I have been chatting a bunch with my friend, Ann. We have been discussing plans, schedules, and philosophy. The problem is our homeschool styles are very different, so much of my advice is lost on her. I have been a bit out of touch with my local homeschool group due to getting ready for the move, so if I want to talk homeschool, I talk to Ann. Since she is not getting much from my babbling, I thought I would share some of my wisdom here.
On whether to add "fun things" to school time:
I remember reading somewhere that you really need to question why you are having your child do something in homeschool. What do you want to want them to accomplish by doing the task? I think this mostly applies when you are asking a kid to do a worksheets, but I think it is also something to think about with the fun stuff. To me there would be 2 reasons to add the fun stuff. 1. It is fun, but not something they do on their own. 2. You need some busy work to keep one kid busy while the other is working, so that they don't loose focus.
On unschooling:
I think the reason I am pondering all of this is that I equate unschooling with mama doing nothing and most of these mamas are putting in a bunch of effort.
On making a schedule:
If you just make your kids do a bunch of stuff just because you feel like the should be "doing school" then your system won't last. Also, I think it needs to be fun for you. Not everything needs to be fun for you. There can be a list of things that your child does on her own that you don't have to think much about, but there needs to be something fun for you in the schedule. I enjoy reading and learning about our topics, so that is what keeps me motivated to continue with our schedule.
2 comments:
I've been thinking about the "fun for mama" element lately too. If it's not fun for me, I don't want to do it either. That's the great thing about using real, living books. If it's good literature, I want to read it too! (In fact, I lament the fact that I'll probably never get through *all* the great children's lit out there--there's just too much of it!)
And hey, you're not alone. Ann doesn't listen to my advice either. ;-)
Hi Michelle, It is nice to meet you! I love meeting other bloggers. I think the idea of something fun in your schedule is a great one. I've never really thought about it in that way before. Now that I am thinking about it, maybe that is one reason that some schedules don't last? Could be. Anyway...nice to meet you. I love all your photos!
Rebecca
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