Homeschool World Forum

momofone · User Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 38 Location: NJ

I was considering this method, but in doing some research, it seems some kids have a difficult time transitioning to a high school/college classroom atmosphere with test taking.

I am concerned with this and wanted to get some feedback. Is anyone at this point? Did you do anything during the course of unschooling to avoid this transition time?

momofone · User Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 38 Location: NJ

Anybody have any feedback on this?

Theodore · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 9:30 am Post subject:

Just ease your way in with a few community college courses.
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momo3boys · User Joined: 14 Feb 2006 Posts: 574 Location: Western Mass

We almost "unschool" but not quite. We have worksheets for handwriting, and math, but unschool, and use unit studies for the rest of the subjects. You will be surprised how much they really do learn this way. Have them write reports, or be creative in the way they show you that they have learned the info, they may surprise you in how much they have learned and know. Not just studying a bunch of facts for a test, but really know it, and will still know it after the test has been taken.
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momofone · User Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 38 Location: NJ

Makes sense. I appreciate it. As a newbie, sometimes things don't automatically click on how things could/should be done.

Ramona · User Joined: 15 Aug 2006 Posts: 408

We don't totally unschool, but I never let my kids take standardized tests until they were 16 years old. They both got super-high scores, even on very their first tries.

Ramona

Kimberly · User Joined: 05 May 2007 Posts: 50 Location: Iowa

We do not unschool but are very relaxed in the elementary years. My oldest son started using formal curriculum in all his subjects when he reached the 7th grade and was able to ease into it with no problem. Hopefully the same will be true with the younger children.

Math is my weakest subject so we use a curriculum for that (Bob Jones until fourth grade and then Saxon). We use 100 Easy Lessons and A Handbook for Reading to learn phonics. Other than that we simply have the philosophy "Read something every day, write something every day." History and Science is purely "delight driven" at our house in the younger years. We study what ever interests the children at the moment. (Right now it is castles and nights so we are studying the midevil period.)
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momofone · User Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 38 Location: NJ

Great, thank you for the feedback.

I will definitely check into that curriculum, thanks!

janzeiger · User Joined: 03 Oct 2006 Posts: 31 Location: FL

If you plan to continue unschooling, whether or not the child takes formal courses in high school will depend on the individual and what he/she wants.

I have a friend with three unschooled teenagers. One chooses to do formal courses at the local college while another works at a horse farm since that is her passion and she's less of a "school" type person. The youngest is still figuring out what he wants to do.

The point is that there's no hard and fast rule saying that unschoolers absolutely must make the transition in 9th grade. Unless you plan to stop using that approach.

Have you read about Laurie Chancey, the girl who is getting her doctorate and was totally unschooled until college?

http://www.chancey.info/index.html
http://homeschooling.suite101.com/article.cfm/unschooling
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Kimberly · User Joined: 05 May 2007 Posts: 50 Location: Iowa

Interesting article. Thanks, Jan.
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Mark · Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 11:54 pm Post subject:

*sigh*
throwing it all out the window next year I think for my youngest...

now I just have to find out what in blazes unschooling is... Confused

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Cally · User Joined: 28 Jan 2007 Posts: 14

I was wondering if unschooling is like when a child comes to you and asks about a subject and then you point them in the right direction of that subject? The reason I ask is because my son does that all the time. He decided he wanted to learn cursive so I found some on the internet and he practiced it some then wrote his name a few times. Then he made a book with the hole punch and some yarn.

Thats just one instance though. He has studied the states and where they are in the United States. Also whales, albino (sp?) peacocks, then he wanted to learn how to type/keyboard, then he was on a mission to find out what the largest animal in the world is, and the list goes on and on. Thats not even counting all the words he has asked me to spell or what the meaning is of words....thats a whole other list!

Just wondered if that was similar or not?

Cally

momo3boys · User Joined: 14 Feb 2006 Posts: 574 Location: Western Mass

Sounds like Unschooling to me! Isn't it amazing. I didn't know I was doing it until I read an article on it. We don't do it for every subject but they have a lot of freedom when it comes to what they want to learn about.
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Phi 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

elliemaejune · Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 10:02 am Post subject: Re: Unschooling

Theodore · Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 2:12 pm Post subject:

That's because grade school, and to some extent, high school, are all about interacting with kids. College is focused much more on adult things, and while homeschoolers generally have no trouble dealing with adults, public schoolers have to make a transition. Homeschoolers, on the other hand, often have to learn about keeping to a rigid schedule, but it's a lot easier to handle the schedule if you know how to learn and have a quality education to base from, and homeschoolers have that quality education.

Bottom line, keeping to a schedule is really a minor issue, the more important question is, which schooling method prepares you better for learning in the college environment? In the college courses I took locally, you'd get a class of maybe 20-35 people, and only a handful of students would speak up regularly - either because most of the class only cared about passing the course with a minimum grade, or because they were afraid to speak up and ask what could potentially look like a stupid question. Do you want your child to be one of the people who speak up, or one of the people who never say anything?
_________________
The Farming Game - Software Edition for Mac and PC
The board game has sold over 350,000 copies worldwide, garnered many awards, is used by over 2,000 schools, and is used extensively by homeschoolers.