Marjorie
Marjorie has been homeschooling her two young daughters for just a few years. Her family chose homeschooling for the freedom it afforded them -- freedom from the school schedule and calendar; freedom to follow her children's interests; freedom from labeling and categorizing her children; and freedom from testing and homework. She enjoys volunteering with her state's inclusive homeschool association and writing on her blog, unclimber.
I'm an unschooling mother of two young daughters, ages 5 1/2 and 3. When I'm not learning with my kids, I'm often writing about it, or whatever comes into my head, on my blog unclimber. I've been in the homeschooling community for three years now when I decided to forgo preschool for my eldest....
I've recently become a knitter. I suppose you could say I'm obsessed with it. I love everything about it, really. I love selecting yarns, I love looking at patterns, I love sitting and knitting. I think about knitting a lot, about what yarn might work with what pattern, whether I can do the pattern or whether it's too hard for me right now. I encounter many problems when I knit and I'm learning how to solve them ...
Math - the bane of many unschoolers. I'm still not sure how to go about covering it, so I kind of ignore it, figuring it will all work out in the end. My husband does not exactly share my outlook, though he does understand the downside of drill and kill ...
This will be our second year providing "proof of progress" to the state. It may be a bit early to think about this, but I would rather contemplate it in the dead of winter than in the spring, when the warm weather beckons. This year, like last, I plan to have my daughter tested to provide proof of progress ...
My Educational Philosophy - Get a Life
"Get a life" was a comment I received fairly recently on my blog, unclimber. The particular post was a link to an article which I discovered I had previously linked to on that blog, so perhaps that is why anonymous left his comment. For a moment, I felt a bit upset to get what seemed to be only a mean-spirited comment. Then I realized it was an opportunity for reflection....
When Competition Becomes Corrosive
When I started considering homeschooling, competition was a big concern of mine....
I was on a playground the other day and heard one mom talking to another. I heard her ask rhetorically "how do you prepare a kind and gentle soul for the harsh realities of the world?" I wasn't able to hear the specifics of the conversation, but I was left considering this important and oft-asked question....
We've all heard it before -- "but what about socialization?" It may be one of most people's first concerns as they consider homeschooling, whether trying to decide for themselves or when hearing of others who are homeschooling....
It's nearly Back-to-School and once again, I am wringing my hands. The problem is that I unschool. I didn't really mean to and I often feel guilty about it, especially at this time of year. What are we going to do this school year? What do I say when people ask about our homeschooling? I feel like I should be "doing something" with the kids -- giving them a lesson, planning an activity, anything that could be deemed "teaching."...
Cleave is a very interesting word. In the New American Heritage Dictionary, the first definition of the first entry is "to split or separate, as with an ax." But there is a second entry for the word cleave, and its first definition is "to adhere, cling, or stick fast." It's the second definition I always think of when I think of why I homeschool -- I want to cleave to my family. At least until my children grow up and it is time to cleave (first entry)....
My desired super power is the ability to slow the passage of time. Homeschooling is as close as I can get. If can't slow down time, I can at least try to hold back the speeding up of it which seems to be occuring throughout society. I don't know about you, but modern life is just a bit too fast-paced for me. Our first playmates were going off to preschool at age 2 1/2. That was just way too early for me. I wanted to keep my baby with me all the time just a bit longer. So, I waited....
My daughters and I recently began volunteering at a local living history farm. I've wanted to do this for awhile, but was worried that my youngest, now 4 1/2, would be too difficult to handle. When I saw a call for volunteers for the program last fall, I put in an application -- not because I thought my 4 1/2 year-old would be easier to handle, but because I was sick of waiting, and I knew my 7 year-old would love the experience....
I saw an intriguing headline on the front page of the Washington Post a month ago -- Despite 'Mommy Guilt,' Time With Kids Increasing. I can't decide which annoys me more, articles about the Mommy Wars, or articles about how hard it is to be a mom. I suppose the simplest explanation for my annoyance is that I feel these kinds of articles are more likely to be creators of Mommy angst than actual reporters of it....
We went to Hershey Park last summer. Just before the entrance to the park, there are a series of stands at which you can be measured to determine what category height you are in for the purpose of determining what rides you are eligible to ride (as in "you must be this tall to ride")....
In my last post, I wondered how much in enough regarding how much input a child should have in his or her education. As an unschooler, I've also wondered the flip side -- how much is too much?...
How much say should a child have in his or her own education? Anything is better than nothing....
I think we homeschoolers especially enjoy Robert Frost's poem about the road not taken because thats what we're doing with regard to school. Our path has made all the difference. Yet sometimes I mourn the path not taken, the well-worn, often unquestioned path of traditional school. I liked school and from that viewpoint, I feel as if I'm denying my children the fun of class parties and plays...
Shifting Paradigms Through Books
At the beginning of the school year, I saw a display at our local library of colorful school-themed picture books. I remember reading some of those books to my daughter years ago. I remember reviewing even more of them and deciding not to read them to my daughter.
It’s Back-to-School time and I’ve always found it such an exciting time of the year. Even though Fall is not typically thought of as a time of re-birth, I think there is an irresistible newness of the season -- a new year, a new class, and a new box of 64 Crayolas. As a homeschooler, I find it hard not to be part of the excitement....
What if I'm Not Wasting My JD?
A friend of mine told me about a Washington Post Outlook piece, Everybody Hates Linda (that was the headline in the print edition). At that point, I had not read her underlying article, which appeared months earlier in American Prospect on line. I had dismissed both articles as another attempt to stir up the Mommy Wars....
Art Appreciation for the Very Young
Continuing on my theme of exposing my children to subjects that I am interested in studying (its about halfway through the linked post), my children and I have enjoyed a number of picture books that are a great way to expose young children to the world of art....
Big Homeschooling Concerns--PE and Music
As I was making a purchase at a museum shop, I asked if they offer a discount to homeschoolers as I heard them offer another customer a teacher's discount. The sales clerk was very nice and said that she would. She started chatting with me about homeschooling. Its always so interesting to hear the different responses and questions that people have when they learn I homeschool...
When people ask me questions about homeschooling, I always find it a helpful exercise is articulating my views. Of course, depending on the questions and tone, I'm sometimes offended, but the questions always give me an opportunity to think through my reasoning. I'm pretty new to homeschooling, maybe years of hearing the same questions will grate on me, but they haven't yet...
My first decision to homeschool began when I decided not to send my oldest to preschool. While considering whether to send her to preschool, I read a few books and articles about preschool to get a sense of what we were missing....
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