Wonder World Classroom

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

When Unschooling Just Doesn't Work

Posted in homeschooling philosophy,unschooling | 1:32 PM | by J

I have a confession to make. I flunked Unschooling 101 last semester.

This was far from an easy realization, since I believe in the concept of free-range learning wholeheartedly. In fact, I daresay it's impossible to get through life without unschooling whether a person means to or not. That said, unschooling was not the answer for us--at least, not in the way we were doing it.

We had reverted to unschooling after a stressful charter program experience prompted us to withdraw from the program. Bri was allowed to self-select activities, although I frequently "strewed" items of potential interest as well as suggestions. As a deschooling method, this worked wonders. She made huge gains in the reading and spelling she'd struggled with, and she regained some of the confidence lost when charter requirements made her feel "dumb". After a while, however, I found our unschooling approach seemed to be causing more problems than it solved.

Clutter creates mental chaos for us!

The more academic and personal freedom my daughter was given, the unhappier she became. Her behavior grew difficult. Her room was a health department nightmare. She was irritable from lack of sleep and got sick frequently. The group of playmates she self-selected were an unruly bunch who created nothing but stress, fear, and drama.

After taking stock of the steadily mounting pile of issues, I put the brakes on this runaway train. One of the biggest reasons I homeschool is to have the freedom to tailor learning experiences to the child. If something isn't working, it's time for a change--so I did some soul searching. Some kids can skip happily through day after day of unplanned spontaneity. Bri, on the other hand, has drilled us since she could talk for details on what the day/week/year's schedule holds. Other kids function just fine with a messy room. Clutter in Bri's room (or the house) makes a big impact on her focus and state of mind.

It occurred to me that a child whose very nature is to seek order and a consistent schedule may not be the best candidate for a "whatever the winds may bring" approach to life and learning. She thrives best on structure, and lots of it. So that's what I gave her. In fairness, I didn't just drop unschooling like a hot potato and run screaming into traditional academia. We put pieces back together a step at a time. Her room was reassembled into a functional space. "Bedtime" became more than an idle concept. A set time for learning was reestablished, and we went back to using workboxes--first one or two a day, then more. And a big shift happened in terms of playmates and unsupervised time.

I won't say she was delighted to embrace this global change. However, she was thrilled to get her room back shipshape, and I saw the marked relief that seemed to follow having a schedule to rely on. In the months since, things have gotten back on track, enough to know that for now, we're on the best path for us.

Our unschooling fun is staying!

Unschooling hasn't gone away totally. Remnants stayed with us, and will continue as we begin the new school year next week. Last term, we used Disneyland/CA Adventure as an interesting learning tool that we will continue the rest of the year (thanks to annual passes). She was allowed to self-select some topics to study this year, including world religions and learning Mandarin Chinese. More of her learning will take place from videos and personal research than from rote workbooks or text (although those will still be included). And we will have one designated "unschooling day" per week, where she is free to pursue current interests. (These differ from a regular day off because they take place during set hours and she will be asked to use her OneNote journal or notebooking to record her discoveries.)

I'm looking forward to a productive year, but the thing I most want to remember is that as a homeschooling parent, I want to look for signs that a better way to learn is needed, preferably before the yarn ball unravels.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

The Allowance Game –Review

Posted in Ideas,learning tools,youtube | 6:00 AM | by J

My daughter is at the age where she does her own transactions when buying toys, food, etc. However, she has difficulty remembering coin values, routinely mixes up quarters and nickels, and often gets confused switching from counting by fives to counting by ones when she has multiple denominations. As unschoolers, workbooks aren’t our go-to for teaching these concepts (and we had little success with it during our “school-at-home” phase). Since Bri was frustrated by her lack of money know-how, I decided to look for a fun way to reinforce the basics.

Enter The Allowance Game by Lakeshore Learning Materials. ($16.99 on Amazon.) This board game can be played by 2-4 players, suggested ages 5-11. The object of the game is to be the first player to save up $20 in allowance and earnings.

The board and play is reminiscent of Monopoly. You move a token around and either earn or pay out money depending on what square you land on. The play “money” includes coins as well as cash and looks quite similar to the real thing. There’s an option to let everyone be their own banker, and we play that way so Bri can learn to make her own change.

Bri was very excited to get this game, and we have played many rounds in the couple of weeks we've had it. Like Monopoly, sometimes the game is over pretty quick, while other times it takes forever for someone to get to $20. Several types of earning and spending are covered. Earn money for birthdays and allowance or by doing specific chores, like babysitting. Deposit money in a savings account and accrue interest. Or buy a lemonade stand and earn money from other players. Spending can happen for shopping or activities, but money can also be lost or paid out in fines. There's the overdue library book square, for instance, where one must not only pay a fine, but lose a turn.

Within the first game I noticed Bri was already grabbing appropriate numbers of dimes without counting onesy-twosy. She’d equated two quarters automatically as fifty cents, which impressed me since she’s had particular trouble skip counting quarters. She was learning without even realizing it—she was too busy having fun.

We’ve had this game for a couple weeks now and have played many times. She continues to hone her money skills and enjoy playing. I expect that as she perfects counting the small stuff, she will lose interest in favor of games like Monopoly or Life. For now, we’re quite satisfied.

You might be wondering why we don’t just teach with real money rather than buying a game. We do sometimes play “store”, which Bri loves, but I prefer play money for that as well. We don’t keep lots of denominations of cash on hand, for one thing. Plus, real money is so danged dirty that I’m not wild about playing with it. Beyond this, while Bri does do real transactions, it isn’t constant enough for the concepts to stick. Even playing store involves a lot more play than money-changing. There’s nothing wrong with that! However, this game offers a lot more exposure to money changing from minute to minute, so it’s a more intensive experience. Finally, Bri gets anxious and embarrassed in front of vendors when she isn’t sure what she’s doing. This game is improving her automaticity without the stress so she’ll be more confident dealing with the real thing.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

New for Strew: Update on our Unschooling Workboxes

Posted in Ideas | 6:00 AM | by J

Still love this, but it's sitting on hold for now!

I posted recently about how I was going to repurpose our old workbox system (a 10-drawer rolling cart like this one) into a way of keeping our “strew” under control in our new—and not particularly large—townhouse. Well, I haven’t fully jumped on that idea yet. I haven’t abandoned the thought—Bri really loved opening the drawers to see what treasures she’d find inside—but I immediately hit on something I wanted to try more.

A cool under-stairs storage area

I picked up one of these bin-style toy carts and tucked it away inside the cupboard under our stairs (which we’ve jokingly dubbed “Privet Drive,” but I digress). Now, I have an easy place to store “strew” when I’m not leaving it out for Bri to find.

Okay, I realize this is hardly an innovative solution since I’m betting one out of every four or five homeschooling houses has this exact same storage bin setup. What got me excited about it is that it offers me a quick and interchangeable grab-and-go solution for offering fun activities without the mess. And we’ve got it right next to the dining table, which is where art, projects, and games happen most often.

Our bins are currently stocked with Play-Doh, art supplies, a puzzle Grandma sent, laminated fact sheets on the 50 states and U.S. Presidents that I will be turning into a game, dice games, blocks, library books, workbooks-for-fun, and more. Even better, some of the boxes are still empty, or are about to be emptied out, so as I acquire strew it will have an automatic (albeit potentially temporary) “home”.

Also, don’t tell anyone, but the cupboard under the stairs is nice and deep and just BEGGING to be turned into a super-secret kid’s nook for Bri to read, play, or hang out in. I’m thinking of repurposing it as a surprise for her birthday. Having the bins in there means it’s already stocked for fun!

Stocked for fun!

Friday, August 16, 2013

The Unschooling Path to "Success": What is it?

Posted in homeschooling philosophy | 5:09 PM | by Unknown

I frequently run across discussions on homeschool blogs, groups, and message boards on the topic of a child's success--more specifically, what direction they should be steered toward to ensure they will be successful adults. College or not? At age 18 or 21?

I have a number of problems with this.

My issue isn't that the debate can get rather lively on the subject, but rather the idea that there is supposed to be a single, unified answer to the question in the first place.

Problem 1: What is "Success"?

How is success defined? The trouble with the word success is that the answer varies based on who you ask. A cross-section of homeschoolers asked this question might offer answers like these:

*Having a status career, such as doctor, lawyer, celebrity, or professional athlete

*Having lots of money and status "toys"

*Getting paid to do something they love

*A life involved in helping others and the planet

*A good marriage and raising a happy family

*The ability to find inner peace and serenity whatever the circumstances

*Attaining popularity with many friends

*Following spiritual beliefs to the best of ability

So right there we have eight possible viewpoints on what constitutes success. Which one most closely meets your personal definition?

Problem 2: Different Goals Need Different Approaches

If one person's definition varies from the next, it stands to reason that there is no one answer as to how to achieve the end goal. In the above list, it's easy to see one path won't necessarily work for all goals. College, for instance, may be the only route to becoming a doctor, but it isn't necessary or even relevant to other goals such as a wonderful home life, spiritual path, or launching certain careers.

Problem 3: We are Not Our Children

Our definition of success may not be the same as our child's, and we need to be okay with that. Of course we have certain hopes and dreams for our offspring, but pushing them onto a path to meet our expectations doesn't allow a child to grow into their own unique success. Respect a child as an individual and be willing to guide them onto whatever path best supports their current life goals...which brings me to one more problem.

Problem 4: Times--and People--Change

I've asked myself the "What is success?" question off and on over the years, and the answers have changed even as I have developed as an individual. Ask a 3-year-old what they want to be when they grow up and you'll likely get a very different answer when they are 8, 12, and 18. So should you plan ahead for college when they're 4? Absolutely. But should you insist that they go when the time comes if they have other ideas? I say not.

It can be hard to let go and trust a child with things like the future. We'd rather they learned from our own experience and mistakes instead of their own. But honestly, how open is a child to learning when it is required rather than desired?

My own college education began after I was 35. I went back to school to pursue a career path I ultimately decided against, but nevertheless I spent two years in classes. It was hard, going to school full time when I already had the adult responsibilities of a job and family, and some might wonder whether I'd have been better off having had college right out of high school. But because it was my personal choice to attend, I appreciated the experience more. I thrived in the setting, excelled in my classes, and absorbed knowledge that enriched my world view and my understanding of who I am. Had I been pushed into college in my teens, it would have been a whole different story. I was in a wholly different place back then and much would have been lost on me. I wound up going at the right time for me rather than the right time as determined by common practice.

Does this mean I think kids should avoid college or wait until their thirties? No way. But we don't all dance to the same drummer, so why should all kids be forced to start college at the same time-or at all, for some? We homeschool our children because we recognize the benefit of a different approach from the mainstream. That philosophy doesn't need to stop when they come of age.

Times have changed as well. College is no longer the place where you stick a brand new adult in a learning mill and have them emerge with a guaranteed career. Many, many college grads cannot get jobs regardless of their education. In addition, many grown kids are falling back into the nest or are launching later in the first place. So what's the big hurry to shove a child out the door the minute they turn eighteen? If they want a year off to travel after high school or opt for a career that doesn't require university, why shouldn't they be supported to do so? They will continue to learn about the world because they'll still be in it.

My six grown children range in education from high school to vocational training and military education to Master's degree work, yet they all have one thing in common. I consider every single one of them a total and unmitigated success. All of them have learned how to think, how to learn, and how to adapt to the changing face of their futures. They set goals and find ways to achieve them based on what best fits their circumstances. And in the end, isn't that the best training we can give a child--the mental tools to pursue their unique definition of success?