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February 2013 Moms
wifeofadam
member
s/o Curious about unschooling? Come in.
wifeofadam
member
I was thinking about you ladies all morning as we did our "school lessons". I think this is a good example to show how you can take a boring chore, like landscaping, and turn it into "school" for your kids. Last night I picked up another bulk food order from Azure and I had to make room in my pantry for it. When I opened the door to the pantry stuff was falling all over the place. I told the kids I was going to organize it while they played and they all said they wanted to help. Time for school, I guess. This worked in my favor because my oldest is a Type A like his father, to the point where all the labels have to face the same way, so I knew he'd do a better job than I would 
So we emptied out the entire pantry. I had my 7YO help the girls sort stuff by category, so that was a good matching exercise for the little ones (also worked on colors) - put the red beets with the other red beets or put the green spinach with the other spinach, etc. The boys quizzed my 3YO on fruits and veggies - is a beet a fruit or veggie? What about a peach? A cashew is a nut - did you know a coconut is also a tree nut? Stuff like that.
Once we had it all cleaned out and wiped down, we started to fill it back up. DS1 made an inventory sheet for us. He listed each item as we put it back into the pantry (later we fixed any misspelled words on his list - his spelling lesson for the day). We had columns for quarts, pints, half-pints, and other misc. measurements. We did some multiplication as we filled the pantry - our shelves fit three quarts deep, so once he saw how many jars he had on the shelf he would multiply by three to get the total.
While filling the pantry we talked about how many pints go in a quart, how many quarts in a gallon, etc. If we had some dried goods that were low in say a quart jar he would guess if it was less than half full and then we would test to see if the contents would fit in a pint jar.
When we were done we took his inventory sheet and calculated how many total quarts of canned veggies and fruits we put up this year - so he took all of the half-pints and divided by four, he took his pints and divided by two, and then added it all to the number of quarts. We reinforced some of the fraction lessons that are currently on his Saxon curriculum here, too.
On top of all of that, we found one jar of my tomato sauce that apparently didn't seal and had spoiled. The kids investigated the mold on top and asked questions about it. That led to a little lesson on where penicillin comes from and how canning kills the bacteria and makes it impossible to grow. Then they scraped off some mold to look at under their microscope.
On top of all of the math, spelling, and science, I feel like the kids learned a lot about patience (working with their little siblings), team work, and determination (they wanted to stop halfway through, but we finished the task). Oh, and now Mama has an organized pantry, so I say it's a win-win.
That's how unschooling works for us. We'll still do a math worksheet later on and read a few chapters from our literature selection, but the rest of the day will be arts/crafts, free play, and some board games.
AW - BTW, It was 183 quarts (after we also counted what's in the freezer). I still have to finish squash and pumpkin, but I'm thinking that's about it for the year.
So we emptied out the entire pantry. I had my 7YO help the girls sort stuff by category, so that was a good matching exercise for the little ones (also worked on colors) - put the red beets with the other red beets or put the green spinach with the other spinach, etc. The boys quizzed my 3YO on fruits and veggies - is a beet a fruit or veggie? What about a peach? A cashew is a nut - did you know a coconut is also a tree nut? Stuff like that.
Once we had it all cleaned out and wiped down, we started to fill it back up. DS1 made an inventory sheet for us. He listed each item as we put it back into the pantry (later we fixed any misspelled words on his list - his spelling lesson for the day). We had columns for quarts, pints, half-pints, and other misc. measurements. We did some multiplication as we filled the pantry - our shelves fit three quarts deep, so once he saw how many jars he had on the shelf he would multiply by three to get the total.
While filling the pantry we talked about how many pints go in a quart, how many quarts in a gallon, etc. If we had some dried goods that were low in say a quart jar he would guess if it was less than half full and then we would test to see if the contents would fit in a pint jar.
When we were done we took his inventory sheet and calculated how many total quarts of canned veggies and fruits we put up this year - so he took all of the half-pints and divided by four, he took his pints and divided by two, and then added it all to the number of quarts. We reinforced some of the fraction lessons that are currently on his Saxon curriculum here, too.
On top of all of that, we found one jar of my tomato sauce that apparently didn't seal and had spoiled. The kids investigated the mold on top and asked questions about it. That led to a little lesson on where penicillin comes from and how canning kills the bacteria and makes it impossible to grow. Then they scraped off some mold to look at under their microscope.
On top of all of the math, spelling, and science, I feel like the kids learned a lot about patience (working with their little siblings), team work, and determination (they wanted to stop halfway through, but we finished the task). Oh, and now Mama has an organized pantry, so I say it's a win-win.
That's how unschooling works for us. We'll still do a math worksheet later on and read a few chapters from our literature selection, but the rest of the day will be arts/crafts, free play, and some board games.
AW - BTW, It was 183 quarts (after we also counted what's in the freezer). I still have to finish squash and pumpkin, but I'm thinking that's about it for the year.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: s/o Curious about unschooling? Come in.
First round of Clomid in May 2012= BFP #1, DD born January 2013
BFP #2 in January 2014, DS born September 2014
I have a Daughter born 2/26/2013. She is pretty much amazing!
The other option in Ohio for homeschoolers is to create your own non-chartered, non-tax school. This is what a lot of people with deeply-held religious beliefs do. If you create your own school, you do not have to provide assessments and basically, the government has no involvement in your kids' educations. In order to create your own school, someone in your home has to have a Bachelor's degree and if you have more than six students, you are subject to fire and safety inspections.
Knowing that I'm a religious Libertarian, you can probably imagine which group we're in.
So, to answer your question, I personally am not required to check in with anyone and that is completely legal in my state. I submit paperwork once a year to the Ohio DOE and to my local school board treasurer to let them know where my kids are, but that's it.
I am not really worried about following grade levels. My kids don't even know what grade they are supposed to be in. I think it's silly to define them by the norm for their age. They are individuals with their own strengths and weaknesses. We do follow a math curriculum that aligns with the Common Core, but neither of my boys are in "their grade" - one is two years ahead and the other is one year ahead.
I do assess my kids throughout the year. In the spring I will do reading assessments with them. Everything you need to do one is available for free online. That's how I can tell what grade level they are reading at. They are both ahead for their age, but even if they weren't, I wouldn't worry yet. As we know with toddlers and babies, there is a wide range of "normal" for developmental milestones. Reading is no different. Eventually they will catch up - research actually shows that early reading really doesn't provide a benefit past fourth grade, the age in which later readers usually begin to perform at the same level as the early readers.
Apart from reading and math, I'm not sure I need to be on track with any guidelines and criteria. Eventually, as they get older, if they want to go to college, there will be certain coursework they will have to complete in order to pass SATs or have a valid high school transcript. If they choose that route, I'm confident that they will be motivated learners and will easily learn what they need to when the time comes. Our kids will most likely enter college at the age of 16 and hopefully earn as Associate's degree by age 18, if their desire is to go to college. That's not uncommon for most of the homeschooling families I know.
I think these are great lessons and very interesting. You are probably way smarter than I am...I am not sure I could answer all the science questions your kids ask
Maybe a dumb question, but without following a sort of curriculum, how do you know your kids are "ahead?" Not being snarky..genuinely asking.
It's just unfortunate, as with anything, that in order to protect certain individuals you have to trample on the rights of responsible people. That's how it works with everything, I guess.
For reading, you can also do free online reading assessments.
I know my kids are ahead because the last assessments we did (last spring), my then 6YO was reading at a 4.5 level - halfway through a fourth grade year. He's also two years ahead in his math curriculum.
But there are other ways I could gauge is I wanted to - I know what knowledge he knows in terms of geography, history or science. I could look at my state DOE website, which lists all of the learning goals by grade, and know in which grades those concepts and topics are being introduced. But to be honest, that sounds like a lot of work, and I'm pretty confident we're doing just fine. If I ever really wanted to know, I have my ways. And any child can take standardized tests, even if just for fun, at any time.
Now, my mom didn't really take an unschooling approach, and we always had some text curricula, but I've observed this same developmental shift in other students and homeschoolers.
However, @Sterling13, there are hundreds of resources and different subject curriculums available to homeschoolers to teach any subject matter you can think of. I'm actually eager for my daughter to get interested in some of these more advanced subjects. Math is boring.
That isn't too say, my husband and I won't continually revisit our decision to homeschool every year. We will always do what is best for the kids, whether that be homeschooling, private school, or public school.
I feel confident teaching my kids just about any subject. I learn along with them and that's the best part of it all.
Not every student takes AP Physics, but if I have a child that is very interested in science or is interested in attending a university that requires those kinds of courses, I have many options. If I don't feel confident in teaching the course I can purchase a curriculum, many of which are computer-based, and very user-friendly. I could also enroll my child in college courses (for free - bonus) to gain that knowledge. I can supplement in any way - hiring tutors if necessary, too. Teaching Physics, however, doesn't scare me at all. The teacher guides that come with curricula are very thorough.
But really, I'm laying the foundation now by creating very independent learners and critical thinkers. My goal during these younger years is to create a love of learning, particularly reading, so that my kids will one day be able to teach themselves anything. If they want to learn about Shakespeare, they don't need me to do it (although I would probably enjoy learning along with them, so I'm sure I'd be involved). My job will be to facilitate things so that they have all of the necessary resources to teach themselves anything they want. A passion for Shakespeare? It's my job to seek out workshops, online resources, books, college professors, documentaries, or anything else and provide those things for my children so they can learn as much about it as they possibly can. And to me, that's another benefit to this kind of education. If they truly have a passion, they can devote their energy to learning as much about it as they want, instead of having to divide their time with subjects they aren't interested in at all and won't likely use as adults.
I really don't think there is a limit to what is possible as long as you're invested and have the ability to provide the resources your kids need to learn.
You don't need to have all of the answers. In fact, I think that not having them sometimes teaches valuable lessons to your kids - that no one knows everything. And it also shows them how to seek out knowledge for themselves whenever they are curious. They take ownership in finding the answers instead of simply being lectured to by someone.
Even though Kieran will be going to public school I think there are so many ways we can teach our children outside of school. I plan on being heavily involved in his education.
You being from Ohio...have you took your kids to COSI yet? I want to take Kieran but I think he's still too young.
Edit: Sometimes I feel like public school/my parents failed me. I was diagnosed with ADHD and learning disabilities and received zero help and struggled all through school. If my son turns out to have these same issues I'm probably going to be a crazy ma ma bear and make sure he gets the help he needs.
DS born: February 2013
TTC #2: Nov. 14
Chemical pregnancy 09/16/15
BFP: 12/25/15 EDD: 09/04/16
I haven't taken them back yet. We've done Boonshoft in Dayton and the Imagination Station in Toledo (we actually bought a membership there a few years ago). Thanks for reminding me that we need to fit COSI in this year!
If you do go, buy an annual membership. If you buy it for one science museum in Ohio you can get discounted admission at the rest of them around the state. Same for zoos!
Awesome. Will do
DS born: February 2013
TTC #2: Nov. 14
Chemical pregnancy 09/16/15
BFP: 12/25/15 EDD: 09/04/16
But thanks for correcting me. I'll be sure to remember to pass the info along to the kids
I think we've discussed how our allergist experiences have differed on here before. It's really amazing how treatments and info vary depending on who you talk to. Even among the different allergists we have seen, we get different answers depending on who we talk to.
But I guess that's the case with any different type of medical professional. I mean, think of all of the conflicting advice given to all of the women on this board during our pregnancies by our different OBs and MWs.
As far as tree nuts go, from now on I will be teaching the kids that they are a fruit. I never said I was a perfect teacher. I get things wrong, too. But at least in our "school" tomatoes (and ketchup) don't count as a veggie.