Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 10:15 pm
Oh, how fun! We are mainly unschoolers. We get up early, by 6 or 6:30 am. My daughter (age 7) spends her time between wake-up and breakfast reading or making lists (she loves to make lists on any topic that interests her at the moment-it has helped her handwriting and spelling tremendously). If it is a swimming morning, we do some schoolwork before we leave the house, usually History and Science. Then we go to the YMCA in the next town, whereI take them swimming. Physical activity is one of the most important parts of our day. We go home after swimming, have lunch and tackle math. My daughter will often watch a video from the library (usually a history or science documentary), which often sparks another list for her and lots of dicussion between us. I also make up worksheets on the computer with questions on the books she's reading. She also does a ton of independent reading on any number of topics (the Titanic, dogs, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, the Kindertransports, earthquakes, hurricanes, pioneers, sewing, the Civil War, ancient Rome, Mesopotamia...her interests are boundless). Two evenings a week, my children have a swim lesson. One evening a week, my daughter has two dance classes (jazz, then a combination tap and ballet class).
I used to worry that we weren't "structured" enough, but this approach works well for us. My daughter is very self-motivated, and loves to learn. When she is interested in a topic, she will educate herself about it. I have found that the only thing I have to be a little more formal about is math.
I used to worry that we weren't "structured" enough, but this approach works well for us. My daughter is very self-motivated, and loves to learn. When she is interested in a topic, she will educate herself about it. I have found that the only thing I have to be a little more formal about is math.