move and the growing hope that the new job and homeschool will work together.
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